The Lai Fu Inn's three-pronged sign of a wine flask was swaying constantly.
Drunken patrons bored out of their wits were bragging at their tables, occasionally flirting with the landlady at the front desk, eliciting a few delicate scolds.
"Gentlemen, please come in!"
The innkeeper's assistant greeted the people coming in from the entrance with a friendly smile.
The man who led them into the inn— a strikingly handsome, but somewhat effeminate man wearing a long grey robe— chose a place to sit and was followed by a few thin young men and decently pretty women into a private room upstairs.
Han Ye and Wang Da Niu were the first to step into the inn. Looking up at the effeminate man entering the upstairs room, they heard the assistant innkeeper greeting them.
"Do you want to stay, or just have some drinks?"
He called the assistant over.
"We'll have drinks. Find us a room next to theirs. We have others who will be joining us shortly."
"Alright. Please come this way."