Chapter 33 The Thieves' Guild in the Tavern
A tall, thin hotel waiter stepped forward to stop everything. Despite being in this dilapidated tavern, he dressed like a butler from an ancient castle, with obvious traces of modifications on his small suit.
It seemed like these changes were made for easier movement and combat.
Whenever he made a gesture of invitation, he always had one hand behind his back. Xu couldn't help but feel that if he made any wrong move, a dagger would immediately be at his throat.
Had he walked into a den of thieves?
Xu frowned and was about to leave when he found the waiter blocking his way out.
With no other choice, Xu could only follow the waiter up to the second floor.
Once upstairs, Xu noticed that this seemingly modest tavern had a hidden world on the second floor with many small rooms.
Although each room could only fit a bed and a nightstand, from the outside, you couldn't tell the tavern was this big.
Pushing open a door, the waiter calmly said, "Please wait here. Hot water will be delivered shortly."
After speaking, the waiter stepped back and disappeared from the doorway.
Once the waiter left, Xu breathed a sigh of relief.
The waiter's every move had indicated to Xu that he was a skilled assassin.
But a group of assassins running a tavern? That didn't make sense at all.
As Xu thought about it, he looked around.
He noticed that although the room was clean, it had no signs of life.
The whole room looked like it hadn't been used in years, with a musty smell lingering in the air.
Xu walked a few steps in the room, hesitated, and ultimately decided not to sit on the bed.
At this moment, a red-dressed maid entered the room, dragging a large barrel with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.
This was Shaya, who had almost argued with Xu earlier. Now she was carrying a large wooden barrel filled with hot water, but she handled it as easily as if it were a bottle of mineral water.
As she moved the barrel into the room, she tried hard to force a smile.
"Would you like me to help you wash?"
"No need. Could you get me some food? I have a bad stomach and need something soft."
"Alright, please wait."
After saying this, Shaya left and closed the door behind her.
Once alone, Xu locked the door, took off his smelly clothes, cleaned his skin with water, and then jumped into the wooden barrel.
As the warm water enveloped his body, Xu almost moaned in comfort.
However, Xu knew this was not the time to relax. He quickly scrubbed off the dirt, washed his hair to at least reduce the smell, and then climbed out of the barrel.
Meanwhile, in the tavern's kitchen, Shaya was talking to the waiter about Xu's situation.
"He said he has a bad stomach and needs something soft. What's the code for that?"
The waiter, who was making soup, added some meat and red wine before looking up.
"Isn't it possible that he's saying what he actually means?"
"No way!"
Shaya looked incredulous.
"Why not? It's known in the underworld that we're the Thieves' Guild, but there are still ordinary folks who don't know our identity. Isn't it normal for a couple of them to come in for a drink?"
"It's not normal at all. In my three years here, I've never encountered anything like this."
"Well, now you have. Alright, the soup's ready. Take some bread with it, let him eat, and send him away. It's fine during the day, but at night we can't protect him."
The waiter said this while pouring the freshly made soup into a bowl.
Shaya still looked skeptical.
But she didn't argue. After the soup was ready, she placed it on a tray with a piece of white bread and easily carried it out of the kitchen.
As she walked, she muttered, "Unbelievable. After all this training, this is the first time I'm actually serving a customer."
Xu was unaware of what was happening downstairs. He had used the hot water to wash his clothes, and after confirming they didn't smell too bad, he hung them on the bedpost to dry.
He planned to leave as soon as his clothes were somewhat dry.
He had realized this tavern was not a safe place.
But just as Xu was spreading out his clothes to dry, the door suddenly moved.
Xu glanced back and saw Shaya entering with a tray.
"I thought I locked the door."
"You did, but locks don't matter to us. Here's your food. Now, tell me, what are you really here for?"
"I fell into the Isis River and needed a place to wash up. I couldn't walk around smelling like that."
"Fell into the Isis River? You do realize we're three blocks away from the river, right?"
"I know, I walked all the way here. Couldn't find another suitable place to wash up."
Seeing Shaya about to lose her temper, Xu sighed and said, "Besides, your sign looked familiar, so I came in. Is that a problem?"
"No."
Shaya finally believed Xu.
She said dejectedly, "Your meal's here. Eat and leave quickly. If you stay until night, you won't be able to leave."
With that, she placed the food on the table beside the bed and prepared to leave.
As she reached the door, Xu suddenly called out to her.
"Wait, do you have any other services?"
Shaya glanced at Xu's waist. "Yes, but I don't do them. If you want, I can call someone."
"No, I meant I heard you're the Thieves' Guild or an information hub?"
Xu quickly clarified, seeing Shaya's misunderstanding.
Hearing this, Shaya's eyes lit up.
"Thieves' Guild? Are you planning to steal something?
I knew you had a job. Tell me, I'll give you a discount."
Seeing Shaya so excited, Xu hesitated.
Then Shaya stepped closer, almost touching his face.
"What's with you? Speak up if you have a job. If not, stop wasting time."
"I'm not planning to steal. I need someone to do something for me."