Zhaoyang County, Pingyang Street, Shengxin Residence
If you ask where on the martial world is the liveliest and where has the most informed news?
That would definitely be the tavern.
From martial artists traveling around to guests whose tongues are loosened by alcohol, to the servants in the tavern, and even the little beggars who linger around the perimeter—toss out a couple of broken silver taels, and you might just get them to spill three pieces of secret news from the martial world.
Such a good channel for information, coupled with it being a profitable business, means that any sizable tavern is inevitably no simple place.
The number one tavern in Zhaoyang County, Shengxin Residence, is no exception!
Ever since the ten holy-level powers divided up the world, anything in this world that carries the character "holy" in its name is destined to be extraordinary.
In Yongzhou's three circuits, eight prefectures, and sixty-two counties, with nearly two hundred sub-counties, Shengxin Residence is seemingly omnipresent, and its locations are often right next to the county government, in the busiest and most bustling parts of the city.
It goes without saying who the owner behind it is.
As a gathering place for people from the martial world, even Shengxin Residence in a small place like Zhaoyang County has a minimum entry cost—eating a meal there will cost at least five taels of broken silver.
Keep in mind that a steamed bun costs two wen coins and one tael of silver equals a hundred wen coins. Three taels of silver is enough to cover a poorer family of three's living expenses for a month.
For someone like Duan Zhengqi from a third-tier influence like Mountain Sword Sect, a true disciple who works himself to death could earn around five hundred taels of silver in a month. Even he would feel the pressure to dine at Shengxin Residence every day, let alone other martial artists who are doing worse than him.
Shengxin Residence has a rule that, no matter where it is located, it will have at least three floors.
The first floor serves martial artists of the Open Body Realm, and the food sold is valued at less than ten taels of broken silver. The second floor offers a higher class, as only warriors of the Gang Qi Realm can go up, and the prices of the food and drinks range from over ten to less than a hundred taels.
Nobody knows the standard for the third floor because the Shengxin Residence in Zhaoyang County only has two!
Even so, the private rooms on the second floor of Zhaoyang's Shengxin Residence have accumulated a thick layer of dust.
From this, one can see that Zhaoyang County is indeed very weak.
"Out of the six counties in Xingnan Prefecture, it is Shengxin Residence in Tongling County that does the worst business, and among the three counties in Tongling, it is yours, Zhaoyang County, that is the worst. You only contribute over ten thousand taels of silver each year. After all, Shengxin Residence is a business of our Holy Church. Yuan Fu, is this really how you run a tavern? It seems like you don't want to be the shopkeeper anymore!"
On the second floor of Shengxin Residence, Shopkeeper Yuan Fu knelt on the floor, trembling as he faced the scolding of a black-clad maidservant; behind her stood two young girls similarly dressed, attending to the young girl in blue clothes who was leaning against the windowsill at the back.
As a property of the Holy Church, the shopkeepers of Shengxin Residences in each county were naturally appointed from the disciples of the Holy Church.
Yuan Fu, over fifty this year, was of the Ten Layers of Body Openings cultivation, and as an outermost disciple of the Holy Church, he didn't count for much. However, in Zhaoyang County, his status ranked among the top five. Yet, afraid to even utter a word in response to the scolding of the black-clad young girl.
His gaze occasionally slipped through the gap formed by the three black-clad maidservants to look at the girl in blue near the window.
The girl in blue was about seventeen or eighteen years old, her demeanor dignified. With her right hand resting on a sword and her left holding a scroll, her head covered by a layer of black gauze, her eyebrows and eyes relaxed one moment and stern the next, she resembled a divine maiden surveying the scene on the first floor of Shengxin Residence.
As though sensing Yuan Fu's gaze, the girl in blue turned her head gently, looking towards him indifferently.
In her ancient, tranquil, and otherworldly beautiful eyes that seemed to see through all worldly affairs, Yuan Fu trembled upon meeting her gaze. After three breaths, he abruptly came to his senses, bit his tongue hard, and banged his head forcefully as he said, "Holy Maiden, grand ladies, Yuan Fu deserves to die. But there's something you don't know—the truth is, Zhaoyang County is just too poor. Not to mention the dust accumulating on the second floor, even the business on the first floor is barely getting by!"
Two years ago, before the Black Ape Demon Hou Tong died, the second floor had some significance—at least the County Lord Ren Feng and he could sometimes come up. Now, with the current situation..."
"Black Ape Demon?"
The girl in blue murmured softly with a hint of confusion in her tone. Her voice was soft and gentle to the extreme. With a light glance, she looked at the black-clad maidservant.
The maidservant who had just reprimanded Yuan Fu heard the confusion in her mistress's voice and quickly explained, "Miss, this Black Ape Demon, named Hou Tong, was a warrior of the Coagulate Gang realm and ranked 819th on the Righteous Path's Demon Extermination List. Two years ago, he was killed in Zhaoyang County."
"Two years ago… Was it Zhao Ponu from Qinjian Villa who killed him?"
"Indeed, it was him!"
The young girl in blue nodded. It seemed that mentioning the name Zhao Ponu brought a fleeting disturbance to her otherwise still eyes. She glanced at Yuan Fu, who was still kneeling, and spoke gently.
"It's not your fault that Zhaoyang County's population is dwindling, and Shengxin Residence's business is poor. Don't worry, I'm not here for this matter. I will be staying in Zhaoyang for a while, so clear the second floor for my use!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Fu's face lit up with joy, and he kowtowed respectfully, "Thank you, Holy Maiden, for sparing my life!"
Just then, there was a commotion from the guests on the first floor, and the girl in blue looked down to see three Martial Artists of the Open Body Realm with strong auras, being escorted by a crowd to sit at the central round table.
The black-clad maidservant followed her mistress's gaze, immediately understood, and looked at Yuan Fu to ask, "What's going on down there?"