People came and went in Longmen City, with a lot of commercial travelers, especially recently, for some reason, there were quite a few outsiders, to the point that most inns were actually fully booked.
Lu Qinghe only found this inn after searching for a while.
However, when he entered the inn, he saw a familiar figure.
"Senior Brother Lu Qinghe, did you leave the team too?" With these words, Xue Zhen, who had just been separated from them, walked over with a look of doubt.
"Hehe, why not?"
"Huang Tianluo should not have the audacity to confront you like that. I am alone, with no one to rely on. He dares to be arrogant in front of me, but you are different! Lu Qingyun is the most outstanding genius among the Inner Three Peaks. Three months ago, she achieved excellent results, reaching the thirteenth position of the Inner Three Peaks, and her future is unlimited. And you, you are also exceptional, obtaining sixty-three puppet cores in the assessment at Lanyue Lake, directly becoming a senior member. Huang Tianluo dares to confront me, but doesn't dare to offend you." The connection between Lu Qinghe and Huang Tianluo's previous arrogance suddenly became clear.
Lu Qinghe didn't expect that he was now someone envied by others for his status and background.
"I didn't expect that Huang Tianluo actually has some brains."
"Hmph! If it weren't for his fear of the strong and bullying the weak, among the Inner Nine Peaks, his older brother wouldn't be able to protect him." Xue Zhen said somewhat resentfully.
Finally, she asked again, "Senior Brother Lu Qinghe, you haven't told me the reason for leaving the team. The Huangtian Peak behind Huang Tianluo is now stronger than Senior Sister Lu Qingyun. In the future, their statuses will definitely be reversed."
"I don't like Han Ya Yi's approach."
"Senior Sister Han Ya Yi?" Xue Zhen still didn't quite understand the implications.
"If we can really find the location of the Ancient Emperor's family, the internal disciples are also likely to be indifferent. Huang Tianluo is the one designated to join the team by the Huangtian Peak..."
Lu Qinghe succinctly explained.
Xue Zhen was no ignorant person, and with a little thought, she immediately understood what was going on, and her expression changed, "Huang Tianluo is actually a monitor positioned in the team by Huangtian Peak, and Han Ya Yi is aware of this, so she wants to drive him out, using me..."
"Huang Tianluo is not a fool either. Even at the cost of consuming the Yuan Realm power contained in his protective jade pendant, he took advantage of the situation and put pressure on you." Lu Qinghe added, "I estimate that Han Ya Yi also didn't expect that the Huangtian Peak would give Huang Tianluo a jade pendant containing Yuan Realm power, thus achieving the opposite of what was intended."
"Senior Sister Han Ya Yi's actions are truly chilling."
Understanding the truth of the matter, Xue Zhen couldn't help feeling cold in her heart.
On this point, Lu Qinghe said nothing.
In fact...
If it weren't for Lu Qingyun's achievement three months ago in the Third Peak, making Han Ya Yi and Huang Tianluo extremely jealous, perhaps it wouldn't have been Xue Zhen that Han Ya Yi used, but him, Lu Qinghe.
"Ridiculous! It's absolutely ridiculous! Han Yayi's actions not only failed to expel Huang Tianluo from the team, but also offended Senior Brother Lu Qinghe. Now, she must be feeling deep regret," Xue Zhen said with a hint of delight.
In her words, there was no longer the respect for Han Yayi that she had shown before.
"I... it's not a big deal," Lu Qinghe shook his head.
"I used to think that with my outstanding sword skills, I should have been able to earn some status and respect for myself. Now I understand that I'm just a clown, an outer peak disciple. Without strength, how can I expect to be respected?" Xue Zhen said, then turned to Lu Qinghe, and bowed, "Senior Brother Lu Qinghe, I originally planned to go to the Kunwu Mountain Range after Han Yayi and the others left, in search of the location of the Ancient Emperor Family. But now, I understand that breaking through to the 7th level of True Refinement as soon as possible and becoming an inner door disciple is the way to go. I see that Senior Brother Lu Qinghe seems to be planning to go to the Kunwu Mountain Range..."
As she spoke, she took a map out of her body and handed it to him: "Here is the possible location of the retreat of the Ancient Emperor Family. I have marked it, hoping it will be of help to Senior Brother Lu Qinghe."
"This map..." Lu Qinghe was surprised.
Shouldn't the map be in Han Yayi's possession?
"Of course, my map is not as detailed as Han Yayi's, but I always like to be prepared when going out for an adventure. Therefore, when I learned that I needed to go and find the retreat of the Ancient Emperor Family, I made this map," Xue Zhen explained. Searching for the Ancient Emperor Family was only a secondary matter for Lu Qinghe, but besides marking the possible location of the Ancient Emperor Family's retreat on the map, there were also markings for areas with dangerous beasts and a route map, which would be very helpful for his journey into the Kunwu Mountain Range.
"Thank you."
"Wish Senior Brother Lu Qinghe a successful journey."
Xue Zhen gave a slight bow and said, "Goodbye."
After Xue Zhen left, Lu Qinghe went to the front desk and said directly, "Give me the best room."
"Yes, I will prepare it for you right away," a young girl at the front desk responded quickly.
"Bang!"
Before the girl could respond, there was a loud noise from upstairs, and a large number of wooden chips flew down from the staircase: "What nonsense room is this! It smells musty, and this is considered the best room? Trying to deceive me!?"
Along with the voice, a burly middle-aged man came down fiercely, scaring the assisting servant below, whose face turned pale.
"You, what kind of inn are you running? It not only smells moldy, but the room is infested with cockroaches and mice. Give me back my room money and compensate me for my losses, otherwise I will smash your store!" he declared.
"You... you're talking nonsense. We air out the rooms every day, and change the bedding every day. How could there be a musty smell? Also, we clean the rooms regularly..." the girl at the front desk wanted to defend her inn, but before she could finish her words, the middle-aged man slammed his hand on the counter, making it tremble.
"Are you suggesting I'm lying to you? I, Li Xiong San, with such a distinguished status, would I lie to you? The Meng family has been around for generations, and still partakes in such deceitful practices. Aren't you afraid of ruining your reputation?" he exclaimed.
"You... you're talking nonsense... we... we..." the front desk girl urgently refuted, with a mixture of shock and anger on her pretty face.
"You're audacious, I..." Li Xiong San was about to assert himself again when at that moment, Lu Qinghe's voice suddenly came from the side.
"I think this inn seems quite clean, should not be having such unsanitary problems."
"Hmm!?" Li Xiong San glared at Lu Qinghe as he spoke.
However, when he saw Lu Qinghe's calm demeanor and the Qingfeng sword by his side, he realized that he was no ordinary person. His fierce aura dissipated, and he spoke somewhat politely, "I wonder where this young gentleman is from?"
Lu Qinghe ignored him and turned to the girl, "Get the best room ready for me. I'm curious to know if this inn is really as bad as you say."
Li Xiong San's face changed slightly, but he couldn't figure out the depth of Lu Qinghe's indifferent attitude. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke softly, "Today, I will give this young gentleman some face and let it go. But next time, if I encounter such a thing, I will ruin the reputation of your Meng family."
With that, he turned and left the inn.
Although he seemed well-meaning as he left, he gave a warning, "This young gentleman, the Meng family's inn has been quite unstable lately. If you truly seek a comfortable and peaceful stay, it's best not to stay at this inn."
"Is that so," Lu Qinghe responded noncommittally.
Failing to discover anything, Li Xiong San was unable to stay any longer and quickly left the inn.
"Thank you, sir."
After Li Xiong San left, the girl hurried over, bowing respectfully to thank him.
"No need."
Lu Qinghe glanced at the girl and said, "Take me to the room."
"Yes."
The girl led Lu Qinghe upstairs herself.
In no time, the two of them had arrived at the best room in the inn.
"Sir, do you think this room is...?"
Lu Qinghe glanced over and nodded slightly: "Okay."
After speaking, he said to her: "You can go."
"Yes."
The woman looked at Lu Qinghe's back as she entered the room. Vaguely, she felt some familiarity. When Lu Qinghe was about to close the door, she couldn't help but curiously ask, "Young master, do we know each other?"
"Hehe, perhaps I look too ordinary."
After saying that, he added, "Please ask the guard outside the door to come up for me."
"The guard?"
The woman thought for a moment. Indeed, there was a man who looked like a guard accompanying Lu Qinghe, but he was waiting outside the inn and did not enter.
"Okay, I'll go now."
The woman agreed and hurried downstairs without asking too many questions.
Outside the inn, the guard who had been following Lu Qinghe at the command of the deputy city lord Shi Luo Ren was standing still, in a strict military posture, waiting silently.
"Excuse me, soldier."
The woman approached the guard and politely said, "The young master asks for you to come up."
"Come up?"
The guard was momentarily stunned, then his face showed a pleasantly surprised look as he quickly walked into the inn and towards the direction of the guest room, afraid of being late and incurring the displeasure of the people in the room.
He knew that the person in the room was someone even the deputy city lord Shi Luo Ren had to try hard to please.
"Miss... that person's attire looks very familiar."
The woman returned to the front desk, and a servant who looked a bit afraid said.
"Familiar?"
The woman was slightly stunned, but after his reminder, she indeed felt familiar. After some thought, a spark of insight flashed through her mind.
"Wait... that kind of attire seems to be the guard of the deputy city lord! Many years ago, I had the opportunity to accompany my elder brother to attend a banquet hosted by the deputy city lord's family, and the deputy city lord was briefly present. The one guarding his safety at the time was this kind of guard!"
"The deputy city lord Shi Luo Ren's guard!"
Upon hearing the other person's identity, the servant's eyes filled with deep awe.
Deputy city lord Shi Luo Ren, in the eyes of ordinary people like him, was a figure who could freely decide the life and death of thousands of people, high above and untouchable.
The woman referred to as Miss wasn't much different.
However, what made her even more curious was the identity of the man in the room who received such great respect from the deputy city lord's guard...