Chapter 119: Jumping In with Her Eyes Closed

Black Peony strode back with plenty of swagger. When she met the attendant’s gaze, there was even a trace of, What can you possibly do to me? But the moment she reached the doorway and met Niu Youdao’s eyes, her confidence faltered. She simply did not have the nerve to back it up.

Niu Youdao smiled. “Looking for me?”

With the attendant still standing there, Black Peony stubbornly said, “We’ve met before.”

Niu Youdao asked, “Is there something you need?”

Black Peony glanced at the attendant, then tipped her chin toward the room. “Can we talk inside?”

“Please.” Niu Youdao stepped aside and gestured her in.

The attendant watched Black Peony walk inside, then hurriedly warned Niu Youdao, “Honored guest, don’t say I didn’t warn you. We’ve had guests tricked before who threw money into a bottomless pit. By the time they caused a scene afterward, the money had already been spent and there was no getting it back. If anyone brings up money, you’d best be cautious. If something happens, the inn won’t take responsibility.”

He made no effort to lower his voice for Black Peony’s sake. Inside the room, her cheeks warmed when she heard him. She bit her lip, silently cursing him for looking down on her, and swore that one day she would stay here openly and properly and make these people bow and scrape before her.

At the warning, Niu Youdao looked thoughtful. He remembered certain people mentioned in the Shangqing Record of Gleanings and roughly understood why this woman had come looking for him.

“Much obliged.” With a flick of his hand, Niu Youdao tossed the attendant a gold coin as a tip.

Yuan Fang’s teeth practically hurt at the sight. Did a tip really need to be that generous?

The attendant caught it and immediately smiled. This was a lavish guest. “I’ll be downstairs keeping watch. If you need anything, just call.”

Niu Youdao and Yuan Fang entered, and the attendant helped close the door behind them.

Inside, Black Peony saw that the tea water had boiled and immediately busied herself. She rearranged the table and chairs, then gestured. “Brother, please sit.”

Niu Youdao sat with a smile, amused by how perceptive she was. She had already noticed the master-servant relationship between him and Yuan Fang.

Black Peony gestured to Yuan Fang as well. “Big Brother, please sit.”

Yuan Fang was completely baffled and had no idea what this woman wanted. He did not sit. Instead, imitating Yuan Gang, he remained standing beside Niu Youdao, vigilant and watchful.

In his memory, Yuan Gang was always like this. Whenever a stranger approached Niu Youdao, he instantly became alert, looking ready to start hitting people at any moment.

Seeing Yuan Fang refuse her courtesy, Black Peony gave a dry smile. She turned to pour tea for both men, then sat properly across from Niu Youdao and introduced herself. “Everyone calls me Black Peony—”

Niu Youdao raised a hand to cut her off. Looking out the window, he said, “Go find me a copy of the Record of Strange Beasts.”

“Oh.” Yuan Fang turned to leave, thinking Niu Youdao wanted him out of the way for some reason. He even wondered whether this woman had come to sell herself and whether something between a man and woman was about to happen.

“Come back.” Niu Youdao hurriedly stopped him, both amused and exasperated. This was exactly the difference between Yuan Fang and Yuan Gang. Usually, a single look was enough for Yuan Gang to understand what needed doing. Pointing at Black Peony, Niu Youdao said to Yuan Fang, “I wasn’t talking to you. I meant her.”

Both Black Peony and Yuan Fang froze.

Black Peony then stood, looking uncertain.

“A copy of the Record of Strange Beasts, plus good wine and good food. And he eats vegetarian.” Niu Youdao made himself perfectly clear, then asked her, “Any problem?” Black Peony was dumbfounded. What did this mean? They had only just met, and she had not even finished one sentence before he started sending her out to buy things?

Once she recovered, however, she realized there was something unusual about this man, and for some inexplicable reason it gave her confidence. At the very least, he was willing to talk with her, wasn’t he? She nodded repeatedly and smiled. “All right! Wait here. I’ll be back soon.”

She hurried toward the door. Just as she opened it, Niu Youdao spoke again. “I plan to stay here for half a year. So far I’ve only paid for one day.”

Black Peony stopped dead in the doorway and looked back.

Niu Youdao, however, held his teacup and leisurely gazed out at the night, as though the words had not been addressed to anyone in particular. But Black Peony knew perfectly well they had been meant for her.

She hesitated, then nodded firmly. “I’ll pay it for you, sir.”

With that, she opened the door, closed it behind her, and left.

Yuan Fang stared blankly. “Master Dao, is she really going to pay for our room?”

“Maybe.” Niu Youdao gestured for him to drink his tea. “The tea here is first-rate too. The money isn’t entirely wasted.”

Yuan Fang sat across from him, lifted his cup, and took a sip. Then he asked, “Are we really staying here for half a year? Will she really pay half a year’s room fee for us?”

“Whether she pays or not is her business. We lose nothing either way. What are you worrying about?” Niu Youdao rolled his eyes at him.

“There’s really such a good thing?” Yuan Fang remained doubtful, but one thing had become clear to him: Master Dao was accustomed to ordering people around. Wherever he went, he casually put people to work. He had only just met this woman and knew nothing about her, yet he had already started ordering her around as naturally as breathing.

The attendant waiting in the garden below occasionally looked up toward the guest room. When he saw Black Peony emerge almost as soon as she had entered, he froze. Had she been thrown out that quickly?

Black Peony hurried out of the inn and found the people who had come with her.

Once they reached a secluded spot, someone immediately asked, “Boss, did you see him? Did he agree?”

“I saw him, but we haven’t started talking yet.” Black Peony said, “I don’t have enough money on me. Pool together another eight hundred gold coins for me.”

One of them asked in confusion, “What do you need that much money for?”

Black Peony grew embarrassed and began to hem and haw. “Well... he plans to stay here for half a year, but he only paid for one day. We’ll pay the rest for him first.” The others stared blankly at her, none of them quite understanding what they had just heard.

So Black Peony explained the whole thing again. Even as she spoke, she sounded uncertain herself.

“What?” several of them cried at once, staring at her as though she had lost her mind.

One said, “Boss, we came here to ask him for money. How did this turn into us paying him?”

Another said, “Ten gold coins a day. Half a year is eighteen hundred!”

Another said, “Boss, are you sure you know what you’re doing? You haven’t even discussed the matter yet, and you’re already paying half a year’s room fee for him. What if he refuses afterward?”

Another said, “Exactly! We don’t have much money. A man who comes here and checks into this place right away obviously has plenty of confidence. We may not even be able to afford offending him. If he refuses, what can we possibly do to him? That money will be gone for nothing.”

Black Peony felt twisted inside as well. Usually, they were the ones blackmailing and swindling others. Today, it seemed they had met someone even more ruthless. The strange part was that he had not forced her at all. He had simply said one calm, casual sentence, and somehow she had volunteered to agree as though bewitched.

“I think he’s reliable,” Black Peony said, though even she sounded guilty.

“Reliable? Boss, what part looks reliable? He doesn’t look like someone from the righteous path. He looks like an old hand from the underworld. Maybe he’s trying to scam us. Don’t let us capsize in a gutter.”

“Exactly. We can’t read a man like this at all. You can’t play this kind of game blind. Let it go. Losing ten gold coins is one thing. But eighteen hundred? People with no prospects like us had a hell of a time saving that much. If we throw it into a pit, that’ll be a real joke.”

“This bastard is too vicious. He won’t even spare the poor!”

Black Peony’s embarrassment turned into anger. “Enough wasting time. Take out the money. I’m making the gamble today!”

“A gamble? You call this gambling? Boss, did you take the wrong medicine? Don’t tell me you fell for him at first sight.”

“Cut the crap. Treat it as money I’m borrowing. If we lose it, count the loss against my share from now on!”

“Boss, that’s not the point. What kind of person does this? He’s obviously setting us up!”

“Move faster. He’s still waiting...” Black Peony lost her temper, even kicking each of them a few times. Niu Youdao had put her in an impossible position, and now she was gritting her teeth and forcing herself through it. As she had said, she was gambling once.

In the end, the others reluctantly pooled eight gold drafts worth one hundred coins each and handed them over, every one of them sighing as though they were watching her jump into a fire pit and could not pull her back.

“One copy of the Record of Strange Beasts, good wine, and good food. Remember, don’t just grab whatever’s cheapest. It has to be good wine and good food! Oh, and one of them is vegetarian, so don’t forget the vegetarian dishes. Hurry. I’ll wait here. Move, all of you.”

One man wailed, “We still have to spend money buying him fine wine and fine food? How deep is this pit, Boss? You’re jumping straight in with your eyes closed!”

Black Peony kicked him hard enough to make him stumble. “Move quickly, understand?”

She drove them off.

Watching them leave with drooping heads and heavy sighs, she covered her face with both hands for a moment, annoyed enough to wonder whether she really had taken the wrong medicine. But in the end, she stuck to her decision.

She would make the gamble.

Taking a deep breath, she turned and returned to the inn. At the front desk, she took out one gold draft worth five hundred and thirteen worth one hundred each, then pushed them across the counter. “Innkeeper, half a year for Room Yi-Zi.”

The innkeeper froze. He checked all fourteen drafts one by one, confirmed that they were genuine, then asked suspiciously, “Half a year for Room Yi-Zi. You’re sure?”

Black Peony stiffened her neck and nodded. “Is the money fake? Or are you planning to throw me out again?” Humiliated earlier, she now had eighteen hundred gold coins on the counter and finally had the confidence to throw the attitude back at him.

The innkeeper and attendant exchanged looks. Had they really misunderstood her before?

The innkeeper took out the ledger and recorded the large payment. Because of the amount, he specifically wrote her a receipt.

Black Peony accepted it and somehow felt that the thin slip of paper weighed heavily in her hand. She carefully put it away. The attendant politely invited her farther inside, but she ignored him with an air of dignity and instead left the inn again, waiting outside for her companions to bring the things she had requested.

Facing the vast night, she found her mood inexplicably complicated.

After quite a while, her companions returned and handed everything over one after another, still sighing miserably.

Black Peony took the two food boxes and strode back into the inn.

Yuan Fang opened the door and let her into the room.

Once inside, Black Peony set everything down, then took out the receipt and gave it to Niu Youdao first. “This is the receipt for half a year’s room fee.”

Niu Youdao glanced at it and casually passed it to Yuan Fang. “Keep it.” Yuan Fang took one look. Eighteen hundred gold coins?

The corner of his mouth twitched. He had already heard the innkeeper explain that overpayments could be refunded and shortages made up. That meant eighteen hundred gold coins had effectively fallen into their hands!

He immediately turned and walked out. He had to go down to the main hall and verify whether the receipt was real.

[End of Chapter 119]