Chapter 6: Sleeping on the Big Dormitory with the Tyrant

When the waiter brought more people in, a big brother sleeping by the door called out to him.

“Hey, how many more people are you going to let in? There’s no room left.”

The waiter replied, “I’ll bring in some straw mats shortly; if there’s no room, they can sleep on the floor.”

Everyone: “…” Do we really have to sleep on the floor here?

In the end, the whole room was packed with people, so tightly that the door could barely close, and the waiter stopped bringing in more guests.

At this point, everyone’s faces were filled with discontent.

But what could they do? Compared to the people waiting outside in the cold northwestern wind, at least they didn’t have to worry about freezing to death.

Xiao Jingyuan had Xia Mo sleeping on his right and a fat man on his left. This fat man took up more space than the two of them combined, making Xiao Jingyuan’s face darken considerably.

The two of them had spent sixteen coins thinking they’d made a good deal, but now it seemed they had lost out big time.

Xia Mo knew it was unfair for her to take his space, so she tried her best to press against the wall, almost hanging herself on it.

Xiao Jingyuan’s expression softened a bit as he squeezed closer to his side.

Just as he gave up a little space, the fat man next to him shifted over too, causing Xiao Jingyuan to grow even angrier.

“Hey, you’re pushing me!”

The fat man ignored him, soundly asleep and snoring.

Xiao Jingyuan was so frustrated that he shoved the fat man, but he didn’t wake up or budge; instead, his chubby thigh ended up pressing down on Xiao Jingyuan.

Xiao Jingyuan was about to explode, but he managed to hold back from shouting.

His experiences on the run had taught him the value of patience. While he didn’t yet have the power to take decisive action, all this endurance was building up strength.

“Xia Mo.” He poked her in the back.

Xia Mo turned her head with difficulty.

“What’s wrong?”

Xiao Jingyuan gritted his teeth and said, “Look at that fatty’s leg. Instead of you being crushed by his big fat leg, it should have been you.”

Seeing this, Xia Mo turned with great effort and kicked the fat man hard.

Whether the fat man was sleeping too soundly or just doing it on purpose, he didn’t budge at all.

Instead, Xia Mo’s squirming was making Xiao Jingyuan quite uncomfortable.

He lowered his head to look and thought: Although Xia Mo looks thin, she must have some muscle; no wonder she has the strength to carry herself away.

After several failed attempts to move the fat man’s leg, Xia Mo had an idea. She sharpened her nails and pinched the fat man’s thigh hard.

This sharp pain instantly jolted the fat man awake.

“Ouch!”

He hugged his leg and rubbed the painful spot.

Xia Mo quickly signaled to Xiao Jingyuan, and he was quick to seize his chance, swiftly reclaiming his space as the fat man turned.

“What’s wrong?”

Some people in the room woke up from the fat man’s exclaiming.

“Who pinched me?” The fat man glared at Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan with his big, round eyes.

Xia Mo’s mind raced, and she quickly covered her leg.

“Ouch.”

“What’s wrong again?” More people turned to look at them.

Xia Mo said, “I think there are bugs; I got bitten by a bug.”

“Bugs?”

“Yeah, look at this room; it’s dirty and smelly. There must be bugs.”

“Oh dear.” Xiao Jingyuan also chimed in with a shout.

Everyone: “…”

“What’s wrong with you now?”

“I got bitten by bugs too.”

The crowd was confused, thinking: Could it be that there are really bugs in this room?

What bad luck, to have bugs on such a cold day.

“This black shop charges ten big coins a night, and they still haven’t cleaned up the bugs. How can we sleep like this?” The one complaining was the scholar.

It was clear he was quite particular about cleanliness, but unfortunately, the cheapest single room upstairs cost three hundred big coins a night. With no end in sight for their journey, money couldn’t be spent so recklessly.

Everyone’s expressions were not good; many were experiencing a big dormitory for the first time.

“Everyone, be careful. When you’re out in the world, in this kind of environment, if there are bugs, there’s nothing we can do. We just have to endure it.”

They had to hit the road early the next morning, and no matter how poor the conditions, they had to force themselves to get more sleep; otherwise, they would be at a disadvantage.

The fat man looked suspiciously at Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan, quietly shifting to the other side.

In the darkness, the two of them exchanged secret smiles.

Early the next morning, people in the room began to leave one after another.

They were in a hurry to head south, racing against time, and they got up early to buy the food they needed for the journey.

Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan were not in a rush; they planned to have breakfast first before leaving, as they would need to sneak off to find a place without people after leaving the inn.

The daily schedule of ancient people was quite peculiar; mornings were the busiest and liveliest times, making it unlikely to find an empty alley.

Soon, only a few people remained in the big dormitory: Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan, the grandfather and grandson pair, and the scholar who was meticulously packing his things while continuously complaining.

After the scholar finished packing his luggage and neatly combed his hair, he turned to look at Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan.

“Hey, why are you two still not leaving?”

Xia Mo recalled Xiao Jingyuan’s words from yesterday and replied, “We’re not in a hurry; we’re waiting for our aunt and her family.”

“Oh, right, you’re waiting for someone.” He turned to look at the grandfather and grandson again. “Oh, the kid is still not awake?”

The old man said, “Last night my dog didn’t sleep well, and since the child sleeps a lot, I let him sleep a little longer.”

Just then, the merchant from last night popped his head in again.

“Mr. Fang, I don’t know if you’re ready? We need to get on the road soon.”

The scholar quickly grabbed his things. “Coming, coming.”

He left with his bags, and at the door, he didn’t forget to turn back and greet them. “I’m heading out first, everyone. If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”

Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan wanted to delay the old man and his grandson, but the child was really sleeping soundly. After everyone had left, it took another half hour for the child to finally wake up.

Once everyone was finally gone, Xia Mo prepared to take out some food to eat.

“Finally awake! What do you want to eat?”

Xiao Jingyuan was momentarily stunned. “Can I eat whatever I want?”

Uh…

She was afraid he would order some imperial dishes that even Guanyin had never eaten, so she awkwardly smiled and said, “Not really. The things in the sky are probably different from what we have on the ground. What we can eat on the ground might not be available up there.”

After saying that, she hurried to the convenience store and brought back milk, eggs, and bread.

Eating buns all the time wasn’t ideal; she actually didn’t like eating buns.

Xiao Jingyuan looked at some strange food and thought: If the things in the sky are really different, then whatever that bread is, he had never seen it before.

It actually tasted quite good.

After they were full, Xia Mo helped him with his medicine.

Youth is great; he recovered quickly.

Then she took out some common buns to stuff into the coarse cloth bag she bought yesterday, saying this was called a distraction tactic.

To replenish their energy, she also got some beef jerky and Snickers bars, and since the things she took from the convenience store had no packaging, she wrapped them in colored oil paper from the cash register.

After everything was packed up, the two finally left the inn.