Xue Yu stared intently at Zhao Xing as he approached and said with great solemnity, “I understand your meaning now.”

Zhao Xing: ???

Don’t tell me you know I didn’t give you a bun because I couldn’t bear to part with it? he thought.

He set the plate down. A platter of randomly sliced cooked meats was placed before Xue Yu. The person who cut them clearly had poor knife skills; the pieces of meat varied in size and thickness.

It’s hard for an average person to slice meat this poorly. You’d need very little kitchen experience to do this badly.

For a martial artist who prides themselves on control, cutting meat like this would be even more difficult. So, was this also a deliberate act by the senior?

Xue Yu calmed himself and carefully examined the platter, surprised to see that not a single piece of meat was cut into a neat shape. They were all crooked and askew.

Xue Yu got it!

He was the young master of the Twin Moon Sect and had received the most orthodox martial arts training since childhood. Later, though he had lived in hiding under a false name, he had encountered some ruthless fighting styles but had never considered learning them.

He had always felt that if he were to change his own methods, the Twin Moon Sect would be well and truly forgotten.

It was precisely because his style was so righteous, so proper, that when he confronted his enemies, he was not only recognized instantly but also fell victim to their underhanded schemes, leading to him being hunted down.

Could it be that the senior’s intention was to tell him not to be so fixated on rigid, conventional moves, but to open his mind and learn from the strengths of others?

Xue Yu thought it over and decided to test his theory. “Shopkeeper, the way this meat is cut… is truly one of a kind.”

Zhao Xing’s expression froze. Looking at the meat he’d cut, he felt a pang of guilt. He rarely set foot in a kitchen before; he really had no experience with this kind of work…

He cleared his throat and said politely, “The meat is for eating, guest. What does it matter how it’s cut?” If you really hate it, I’ll give you a discount, just please don’t dock my favorability points!

But hearing this reply, Xue Yu felt as if he had been enlightened!

That’s how it should be!

My goal in practicing martial arts now is to avenge my parents. Whether I use the Twin Moon Sect’s techniques or not, what does it matter?! Why must I treat the form of the moves as so important?

He rose to his feet with a solemn expression and bowed with his hands clasped. “Many thanks to Senior for the guidance.”

Then he sat down and began to eat with great earnestness.

【Guest Xue Yu’s Favorability +10】

Zhao Xing: ?

He silently asked in his head, “System, do you have some kind of brain-scan function? I suspect there’s something wrong with this guest’s head.”

The System slowly replied, “Theoretically speaking, Host, the guest is physically and mentally normal.” To be honest, even the System, having watched this all unfold, had no idea how things had reached this point…

Zhao Xing remained skeptical.

The guest was eating, so there was nothing for him to do for the moment. He retreated to the kitchen to check the reward he had just received.

【Guest Xue Yu’s Favorability has reached 30. Congratulations, Host, on receiving the reward: Dragon-Patterned Cloud Shirt.】

【Dragon-Patterned Cloud Shirt: This garment boasts an exquisite appearance and is made from rare materials. It has superlative defensive power and can also block the prying eyes of others, protecting the owner’s privacy.】

Zhao Xing took out the Dragon-Patterned Cloud Shirt.

The fabric, which had a perfect drape, piled up in his palm before cascading down. Faint dragon patterns were embroidered on the silver cloth, and as the fabric fell, the dragons seemed to come alive, swimming and shimmering with light.

“This shirt… seems pretty badass,” Zhao Xing said.

“This garment has a defensive function and can also hide the Host’s aura, protecting you from being spied on. After all, some of the great masters from high-level martial arts or magic worlds can see through a person’s consciousness, or even their soul, with a single glance…” the System explained.

“But that’s not even its most powerful feature. Legend has it that this shirt was made from the shed scales of the one and only dragon in all the myriad realms. It is imbued with the dragon’s aura, which they say only other dragons can detect. This item has been in the prize pool for many years, and no Host has ever drawn it. Your luck is amazing, Host!”

Zhao Xing was stunned. “Dragons really exist?”

“Legend says there is a dragon in the myriad realms that roams outside of them all, unbound by the laws of any world. However, the main System has never detected any similar energy fluctuations, so it’s likely either in a deep slumber or has already perished.”

Zhao Xing listened to this anecdote as if it were a fairy tale, then changed into the shirt.

The silver robe was imposingly elegant, the dragon patterns faintly visible. Paired with Zhao Xing’s handsome features, especially his star-like eyes, he looked for all the world like a dashing, aristocratic young master who had stepped right out of the Republican era.

He couldn’t see the defensive or concealing abilities yet, but its appearance was certainly gorgeous and refined.

Zhao Xing smiled confidently. “See? Don’t I look like a reclusive master!”

You do, as long as you don’t talk, the System thought. But it said, “Yes, Host! You are the very definition of a reclusive master!”

---

That night, after tidying up the shop, Zhao Xing fell into a peaceful sleep.

But in the guest room upstairs, Xue Yu could not sleep. He was carefully replaying everything that had happened at the inn that day. No matter how he looked at it, every action the senior had taken seemed to hold a deeper meaning.

He used his internal energy to heat the food, surely to remind me that internal energy is the foundation of all martial arts.

He left the used dishes in the sink without washing them, surely to remind me that filth will not disappear on its own if it isn’t dealt with.

The senior must be a man who despises evil as his personal enemy…

The more Xue Yu thought, the more enlightened he felt. His desire for sleep vanished completely. He got up, draped his clothes over his shoulders, and began to meditate.

In the elegant, woody fragrance of the inn, he felt his mind clear and his spirit open up. His previously dried-up meridians began to surge with rapidly growing internal energy…

He hadn’t had such a moment of such a single-minded focus since leaving his home. Feeling the fragrance’s benefit to his state of mind, his respect for the senior in the inn grew even deeper.

Of course. My initial thought was correct. The senior must have seen my inner turmoil and deliberately used this scent!

Xue Yu was certain of this and even felt a little smug. The senior surely couldn’t have guessed that he would see through it all with a single glance, right?

【Guest Xue Yu’s Favorability +10】

【Guest Xue Yu’s Favorability has reached 60. Congratulations, Host, on receiving a reward!】

Zhao Xing, woken by the notification sound, didn’t even open his eyes. He just rolled over and went back to sleep.

Even though the System said the man was mentally normal, he had unilaterally decided that this guest was definitely a little nuts.

---

At dawn, the calls of birds and roosters sounded in unison, waking the mountain village for a new day.

Xue Yu opened his eyes, emerging from his meditative state. He let out a sigh that was both satisfied and regretful.

With the help of this strange fragrance, one night of meditation was equivalent to a year of his own effort. It was just a shame he’d hit a bottleneck; his internal energy was still stuck at the third level.

If he could just break through… the pursuers outside would no longer be his match.

He got up, washed briefly, and went downstairs to find that the master of the house was already awake.

The man had changed into a silver robe, which made him look even more noble, but that wasn’t the main thing.

What was important was that the youth’s aura today was entirely different from yesterday. Yesterday, his steps had been light and feeble, like an ordinary person who had never practiced martial arts.

But today, he seemed to have shed all pretense. His presence was deep and mysterious. Examining it closely felt like looking into a dark abyss, giving the sense that you were facing a fierce creature like a dragon or tiger, ready to leap and attack.

Xue Yu respectfully lowered his eyes. Of course. This is the senior’s true form. Yesterday was merely a test of my character.

He just didn’t know if he had passed the senior’s test.

Zhao Xing had gotten used to waking up early these past few days. He had just finished feeding the birds and was standing at the window, enjoying the view.

He had to admit that ever since installing the new windows, looking at the mountain scenery every day has become a genuine pleasure.

Seeing that Xue Yu was also standing by the window, he called out, in the spirit of sharing something good, “Morning. Breakfast will be ready in a bit. Why don’t you enjoy the mountain view from the window first?”

Xue Yu quickly replied, “It would be my honor.”

He didn’t see anything appealing in the mountain scenery. For the past decade, he had been scurrying and hiding like a rat in the street; he had long since lost the mood for such poetic sentiments.

Moreover, he had spent most of the last half-month running through these very mountains. What view could possibly move him now?

That was what he had thought before.

However, the moment he stood before that exquisite and beautiful window and looked out—

It was clearly an ordinary landscape, a common mountain forest, but it was as if some immortal had cast a spell upon it.

In an instant, one could feel the majestic power of creation.

Even the ordinary mountain slopes appeared so majestic, making a person feel like just a tiny grain of sand in a vast ocean.

Even the common mountain grasses grew with such lively vigor, reaching toward the sun…

In the face of such a grand world, matters of life and death seemed trivial.

The breathtaking mountain view suddenly filled Xue Yu’s vision.

A heroic spirit rose from deep within him. The bottleneck broke apart, bit by bit. Internal energy flooded through his body like a powerful, rushing river…

The third level was broken through in what felt like a single breath.

Xue Yu closed his eyes for a moment. This was a debt of immense gratitude!

When he opened them again, he said nothing. He simply gave Zhao Xing a deep, respectful bow.

Great favors required no verbal thanks. His quest for vengeance currently burdened him. Once he had settled his grudge, he would naturally return the kindness.

At that time, he would be willing to work like an ox or a horse, without a single complaint!

【Guest Xue Yu’s Favorability +40】

【Favorability has reached 100. Congratulations, Host, on receiving the final reward!】

Zhao Xing blinked. He blinked again, not processing what had just happened. “Wait, System, what’s with him? Is your favorability detector broken? Does he really like mountain views that much? Forty points for one look? Yesterday he ate four pounds of my meat and only gave me ten points!”

Can you please stop bringing up the meat? The System thought. “It must be the Host’s personal charm that conquered the guest! You’re amazing, Host!”

Even Zhao Xing felt that this piece of flattery was a bit over the top.

After breakfast, Xue Yu announced he was leaving. Now that his internal energy had reached the fourth level, the pursuers outside could no longer hurt him. It was time to continue his quest for revenge.

Zhao Xing felt a little reluctant to see him go. After all, one night’s stay was 100 points! And for some reason, this guy’s favorability was incredibly easy to farm. It just shot up on its own without him having to do anything.

So he asked, “You don’t need to stay a few more days?”

A trace of warmth flashed through Xue Yu’s heart. In the senior’s eyes, his meager skills were probably nothing to look at. “I won’t disturb you any longer. I have benefited greatly these past few days. As for the rest, I shall grow through actual combat!”

“Mm, that is for the best,” Zhao Xing nodded with profound gravity, then immediately started poking the System in his mind. He said he benefited greatly? Besides my four pounds of meat, what else did he get?

The System: …Seriously, can you please stop talking about your meat!

Naturally, a stay at an inn required payment.

Though Zhao Xing’s face remained impassive, his eyes darted toward Xue Yu.

I hear ancient heroes pays with gold and silver. I’m not picky. A gold ingot would be great.

I already checked; the price of gold is 390 yuan a gram right now. A single ingot could sell for at least ten thousand!

“When did the Host check this?” the System asked, curious.

“Just this morning on my phone,” Zhao Xing replied. “Having internet is great!”

…So that’s what he was doing lazing around in bed on his phone this morning, the System thought.

Over at the counter, Xue Yu stood in thought for a moment before finally smiling slightly. “I have no worldly possessions. Any loose gold or silver I might have would likely be beneath the shopkeeper’s notice and would feel more like an insult. How about this instead?”

With a soft thud, he placed a short dagger on the counter.

Zhao Xing instinctively looked down. The dagger was curved like a crescent moon, its edge radiating a cold chill. Two menacing blood grooves on the blade contained some dark red, dried stains. “This is…”

Xue Yu said, “This dagger has been with me for over twenty years. No fewer than twenty masters of the martial world have fallen to its blade. It can slice a falling hair and kill without a sound.”

The hand Zhao Xing had been extending instantly recoiled. “Maybe you could trade it for something else…”

But Xue Yu just laughed boldly. “I will use this to cover the room fee. Thank you, Senior, for your guidance this past day. In the future, I will return to repay your great kindness!”

With that, his figure moved with agile grace. In a few leaps, he was outside the building. Led by the invitation, he returned to his own world.

Zhao Xing reached out with a dramatic “Erkang hand.” “Wait… I’ll take the loose gold and silver! Go on, insult me! Insult me!”

But he could only watch helplessly as Xue Yu vanished.

Man and System stared silently at the dagger on the table.

After a long moment, Zhao Xing’s eyes filled with tears. “System, maybe we should go turn ourselves in!”

What was he supposed to do with a murder weapon in his house?! A murder weapon that had killed twenty people, no less!