Faint, familiar footsteps echoed outside the door. It was Lei, carefully balancing a tray with a steaming bowl of hot soup. Inside, Long Xiao sat frozen on the edge of the mattress, his gaze distant as he reeled from the absolute audacity of the mortal business world.
"Master, I brought you some soup," Lei smiled warmly, taking a seat beside him.
"A little girl led me to this inn. It turns out she's some kind of urban legend in this city, and she stole my storage pouch. I need to find her," Long Xiao said firmly, though his attention briefly drifted as he inhaled the rich aroma of the soup.
"Here you go, Master." Lei scooped up a spoonful and attempted to feed him like an oversized toddler.
"Hmph! And on top of that, the innkeeper claims I must pay three times the original price! What a fraudulent establishment. No way in Heaven am I paying triple," Long Xiao scoffed, turning his head away from the spoon.
He stood up, pacing back and forth across the creaking floorboards.
"This Xiao Hua is not just any evil spirit. She's an evil spirit who has my money, my assets, everything! I am going to make sure she realizes she crossed the absolute wrong being," Long Xiao muttered, gritting his teeth.
There was simply no universe where he—the supreme miser of the celestial plains—would willingly hand over triple pay. His destitute hut would testify.
"Master, please just drink the soup. Your voice sounds terribly hoarse," Lei insisted, finally setting the tray down on the low wooden table.
Knock, Knock!
A polite tap rattled the wooden panel. "Good sir, are you awake?"
Lei and Long Xiao exchanged a brief, silent glance.
"Come in!" Long Xiao called out, finally relenting and picking up the soup bowl to soothe his dry throat.
The door slid open, and a female attendant entered gracefully. In her hands, she carried a small wooden token and a neatly folded stack of clothing.
"Esteemed guest, Madam requested that I bring these to you for the remainder of your stay." She glided forward, placing them on the table.
"Madam wishes for you to change into these garments. Once you are ready, please descend to the ground floor. Oh, and do not forget to write your name on the guest token using the inkstone in the left corner." With a polite bow, she took her leave.
Lei walked over to the corner, picking up the writing brush and ink.
"Master, what name should I write on the token? Also, why do you think the innkeeper wants you to come down?"
Lei's brow furrowed in utter confusion. Having finished his soup, Long Xiao walked over and picked up the folded clothes to inspect them. The moment the fabric unrolled, his face contorted.
"Are these… Are these... rags?!" Long Xiao exclaimed, staring at the material in absolute horror.
He held the garment up by the shoulders, shaking it out.
"No, they must be discarded floor mops stitched together by a blind tailor! That is the only logical explanation. Lei, look at me. Do I look like some sort of penniless pauper to you?" Long Xiao rasped, his voice cracking.
"Of course not, Master. You look like Lord Qian Shen." Lei chuckled softly, doing a terrible job of hiding his amusement.
"So… what are you going to do with these rags? Are we supposed to lay them on the floor to catch the dust, as we did in our hut back in the Heavenly Realm?"
Long Xiao didn't answer. He aggressively shoved the coarse, mortal linen into Lei's hands and stormed back to the bed.
"You know, Master..." Lei trailed off, holding the robes up against himself.
"They actually look… rather comfortable." He flashed a teasing grin, wisely stepping back out of arm's reach.
Long Xiao completely ignored him. He was certainly not in the mood for his subordinate's sarcasm.
"Lei, you said I was out cold for three whole days?" he asked, his mind rewinding through the timeline.
"Yes, Master," Lei nodded, his demeanor turning serious.
"I initially thought you were just pretending to sleep to avoid the bill."
"The tea… There was something deadly woven into it. Something potent enough to render a god completely unconscious," Long Xiao muttered, sinking onto the edge of the bed.
His eyes narrowed. "The Mortal Realm might not be as simple and boring as I assumed. Interesting. Truly interesting."
"Master, I overheard a bit of your conversation with the innkeeper. About the little thief who robbed you..." Lei hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Don't rub it in," Long Xiao hissed, biting his lip.
He certainly didn't need to be reminded of his embarrassing lack of situational awareness.
"Right, sorry. But I did try to investigate her around the inn downstairs... and I got absolutely nothing," Lei said solemnly, avoiding his master's piercing gaze.
"I drank a single cup of tea… and fell unconscious for three days," Long Xiao murmured, falling into a tense, calculative silence.
Lei stood by, still holding the writing brush and the blank token, waiting for instructions. After a long, heavy moment, Long Xiao's voice sharply sliced through the quiet haze of the room.
"Right!"
"Master?"
"The tea that knocked me out was brewed and served right here, in this very inn! Someone clearly spiked it," Long Xiao declared, a triumphant grin slowly spreading across his face.
"This means that if I had been an ordinary mortal, I would have perished! Do you comprehend what this means, Lei?"
"No, Master." Lei tilted his head, looking entirely blank.
"This means I am entitled to a massive compensation package from the innkeeper!" Long Xiao puffed out his chest, stroking an imaginary, majestic beard as he envisioned the sheer amount of mortal currency or apologies he could shake out of her.
"Her services are legally worth absolutely nothing if they almost killed a patron! Yes, I nearly lost my life due to atrocious hospitality."
In his mind, he could already see it: a shower of spiritual stones illuminating the financial darkness that the thief Xiao Hua had cast upon him.
"You are absolutely right, Master," Lei agreed instantly, his eyes lighting up with dangerous enthusiasm.
"And if she refuses to compensate you, I can level this entire establishment to the ground. Just say the word and I will fill the city sky with smoke!"
"Lei, you know I am a staunch opponent of unnecessary violence," Long Xiao reprimanded him, though a small, wicked smirk on his face heavily suggested otherwise.
"No, I am going to handle this with words. I am going to let her know exactly who she is dealing with." Marching forward with newfound confidence, Long Xiao threw his shoulders back, grabbed the brass handle, and yanked the door open.
And there she was. Standing right on the threshold, her hand raised as if she was just about to knock, the Innkeeper stared at him with an unbothered, piercing gaze and smiled.