Diligence System: From Servant to Martial King

Uncle Yu Zhu said, "Junior Sister, our immediate priority is to find a place to settle." Zhao Ranran nodded in agreement and ordered the Jianghu guests to support each other and look for an inn to stay in.

Swallowing Water City was extremely dangerous. Zhao Ranran had just arrived in the city and couldn’t help but frown. The gambling halls and brothels were numerous, the air was foul, and the local people were fierce, all vicious thugs. Zhao Ranran intended to draw her sword, but Nangong Xuanming stopped her and said, "Miss Zhao, wait. This city is full of bandits. If you provoke them, you’ll incite their collective wrath. You can come and go as you please, but many of our fellow heroes would be doomed here."

Zhao Ranran pondered this and realized it was true. She chose to ignore it and continued down the road to find a guesthouse. She found "Peace Inn," "Intention Inn," and "Safe Inn." She arranged for the Jianghu guests to be distributed among them before Zhao Ranran and others walked into "Safe Inn."

Although Li Xian was in the corner, no one noticed him, let alone expected him to be there. Besides Zhao Ranran, Nangong Xuanming, Bian Qiaoqiao, Bian Bianyun, and other aristocratic children, several Jianghu guests followed, enough to fill three large tables.

The inn’s lobby was spacious. Everyone sat around the table. Seeing that the inn was quite ordinary and there were many companions, Nangong Xuanming said, "Let’s eat to our hearts’ content. Shopkeeper, we’ll be booking the whole inn for tonight. Bring all the wine, meat, lake, river, and stream seafood you have."

Then he threw out a piece of gold. The shopkeeper picked up the gold, weighed it, and smiled, "My dear guest, I’m afraid this amount isn’t quite enough." Nangong Xuanming raised his eyebrows and said, "Just your little inn, I see that there aren’t many guests, and yet my gold isn’t enough to book the place?"

The shopkeeper said, "My supplies here are scarce, so prices are a bit high. You’ll need to add two more pieces of gold, and then it’ll just about be enough." He saw that Nangong Xuanming and the others were numerous and well-dressed, so he dared not easily cut their throats, but his greed was hard to control.

Nangong Xuanming sneered, "Ridiculous! This piece of gold is enough to buy your inn. Stop talking nonsense and hurry up with the wine! If you dare to play tricks, you’ll wish you hadn’t." He slapped the table and stood up. If this was a prosperous big city and the shopkeeper met Nangong Xuanming and the others, he would definitely avoid them and never dare to contradict them. However, this was his territory, with countless underlings spying in secret, so he could not easily submit and lose face.

This provoked the bandit’s malicious intent, and he said, "Alright, I see you acting like lords, and I thought of letting you have an easy time, using some silver and gold to avoid disaster. We could barely serve you. You actually take yourselves seriously."

He gave a long whistle, and immediately, dozens of figures jumped out from all sides of the inn. They had all practiced a few moves of the "Zhengshan Fist," possessed Inner Qi, and a few occasionally had the Cultivation of "Immortal Mechanism in the Palm" and "Chest Drum Thunder Sound."

On the upper floor, more than a dozen people held iron nets at the ready. The doors were shut, and dozens of arrows and crossbows were set up in the shadows. The shopkeeper said, "Take them down! Kill the men, keep the women!"

A brawl was imminent.

Nangong Xuanming, Bian Chengfeng, Uncle Yu Zhu, and others slowly stood up, sneering, and their figures disappeared in an instant. Then, screams erupted all around.

Zhao Ranran leisurely drank water, gently shaking her teacup. As she put the teacup down, the various noises stopped. Nangong Xuanming and the others returned to their seats. The bandits, bruised and battered, lay sprawled all over the floor.

Nangong Xuanming shouted, "Get the food and wine ready at once!" The shopkeeper knew they were no match and had to serve them honestly and prepare the meal.

Bian Qiaoqiao angrily said, "These people are utterly despicable. You can tell they’re no good at a glance. We shouldn’t have given them the gold."

Nangong Wuyang said, "That’s the truth, but we can’t act like that. We’re in a den of thieves here, and we have to tread carefully. If things get out of hand, it’s no good for us. The gold can be seen as a pacification, and force as intimidation. Only by combining the two can we subdue them."

Bian Qiaoqiao said, "It sounds so profound. Just beat them if you’re strong enough, and that’ll do."

Everyone laughed at her words. Bian Bianyun said, "Sister Qiao, your experience in the Jianghu is still shallow. You’ll understand eventually."

Li Xian listened in secretly and thought to himself, "After all that trouble, you barely manage to eat and sleep—it’s not particularly wise. The lady’s experience is indeed superior. When I wander the Jianghu, I must learn more from her."

Wen Caishang’s way of dealing with the world is not something the young masters of noble families can compare with.

Then he heard a few more of them talking.

Nangong Wuyang said, "Speaking of which, we’ve been fooled so miserably by that Flower Thief, is there really nothing we can do about him?"

Bian Bianyun cursed, "That thief is cunning, far outstripping other Flower Thieves by dozens of times!"

Bian Qiaoqiao looked wistful, staring blankly at the bottom of her bowl. Bian Chengfeng said, "For such a Flower Thief, no matter how cunning, he’s just someone rolling in the mud, what’s the use of that?"

Nangong Wuyang said, "In a one-on-one fight, this guy can’t even make it to the stage. Even if we let him linger for a few more days, he’s as insignificant as dust, not worth our attention, just like a fly fluttering around our ears, most annoying."

Nangong Xuanming sighed, "Yet it’s someone like this who has bewitched my cousin so much she loses her senses. She can’t tell right from wrong. It really... makes me ashamed."

Although Li Xian listened to others’ insulting remarks indifferently, when they mentioned "Nangong Liuli," he thought of that beauty defending him, with her pale composure and poignant posture, and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.

He continued to eat and drink calmly, eavesdropping on the side.

Bian Qiaoqiao said, "Brother Xuanming, you can’t talk about Sister Liuli like that. She’s your cousin."

Nangong Xuanming shrugged and said, "I’m just telling the truth. That Flower Thief caused countless deaths and injuries among our brothers, and she sympathizes with him in secret. Even though I’m her cousin, I can’t speak up for her."

The other Jianghu guests all agreed and chimed in with harsh words. Bian Qiaoqiao anxiously said, "Sister Ranran, say something. You’ve interacted with Sister Liuli a few times, you should know her. She’s definitely not like that."

Zhao Ranran, being the Jade Girl, rarely expressed her opinions about others, but her disdain for Li Xian made her despise Nangong Liuli as well, saying, "Although we’ve met before, I’m not familiar with her nature. Given her obsession with the Flower Thief, I dislike her too."

Bian Qiaoqiao’s pretty face turned pale. Zhao Ranran continued, "Apart from his looks, that Flower Thief has no talent, no virtue, no ability. This love affair is utterly absurd; it doesn’t require others to comment."

Bian Qiaoqiao said, "But if Sister Liuli is telling the truth and the Flower Thief isn’t... he’s not very bad, then maybe..."

Bian Bianyun said, "Sister Qiao, you’re over-concerned with Nangong Liuli, and in trying to excuse her, you’re also excusing the Flower Thief. Doing so makes you biased."

Bian Qiaoqiao shook her head and said, "No, I... I feel that the Flower Thief doesn’t seem like a truly evil person."

Zhao Ranran coldly said, "I’ve always believed that those who are dirty can’t be cleaned, and those who are clean can’t be dirtied. If he were righteous, no matter how difficult things are, he would maintain a righteous heart and never associate with such a Flower Thief. Since he’s already mingling with a Flowery Thief, whatever past experiences or reasons he might have are none of my concern—I can’t be bothered to know. I only see that he’s a Flower Thief, and he should be punished."

She loathed Li Xian deeply. Her words were lofty, prideful, as if claiming moral superiority. Nangong Xuanming said, "What Miss Zhao says makes sense." Uncle Yu Zhu laughed, "He’s like a straight bamboo, unyielding and unbending, unlike a blade of grass on a wall, briefly upright but bending with the wind."

Bian Chengfeng laughed, "Brother Yu Zhu’s comparison couldn’t be more appropriate." Nangong Xuanming said, "Sister Qiao, speaking up for that Flower Thief is truly unnecessary. Don’t forget, that Flower Thief made up stories about you, claiming you were to marry Brother Ji Yuan, tarnishing your reputation and disrupting Brother Ji Yuan’s good name."

Though Zhao Ranran had little acquaintance with Ji Yuan, there were rumors among their sect about a potential golden match between them. While no romantic feelings had developed, they both subtly watched each other, Zhao Ranran held Ji Yuan in higher regard, more favorable than others, and thinking of Li Xian’s slanders, she said, "A mean act."

Li Xian glanced over, seeing Zhao Ranran’s full scorn and pride, as if discussing a detestable insect. He thought to himself, "You sit up high, forgetting that not everyone under the heavens is like you, favored by the heavens and protected by the earth. We dirty crawlers might be repugnant in your eyes, but so what? Who cares about your orthodox or unorthodox teachings, your inflexible rigidity?"

He then saw Zhao Ranran, favored by heaven and earth, sitting at the table in her ethereal beauty, and suddenly thought, "If one day, fortune turns against you, stripping away your noble aura and leaving you to fall back to the mortal soil, I wonder if you can still look down upon everything like this."