Closing the door, Yang Kai took out the 7 Faces from the box and carefully placed them on his face under the faint candlelight.
It was as if there was nothing there, and he didn’t feel any discomfort. In fact, after sticking to it, he didn’t feel much, but his appearance didn’t change much. After all, he hadn’t refined it yet.
Rolling onto the bed, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and began quietly refining it with his energy.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and Yang Kai, who was refining the 7 Faces, suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching. Immediately after, the door was pushed open and Bai Qi probe his head and said, “Boy, it’s time to start work. Come to the front hall!”
Yang Kai nodded, took the 7 Faces off his face, carefully put them away, and stepped out.
After several days of refining, the 7 Faces had yet to be completely refined, so they were temporarily unable to display their full power. However, this was something that couldn’t be rushed, and it would take time.
In comparison, Yang Kai was more curious about why the Proprietress had come all the way to this Star City. Logically speaking, since her first inn had been destroyed, it should have been rebuilt on the old site. Why had she come here?
However, this wasn’t something he needed to worry about. Right now, he was just a shop assistant at the First Inn, so he only needed to listen to the Proprietress’ instructions.
When he arrived at the front hall, he found that most of the people from the First Inn had gathered, leaving him alone. Yang Kai quickly stood next to Bai Qi and took a quick look around. All the facilities in the front hall had been changed, and the tables and chairs were all shiny and new, most likely changed from the past few days.
After he stood up, the Proprietress talked a little bit, but there was nothing special about it. She simply said that after the First Inn was destroyed, everyone would have to settle down here in the future. Although it was a different place, the things they had to do remained the same. She hoped everyone would work hard and work together.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Soon after, the Proprietress asked Yang Kai and Bai Qi to put up the signboard for the First Inn. This was the opening of the First Inn, and Yang Kai was somewhat speechless. The First Inn had such a big name, yet there wasn’t even a single person who came to congratulate them.
But then again, it was probably because the Proprietress hadn’t invited anyone. After all, they had only been here for a few days and didn’t have time to do such things. What’s more, as long as the First Inn’s signboard was there, there was no need to worry about having no business here. The reputation of the First Inn for thousands of years wasn’t just for show. This was also Star City, a place where crowds gathered and news spread quickly. As long as someone wanted to inquire about some secret information, they would definitely come to the First Inn!
As soon as this sign was hung up, a skinny middle-aged man with a cunning face and rat eyes walked in sneakily.
It was as if he still couldn’t believe that he could actually see the signboard of the First Inn in this bustling city. After entering, he looked left and right. It wasn’t until the Proprietress showed her aura of the Sixth Order Open Heaven Stage that he was finally able to confirm.
He asked for a private room and chatted with the Proprietress.
Not knowing what the Proprietress was thinking, she also brought Bai Qi and Yang Kai with her.
The man was here to inquire about information, the information he asked wasn’t anything too confidential. It was about the whereabouts of a rare treasure. The Proprietress informed him of this information and this man was overjoyed. After thanking her repeatedly, he left after leaving behind the reward.
Seeing this, Yang Kai couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder. He didn’t know how much this man’s remuneration was, but it shouldn’t be too little. They could just casually sell information and earn money, the First Inn’s business was truly enviable.
After sending off the guest, the Proprietress handed Bai Qi and Yang Kai a jade slip each and said, “Take a look.” Saying so, she took a sip of her tea.
Yang Kai took it suspiciously and swept it with his Divine Sense, discovering that the information recorded on this jade slip was quite strange. Each of them seemed to be the name of a shop, the location of this shop, and the name of this shop’s shopkeeper. Thinking back to the jade slip Yuan Ruide had given to the Proprietress a few days ago, Yang Kai guessed that this was the information.
Confused, Yang Kai turned to the Proprietress and asked, “Who are these people?”
The Proprietress looked up at him, “Like you, they owe us money.”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “Is there anyone who dares to owe money to the First Inn?” Moreover, wasn’t the First Inn involved in information trading? This business had always been about paying with cash, so why would anyone owe money?
Beside him, Bai Qi kicked him and Yang Kai turned his head, “What are you doing?”
The corners of Bai Qi's mouth twitched as he let out a hollow laugh.
The Proprietress said angrily, “The destruction of the First Inn has something to do with the masters behind them. I told you, none of those bastards can escape!”
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment before quickly coming to a realization, “You mean to say that the backers of these shops are the forces of the people who attacked the First Inn?”
“Of course, why else would I come all the way here?”
Yang Kai frowned, “Then what do we need to do?”
“Collect the money!” The Proprietress tapped her fingers on the table and said word by word, “Ten million for each shop, get the money back!”
Yang Kai suddenly felt a headache coming on. The reason he owed the Proprietress ten million before was because the destruction of the First Inn had something to do with him. Now, it wasn’t too much to ask for ten million from each shops, but speaking of which, he was only an Emperor Realm cultivator. The strength of the people who had attacked him at the First Inn was either from a First Class force like the Cave Heaven and Paradise or a Second Class force with a Mid Rank Open Heaven Stage master. If a small pawn like him were to ask for money, would they even care?
Seemingly having seen through Yang Kai’s concerns, the Proprietress said, “Repaying debts is a matter of course. No matter where we go, we have to be reasonable. If they are willing to pay, then so be it, but if they aren’t, this Proprietress doesn’t mind causing a ruckus in their headquarters.”
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and said, “Proprietress, if I remember correctly, the people who caused trouble at the First Inn were from several Cave Heaven and Paradise, those people…”
The Proprietress said, “I’ll personally take care of those shops, you don’t need to worry about them. What I’ll give you is the rest.” Her phoenix eyes swept over, “This matter concerns my First Inn’s reputation, so don’t ruin it.”
“Proprietress, don’t worry, this little one will definitely complete this mission and not embarrass you!” Bai Qi cupped his fists and declared.
Yang Kai swallowed the words he was about to say.
The Proprietress looked at him and asked, “What about you?”
This was forcing him to show his stance. Yang Kai bared his teeth and said, “I’ll try my best. I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m not familiar with it.”
The Proprietress said, “Don’t you owe me 16.2 million? How about this, 5% of the bill is yours.”
“Really?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. 5% didn’t sound like much, but if he could get ten million, 5% would be five hundred thousand. On the jade slip the Proprietress had given him, there were about twenty of them. If he really get all of them, it would be over ten million.
“Yes!” The Proprietress nodded.
Yang Kai suddenly cupped his fists and said, “Proprietress, don’t worry, this humble subordinate will collect the debt even if I die.”
The Proprietress nodded in satisfaction and waved, “Go.”
Yang Kai and Bai Qi turned around together, both of them filled with murderous intent. Even if there were ten million people blocking their way, they would not be able to resist!
After exiting the secret room, Bai Qi asked, “When did you get another five million? Isn’t it 11.2 million?” Ten million was originally owed, and 1.2 million was the cost of the Universe Temple’s brand. He clearly remembered all of this, so suddenly having an additional five million puzzled him.
Yang Kai quickly changed the subject, “Old Bai, I think we should discuss how we should collect this debt first.” The Proprietress had called him over to lend the 7 Faces, so Yang Kai felt it was best not to let everyone know about this.
Bai Qi said, “Even if you don’t say anything, I have the same idea. Let’s go, let’s go to my house and discuss this!” He grabbed Yang Kai’s arm and pulled him over.
After entering the house, the two of them sat down and Yang Kai asked, “Have you ever gone to collect debt before?”
Bai Qi shook his head and said, “No, this is the first time.”
Yang Kai glared at him, “This is the first time yet you dared to speak so arrogantly?” How dare you say you will complete the mission!
Bai Qi didn’t seem to care, “What’s there to be afraid of? The Proprietress is right behind us. If we really can’t collect the debt, we’ll have to ask the Proprietress to help us, they won’t dare to refuse!”
Yang Kai didn’t know what to say. Old Bai could think of this, but he couldn’t. The Proprietress had said that 5% of the bill will be for him to pay the debt, so he was hoping to pay back a little more. If he asked the Proprietress to help him, what was the point?
Bai Qi said, “No matter what, we still have to be polite before resorting to force. They're also someone with a reputation, and they may not even know about what happened before. It’s not appropriate for us to suddenly run over and ask for money.”
“Good point!” Yang Kai nodded slightly, “How about this, let’s first pay our respects and explain the whole situation before explaining the reason for the visit and see if they cooperate.”
“Good, let’s do that!”
“If that’s the case, we need to ask the Proprietress for a token, otherwise how could they believe we’re from the First Inn?”
“That’s easy, let’s go find the Proprietress later.”
After the discussion was settled, the two of them immediately got to work, taking out a number of blank jade slips to make a visitation notice. Just like they had discussed before, the two of them began explaining the reason for the visit, using tactful words and a kind tone. Although it was collecting debt, it didn’t make one feel disgusted.
There were nineteen shops in Yang Kai’s Jade Slip, and of course, there were also nineteen letters. Presumably, Bai Qi had a similar number.
After they were done, the two of them checked each other and after confirming that there were no problems, they went to find the Proprietress and asked for the token from the First Inn.
The Proprietress was quite straightforward, directly giving each of them a jade token the size of a palm with the words ‘First Inn’ written on it!
After everything was prepared, the two of them immediately left the inn, cupped their fists together at the entrance of the inn, and said goodbye to each other.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak