Chapter 44, Official Opening of the Spiritual Tavern

The breakfast table this morning is a bit more silent than usual. There's an unspoken tension hanging over the kitchen.  It feels heavy and thick, like a storm cloud waiting to burst through. And if there was ever a day where that could happen, today would be it. Even the sun seems reluctant to come out from behind the clouds. No birds sing in the trees or any other animals make a sound. Nothing makes any noise at all, except for the steady sound of clicking in the kitchen where Li Jain was preparing breakfast.

There are five unknown men at their breakfast table and none of them has any idea who those men were.  The silence is deafening.  Fluffy the fox kept holding tight to Juanxin's robe, refusing to let go. It stared up at him with big, frightened eyes.  He didn't know what was going on but he knew something wasn't right. Juanxin had never seen him so scared before.  They all are scared now. Even Jing Sheng, who was usually calm,  seemed shaken. The only person whose face didn't betray his emotions was Yujian.

"Fluffy, at times like this, you're supposed to protect your master. How come you're shaking more than Fluffy?" Juanxin  said softly to the fox, patting him gently in an attempt to calm down the animal, but there was no response, even though it tried so hard to stop shivering.  It wasn't just a matter of protecting someone. This was the first time Fluffy had felt so much fear in his life. This was the first time he could recall feeling anything.

Juanxin try to persuade Fluffy a few times, but  he refused to budge. It just whimpered and clung tighter to Juanxin. Seeing that his approach couldn't smooth Fluffy, Juanxin just let it be.

Yujian looked at his brothers who all had uneasy expressions on their faces and smiled. Although those men are strange with a strong death aura on them,  they didn't have any murderous intent directed at his family.  He knew they wouldn't harm any of them. Besides, It was Li Jain who led them in. Those men also seem to be curious of them and it's this curious glaze that frightened his brothers.

The brothers were looking at him as if they had something to say but didn't want others to hear it. Yujian sigh helplessly and connect his mind to the six of them. "What do you want to say?" 

Hearing the familiar voice in his head, what felt like he was brought back to life: 'Jian, who are they and what are they doing here? Do you think they'll harm us?'  

Yujian replied mentally, 'Too many questions, how will I know? Don't worry, since father let them in he should know  more about them.'

'Something about them seems off. Their scent is weird.' Li Cheng said, sniffing around the air.

'How strange?' Jing Sheng asked

'I can't describe it, it's just that, this kind of a scent I've never smelled on anyone before.'  Li Cheng answered.

'I would have been surprised if you could describe it. You and your weird nose.' said Li Zhang, shaking his head. His hair bounced when he moved his head back and forth.

'They're so scary. Fluffy has been shaking with fear since we sat here.' Juanxin said, still petting the terrified little creature. 

Jing Xuan smirks: 'That good for nothing fox only knows how to growl at me. Now that the real danger has arrived,  he suddenly became frightened and quivered with fear. Who would have thought the timid little thing could become the most vicious predator among us?'

Fluffy and Juanxin are connected as master and servant. Therefore, it could hear whoever talks to Li Juanxin through sound transmission. It looks at Jing Xuan as if it could slap him at any moment. What do you mean growl? If it dared to growl at those people, its head might not even stand on its neck!

Li Jain came in with the food and set the table. He noticed as the buns' eyes followed him back and front.  He smiles inwardly. It seems that the little buns has a lot of questions to ask him. After serving the food, Li Jain sat in his seat and said before any one could: "All questions and concerns should wait until we're done eating."

"Father is right. My brain is tired from all the worries it went through this morning." Jing Xuan said before taking a bite of the sweet and sour chicken.  The taste filled his mouth with sweetness and savor. His stomach groans in anticipation.

.....

After breakfast, Li Jain decided to introduce everyone. "Kids, these men are my disciples. They'll be living here with us from today onwards. They'll be protecting you and also helping out with the restaurant. They are called Liu Xiong, Bai Lian, Hou Mingyu, Zhou Lifen and Ding Weiyuan." Li Jain pointed to each of them as he said their names. 

He then looked at his precious buns and added: "They are my children I told you about. From the oldest to the youngest are Li Yujian, Li Yuhan, Li Cheng, Li Zhang, Li Jingsheng, Li Jingxuan and Li Juanxin. They are very lovely and adorable. I hope you guys can get along well."

Liu Xiong and Li Yujian looked at each other and then at each other. Li Yujian nodded towards Liu Xiong and Liu Xiong nodded back to him and both smiled. Li Juanxin's eyes widened when he saw the friendly gesture between them. As expected of my eldest brother, he always makes the first move.

After hearing the introduction, Fluffy has also relaxed a bit but suddenly, it was lifted up by Juanxin.

Fluffy..... What is master up to? Fluffy thinks worriedly. Why did the master hold Fluffy higher than normal?

Just as Fluffy is thinking that, Juanxin took it and placed it in front of Liu Xiong. Fluffy was immediately frightened again and almost jumped off the table but was head still by Juanxin. "This is my pet. His name is Fluffy and for some reason, he is very afraid of you. He is a cute fox, so don't kill it, okay?" Juanxin looked at Liu Xiong with hopeful eyes. 

Among all the people present, Fluffy seems to be more afraid of Liu Xiong which is why Juanxin  decided to make peace with him. 

Liu Xiong looked at the fox's frightened eyes and the hopeful eyes of the little bun that were filled with expectations, feeling a little helpless. He reached out his hand and patted the fox head: "Your pet is so cute, how can I bear to kill it?"

Juanxin had a sigh of relief and he smiled widely. "Thank you so much for understanding!"

Everyone at the table laughed and the atmosphere started to relax.

Only after arriving at their usual seat that the fox got his spirit back. Its eyes look at Juanxin with admiration and  respect. Thinking..... This master is very reliable, I wasn't wrong by following you.

Juanxin...   What is the fox thinking?  Never mind, Fluffy eyes are shining more than before. I'm glad he's not scared anymore.

After all was said and done, Li Jain explained the work to Bai Lian, Hou Mingyu and Zhou Lifen in detail. While Liu Xiong and Ding Weiyuan left to go hunting.

...

At this time of the morning, outside the Li family's residence was parked with carriages of famous families in Qingyuan. There were other people standing across the road watching the fun. 

"What's wrong? Why are there many famous carriages waiting at that door?" Asked a passerby

"Yes yes. I wonder why there are so many people here." Answered another passerby.

"Maybe it's because someone important is coming." Said the first passerby who spoke earlier

"I don't think so. It was the Li family who moved here a few days ago. Even if a governor is coming, I don't think everyone would gather here like this." Another passerby said as he continued to observe the scene.

"You're right! But what could they be doing?" A third passerby asks confused

"Perhaps the Li family has a huge secret." The second passerby says mysteriously.

Before the conversation continued further, another carriage arrived, causing a huge  commotion among the crowd, attracting many gazes. 

"That's the Yan family's carriage." Everyone exclaimed.

"It's so big! How come the Yan family is also coming?"

"That means they must have made a deal with the Li family! Let's go closer, maybe we can see."

The crowd began to move towards the entrance of the Li family residence. Suddenly a muscular man came out of the gate. He turned over the sign board and the clear written words came into view. *Spiritual Tavern Officially Open* appear in front of everyone.

The people waiting in the carriages got out and entered through the gate one after another. Although Li Jain said that people were waiting outside, Zhou Lifen didn't expect the crowd to be this big.