Chapter 30
"At least I managed to stay and avoid trouble at the last moment," Ji Wuye muttered under his breath, relief evident in his low raspy voice.
He had been purposefully avoiding the heated discussion, keeping a stoic expression while remaining silent and still like a statue in the corner of the room.
Now walking away briskly, his white robes fluttering behind him, he found himself standing before a modest two-story building in the village square. A weathered wooden sign creaked gently in the breeze, its faded paint spelling out 'Tavern' in curling letters.
Pushing open the heavy oak door, Ji Wuye was greeted by the tavern's dimly lit and somber interior. The few rickety tables and chairs stood empty and undisturbed, as most of the villagers were still gathered in the square, caught in a state of panic over the recent events.
"Welco-, huh?" A gruff voice called out, shattering the eerie silence. The tavern owner, it seemed, had not yet abandoned his post.
With a damp rag clutched in his calloused hand, he vigorously wiped down the last few drinking glasses behind the aged wooden counter, his furrowed brow and the beads of sweat on his brow evidence of his labor.
Turning around at the sound of the door, his eyes narrowed appraisingly at the sight of this new customer with his peculiar attire.
"What can I get f—" The owner began with a practiced air, setting down the glass he had been polishing.
Despite Ji Wuye's disheveled appearance and strange robes, the man didn't seem overtly suspicious. A welcoming smile spread across his ruddy face as he moved to step out from behind the counter to greet his guest properly.
However, his eyes suddenly widened in surprise as he froze in place, scrutinizing Ji Wuye's features more closely. "S-sir?"
On the other hand, Ji Wuye simply glanced impassively at the rotund tavern owner, taking in the man's round belly straining against his sweat-stained shirt and the scraggly beard obscuring half of his jawline, before shifting his gaze to the shelves of bottles behind the counter.
Reaching out with a slender hand, he plucked one of the glass bottles from the shelf and uncorked it, bringing it to his nose to take an inquisitive sniff.
The sharp, fruity aroma assaulted his senses with its pungent notes. 'Hmm...it's strong and rough...and smells like fruit?' he mused inwardly, his expression betraying no hint of his thoughts as his piercing eyes flickered back towards the owner, whose smile had morphed into a twitching grimace.
"Excuse me, sir, are you going to pay for that?" the tavern owner asked in a strained tone, his hand sliding beneath the counter, no doubt grasping for some sort of deterrent against potential trouble.
"Is this alcohol?" Ji Wuye inquired, his question seeming to catch the owner off guard, momentarily halting the man's surreptitious movements beneath the counter.
"Alcohol?" The owner's brow furrowed in confusion for a brief moment as he glanced between Ji Wuye's impassive countenance and the bottle gripped in the strange man's hand.
"Ah! Y-yes, that is alcohol! How many bottles do you need?" he sputtered out, his voice regaining a semblance of the customer service affability he had initially exhibited.
"No need, I'll help myself," Ji Wuye replied calmly, his free hand already reaching out to deftly pluck two more bottles of the potent spirits from the shelves behind the counter.
Without a second glance at the flabbergasted owner, he turned on his heel, his robes billowing behind him as he strode purposefully towards the exit.
"Keep the change," Ji Wuye stated flatly as the sound of metal clashing against wood rang out. The tavern owner's eyes widened in surprise as several oddly shaped coins seemed to materialize out of thin air, clattering down onto the scarred countertop in front of him.
"Thank you for your patronage, kind sir!" The rotund man forced out with an obsequious smile, though his brow furrowed in bewilderment as he examined the strange currency more closely.
"Huh? A square copper coin?" He muttered under his breath, plucking one of the pieces from the pile to scrutinize it.
Not only was the coin itself a peculiar square shape, but it also featured a hollow square hole punched through its center. Furthermore, the surfaces were adorned with unfamiliar, ancient-looking texts and symbols that he couldn't begin to decipher.
"Damn, I've been scammed!" The owner's joyful expression quickly soured into one of outrage as realization set in.
Slamming the odd coin back down onto the counter with a dull thud, he narrowed his beady eyes towards the door where Ji Wuye's figure had already vanished from sight.
"Why that thieving little..." He grumbled, clenching his fists as his face flushed an angry crimson.
...
Meanwhile, away from the tavern, Ji Wuye briskly made his way down the village's main road, deftly storing the bottles of alcohol into his inventory with a deft flick of his wrist.
His piercing gaze traveled upwards, taking in the tall wooden fortifications surrounding the village, no doubt meant for protection against unwanted intruders. "It's over 6 zhang tall," he mused aloud, his voice a low rumble as he appraised the barrier critically.
Atop the sturdy palisade wall, a series of torches burned brightly, their flickering flames casting an eerie, dancing glow over the ramparts to provide much-needed light for the watchmen on sentry duty.
"A nice touch, but here's the problem," Ji Wuye observed impassively. His sharp eyes quickly identified the sole point of entry - a large, rudimentary wooden gate situated beside where he stood. "Once the enemy entered, there was no way out," he concluded grimly.
"Well, that was an issue in the past, but now..." His words hung ominously in the air as he was about to open the gate. However, just as his hands slightly pushed the gate, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps reached his ears from behind.
"You thief! Stop there!" An irate voice bellowed, thick with outrage. Whirling around, Ji Wuye's impassive gaze fell upon the portly tavern owner.
Gone was the obsequious smile from before, the man's face now contorted in fury as he brandished a wicked-looking kitchen knife in one meaty fist.
Surrounding him was an equally enraged mob comprised of other villagers, their own expressions twisted in animosity as they advanced, grasping various improvised weapons.
Leading this ragtag group was a younger, more refined-looking man that Ji Wuye recognized as the noble 'Belov Averal' from the earlier gathering.
However, rather than anger, the young lord's expression was one of sheer horror, his hands trembling violently as they clutched the ornate sword at his hip.
His wide, terrified eyes seemed transfixed on Ji Wuye, staring as if he had just witnessed the very visage of death itself.
Ignoring the irate shouts and threats from the rapidly approaching mob, Ji Wuye swiftly broke into a sprint, his martial robes billowing out behind him as he dashed through the village gate.
"Damn! Catch that thief!" One of the villagers cursed vehemently, but Belov Averal remained rooted in place, his face drained of all color as he looked on in abject horror.
RUMBLE-!
RUMBLE-!
The earth itself seemed to tremble underfoot as a series of thunderous booms echoed through the air. From beyond the open village gates, a veritable sea of torchlight appeared, bobbing and weaving in the distance as countless pinpricks of flame advanced steadily towards their location.
"Close the gate now! The monsters are coming!" Belov Averal's commanding voice rang out, cutting through the cacophony like a blade.
His earlier horror was replaced with grim determination as he rallied the villagers into action, urgency dripping from every syllable.
However, before the stunned mob could react to his orders, a sudden gust of wind whipped through the village square, billowing cloaks and whipping loose strands of hair into a frenzy.
In that fleeting instant, a shadowy figure seemed to materialize from the swirling eddies, executing a deft series of acrobatic movements too swift for the naked eye to follow.
With almost supernatural grace and agility, the lithe form launched itself skyward, scaling the imposing wooden palisade wall in the blink of an eye before coming to a rest atop the ramparts in a low crouch, silhouetted starkly against the flickering torchlight.
SWOOSH!
The eerie whistle of a loosed arrow split the air, punctuating the abrupt and jarring movement as a solitary shaft streaked out over the open fields beyond the gate, disappearing into the encroaching darkness.
The gruff, emotionless voice that followed sent an icy chill down every onlooker's spine.
"Humans, you are slow. Quickly close the gate..."
A/N:
*Qian or Chinese Cash Coins: These are a specific type of currency used in ancient China. They are flat, typically round coins with a square hole in the center. These coins were widely used for centuries in China for trade and currency purposes.
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