Chapter 132: Ninth Lady

Hearing a familiar clamor, Ning Xiu stepped out of his room and looked down. Sure enough, he saw the group from the Tianfeng Merchant Guild entering from outside, led by that same middle-aged fat man.

It really is a small world.

With over twenty people surging in at once, the inn instantly became crowded.

"Innkeeper, we need rooms and dinner," the middle-aged man announced.

"Five taels of silver per night, meals extra," the innkeeper replied without lifting her head. She rested her cheek on one hand, looking entirely indifferent.

She was a woman, seemingly in her late twenties, dressed in a form-fitting black lace dress.

The desert wind was harsh and the sun scorching; in all of Chunshui City, one would be hard-pressed to find another woman with skin as fair and smooth as hers.

The middle-aged man, clearly a repeat customer, nodded and signaled his men. One of them produced a fifty-tael gold ingot. "We need eight rooms," the fat man said. "Keep the change for the meals."

"Only five rooms available," the woman said, even as her right hand reached out to claim the ingot.

For the Tianfeng Merchant Guild, eight rooms would have already meant cramming three people to a room—a tight squeeze. Five rooms were simply unacceptable.

A young man among them showed visible anger and started to speak, but the middle-aged fat man pressed a hand firmly on his shoulder to stop him.

"Five it is. Sorry for the trouble, Lady Jiu," the fat man said with a smile.

The man who had acted with such imposing authority before Peng Wanli and his group now appeared as nothing more than a kindly, wealthy merchant. Had Ning Xiu not witnessed it himself, he would have thought he had mistaken the man for someone else.

The inn was called the Longxiang Inn. Ning Xiu did not know the woman’s real name; he only knew that everyone in Chunshui City addressed her as Lady Jiu. She was clearly no ordinary person. If she were, she could never have managed such a large establishment all by herself in a place as lawless and cutthroat as this.

Lady Jiu showed no sign of a smile at the fat man’s flattery; instead, she waved him away with an expression of extreme annoyance.

Seeing this, the fat man nodded repeatedly and led his followers upstairs.

On their way up, they crossed paths with Ning Xiu, who was just heading out.

"This young brother looks quite familiar. Have we met somewhere before?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile as he looked at Ning Xiu.

Seeing that Ning Xiu ignored him, the man continued, "I am Meng Changfeng. May I ask your name, young brother?"

Ning Xiu still didn't respond. Treating Meng Changfeng as if he were thin air, he brushed past him.

Several of the Tianfeng Merchant Guild members reached for their weapons, but Meng Changfeng stopped them with a sharp glance.

After Ning Xiu had left, a tall, thin man walked up to Meng Changfeng. "Guild Master, that’s the swordsman we saw among the group at the Peng Family Stronghold."

"I’m not blind," Meng Changfeng muttered, a glint of sharpness flashing in his eyes. "That kid is no simple character. I wonder what his connection to the Peng family is. Go and find out what you can."

"Understood!"

...

Ning Xiu had no time or inclination to bother with Meng Changfeng’s petty schemes, provided they didn't have the misfortune of provoking him.

The hottest part of the day had just passed.

The streets were becoming more crowded. Aside from traveling merchants and martial artists, the local men of Chunshui City were mostly shirtless, their skin dark and tough, exuding a sense of lean vitality.

The women occasionally seen on the streets were a stark contrast to Lady Jiu at the Longxiang Inn. They wore revealing outfits—short tops that barely covered their chests, leaving their midriffs completely exposed. Their skin had a healthy, wheat-colored tone. With their slender waists and full figures, they possessed a charming, exotic allure.

Ning Xiu enjoyed the scenery, but he knew he couldn't stay here forever. To travel through the desert, besides water and food, a map was essential; otherwise, one could easily lose their way in a sandstorm.

The more detailed the map, the better. Furthermore, he needed to purchase a camel and a large supply of provisions.

After all, there was no telling how long he would be in the desert, and the food he obtained from the system's treasure chests would eventually run out.

"According to Peng Wanli, there should be shops in this city that specialize in maps..." Ning Xiu murmured to himself.

He stopped a passerby, intending to ask where he could buy a map of the Death Desert, but the man pulled a parchment directly from his robe.

"Young hero, you've come to the right person. I, Brother Hun, have the most detailed and complete map of the Death Desert in all of Chunshui City. It not only marks the location of every oasis but also the legendary spot where the Twin-Life Flower blooms," the young man whispered conspiratorially.

Looking at the boy’s exaggerated performance, Ning Xiu allowed a faint smile to touch his lips. "Brother Hun, is it?"

"How much for this map?"

The boy known as Brother Hun held up five fingers, staring directly at Ning Xiu without saying a word.

"Fifty taels?" Ning Xiu asked calmly.

Fifty taels?!

Hearing the offer, the boy looked stunned, but he quickly regained his composure, feigning a worldly attitude. "Fine, since we have a connection, I'll let you have it."

In truth, he had originally hoped to swindle someone out of five taels.

There were countless con artists like him in Chunshui City, and those who fell for such tricks were usually naive, inexperienced greenhorns.

There were too many scammers and not enough fools to go around.

Brother Hun couldn't remember the last time he had encountered a "fat sheep" like Ning Xiu. As he reached out to take the gold ingot he saw in Ning Xiu's hand, his wrist was suddenly caught in a firm grip.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

"Let go of me!" Brother Hun shrieked.

Passersby glanced their way but ignored them; such scenes were a common sight in this city.

"Take me to the person who drew this map, and this gold is yours," Ning Xiu said, having glanced at the map and seeing it was a forgery.

The map in his hand was ambiguous; anyone with a discerning eye could tell it was fake, but the information wasn't entirely fabricated.

It was like a lie—the person who drew it clearly possessed some knowledge of the real terrain. Ning Xiu had checked several other maps the boy was carrying and found that each one was different.

That, he thought, was interesting.