Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 30 The Talkative Little Girl

The Hengdao Inn doesn't look very big, but once you enter, it seems like a hidden world. After passing through the screen, you won't see any martial arts figures drinking and eating meat, nor will you see a bustling lobby. Instead, you'll see two large doors in the middle.

It looked similar, but Chen Ye felt something was wrong as soon as he touched it.

On the left is a wooden door that can be opened with a gentle push, while on the right is a bronze door that seems to be held in place by a mechanism, requiring immense force to open.

"Interesting. Is this how they start dividing martial arts practitioners into different classes from the very first step?"

Chen Ye felt that the boss was a shrewd person. If you were capable, you could go through the bronze door; if you weren't, you could go through the wooden door. He figured that the hospitality you received behind the different doors would be different.

Chen Ye could naturally push open the bronze door, but he was looking for someone, and who knew whether room number four was on the left or the right.

Suddenly, footsteps came from behind him. Chen Ye subconsciously moved his feet to avoid turning his back to the person coming from behind.

A girl's voice came from behind: "Young Taoist priest, are you trying to get through this bronze door but can't open it? Do you want me to help you? The opening fee is only ten taels of silver."

Chen Ye turned around and saw a short girl in black, whose head was not even as tall as his shoulder. She was dressed in black night clothes and her face was covered with a cloth, as if she wanted others to know that she was a thief.

The two locked eyes, and the veiled girl's eyes widened in surprise as she exclaimed, "The flood has washed away the Dragon King's temple! Young master, you've already arrived!"

Chen Ye's eyes narrowed, and he said, "Miss, you must have mistaken me for someone else. We have never met before."

The young girl replied, "That's right, that's right, room number four in the Heavenly section, isn't it? I have never met you before, but I have long admired your name. I thought the rumors were exaggerated, but seeing you today, I realize that seeing is believing."

Chen Ye asked calmly, "Are you also from room number four in the Heavenly section, young lady?"

The little girl waved her hand and said, "Not at all. I only arrived today. I heard that the young master is recruiting heroes to rescue the kidnapped children. Although I don't have any great skills, I wanted to join in the fun. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself."

The young girl cleared her throat and solemnly introduced herself: "My name is Lan Shi, Lan as in 'indigo blue comes from indigo blue,' and Shi as in 'stone from another mountain.' Friends in the martial arts world, please call me Little Master."

As she spoke, the young girl stretched out her delicate, slender hands, her fingers long and nimble. Then, in front of Chen Ye, she took out two iron wires, manipulated them on the bronze door, and opened the heavy bronze door.

Lan Shi said to Chen Ye with considerable pride, "Look, my skills aren't bad, are they?"

After saying that, he was about to walk through the bronze gate with Chen Ye.

Chen Ye looked at this overly familiar young girl and felt something was off. She revealed far too much information in her words; it seemed that Room 4 of the Heavenly Division was not the residence of one person, but rather that of at least a large group of people, all of whom had been recruited together.

And their target was actually those young boys and girls?

Although Chen Ye had heard that some people in the martial arts world were dissatisfied with the affairs of Cui County, how could a hero who saved children seriously injure the teahouse owner and his staff over a few words of argument?
With so many things to do, Chen Ye was completely unsure of what to do.

However, since this girl is so talkative, we might as well try to get more information out of her.

Looking at the open bronze door, Chen Ye asked, "Miss, aren't you afraid that if I go in with you, it will break the rules of this inn?"

This was clearly a test used by Hengdao Inn to screen guests. Chen Ye could have pushed it away, but now that he followed Lan Shi in, he would be taking advantage of others.

But Lan Shi said, "The martial world isn't just about fighting and killing; it's about connections. If you have friends who are willing to introduce you, isn't that a skill in itself? Besides, young master, haven't you already entered the Bronze Gate?"

That's another way to explain it; the world of martial arts is quite sophisticated in its human relationships and social interactions.

Chen Ye followed the little girl through the bronze door. Lan Shi was like a cheerful little bird, skipping and hopping as she walked.

Chen Ye simply asked, "Miss Lan, how could you recognize me when we're meeting for the first time?"

Lan Shi laughed, "How could I be mistaken? Your face is absolutely stunning, there's no one else like you in the world. To be honest, before I met you, I thought all those praises were exaggerated. The idea that 'one glimpse of you and you're doomed for life' is just too much to bear. Even those famous courtesans, I've seen plenty of them. They all boast of being unparalleled beauties, saying that even the emperor would marry them and make them empresses. But in reality, they're just aloof and have some talent. We're all human; no matter how beautiful someone is, it's hard to make everyone lose their soul."

"But you're different, young master. I almost fell for you at first sight. Hehe, luckily I'm still young and haven't reached the point where I'm thinking about men yet."

Chen Ye wanted to know who the girl had mistaken him for, but she rambled on and on without getting to the point.

But she was really talkative; she kept talking the whole way with Chen Ye.

"Young master, you've been enjoying immense success lately. I've heard that many heroes of the greenwood have come to join you, wanting to discuss grand plans with you. There's the Bone-Splitting Mad Owl, the Black Mountain Serpent, and the Nine-Fingered Skin-Peeling Ghost... they're all very famous figures."

Is this right?
Chen Ye was confused. These names didn't sound like good people, so why were they all here to save the child?
What grand plan are they discussing? A rebellion, is it?

Chen Ye was speechless, but before he could ask for clarification, the girl changed the subject again.

Sometimes he complained that even a cup of tea at Hengdao Inn was ridiculously expensive, sometimes he lamented that there were too many rich and powerful people in Cui County, and he kept boasting about his superb lightness skills, saying that he could visit several houses in one night and rob the rich to help the poor every day.

Judging from her tone, she was quite proud of her ability to scale walls and rooftops.

Chen Ye couldn't get a word in edgewise, so he could only maintain a polite smile and listen attentively.

The two continued forward and soon arrived at a bustling lobby. It resembled an inn, with more than a dozen tables filled with people of all kinds of appearances from the martial arts world.

People were drinking, gambling, shouting and laughing—it was a lively and bustling scene.

Chen Ye looked around, trying to find that "young master." According to Lan Shi, this person behind the scenes should also be a handsome and dashing man.

Among the martial arts practitioners present, while not all were unattractive, the most attractive were merely those with regular features. However, the female warriors were all quite good-looking, at least of average appearance; none of them were ugly.

Could it be that the young master is not here?
Before Chen Ye could ask anything, the sound of a wine glass shattering on the ground came from the side.

This wasn't a signal to smash a wine cup to summon axemen; rather, the graceful female warrior saw Chen Ye's face and accidentally broke her wine cup.

When Chen Ye looked over, the female warrior was still staring blankly until Lan Shi took the initiative to walk over and greet her: "Sister Fuying, what are you doing here?"

Lan Shi's voice brought the female warrior back to her senses. She grabbed Lan Shi's arm and exclaimed excitedly, "Little Stone! Who is this young hero?!"

Lan Shi was quite proud and said loudly, "Sister Fu Ying, look at the face of this peerless handsome man. Do I need to introduce him? Of course, he is the number one handsome man in the martial arts world, Young Master Jiang Shiyue."

Chen Ye shook his head with a wry smile. "The most handsome man in the martial arts world, people actually recognize this nickname. Aren't you ashamed?"

However, we finally figured out the identity of the mastermind behind room number four.

Lan Shi's shout caused many people to turn around, and most of them froze on the spot after seeing Chen Ye's face.

The filter effect brought about by the spiritual cleansing is too exaggerated; it can indeed be shocking to mortals at first glance.

However, some people with drunken eyes couldn't see Chen Ye's appearance at all. They only heard Lan Shi say "the most handsome man in the martial arts world" and immediately shouted: "Which shameless scoundrel dares to impersonate my young master's name?"

Chen Ye looked in the direction of the voice and saw a scarred drunkard whose scar extended from his left ear to his chin, making him look ferocious and ugly.

Lan Shi said in surprise, "He... isn't he the Bone-Splitting Madman? I've heard he loves to break other people's leg bones. Young master, isn't he the hero who came to join you?"

"Broken someone's leg bone? Looks like I didn't pick the wrong person." Chen Ye planted the Myriad Soul Banner in his hand into the ground and said to the Bone-Splitting Madman, "Did you break the leg of that waiter at the Hundred Leaves Teahouse?"

(End of this chapter)