Innkeeper Bu relaxed against the bar of his establishment and savored another glass of wine. It went well with the spicy lamb skewers he’d just put away, and was doing a fair job of replenishing the rosiness in his cheeks. He had a reputation to keep up after all!

  Most of the people staying in his inn were out in the city, though a few sat in the booths, keeping their conversation to themselves. He liked that his inn maintained a quiet and relaxed atmosphere. Sure, there were always busy times, especially during auctions, but moments like this were what he truly appreciated.

  The footfall of potential customers approached through his open front door, and he raised his glass in that direction.

  “Welcome to the Vermillion Ibex Inn,” he said, but his smile tightened as he realized who he was talking to. “Honored cultivators, how can this humble Innkeeper Bu assist you tonight?”

  Cultivators always brought some kind of trouble. The woman had a large bale of some kind of green skin on her back, so the group had probably just returned from hunting monsters in the wilderness. Exactly the kind of ruffians he didn’t want in his establishment.

  There were three of them, though one of them was draped over the shoulder of another like a dead body. Heavens, Innkeeper Bu really hoped that he wasn’t dead. He didn’t run that kind of establishment.

  The blonde woman with the horns and ridiculous chest pushed forward the other cultivator to do the talking.

  The man she traveled with wore a stained and torn brown robe and an earnest smile that was too wide to be completely normal. His plain face had a look of naivety that Inkeeper Bu hadn’t seen in a while.

  “I was wondering…” the plain-faced cultivator asked.

  “Yes?” Innkeeper Bu said with well-disguised hesitation.

  “Do you have three rooms available for three nights?”

  Innkeeper Bu’s heart pounded with the thought of gaining money.

  “Yes,” he said as he set down his wine. “Of course, I can provide such rooms for the honored cultivators.”

  “Wonderful,” the plain-faced man said as his smile somehow widened. Were there meant to be that many teeth in a face? “Every other inn we spoke to said they were fully booked.”

  “Oh, yes, those dogs and curs would say that,” Innkeeper Bu said with a friendly spit to the ground — death to his competitors, and all that. “The Stone Forest Pavilion is holding a series of special auctions, and so most of the city is booked out. However, the Vermillion Ibex is always ready to accommodate cultivators as honorable as you. Now, I must — regretfully — take the auction into account, and so that will be six silver coins each per room per night. I’ll accept half upfront, and the rest when you check out.”

  “Oh,” said the plain-faced cultivator as his smile drooped.

  Innkeeper Bu sighed. He’d heard that particular “oh” countless times before. These poor saps had no money.

  Oh, well, as much as that was a shame — especially considering the blonde — he wasn’t running a charity.

  “I’m sorry,” he said as he picked up his glass of wine. “I can’t offer accommodation without compensation.”

  ###

  I searched my pockets again, but I don’t know why I expected them to just spontaneously fill with money. Six silver coins for a hotel room seemed exorbitant, but since everywhere else was full, I didn’t have many options.

  “I can’t believe you,” Chen Ai whispered. “You wanted to book an inn, but you don’t have any money?”

  “It appears that way,” I said. “I don’t suppose you could spot me…”

  “Of course,” Chen Ai said. “But I won’t even have money until I sell this snakeskin. I actually wanted to sell it straight away. I was thinking we could split the profits in half… if you think that's fair?”

  My merchant memories twinged. I’d killed the snake, but she had done most of the skinning, so I suppose that was fair. Without her insistence, I wouldn’t have even returned to the corpse.

  I smiled. Just like that, my money problem was taken care of.

  “How about that, Innkeeper Bu? We can pay you back later after selling our wares.”

  “No credit,” the short man said firmly. “And in case you're thinking of coming back later for a room, you should be fast. With the coming auctions, hospitality is getting snatched up.”

  We all looked around his quiet inn, and he seemed to glower at the implied observation.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Yes,” he said testily. “I wouldn't be shocked if all my rooms were taken up by the end of the night.”

  “We could run to a merchant, senior brother?” Chen Ai suggested. “I'm sure there's plenty still open.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I said. “But I should set down the Flawless Blade before we go…”

  “There’s the alley?”

  The short, pot-bellied innkeeper hurried forward.

  “Honored cultivators!” he said with a rosy-cheeked smile. “Please don’t dump bodies in my alley, it is so bad for business, you understand?”

  I nodded and silently congratulated myself on not looking over my shoulder when he mentioned cultivators. My inner street rat was proud of the growing confidence in my charade.

  “Of course, Innkeeper Bu, I understand. But, you see, I need somewhere to leave him? Are you sure there’s no way I could maybe leave him here for now and…”

  “No! No credit!” he said, before looking toward the door. “Ah, honored customers, welcome!”

  I looked over my shoulder and saw a group of five cultivators wearing red and gold sect robes I didn't recognize. There were four men and a woman, and though they looked wealthy, they also looked weary from travel.

  One man adjusted a little red hat before stepping forward.

  “Good evening,” he said with a polite nod. “We are looking for three rooms.”

  Innkeeper Bu shot me a smug look.

  “Well, it just so happens —”

  “Innkeeper Bu!” I interrupted shamelessly. “Please, I need these rooms. At least one. What about if I offered my services? I could sweep, do dishes, or do maintenance around your inn. I’m more than happy to do any kind of work.”

  I bowed low, practically begging, but I knew that if I didn't get a room now, I might be out in the streets. I'd had enough experience with that for several lifetimes.

  Chen Ai stared at me agape. The sect members cringed with secondhand shame, but Innkeeper Bu scratched his chin thoughtfully.

  “Any kind of work?” he asked me. “There’s actually something that someone like you could do for me.”

  “Oh?” I said, growing excited.

  “Yes. On the Great Northern Mountain’s eastern slope, there grows a fruit known as an Obsidian Mango. It will take you a few days to reach the peak from here, and it’s dangerous, but if you collect me six of those, I’ll let you stay as long as you like. I’ll even put up your friends while you’re away.”

  I grinned.

  Chen Ai needed a few days to do her business in the city, and I was already collecting one plant from this mountain, what was another?

  “Sounds like a deal,” I said. “You give us the rooms and consider those Obsidian Mangoes as good as yours!”

  The sect cultivators shot me a dirty look, but after they eyed my clothes, they muttered something about honor and left. I ignored their glares as I shook Innkeeper Bu’s hand.

  My next few days were looking like they would work out fine. I would leave the Flawless Blade and Cabbagy to relax in a room upstairs while Chen Ai went about her business in the city. While they were occupied, I would head out to the east and find an Obsidian Mango. I’d been interested in the stone fruit ever since Chen Ai mentioned them, so this was really a perfect opportunity.

  Maybe I should never carry money again?

  Right as I was shaking Innkeeper Bu’s hand, a handsome, friendly-featured man in dark blue robes strode in the front door carrying a wooden crate in both arms.

  “Innkeeper Bu!” the man shouted good-naturedly. “Come and look at what your good friend has gotten for you!”

  “Good evening, Ran Jun,” said Innkeeper Bu. “What are you doing now, you old dog, you?”

  The innkeeper strode away from me and embraced Ran Jun, his small, rosy cheeks only reaching waist height on the other man.

  Ran Jun gave every impression of good breeding and good money, from his manicured beard, glossy hair, lavish navy blue robes with embroidered white trees, and his unfortunately haughty expression as he glanced over at Chen Ai and me.

  He took us in with a glance before returning his attention to the innkeeper.

  “Bu, my old friend, haven’t you always spoken about your love of Obsidian Mangoes?”

  Innkeeper Bu let out a happy sigh.

  “You didn’t…”

  “I did!”

  With a flourish, Ran Jun opened the crate in his hands. Inside, laid out on soft white cloth, were sixteen smooth black oblongs. They caught the light and glinted like polished glass.

  It didn’t take a genius to know what they were, and Innkeeper Bu laid any suspicions to rest.

  “Obsidian Mangoes!” he cried out, almost looking like a little kid with his wide smile. “How can I repay you?”

  “No repayment needed between friends,” Ran Jun said with a wide smile.

  He set the crate down on the bartop, and Innkeeper Bu hurried up to a stool so he could run his hands over the stone fruit.

  I stood there, slightly awkwardly, and Ran Jun noticed. He waited a moment for me to leave, but when I didn’t, he stepped forward.

  “I didn’t introduce myself,” he said. “My name is Alchemist Ran Jun, of the Ran Clan.”

  “A pleasure to meet you,” Chen Ai said after bowing. “This one is Chen Ai. He is my senior brother; you must excuse him. He didn’t expect to see an Obsidian Mango tonight.”

  She nudged me to bow, and I quickly did. This caused the Flawless Blade to slump onto the ground. He sprawled on the floor, still looking handsome, if a little crumpled.

  “Who is that?” Ran Jun said with an amused smile.

  “He is the Flawless Blade,” Chen Ai said. “A rogue cultivator causing trouble in Sleeping Ruin Pass.”

  “Oh?” said Ran Jun with a particular inflection I recognized from my merchant memories. “You are from the south?”

  Chen Ai nodded.

  “We came in the southern gate, yes.”

  “And you were looking for Obsidian Mangoes?”

  “Oh!” said Innkeeper Bu, spinning around on his stool with his childish smile intact. “That’s right, I almost forgot! This kind cultivator was going to fetch me some Obsidian Mangos, but there’s no need for that now. Sorry, honored cultivator, I must cancel our deal.”

  I sagged.

  Now, where was I going to put the Flawless Blade? This cultivator was becoming more trouble than he was worth. Should I just dispose of him? Maybe if I snuck around the back of the —

  “Deal?” Ran Jun asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “It’s nothing,” Innkeeper Bu said as he held up one of the obsidian fruit to the light. “I was going to give them accommodation in return for fetching me six of these.”

  “Now, Innkeeper Bu!” said Ran Jun. “I’m ashamed to think you would send these fine young cultivators on such a dangerous quest.”

  Innkeeper Bu smiled sheepishly, but quickly returned his attention to the Obsidian Mangoes.

  “I don’t mind danger,” I said with a shrug. “But, I suppose I won’t do it if there’s no room in it for us.”

  What a pity,” Ran Jun. “My generosity has had more effect than I could have expected. I feel that I must make some form of recompense. Tell me, what are your plans for the Six Poison Horned Serpent scales that you have there?”

  “We were planning on selling them,” Chen Ai said.

  “Wonderful!” Ran Jun said. “I’d hoped you might say that. Please, allow me to pay for your accommodation, and in exchange, I’ll escort you to the Stone Forest Pavilion.”

  “Why would you do that?” I asked him.

  “Why, good boy?” he said with a smile. “I am a house alchemist there, and their commission is quite generous!”

  He quickly paid for our rooms with the innkeeper, and suddenly, our accommodation was sorted. Next stop, the Stone Forest Pavilion!

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