011 Dinner Interruption

  Di an expensive inn should have felt luxurious, but instead, it felt mundane.

  I sat at a finely carved wooden table, twirling my chopsticks in a pte of fried noodles, my appetite dulled by my thoughts. Across from me, Gu Jie signaled for a waitress and ordered a pte of greens. The warm glow of nterns overhead cast flickering shadows on the cquered furniture, but even the cozy ambiance couldn’t distract me from my internal dilemma.

  I needed a way to detect power levels.

  In Lost Legends Ohat had never been a problem. Every pyer had a Level Dispy h over their heads—an easy, ve way to gauge strength at a gnce. But here? Nothing. Just vague senses, body nguage, and subtle auras that I hadn’t yet learo read.

  More than that, I needed a way to cultivate.

  If I wao survive in this world, my Padin abilities wouldn’t be enough. Yet, the risk was too high. There were cultivatiohods specifically desigo turn people into mindless husks—tools for someone else’s gain. Gu Jie had been a victim of one such teique duriime under her so-called master. I couldn’t afford to make that mistake.

  Gu Jie interrupted my thoughts by sliding a pair of tickets across the table. “Master, I mao get us a ticket. Hopefully, you don’t mind…”

  I picked one up, gng at the elegant calligraphy.

  “It’s fine,” I said, pg it back down. “You’ll be going with me whether you like it or not. I could use a servant.”

  I had expected a scowl, maybe a bitter look of rese, but Gu Jie only smiled—genuinely, at that. The girl was far too happy to be ordered around. Suspiciously so. I activated Divine Sense, letting my awareness wash over her, but I detected no hostility, —just a calm, unwavering presence. Either she was an exceptional liar, or she truly didn’t mind.

  The waitress returned, setting down Gu Jie’s pte of greens with a polite nod before retreating. My supposed follower picked up her chopsticks and begaing with quiet, practiced elegance. I watched her for a moment before sighing aurning to my own meal.

  Initially, I had sidered infiltrating the Golden Sun Pavilion. If I wao learn about cultivation and power levels, that would be a prime pce to start. However, after some thought, I decided against it.

  Antagonizing a sect? Bad idea. That could be a death sentence.

  Antagonizing the City Governor? Worse idea. The man had an immensely affluent background, and as an imperial prince, he had resources and authority beyond what I could tend with.

  Antagonizing the Empire? Absolutely not. That would just suck.

  I sighed, shifting my focus bay meal as I absentmindedly chewed on a mouthful of fried noodles. Across from me, Gu Jie had taken it upon herself to fill the silence, reying everything she had seen or heard throughout the city.

  “There was a fight between two First Realm cultivators,” she said between bites of greens. “It got pretty heated, but a Sed Realm stepped in and stopped them with a single move. People were impressed.”

  I hat was expected.

  Xianxia is in the wild, so scary...

  “The betting is spreading fast. Everyone’s pg their bets on who’ll pass the elimination round tomorrow.”

  “Aanding out?” I asked.

  “The usual prodigies. No one new.”

  I hummed, taking a sip of my drink as Gu Jie tinued. “There’s also been a ret assassination.”

  That got my attention. I raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

  “A Young Master Zhao,” she said, l her voice slightly. “Apparently, he got drunk and picked a fight with a Young Master Lu of the Lu . The tter killed him—at least, that’s how the stoes. But it was obviously a frame-up.”

  I frowned. “Describe him. The Zhao guy. Everyone knows the Lu guy.”

  “Infamous for frequenting brothels,” she said, rolling her eyes. “He always had courtesans ging to him. Wore bck robes with golden dragon embroidery.”

  I froze. Then, slowly, I g Gu Jie’s attire.

  She bli me, fused at first. Then, realization struck. Her gaze dropped to her own robes, and the blood drained from her face.

  “…Oh.”

  For a moment, her of us spoke.

  Then Gu Jie cussed under her breath. “So that’s why the robe was sold at a dist!”

  I pressed my lips together, trying—and failing—not to ugh. Pyers in Lost Legends Online wouldn’t have cared about wearing clothes taken off a dead person. Hell, if giveion, some would’ve gdly worn female-specific gear over their male characters just for the stat boosts. But here? Here, it ractically an invitation to get hunted down.

  Gu Jie frantically apologized, bowing her head. “Master, I—I didn’t mean to put us in danger! I swear, I—”

  I waved her off, amused. “Just fix it before some.”

  “I—I will! Right now!” She abandoned her food, stood up so fast that her chair scraped against the floor, and stormed off.

  I leaned back, finally letting out the chuckle I had been suppressing.

  Fate was cruelly ironietimes.

  I had been looking forward to a quiet evening, enjoying my meal while tinuing my versation with Gu Jie. I still had questions—specifically about the average cultivation levels of people in the Riverfall ti. Having a general idea of where most cultivators stood would be crucial for me to gauge my own p this world.

  Unfortunately, before I could even begin, my meal was interrupted.

  A young man in green and blue robes strutted into the establishment, walking straight toward me. His fident steps and the way his was slightly raised told me everything I o know—another damn Young Master. The symbol of a fist within a diamond was stitched onto his robes.

  “I reize the wench,” the Young Master said, eyes nding on where Gu Jie just sat seds ago. “How much is she?”

  I blinked. What the hell, man?

  Before I could respond, one of his hangers-on rushed forward, puffing out his chest like a self-important rooster. “Do you nnize Young Master Kang Shi of the Seven Grand s?!”

  Another one of his ies chimed in, his voice dripping with sycophantic pride. “Young Master Kang Shi is a genius who has already reached the peak of the Martial Tempering Realm at the Ninth Star before even turning twenty years old!”

  Ah. So, I wasn’t just dealing with a random rich brat, but a rich brat with actual skills.

  The first y tinued, “The Kang is famous for their unparalleled close bat teiques! Young Master Kang, please, allow us to hahis i man!”

  Several of the men surrounding Kang Shi immediately moved to encircle my table. The air in the restaurant grew heavy with tension. Waiters and waitresses scrambled away, seeking safety behind the ter. Other ers abaheir meals and hurried out of the establishment, wanting no part in whatever was about to go down.

  I resisted the urge to sigh. I just dealt with a Young Master yesterday, and now this? Fate was screwing with me big time.

  I pced my chopsticks down with deliberate patience. “What do you want with Gu Jie?”

  The y practically barked at me. “How dare you y your offending eyes on the Young Master?!”

  Kang Shi ignored his minion’s outburst, his gaze fixed oh casual arrogance. “How much is she?” he repeated. “Word around is that she sold herself into svery. I want to buy her from you.” He smirked. “She has a bloodline ability called Sixth Seeful Enter. That makes her valuable. I’ll be generous and pay you at a mark-up.”

  I stared at him. Sve?

  To say I was offended would be an uatement.

  I was really living the Xianxia life.

  It had barely been two days since I was thrown into this world, and already, I had checked off several tropes. First Young Master enter? Cheear-robbery? Check. Pig up a follower? Done. versations with a City Enforcer? Aplished. Mysterious, unexpined memories surfag in my mind? That too.

  And now, my dinner was being interrupted.

  I was trying to enjoy my meal, but the situation soured my appetite. I put a little too much pressure on my chopsticks, actally breaking them in half.

  The crack echoed iense silence.

  Kang Shi took it as provocatioraightened, his expression darkening as he roused his qi. I couldn’t see it, but my Perception stat was high enough to notice the subtle shift in the air, the fai disturbance like a ripple in still water. His goons immediately tensed, ready to act at a moment’s notice.

  I started thinking things through, abusing my Intelligend Wisdom stats to process the situation from every angle. My mind sharpened, clear and calg.

  Fact 1: Kang Shi came here looking for a fight. An exge of blows was iable. How do I mitigate the damage?

  Fact 2: His men cimed he was at the peak of the First Realm—the Ninth Star of Martial Tempering. Acc to Gu Jie, cultivators only learned Qi Se the Sed Realm. This meant none of them could actually detect if I had qi or not.

  Fact 3: Kang Shi was relying on his family o intimidate me. If he knew I didn’t have qi, he and his ckeys wouldn’t waste their time p—they’d ght after Gu Jie instead.

  clusion? Kang Shi was ag on his own volition. His likely had no idea he was here, throwing his weight around. And if he had a higher-realm bodyguard lurking nearby, they were keeping their distao let him hahings himself.

  I had my answer.

  Violence was unavoidable, but I could trol how it pyed out. I just had to shift the pying field to my advantage.

  So that there wouldn’t be any angry aor who’d suddenly pop iure to take revenge for their great grandson.

  Taking a deep breath, I stood up from my seat. I let my expression turn somber, tapping into few Xianxia novels I’d read in my previous life.

  Then, I held up three fingers.

  “Three moves,” I said, my voice steady and measured.

  Kang Shi’s brows furrowed.

  “Strike me in three moves,” I tinued. “If you succeed in makiep aside even just ohen Gu Jie is yours.”

  The restaurant fell into plete silence.

  Kang Shi’s eyes gleamed with excitement, his arrogance swelling. His lips curled into a smirk, and his ckeys exged knowing gnces.

  It was exactly the kind of overfident challenge a Young Master wouldn’t be able to resist.