Chapter 9: The Inn

The Jade Phoenix Inn, located in a prominent corner of the city, was a three-story structure made entirely of dark-colored wood with green tile roofing. In its architectural design and layout, the inn resembled the buildings depicted in historical illustrations Arthur had seen regarding the Eastern Kingdoms. However, the illustrations Arthur had viewed previously were from his world, whereas this was undeniably a building from a different world.

As soon as Arthur entered the inn with Merchant Hua, Arthur noticed a woman standing behind a counter at the front of the common room. The woman was dressed in a practical-looking green robe with her hair tied back tightly into a bun. She appeared to be around the age of forty. When she initially greeted Merchant Hua, her expression was professional; however, when she saw the condition Merchant Hua was in (his hair was matted, and he looked tired), her expression became concerned.

"What happened to you, Hua?" she asked.

Without hesitation, the merchant launched into his story.

As before, the Resonant Comprehension Technique worked flawlessly, allowing Arthur to comprehend everything Merchant Hua and Innkeeper Xu said as if they were speaking his native language.

"...spirit beasts attacked me! Three of them! My wagon was completely destroyed, Innkeeper Xu. I barely escaped with my life. If not for these two—" he gestured to Arthur and Tao, "—I would be dead on that road right now."

Arthur observed as Innkeeper Xu's gaze traveled over Arthur and Tao. It rested longer on Arthur's ripped and bloody robes, which displayed his foreign origins. Afterward, she looked at Tao and something softened in her expression slightly.

"You're the little Tao from Falling Leaf Village," she stated. "You're doing escort work now?"

Tao nodded once. Arthur thought he detected a small amount of stiffness in Tao's posture. Children generally dislike diminutive terms of address, particularly children who make a living by battling spirit beasts for money.

"And your companion?" she asked, looking at Arthur again. "I don't recognise his robes. Which sect does he belong to?"

"He doesn't speak our language," the merchant replied. "However, he's extremely powerful! He killed a peak Foundation Establishment beast with techniques I've never seen before. He manipulated multiple elements one after the other as if it was nothing!"

Innkeeper Xu's eyebrows went slightly higher. She stared at Arthur with increased interest, but she maintained her composure. "Well, we have space here at the Jade Phoenix. We have a couple of rooms available. How many do you need?"

"We require two rooms," the merchant replied. "One for myself, and one for the honored senior." He paused momentarily, casting a glance at Tao. "The kid can stay in the room with me if—"

"I'll sleep in the stable," Tao said quietly. "Save money for the village."

Arthur felt a surge of irritation at that. The kid had battled two spirit beasts and obtained the merchant's escort money. He should not have to sleep in the stable to save a few coins. However, Arthur could not say anything without revealing that he understood the conversation.

Merchant Hua protested weakly. "Are you certain? The room has two beds—"

"I am," Tao responded firmly.

This definitely wasn't the first time he’s made that decision.

The boy was accustomed to sacrificing personal comfort for his people.

Innkeeper Xu nodded as if this was a reasonable agreement. "Alright, two rooms then. That will be six silver coins per night, including dinner."

The merchant removed a handful of coins from his belt pouch. Arthur observed the transaction with interest. The currency was silver and copper coins. Both types had a hole in the center, but the shapes were otherwise standard. The merchant counted ten copper coins for every silver coin, based on the count, but Arthur would require additional data to determine this accurately.

She gave them two keys, one of which had a tag with a number in Chinese characters that Arthur's technique translated as "room number" and the other with the number "12".

"Room 12 and Room 15, on the second level. The kitchen will be open for two more hours if you’re hungry."

"Thank you, Innkeeper Xu," the merchant said, making a shallow bow. "You are most generous."

The merchant motioned for Arthur to follow him upstairs. Arthur nodded and followed him. Tao trailed behind them, maintaining that same careful distance.

The staircase was built from solid wood and had been smoothed over the years from countless footsteps. The second-floor hallway was narrower, but cleaner than the first-floor hall. There were doors on both sides of the hall. Paper lanterns hung above the doors, casting a faint glow. Merchant Hua led them to room 12 first, inserted his key into the lock, and opened the door to reveal a modest-sized, but neat room. A single bed, a small table, a basin for washing, and a window with a view of the street were all included in the room.

The merchant gestured enthusiastically at the room, clearly indicating that this was Arthur's accommodation. Arthur nodded to show he understood, and then stepped inside. He placed his pack beside the bed, and turned to see the merchant bowing repeatedly, while speaking words that Arthur assumed were expressions of gratitude.

Arthur made a small gesture of acknowledgment. Not dismissive, but not encouraging further conversation either. The merchant got the message and backed out of the room, still bowing, then led Tao down the hallway toward room fifteen.

Arthur took a deep breath and allowed himself a moment to simply stand still.

His body was exhausted. His Cadence was damaged. His clothes were ruined. He was stranded in an alien world with no clear route to get back home. However, he had a place to live. At least for a short time, he had safety.

Arthur checked his room more thoroughly.

The bed was plain, but looked clean. The table had a ceramic pitcher and a matching basin on it, both of which were empty. A small cabinet stood in the corner of the room, likely for keeping personal items. The window had wooden shutters that could be closed and locked from the inside. The room was simple but functional.

Arthur moved to the window and peered outside. The street below was alive with evening activity. People were moving between the buildings, vendors were packing up their market stalls, and children were being called inside for dinner. Life went on as normal.

Arthur could hear conversations coming from the dining area below. The Resonant Comprehension technique had a wide range. Arthur concentrated on listening to the conversations coming from downstairs.

"...three spirit beasts on the east road. Two Qi Condensation and one Foundation Establishment."

"Was anyone injured? Was anyone hurt?"

"No injuries. Apparently no one died. Some traveling merchant was rescued by a foreign cultivator and that kid from Falling Leaf Village."

"Tao? That little orphan that fights spirit beasts?"

"Yes. Apparently he fought the two younger beasts while the foreigner killed the older one."

"That is impressive. Although it's horrific. No child should have to fight spirit beasts. But what choice does he have? Falling Leaf is so poor they cannot afford to support a true cultivator, and the sects will not admit someone with an average foundation to join their ranks."

Arthur stored this knowledge for later reference. So, it was recognised that the boy's circumstances were undesirable, but not unusual. Cultivation capable children, but lacking sufficient ability for major sects, were forced into dangerous labor to earn income for impoverished villages. This implied a relatively stratified society with limited opportunity for social mobility.

Next, Arthur heard a different group of voices:

"Did you see the foreign cultivator's robes? I have never seen that style before."

"Nor have I. Blue and silver, quite formal."

"Or possibly a secret sect. Some of the isolated sects have their own styles of dress."

"Possible. But why would a secret sect member be traveling with a merchant and a village child?"

"Might be going on a training journey. Young cultivators often travel under the radar to gain worldly experience."

"But he doesn't seem that young. Thirty at least. That is a bit old for a training journey."

Arthur noted that, in this world, young cultivators supposedly took training journeys, and that these usually occurred at a much younger age than in Arthur's world. Good context.

More voices, softer:

"...used four elements in quick succession. Fire, water, earth, wind. In the same battle."

"That is impossible. No one can use four elements without having the proper root for each element."

"I am just telling you what Merchant Hua said. Maybe the foreigner has a special constitution."

"Or maybe Merchant Hua is exaggerating. He likes to embellish."

"There really were bodies. The guards confirmed it. Three spirit beast corpses in a storage bag."

"Storage bags cost a lot of money. The fact that he bought one shows he has some serious backers."

Arthur continued to listen as he unpacked his remaining supplies. The storage bag contained more than just spirit beast bodies. He had kept basic supplies for traveling in it: a change of clothes, some dried rations, water purification pills, his journal, writing instruments, a basic first aid kit, and several small Resonance anchors he had been using to test his theories.

Having a new set of clothes was a huge relief. Arthur had severely damaged his previous set of robes. He removed the badly torn and stained robes and used water from the pitcher and basin to clean the worst of the dirt and blood from his skin. The water was cold, but good enough.

He put on his extra robes, which were almost exactly the same as the ruined ones. They were blue and silver, formal academy attire that identified Arthur as a member of the Symphonic Spire in his home world. Here, they merely identified him as obviously foreign. He would have to do for the present until he acquired a new wardrobe.

Arthur's Dissonance had dropped to 270 points while performing these tasks. The natural recovery rate was consistent. Once he had finished cleaning up and settling, he would be safely within acceptable parameters for operation.

There was a knock at the door.

Arthur opened it to find Merchant Hua in the hallway. The merchant was fresh-washed and wore new robes. He was carrying what appeared to be trays of food. Tao was standing behind him, also carrying a similar tray.

The merchant started speaking immediately. He pointed at the food. Arthur did not need a translation spell to understand the general message: they had brought him dinner. He stepped aside, and indicated for them to come in.

Merchant Hua set the food down on the small table, and continued talking.

Arthur's technique translated the following:

"...just wanted to express my gratitude appropriately, honored senior. You saved my life today. Without your assistance, that Foundation Establishment spirit beast would have killed me. This is just a humble meal, but please consider it a token of my sincere appreciation."

Arthur nodded to indicate that he accepted and thanked him. The merchant grinned, and backed toward the door, bowing repeatedly. He said something else that Arthur's technique translated as "enjoy your meal, and get plenty of rest", and then left.

Tao stayed where he was, just inside the doorway. The boy had put down his food tray, but made no movement to leave. He was watching Arthur with that same deliberate, analytical expression.

Arthur’s eyes were focused on the boy first, then on the food, then back again to the boy. Then he pointed to the table, the other food tray and made an eating gesture.

Tao didn’t take long to think about this, his body language changed slightly and he looked towards the door, then back to Arthur. The boy was obviously thinking about something.

Then, Tao nodded slightly and walked over to the table, sitting down on the floor beside it. He didn’t want to sit in the only chair out of respect.

The boy picked up his tray and started eating.

Arthur walked over and sat down on the floor beside the child; he then looked down and studied his food very seriously. This was rice, clearly. A generous portion of it, white and steaming. Some kind of meat in a brown sauce, probably pork based on the texture. Vegetables that looked like greens of some kind, possibly cabbage, and a small cup of tea beside it.

Arthur ate slowly for two reasons: He was truly hungry and it would give him time to study Tao as he ate. Tao ate fast, but he wasn’t sloppy. This was the eating habit of someone who had gone hungry often enough to never waste food but controlled enough not to make himself sick from eating too fast.

Arthur was already forming hypotheses about the boy's background.

Orphaned at young age, probably four or five based on what he'd overheard in the common room. Then awakened cultivation ability around age six or seven. No family support, raised communally by his village. Began doing dangerous work as soon as he was physically capable. Currently nine years old and at what the locals called "third layer of Qi Condensation."

Now what exactly did that mean?