Chapter 7: A Main Room Without Women, a Banquet Without Vegetarian Dishes

Shangguan Lingxi faced dozens of men in black without the slightest trace of fear, skillfully manipulating Qian Jin’s body to become a shadow darting into their midst.

Screams echoed briefly.

In the span of just a few breaths, every last one of the black-clad men had been slain.

“Ancestor, you’re too ruthless! You could’ve just scared them off—why kill them?” Qian Jin stared in horror at the lifeless bodies, not a drop of blood in sight, but none left alive. He’d never even killed a chicken before, yet today so many had died by his hand.

“You brat, it was your own hands doing the killing. Don’t go blaming an innocent person,” Shangguan Lingxi chuckled, returning control of the body to Qian Jin.

“So this is how it feels to be framed!” Qian Jin took out several dozen silver ingots from his storage pouch, placing one in the hand of every corpse.

“My good sirs, I didn’t mean to kill you. Consider this silver compensation for your medical expenses.” He even bowed deeply to the bodies on the ground.

“Please, don’t come back to haunt me for revenge. My ancestor has a terrible temper—if you do, you’ll only get beaten again.” Whether Qian Jin was trying to comfort them or threaten them, Shangguan Lingxi could hardly tell and nearly burst out laughing.

The little piglet, imitating Qian Jin, nodded earnestly at the corpses, as if advising them not to seek vengeance either.

“You brat, why are you still dawdling? Do you want to wait for the night patrol to come and arrest you?” Shangguan Lingxi was exasperated; she’d never seen anyone linger at a murder scene like this.

Hearing her, Qian Jin glanced around, grabbed the piglet, and ran off, stopping only before a lavish inn.

“Come on, let’s have a feast. I didn’t get enough to eat just now,” Qian Jin said, hugging the piglet and charging straight into the inn.

“Where did this little beggar come from? Get out, get out!” As soon as he entered, a server shooed him away.

“I have money, see?” Qian Jin pulled out five taels of silver and waved it before the server, who immediately ushered him in.

“I want the best room—no women. And bring me a full table of meat dishes, not a single vegetable!” Qian Jin slapped the silver into the server’s hand with a flourish.

“Thank you, sir! Please, right this way,” the server grinned, leading Qian Jin to a large room and thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

“How spacious!” Qian Jin surveyed the room, nodding in satisfaction. “Time for a bath.”

Impatient, he stripped bare, covered the piglet’s eyes, and leapt into the bath.

The moment his wounded body hit the water, he let out a howl of agony, the sound drowning out even the moans from the next room.

The piglet wriggled free and paddled about joyfully, but soon turned and fixed Qian Jin with an intense stare.

“What are you doing? Don’t even think about taking advantage of my beauty!” Qian Jin covered his chest, trying to ward off the piglet’s intentions.

The piglet snorted twice, and then Qian Jin noticed a large bubble surfacing beneath its backside.

A muffled pop rang out.

“Second Brother, you farted in the bath! Have you no decency?” Qian Jin exclaimed, grabbing the piglet, but just then a pleasant fragrance wafted over him. “What is that delightful smell?”

Snorting, the piglet responded.

“What? That was your fart?” Qian Jin inhaled deeply, feeling oddly euphoric and slightly lightheaded. Something was off.

“My wounds are healed!” Astonished, Qian Jin saw the bruises and welts on his body vanish before his eyes.

The piglet snorted again.

“Second Brother, if I’d known your farts were so miraculous, we could’ve just set up a stall selling them!”

Qian Jin’s eyes shone as he gazed at the piglet, even licking his lips as though still savoring the aroma.

Just then, the server’s voice called from outside, “Sir, your food is ready!”

“Come on, let’s eat! I haven’t had meat in ages—tonight we feast!” Qian Jin leapt from the bath to open the door. The piglet, energized out of nowhere, bounced onto his head, squealing with delight.

“Oh my!”

“Sir!”

“What a handsome young master!”

As Qian Jin opened the door, three or four scantily clad women swarmed around him. The server grinned, pushing a cart piled with dishes to the table.

“I’m still a child! This is illegal seduction of a minor!” Qian Jin protested, squirming as the women touched him all over.

“These are Bluewind City’s top courtesans,” the server introduced eagerly, lifting the lids from several sumptuous dishes. “These are our Spring Pavilion’s finest—our best chefs made them just for you. How’s that for service?”

The server watched Qian Jin expectantly, wringing his hands as though awaiting praise.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Qian Jin shoved the women aside and stormed over, landing a kick on the server.

“I asked for a table of meat, and you bring me nothing but vegetables? Are you brainless?”

He thoroughly replicated the “beating” his ancestor had once given him, right down to the details.

Sobbing, the server whimpered, “Didn’t you say you wanted a room with beautiful women and a vegetarian feast? You even gave me five taels of silver to do it right…”

The piglet was furious as well—promised meat and presented with only greens! It hopped onto the server, pounding away in indignation.

“I can’t believe you, you hopeless fool! Can’t you understand plain speech?” Qian Jin ground his teeth in frustration. “All of you, out! You’re driving me mad!”

He threw everyone out and slammed the door, only to hear the commotion of the women berating the server outside.

“Forget it. Let’s eat. Vegetables are better than plain buns,” Qian Jin said, eyes shining as he and the piglet dove into the feast.

Like hungry ghosts reborn, the pair cleared the table in less than a quarter hour, then collapsed on the floor, motionless.

“Truly a pair of kindred spirits—you two have licked these plates cleaner than the kitchen ever could,” Shangguan Lingxi rolled her eyes at the “two pigs” sprawled on the floor.

“Burp—”

“Master said to cherish food. Burp—”

“Oink—burp—”

Every few words, the pair would let out a satisfied belch.

“I can’t believe I’m stuck with you two hopeless cases,” Shangguan Lingxi sighed, secretly a little impressed that Qian Jin had survived this long.

“Now that you have money, stop thinking about begging for food from your master’s wife. Tomorrow, buy a good horse and get moving!” She truly worried herself sick over him. Just as she was about to scold him for not replying, she realized both boy and pig were already fast asleep.

Soft snores filled the room.

“Oink—”