Judging from the old signboard's appearance, it didn't seem like it was fake. The phrase carved out next to the sign was exactly as how Yao Ruoxian described. There was also the scent of food and wine coming from inside, so it should indeed be a tavern.
What Miao Yi found most perplexing was that there were actually palm trees growing around it. How could there be palm trees in a desert?
The walls of the tavern were built with thick logs like a wooden rampart, making it seem both old yet sturdy.
Around the tavern was a circular mud fence about shoulder height, and there seemed to be a stable as well. At the center of it all was the main tavern building itself.
Miao Yi lifted Cheng Yingwu and jumped off the eagle's back, then slowly backed into the tavern, eyeing his surroundings cautiously as he looked for the entrance.
Suddenly, a purple streak of light—followed by two other red streaks of light—quickly descended just outside the tavern. There was a white-haired old man with a braided ponytail; a curvaceous middle-aged woman in a luxurious dress; and a man with big eyes and thick eyebrows.
"Father, Mother, Big Brother!" Cheng Yingwu's sister and brother greeted the three that had arrived.
"Looks like all six of the Hive Gang leaders are here!" someone from the crowd laughed excitedly.
Having already reached the door to the tavern, Miao Yi was surprised to hear that the leaders of the Hive Gang were actually one family. That Purple Lotus old man was probably Cheng Yaowei.
The old man with the braided ponytail was dressed in a large-fitting robe. He stared at Miao Yi and asked, "What happened?"
"Fourth Sister slipped up and fell into the enemy's hands," Cheng Yingwu's Second Sister explained.
"It's about time that girl paid the price for her cocky attitude. She should consider herself lucky that the other party didn't kill her," Cheng Yaowei scoffed. He slowly walked towards Miao Yi and said, "Friend! If you're not going to kill her, then please just let her go. I'll promise that my Hive Gang will not trouble you from now on."
Judging from the look on the old man's face, Miao Yi guessed that he probably wasn't bold enough to make a move here in the courtyard. That said, he still didn't feel completely at ease. He stuffed Cheng Yingwu straight into the beast sack and tucked away his Qilin Spear, then backed into the tavern. Cheng Yaowei and his family followed him in as well, giving off the impression that they were preparing for a gang war.
A waiter with a white towel over his shoulders walked towards them from the side and greeted, "Everyone, we have eighty tables for dining and eighty rooms for resting in our humble establishment. We provide both dining and accommodation services. Anyone that's willing to spend money is our customer. Those that aren't are free to go. Our little tavern can't accommodate so many freeloaders."
Miao Yi scanned his surroundings. Even though the interior was quite big and had a large number of tables, there weren't a lot of customers, making the place seem a little bleak. He thought to himself that it was probably because it was already late at night. There was even a person dressed as a scholar taking a nap behind the receptionist's desk. He turned back and said, "Prepare us a table with your best dishes and wine. I have a matter to discuss with Boss Cheng."
"Yes, of course! One table with our best dishes and wine. Please, come in!" The waiter led Miao Yi to a table at the innermost corner facing a wall. He proceeded to take the white towel off his shoulders and quickly wiped down the table and chairs, then gestured for Miao Yi to take a seat. "Please wait for a moment. Your food and wine will be served shortly."
After he sat down, Miao Yi invited the Hive Gang leaders to take a seat as well. Cheng Yaowei and the middle-aged woman sat down, while Cheng Yingwu's Big Brother, Second Sister, and Third Brother stood behind them.
"Boss Cheng, may I have the courtesy of knowing the names of your family members?" Miao Yi looked to the people next to Cheng Yaowei and asked.
Cheng Yaowei couldn't help taking a second look at Miao Yi when he realized how laid-back the bastard seemed. He didn't look afraid of him at all.
The luxuriously-dressed middle-aged woman beside him immediately introduced herself, "Wu Qunfang!"
"Cheng Yingfei, Cheng Yingxia, Cheng Yingxiang." Cheng Yingwu's siblings all reported their own names firmly. There was some resemblance between their facial features as they all stared coldly at Miao Yi. They were one family indeed.
Cheng Yaowei then said, "Kid, let's cut to the chase. Tell me: what do you want in exchange for my young one's life?"
Miao Yi didn't want to waste time either. "I want to know who's trying to kill me!"
Cheng Yaowei replied, "We don't know the identity of the client. We just accept the payment and do as we're told. The only person that keeps in touch with the client is the middle-man. I won't be able to tell you anything, not unless the client deals with us directly."
"Then that middle-man should know who your client is. If you can help me get the name of the person from them, then I'll return Cheng Yingwu to you." Miao Yi listed out his demands.
Wu Qunfang then said, "Kid, let's not consider whether we can get the name of the client out of the middle-man. Even if we could, we wouldn't. The Hive Gang is only able to hold its ground here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea because of our fists and our reputation. If we betray our client's trust, then there's no way we can continue doing business in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. Change your terms!"
Miao Yi shook his head. "It's none of my concern whether or not you can do business here. All I know is your daughter's life is in my hands. I just want to know who the client is!"
Cheng Yaowei said grimly, "Release my daughter, and I promise that the Hive Gang will never lay a finger on you from this moment on. I'll consider this mission a failure for us. We'll make the necessary remunerations to the client and the middle-man as well, and retire ourselves from this mission. This is the most that we can agree to. You can forget about the rest!"
Miao Yi laughed. "Boss Cheng, you seem to be misunderstanding the situation here. You're the ones begging me, not the other way around. Your daughter's life is in my hands!"
Cheng Yaowei replied, "So what? Let go of the young one, and we'll let go of you. Otherwise, I guarantee that you'll die miserably the moment you step out of Tempest Tavern. Try and stay here for the rest of your life if you can!"
Miao Yi scoffed, "I'm not some kind of saint. Your daughter doesn't look half-bad. I can't guarantee that I won't do anything else other than kill her."
When they heard this, Wu Qunfang and her three children immediately turned furious.
Cheng Yaowei slammed on the table and stood up, glaring at Miao Yi as he mocked, "In my life, I've had six wives and more than twenty children. The ones standing before you now are all those that are left; the others have all died in various ways. I've even had two of my wives and four of my daughters raped before being brutally murdered, with some of their corpses stripped naked and tossed right before my feet. But even then, I did not compromise for one reason, and one reason alone. It's because if this family falls, then none of us will be able to live in peace. I cannot allow one person's life to destroy the reputation of the Hive Gang and drag my entire family down into ruin. Do what you will with my daughter—I'll just avenge her afterward. Even if my children die, I can always have more. You cannot threaten me with this! If you don't hand over my daughter in one piece by dawn, then you can forget about ever taking a foot out of these tavern doors. Let's go! We're going to get ready to recover your little sister's corpse!"
He then turned around and beckoned for his wife and children as he left. Wu Qunfang briefly looked back with sorrow in her eyes, but she still resolutely followed her husband.
Miao Yi's face twisted up. To think that his threats to kill Cheng Yingwu wouldn't work on this old man at all. Wasn't the guy a little too ruthless? Miao Yi never thought he would bump into such a man. He'd finally come to understand the brutal nature of those who reside in this Flowing Clouds Dune Sea.
"Hold it!" Miao Yi stood up and shouted.
The whole family stopped and looked back as Miao Yi smiled wryly and asked, "If I let her go, then you promise that you won't come back for me?"
Wu Qunfang immediately answered, "The Hive Gang's reputation is built upon our promises. We can even forsake our family member's life for it. Do you think your life will be worth more to us than my daughter's?"
Miao Yi paused for a while, then said, "Then I'd like to add on another condition!"
Cheng Yaowei let out a cold huff and turned his head back as he continued to leave, but Wu Qunfang grabbed his arm and remarked, "We can at least listen to what he has to say. If it's too much for us, we can always ignore him." Her daughter's life was at stake after all. She then turned to Miao Yi and said, "Speak your terms!"
Miao Yi answered slowly, "If I'm ever to leave Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, then you must ensure that I can safely depart! This is also my bottom-line. Right now, my life is on the line, and I don't even know who put out the hit on me. If I can't leave in one piece, then I might as well drag your daughter down with me! Even when she almost killed me, I still kept her alive this long. I'm already giving you face by doing this. Don't push me!"
This was not an unreasonable request! Wu Qunfang looked to her husband, and seeing how he hadn't refused, she immediately answered, "Fine! We accept your terms!" She then looked expectantly at Miao Yi.
"I hope you'll live up to your promises!" Miao Yi carried Cheng Yingwu out of the beast sack, removed her bindings out in the open, then tossed her over to the other side.
As Wu Qunfang caught her daughter, her other children immediately crowded over. Then, the mark of a Red Lotus Eighth Grade cultivation shone on her forehead. Evidently, she was activating her arts to force out the poisonous Yin energy within Cheng Yingwu's body. Soon, the frost surrounding Cheng Yingwu grew thicker and thicker.
After a while, a loud shattering noise could be heard as the layer of frost on Cheng Yingwu's body cracked and fell to the ground. As her mother used her transcendence energy to stabilize her condition, she slowly opened her eyes. She then weakly called out to her mother when she saw her face.
Cheng Yingwu's vitality was a little strained due to her body's prolonged exposure to Yin energy. Fortunately, she was saved in time. Otherwise, she would've been crippled, if not dead.
After examining her daughter, Wu Qunfang turned to Cheng Yaowei and said, "She'll be fine. Her vitality is just a little strained from the Yin energy. She should feel better after some rest."
Cheng Yaowei nodded in acknowledgment, then cast a look at Miao Yi. He didn't hope for the other party to return the things he had stolen from his daughter. He simply turned around and said, "We're leaving!"
And thus, the whole family left just like that.
Miao Yi felt a little helpless. He had wanted to use Cheng Yaowei as a bargaining chip to get the name of the mastermind that orchestrated this whole scheme. Little did he expect to bump into such a hard-boiled family. He didn't even have the energy to get angry right now. As he looked at the little groups of people staring at him from the other tables, he sat himself down.
After a while, the waiter carried over a tray full of food and wine and placed them on the table. He smiled and said, "Please enjoy, dear customer!"
'The taste is not bad!' Miao Yi slowly enjoyed his meal while scanning the interior of the tavern. Besides being clean and tidy, there was nothing much to write home about. At most, there was just an exotic air about the place. He couldn't help wondering what kind of person the owner must be for even a Purple Lotus expert like Cheng Yaowei to be so afraid to cause any trouble.
However, it was simply too late in the night for that. It was now long past midnight. Miao Yi didn't even see that many customers, much less the owner.
By the time he almost finished his meal, Miao Yi shouted, "Bill, please!"
The waiter came over and said politely, "Ten thousand Gold Crystals!"
Miao Yi was taken aback. He pointed to the dishes on the table and asked in surprise, "Just these dishes cost ten thousand Gold Crystals?"
The waiter smiled and said, "It looks like it's your first time here, dear customer. No matter. I shall explain it to you. This is the rule of our humble establishment. Once you step inside these doors, it doesn't matter what you order, it all costs ten thousand Gold Crystals. You can pay for it using Orbs of Will if you don't have the funds. Or if you're absolutely broke, you can trade for it with your items as well. If you do, then I will immediately call over the people from the Chamber of Commerce to negotiate the trade. Also, this cost not only covers the food and wine, but also entitles you to a one-night stay in one of our rooms. Naturally, you pay the same price regardless of whether you choose to stay here or not. This rule applies to all our customers. We're not trying to scam you."
'The food and wine are just so-so at best. What a shady tavern!' Miao Yi grumbled to himself. However, being able to stay here for a night, he figured ten thousand Gold Crystals wasn't too hefty a price to pay for a day of safety. It truly wasn't an expensive sum at all. As such, he quickly followed the waiter over to the counter to settle his payment.