'I can't say that I've come to Tempest Tavern if I don't try their noodles?' Miao Yi stared dazedly at the bowl of noodles on the table. 'Is it really that good?'
Given how much the waiter was praising the dish, anyone would be curious to try it out, let alone Miao Yi. Since he was in no rush to get back anyway, he quickly pulled out a chair and raised his chopsticks. After sampling the noodles, he had to admit that it was indeed delicious, but it didn't seem as great as the waiter made it out to be; he couldn't taste anything special with them.
Thinking back, he'd had dinner last night, followed by a braised pork elbow that was delivered to his room, and now he was having a bowl of noodles for breakfast. In his many years as a cultivator, Miao Yi realized that it had been a long time since he'd had consecutive meals like this. Nowadays, he only dined once every ten days or so just to sate his tongue.
However, Miao Yi did find the passionate service of this tavern quite agreeable. It was worth every penny spent.
Just outside the door, the Lady Boss had returned from her daily patrol of the area around the tavern.
The scholar was lying over the receptionist's counter when she came in. The moment he saw her figure appear by the door, he quickly straightened his back and pretended to flash through one of the jade archives lying around. God knows what he was reading.
With a white cloth in hand, the cook was acting as one of the tavern's waiters. And he, the carpenter and the stonemason all quickly took their eyes off Miao Yi and started wiping down the tables feverishly.
As if these guys did such tasks on a normal basis. As soon as she swept a glance through the room, the Lady Boss noticed something was amiss, and couldn't help raising an eyebrow. Not only had these guys gathered around the reception earlier for no apparent reason, they were taking the jobs of the normal employees now. It would be strange if nothing was up!
She raised her flower-patterned shoe, angling her foot over one of the long benches, then pulled it behind her and sat down. Placing her elbow on one of the tables to the side and resting her head upon her hand, she crossed her legs and said, "All of you, get your butts over here."
This was the Lady Boss' style indeed! She didn't even need to call their names; the four of them obediently walked over.
Upon hearing her voice, Miao Yi lifted his head up to look and was instantly dumbfounded. Her exotic allure was something he would never be able to forget.
As she glanced through the room, the Lady Boss was astonished as well, feeling as though she might have missed something. She slowly looked back, her gaze coming to a halt before Miao Yi. When their eyes met each other, she was also taken aback!
As the person who'd been taken advantage of herself, she definitely had a much deeper impression of Miao Yi than anyone else in the room.
The scholar, cook, carpenter, and stonemason furtively watched with awkward faces as they slowly made their way to the Lady Boss's side.
Miao Yi quickly lowered his head, acting as if he was taking a few small bites of his meal, then stood up and returned to the rear courtyard.
As she watched Miao Yi slowly stand up and take his leave, the Lady Boss cast a sideways glance to the group of four and asked in a suggestively menacing tone, "Do you want to say it willingly, or do you want me to force it out of you?"
"His name is Niu Er."
"He arrived last night."
"He's the guy who was arguing with Cheng Yaowei last night…"
After hearing what the four of them had to say, the Lady Boss stood up. The scholar and the others immediately stepped aside for her to pass. As for the one person who was a little slower than the rest in getting out of her way, the Lady Boss immediately gave a swift kick to his shin.
The cook immediately clutched his leg and hopped around in absolute pain. This was a truly brutal kick.
As she made her way past the four of them, the Lady Boss spread her palm and reached out for one of the wine flasks lying on the counter. She calmly said, "Bring up a couple of dishes."
As he gritted his teeth painfully, the cook asked, "Where to?"
The Lady Boss couldn't be bothered replying to him. As she left him to figure it out on his own, she made her way towards the rear courtyard with the wine flask in hand.
Miao Yi was standing next to one of the open windows when a knocking sound came from his door. He asked, "Who is it?"
The Lady Boss's voice called out, "It's me!"
Miao Yi was taken aback. After some hesitation, he decided to just open the door, and his gaze finally met that of the Lady Boss.
The Lady Boss swept her eyes over him, then turned to look at the dark room behind him. She then turned back and said, "Come with me."
There was a certain allure to the sound of her voice. Miao Yi walked out of his room, closed the door, and obediently followed behind her.
That said, it was not a bad feeling to walk behind this woman. Miao Yi stared intently at her voluptuous figure as she walked forward, taking in the dreamy fragrance exuding from her body. She possessed a unique attractiveness all on her own that Miao Yi had never seen before on another woman.
The two of them walked, one in front and one at the back, and soon made their way into the Lady Boss's room.
Her room had windows on all four sides and was very well-lit. It was obvious that this was a woman's room. Miao Yi swept his gaze across the soft bed and the dressing table. He couldn't see any trace of a man's belongings at all. It was clear that she was staying here on her own.
With a wave of her hand, the Lady Boss pulled one of the small red tables at the side and moved it to the center of the room. Two of the round cushions laying in the corner then fell beside it.
The Lady Boss gracefully extended her arm in gesture. "Have a seat."
Miao Yi obediently sat down while the Lady Boss walked over to the door and slapped open the seal on the wine flask before coming back to sit herself down. He didn't know where she pulled the two jade cups from, but the clear liquid from the wine flask was subsequently poured into them. The Lady Boss then gracefully placed one of the cups in front of Miao Yi and smiled as she said, "I promised to buy you a drink all those years ago, and I intend to live up to that promise."
Miao Yi held the jade cup with both hands and asked in astonishment, "You still remember?"
The Lady Boss's face reddened slightly as she cursed deep down, 'I have never been taken advantage of to that extent in my entire life. How could I possibly forget?'
She tugged on her dress slightly, pulling up one knee and resting her arm upon it. Holding her wine cup with the other hand, she gestured for Miao Yi to drink. She then lifted her head and downed the wine in a single gulp, the clear liquid slowly entering her mouth.
The seductive, yet spirited appeal that this woman possessed was apparent in her every move as she gulped down the wine. Miao Yi couldn't help losing himself in a daze as he watched her.
After finishing her wine, the Lady Boss turned to Miao Yi and smiled, showing him the empty cup as she held it with three fingers. "I don't have any fine wine here. But then again, I don't think the quality of the wine matters much to a cultivator anyway. We only drink for the fun of it."
Miao Yi finally snapped back to reality, then hurriedly downed his drink as well.
With the two empty cups on the table, the Lady Boss lifted up the wine flask with one hand and started refilling them as she asked, "Should I call you Miao Yi, or Niu Er?" She put down the flask. "I believe Miao Yi should be your real name, yes?"
"Yes!" Miao Yi nodded.
Just then, having made four small dishes on the fly, the cook came with a tray table in hand. He placed the dishes down on the table, then arranged two pairs of chopsticks before revealing a dumb smile as he hurriedly excused himself.
The Lady Boss raised her chopsticks, grabbed one of the braised meats and placed it in her mouth. As she slowly chewed it, she stared intently at Miao Yi and asked, "The tenth place holder of the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade is also a man by the name of Miao Yi. I don't think there are that many cultivators with this name. Is it you?"
'This was just what I was worried about!' Miao Yi smiled wryly and answered, "It's me!"
"Apparently, all the survivors of the Subjugation Crusade were entitled to a Manor Head's seat after returning. What about you?"
"I am the Raincloud Manor Head under the Celestial Nation Fifth Earthly Branch's Traversing Water Palace.""I hear that the people of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea don't have a very good impression of those from the administrations of the Six Nations. I hope my coming here won't cause you any trouble, Lady Boss."
"We're running a business here. Anyone that's willing to pay is a customer of ours. I've been in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea for many years, and I never question a person's past. It's no concern of mine whether your arrival is trouble or not. You don't have to worry about it so much either. If I really was troubled, I wouldn't let you sit in my room and drink wine with me." The Lady Boss raised her cup and took a sip, then said, "I never would've thought that the brat I coincidentally met in that decrepit temple all those years ago would be able to cause such a stir in the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade, becoming a lord that presides over ten million followers. You climbed up fast indeed. I am a little curious though. As a Manor Head that has plenty of riches in his grasp, why did you abandon your peaceful days and come all the way here? I hear that you've crossed swords with the members of the Hive Gang as well?"
This time, Miao Yi didn't tell the truth. "I've long heard tales about Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, so I came here to see if the stories were true. However, I don't who it is, but someone employed the Hive Gang to kill me. I've been racking my brain over this matter this entire time." He then asked, "I think I still haven't had the pleasure of knowing your name, Lady Boss?"
The Lady Boss's luscious lips gently traced the cup as she replied, "Yun Zhiqiu. Yun for cloud, Zhi for knowledge, and Qiu for autumn."
"Yun Zhiqiu…" Miao Yi nodded as he made a mental note of her name. He asked, "Are you really the owner of Tempest Tavern?"
"I'm not the owner. I'm the Lady Boss." The Lady Boss abruptly lifted her head and downed the drink in a single gulp, then raised the wine flask and refilled her cup as she said, "The owner is my husband."
She secretly glanced at Miao Yi to see how he would react. She was curious to see how this bastard who took advantage of her would respond after hearing about her husband.
Recalling how he'd embraced someone else's wife and even slapped her on the butt, a trace of guilt flashed across Miao Yi's face. However, he tried to feign ignorance and simply gave a perfunctory reply. As he tried to conceal his awkwardness by holding the wine cup in front of his face, he smiled and said, "There's no one in the cultivation realm that doesn't know of the Tempest Tavern. For your husband to be able to open such an establishment in a place like this, I'm sure he must be an outstanding individual. I will definitely have to pay my respects to him later on."
The Lady Boss blankly replied, "Aren't you afraid that my husband will tear you to shreds once you meet him?"
Miao Yi let out a dry laugh. "I don't have anything against your husband. Why would he want to kill me?"
The Lady Boss answered in a playful manner. "Don't you dare say you don't know what you did to a man's wife. Do you need her to remind you?"
"Pfft… Kuh! Kuh!" Miao Yi quickly raised his hand and covered his mouth after nearly coughing out his wine. He widened his eyes at the other party, realizing that she really wasn't the type to mince her words. He almost died from the shock. He hurriedly put down his cup and waved his hands. "Lady Boss, listen to me. At the time, I really didn't know who you were. I was simply too hasty in trying to save you. I didn't do those things on purpose. By the time I realized the severity of my actions and wanted to apologize to you, you were already gone. I didn't harbor any indecent intentions, I swear."
"I was just joking. Why do you need to feel so restless?"
"I'm not restless. I really didn't do those things intentionally," Miao Yi anxiously explained himself. Deep down, he thought, 'How could I possibly not be restless? What kind of person was the Boss of Tempest Tavern? If I offended a guy like that, not even Cheng Yaowei can escort me out of here in one piece.'
"There's no need to explain. I know you weren't doing it on purpose. Otherwise, I wouldn't need my man to touch you; I would've already killed you myself." The Lady Boss raised her wine cup and narrowed her eyes at Miao Yi as she said, "You don't need to be so frightened either. I don't think you'll ever get the chance to see him anyway. He's being imprisoned right now. Even I have a hard time getting to see his face, let alone you."
"Uhh…" Miao Yi's heart calmed down for a bit, but he couldn't help asking in shock, "Who would be so bold as to imprison the Boss of Tempest Tavern?"
The Lady Boss downed her drink again, slamming her cup on the table as she revealed an alluring smile and replied, "Let's not talk about it. This matter worsens my mood. Either way, it's not a big secret. You'll eventually find out about it if you stay in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea long enough, so why should I talk about such a displeasing topic then? It's not every day that I get to sit down with another person and enjoy a drink. Don't ruin it. So, let's talk about you. Since someone has employed the Hive Gang to take your life, I imagine you're in a rather precarious situation right now!"
She was about to reach out to the wine flask, but Miao Yi took it up before she could and helped refill her cup. "Since Lady Boss is treating me to a drink right now, I'm sure you wouldn't just stand idly by and watch as I fall into danger here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea."
The Lady Boss smiled. "Why should I help you? Just because you took advantage of me once?"