The Empress's Gigolo

As the wheels clattered on the flagstones, Ren Baqian sat in the oxcart to observe the buildings and people on both sides of the road.

It was an unfamiliar environment, and he felt as if he was on a holiday.

The buildings in Longshou City were mostly built out of wood or pillars.

The buildings were dilapidated, and it became worse as they approached the city gate.

Many children were wearing old clothes while baring their buttocks and running around. There were also a few of them who were biting their dirty fingernails while they looked at Ren Baqian.

No matter where they were, rich or poor, children were always full of energy.

It was easier to learn more by looking at the faces of adults.

By taking a brief look, Ren Baqian felt that the situation among the commoners was not too good. This was reflected in the way they dressed and the expressions they had.

They wore old clothes, gave the impression of being numb, and seldom smiled.

The buildings further inside the city were much better and more houses were decorated with flowers and plants.

"Yuelai Inn?" Ren Baqian first saw the sign board with the big word "Guest" written on it, before seeing the name of the hotel when he got closer to it.

It was worthy of being the largest hotel chain in this world for establishing itself in a place like Dayao that was beyond its home territory.

"Boss, two main rooms please," Ren Baqian shouted as he entered the courtyard. It was depicted on TV this way.

"What do you mean by main rooms?" The lady at the counter raised her head and asked with a regional accent from the northeast. Although her forehead was slightly big, she was quite pretty with curved eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and was about 30 years old. She was charming and a wheeler-dealer.

"Main rooms… the best rooms that you have." Ren Baqian felt downcast because he had gotten off on the wrong foot.

"Niu Er, two first-class rooms," the lady boss bellowed. After that, she smiled at Ren Baqian and continued, "You speak in a strange and interesting way. Are you from somewhere far away?"

"Oh, I am from the Yun Nation." Ren Baqian nodded. This was supposed to be his identity at this time.

He and Lin Qiaole didn't look like the remnant citizens of the Hao Nation and appeared more like the people from the Yun Nation or Great Xia.

"Is the war still going on? How was the journey here?" the lady boss asked.

"It's still ongoing. The journey was tough and strenuous. I have to bring in my cow carriage to the courtyard." Ren Baqian spat out his words and went out to bring in the cow carriage.

The lady boss leaned against the doorway as she watched Ren Baqian's movements. Her eyes flashed with suspicion when she saw the way Ren Baqian tied up the fork-horned cow in the stables.

The way he tied the rope wasn't like that of the Yun Nation people, but more like an aboriginal.

People from the Yun Nation preferred to tie Qingyun knots, while the aboriginals liked to tie three ring knots.

Ren Baqian watched the guards tying their horses to trees every day and naturally followed the same style as them without questioning it.

By the time Ren Baqian raised his head to look at her, she was smiling again.

"Have we arrived?" Lin Qiaole groaned as Ren Baqian pulled the curtain. She slowly crawled out like a snake.

After waiting for her to come out and taking his box with him, the two followed the innkeeper to their adjoining rooms on the second level.

As they went upstairs, the lady boss languidly asked, "Did you leave anything behind in the carriage? We will not be responsible if anything is stolen."

"No."

"You guests have brought very little luggage."

The rooms were rather clean.

After all, this was Longshou City, the first city on the road after entering Tianjing Basin. There were many merchants entering and leaving daily. This inn was already considered decent.

"Let's go out for a walk." Ren Baqian gave a kick to Lin Qiaole, who had jumped into bed the moment she entered the room.

"Hey…"

Ren Baqian expressionlessly took out a lollipop, waved it in front of her, then threw it toward the doorway. Lin Qiaole appeared there like a gust of wind.

Indeed, candy was not a panacea for everything, but not having it wasn't acceptable either.

Subsequently, Ren Baqian opened the box to take out a grenade which he put into his waist pouch. He had heard that there were quite a few pickpockets around.

The two of them left the room after the box was locked.

"Lady boss, do not let anyone enter our room," Ren Baqian said.

"Don't worry, I will break their limbs if they enter."

Not long after Ren Baqian left, the lady boss ambled upstairs, opened the door, and entered the room. She took out a thin wire to pick the lock and opened the box to discover some bullets, a dozen grenades, a rifle, some books, and a bag of loose silver pieces.

First, she flipped through the pages of a book, but she found the letters unrecognizable.

Next, she looked carefully at the grenades and bullets before locking the box again.

…

With his hands clasped behind his back, Ren Baqian led Lin Qiaole in the direction of the city center while looking at the shops on both sides of the street.

There were various shops selling all types of clothes, salt, medicine, and rice as well as several tailor shops. Whatever was needed was available, and the place looked very busy with people going in and out of the shops.

After standing there and observing for a while, Ren Baqian found out who the people were that patronized these shops.

Many of the people who went in and came out had one or more bags and loaded their baggage in hand carts or on bamboo shoulder poles before leaving. They didn't look like ordinary civilians, but instead appeared to be small traders from other cities.

They bought what they needed at low prices and then resold these goods at the countryside and in small towns.

After walking for a short distance, their noses were inundated with a fragrant smell. They followed the smell and came across someone using a stove to roast a fruit bigger than a lychee. The fruit cracked after being roasted for a while and emitted a refreshing fragrance.

"How much are these fruits sold for?" Ren Baqian asked.

"One copper coin for three."

When Ren Baqian turned to look at Lin Qiaole, she was drooling with her saliva dripping along the neckline of her clothes.

"Give me 30 pieces." Ren Baqian threw a loose silver piece across.

The rind was very hot, and the cracks in it revealed the golden flesh.

It tasted like coconut, was slightly chewy, and was rather tasty.

This was followed by Lin Qiaole carrying bags of snacks and eating nonstop.

"Move aside, move aside…!" The clatter of horse hooves was heard before a few men wearing long gowns and riding dwarf horses were seen galloping down the streets and causing a disturbance.

"Who are these people?" Ren Baqian asked a stallholder on the roadside.

"Are you a guest from afar? These people are from the Nine Blades Sect. Don't provoke them and you will be fine." The stallholder smiled.

"They are allowed to gallop around the city with impunity?" Ren Baqian asked.

"Be careful with your words! They are quite powerful here. If they hear you, you can get into trouble," that stallholder rapidly said.

"They are so overbearing? I didn't say anything. I'm just asking why no one is in control of the situation." Ren Baqian raised his eyebrows and casually threw some silver pieces to the stallholder. "Please explain to clarify my doubts. We foreigners should understand the situation in order not to offend the wrong people."

The stallholder looked around before saying softly, "Guests like you will get to know this place after staying for a period of time. The city guards are mostly members of the Nine Blades Sect, and many of the public order bureau officials are also their members. As long as there are no major problems, nobody will intervene."

Ren Baqian threw some more loose silver pieces across because he had surprisingly obtained a lot more information from the stallholder. The most powerful force within Longshou City was unexpectedly not the chief of the 5,000 strong city guard, but a sect called the Golden Ring Residence. It was the biggest sect not only in Longshou City, but in this region that included Jici City and San Yuanli City.

Of course, this Golden Ring Residence was only the most powerful in the region.

Additionally, Longshou City was actually one of the three most powerful forces in the basin.

Therefore, even though this Golden Ring Residence was more powerful than the warlord of Longshou City in this area, they didn't dare to provoke him.

Of course, the warlord of Longshou City didn't dare to provoke them either since the Golden Ring Residence was not just a mere sect.

Beside these two factions, there were also two others small sects; one was the Nine Blades Sect, while the other was the Jiangliu Sect.

In addition, there was a local gang called the Death Toad Sect. It controlled a group of local ruffians and petty thieves and didn't have much power. In any case, the warlord of Longshou City wouldn't have tolerated them if they grew too big.

According to the stallholder, outsiders shouldn't provoke even the Death Toad Sect.

It was safety first when outside, and harmony was the most important. Be humble regardless of who you met because there was no need to court trouble.

Ren Baqian thanked the stallholder for his kindness and got Lin Qiaole to continue moving forward.

He had a rough idea of the power distribution in Longshou City and didn't expect such a small city to have so many factions. Compared to the aboriginal regions, it was much more chaotic.

"Hey, your wallet has been stolen," Lin Qiaole said incoherently as she ate the fruit in her hand.

Ren Baqian felt for his waist pouch only to discover that it was really gone.

"Do you want me to snatch it back? Five lollipops." Lin Qiaole's eyes sparkled

"There's no need." Ren Baqian laughed.

He expected to hear an explosion after a while.

In the hands of someone who didn't know better, it was almost certain that they would pull out the pin from the grenade.

In the time it took to drink two cups of tea, the pair heard an explosion from another direction in the distance while they were walking forward.

Ren Baqian took a look in that direction, then continued to look for a place to have his dinner. It was as if nothing had happened.

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