Li Qiuchen ultimately failed to catch the nimble Jocelyn, and returned to the tavern counter, panting.
The air inside the Oak Barrel Tavern was thick with the subtle intoxication of malt.
Whenever he had a free moment while delivering drinks, Li Qiuchen would ask about news of the “Blue Crystal”.
“Blue Crystal? That’s something the Mage lords use.”
An old craftsman sipped at the foam of his beer, shaking his head.
“You’ll have to look for it in the big shops of Phoenix City.”
By the way, what’s that crystal for?”
“It’s said the crystal is filled with magic power, and you can’t get it for less than a hundred Tuck.”
A middle-aged merchant at another table raised his wooden cup to explain.
“Of course, if it’s just for decoration, the discarded crystals from abandoned workshops are much cheaper. You could try your luck in the city.”
A hundred Tuck.
Li Qiuchen silently calculated his monthly allowance of forty Tuck, and felt that a peaceful night’s sleep was as far away as crossing another Silent Zone.
The more popular topic in the tavern remained those “things” wandering in the night.
“More than one! I saw it with my own eyes, shadows everywhere, but they’re afraid of light.”
A flushed farmer declared firmly.
“It was that Black Magician who died in the abandoned mine, definitely turned into a Vampire for revenge…”
“Old John said there was more than one!”
Someone argued back.
“A Priest from the Temple of the God of War said, those things have no soul, just empty shells that move!”
No soul?
Li Qiuchen wiped a wooden cup with water mixed with sand, suspicion in his heart.
He’d not only heard of Vampires, but seen them.
That bunch always claimed nobility, but their souls were no different.
To appear on such a large scale and suck the blood of animals—nothing like Vampire behavior at all.
Contaminated by Dark Energy?
At that moment, Young Master Kairui walked into the tavern.
He was dressed finely, moving with steady steps, his face bearing a trace of youthful noble laziness.
He walked straight toward Naili behind the counter, as if the humiliation and coercion in the alley last night had never happened.
“Naili, a mug of ale.”
His voice was calm, even gentle.
As Naili bowed her head to pour the drink, he quietly placed a shining silver Tuck at the edge of her tray.
“Last night…”
He paused, lowering his voice with a hint of sincere apology.
“I drank too much and lost control. I’m sorry.”
A silver Tuck was worth a hundred copper Tuck—a substantial compensation.
Li Qiuchen’s gaze was fixed on the silver coin. So beautiful—the image of Sakim III gleamed on the coin’s face.
Naili’s movements stilled for a moment.
She didn’t look at the silver coin, only bowed her head and scrubbed the already clean counter with extra force.
“Young Master Kairui, the debt my father owed in his life has been repaid.”
The money you gave me before…
“I’ll pay it back by working, little by little.”
Her voice was soft but held an unmistakable resolve as she pushed the silver Tuck back onto the table in front of Kairui.
Kairui looked at the returned coin, the muscles on his face twitching almost imperceptibly.
He didn’t persist, only picked up his drink and silently walked to a corner to sit.
From Li Qiuchen’s chest, where the long-lost Zhesi Gem had once been, came an extremely faint warning.
A wisp of indistinct danger made him suddenly alert.
“Brother Qiuchen, about me and Young Master Kai Lun…”
Naili took the opportunity to walk over to Li Qiuchen, speaking quietly, her gaze complicated.
“We… have known each other for a long time. He and Brother Nai De too—we were all close. He’s the smartest.”
A smile flickered on Naili’s face, as if recalling a trace of past warmth.
“And very gifted. Back then he even went to study at Phoenix Magic Academy.”
Later, his mother passed away, and he returned…
Then, he slowly became like this.”
Li Qiuchen was silent.
A once talented Mage apprentice, fallen due to the pain of losing his mother?
The story sounded plausible, but the warning from Philosophical Resonance made him unable to believe it so easily.
The tavern door was pushed open again, and the bell chimed.
A figure stood in the doorway against the light, drawing everyone’s gaze.
She was a tall woman dressed in practical leather hunting gear, weapons of various lengths hanging at her waist, and her blonde hair tied casually behind her head.
She wore a hearty, even somewhat wild, smile, striding over to the counter and slapping her hand down so hard that the wooden cups jumped.
“Boss! Your strongest drink!”
Her voice was loud, carrying a worldly air.
“And tell me where the Lawkeeper is—there’s ‘work’ to be done!”
She introduced herself as Kaili, a Demon Hunter passing through.
She’d heard rumors of Vampires in the town and came to ‘bring justice’—and earn some hazard pay on the side.
Soon, the town’s Lawkeeper was called to the tavern.
Kaili and he discussed a commission in the corner—not loudly, but with such confidence that many anxious townsfolk felt they were seeing a savior.
“Relax! Whether it’s a Vampire or any other creature, it’s nothing to me!”
Kaili patted her chest, handed over her Demon Hunter credentials, and accepted the Lawkeeper’s deposit with a dazzling smile.
Li Qiuchen leaned against the counter, watching the scene quietly.
“Boss! I’ll stay here tonight.”
Kaili called toward the counter.
“Good afternoon, beautiful Demon Hunter lady. One night is fifteen Tuck.”
Li Qiuchen gave a reliable, standard smile.
“Shut your mouth, foolish Qiuchen! How can you neglect an honored guest like this?”
Tide burst out from the kitchen, belly first, wearing a smile so kindly it was almost obsequious.
“Respected Demon Hunter lady, fifteen Tuck is just for a common room. I believe you’ll want the finest suite.
For someone like you, fifty Tuck is a trifle, and it comes with our highest service so you can rest and recover in perfect comfort.
And be ready to pierce the hearts of evil with a single arrow.”
Li Qiuchen kept smiling, knowing full well there was only one guest room upstairs—a straw-mattress bed. What suite?
Kaili’s lips curled upward, seeming pleased with Tide’s flattery. She tossed a large copper coin worth fifty Tuck onto the table.
Tide bent so low his belly nearly touched the floor as he skillfully swept up the coin.
“I’ll tidy up right away. Naili, Jocelyn, come upstairs with me.
May your sword never falter, and may your reward match your deeds.”
A moment later, Jocelyn came down to inform Kaili the room was ready.
The Demon Hunter, gear clanking, went upstairs under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
“Where did a suite come from?”
Li Qiuchen, behind the counter, was still skeptical.
“Tide combined our two rooms—he’s a genius.
He covered the floor with cloth from the storeroom, then layered straw with mattresses and set up lamps…
Just like those Mages, he arranged a bunch of stuff, and the room turned from a hay pile into a top suite.”
Jocelyn was full of admiration.
Li Qiuchen wiped his cup, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Such misdirection…
He could only hope the Demon Hunter wouldn’t peel back the layers.
Then he realized a problem.
“Wait, where do we sleep?”
“The downstairs lounge—two tables pushed together make a bed, bigger than the original.”
Jocelyn shrugged.
Recalling the strange smells and sticky feeling of the tables, Li Qiuchen was dissatisfied.
“Why? We paid for our rooms.”
“As compensation, Tide gave us each five Tuck.”
Jocelyn placed a five Tuck coin on the table.
“Fine.”
Li Qiuchen sighed.
Not even a hero can survive without money.
Yet, he didn’t rush to pocket the coin. Instead, he grabbed Jocelyn’s wrist.
“Hand it over.”
“What?”
Jocelyn’s little face was full of shock.
“The money you skimmed—hand it over.”
Li Qiuchen didn’t even look at her.
“I know the shopkeeper where you buy bread. He’s a nice uncle, and he likes me. I can tell him you have cavities and can’t eat bread. If you still want to taste his bread, it’s best we play fair.”
“Honestly, how can you think of me that way?”
Jocelyn, grumbling, reluctantly put another five Tuck coin on the table and changed the subject.
“Hey, that girl looks pretty professional.”
Without a word, Li Qiuchen pocketed the two coins, picked up a rag, and continued to wipe the endlessly dirty wooden cup, shaking his head gently.
“What’s wrong?”
Jocelyn asked, confused.
“Her palm doesn’t have the thick calluses from gripping weapons over time,”
Li Qiuchen’s voice was low, his observation skills as a Zhesi Sorcerer on full display.
“Her steps seem bold, but her center of gravity is steady—she has some martial training. But the key is…”
He paused, gazing out the window at the sky reddened by the setting sun—a former omen of doom, now simply a beautiful scene.
He felt wistful.
Some things were fading away, but there was nothing to regret.
“A true Demon Hunter’s eyes aren’t so ‘clean’. She’s seen blood, but never the kind of despair we faced, searching for life among the dead.”
“She doesn’t seem here to hunt demons.”
Li Qiuchen concluded, voice calm and certain.
“She seems more like someone on a ‘mission’.”
As for whether that mission was connected to the thing pretending to be a Vampire, or the thread of ominous aura on Kairui, he couldn’t say.
He only knew that the person who appeared to solve problems might actually be an even bigger problem.
Night was about to fall, and the waters of Blackwater Town seemed to be growing murkier.