After he finished speaking, he noticed that everyone else was silent and vaguely felt his words might have been a bit inappropriate, so he quickly explained, "I didn’t an anything else by it. I just wanted to say that so of the roads here aren’t easy to walk on, especially at night. So if you don’t want to tell where you’re going, it’s fine. Before you set off, I’ll tell each of you the precautions you need to take. You should be careful, right?"
"Boss, you said all those people are the townspeople, coming here on certain days to drink talismanic water... What does that an?" Zhu Yu didn’t answer the boss’s inquiry but instead turned around to ask him, "Could it be... there are evil spirits in your town?"
The boss probably didn’t expect Zhu Yu to ask so bluntly and was startled. He jumped up from the bench instinctively, trying to cover Zhu Yu’s mouth.
But as soon as he reached out, before he could even touch Zhu Yu’s mouth, Lu Qing casually grabbed his wrist halfway.
Lu Qing’s posture seed very relaxed, with a smile on his face, but the grip on the boss’s wrist was firm, making the boss afraid to move his wrist around.
"Boss, did my younger brother say sothing offensive to you?" he asked with a smile, releasing the innkeeper’s wrist and subtly pushing him aside.
Although the innkeeper lived in this small town, he still encountered travelers and rchants from south to north throughout the year, so his judgnt and tact were better than most.
These people are dressed quite plainly, even looking a bit disheveled, but being able to take out a piece of silver for food and drink shows they’re not from a poor family.
Their current attire is likely to avoid revealing wealth.
And the youngest and most refined-looking one might be so kind of young master at ho? My instinctual move to cover his mouth was clearly offensive.
The innkeeper hurriedly withdrew his hand, secretly exclaiming inwardly, fearing he might offend such a rare occurrence of God of Wealth.
"Sorry, dear guests." He said with a smile to Lu Qing, "The young master didn’t say anything offensive. It’s just that the shop is really crowded today, and I’m afraid if anyone hears what the young master said, they might get scared, beco superstitious, and offend you all."
"So... there really is sothing going on?" Zhu Yu nervously looked at Lu Qing, then at the innkeeper, "Should we... drink so talismanic water too? Boss, na your price, as long as it ensures our safety!"
"No need for that, what you gave earlier was quite enough." The innkeeper waved his hand, thinking it would be unreasonable to take advantage of them for more silver. He lowered his voice to speak to the four, "You folks should eat steadily, else the food will get cold.
Pretty soon, they’ll leave for work, and I’ll tell you all about it."
Zhu Yu and the others nodded, and the innkeeper went back to attend to other tasks, soon bringing out a few hot dishes.
They indeed hadn’t eaten so well for quite so days now, so temporarily putting aside other matters to eat solidly was quite enjoyable.
The innkeeper’s wife may not have the culinary skills of famous chefs from the Capital, but she has a unique homade touch that makes the food warm and satisfying, leaving Zhu Yu feeling equally content.
The four of them drank warm water, filled their bellies, and listened in, trying to catch what others were talking about.
They thought maybe with all these people gathering here at the inn drinking "talismanic water," they might hear discussions about sothing.
But after listening for a long ti, all they heard was a lot of trivial, everyday gossip, petty squabbles, not a single useful piece of information.
These people seed very relaxed and carefree, not tense at all, as if they just ca here to rest while drinking talismanic water, and entertain themselves with so idle chatter.
After a while, the people started leaving one by one, and the originally noisy and boisterous inn grew quieter, until only two other tables remained chatting, ordering so wine to continue their conversation, not leaving to work.
After greeting those two familiar tables, the innkeeper saw no one else was coming in, and the place had quieted down, so he returned to Zhu Yu’s table, sitting again on the previous bench.
"Gentlen, have you finished your al? How did you find my wife’s cooking?" He spoke politely, his gaze sweeping over the nearly emptied plates and exhibiting a proud expression over his wife’s skills.
"Very delicious, traveling away from ho, it’s rare to eat such comforting and satisfying als." Zhu Yu exclaid.
"That’s right, we’re just a small place here, definitely cannot compare with real chefs, but within these ten miles and eight villages, no one beats my wife’s cooking." The boss nodded happily.
"By the way, now that there’s hardly anyone here, can you tell us about the talismanic water affair?" Zhu Yu switched the topic back to the previous matter, looking curious, "Earlier, people seed not so nervous, didn’t seem like there’s anything wrong here.
But the boss was so tense, it makes it hard to tell what’s going on."
Recalling his exaggerated reaction earlier, the boss glanced at Lu Qing sowhat sheepishly, seeing Lu Qing relaxed and listening to their chatter, realizing he wasn’t held accountable, he sighed with relief.
He looked at the other two tables, noting they were far from Lu Qing’s group and were sowhat dazed from the drink, probably couldn’t hear their conversation, so he gestured with his hand and whispered, "Little do you know, this issue isn’t recent, it’s been a long ti.
The talismanic water drinking is sothing these old townsfolk do for peace of mind, a habit turned intrinsic, so they still co regularly.
I was just afraid if you all asked about it and ntioned haunting spirits, you might frighten them again when their courage had already been exhausted, and having everyone panic is sothing we’ve had enough of and are afraid of!
If you’re curious, I can tell you about it, but please don’t go around asking everyone, if you run into soone who’s easily frightened, that current might stir up again, and life would get unsettled once more."
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