It was a small city — though calling it a city was a stretch. It was really just a slightly bigger town, and its name was Green Ox Town. Only the bumpkins living in the nearby mountain gullies, people with no worldly experience to speak of, kept calling it "Green Ox City." At least, that was what Zhang Er, who had worked as a gatekeeper for over a decade, thought to himself.
Green Ox Town truly wasn't large. It had only one main street — Green Ox Street — running east to west, and there was only a single inn, the Green Ox Inn, which sat at the western end of the town's long, narrow layout. So any traveling merchants passing through who didn't want to sleep outdoors had no choice but to stay there.
Right now, a horse-drawn carriage that had clearly seen a lot of road entered Green Ox Town from the west. It rushed past the front gates of the Green Ox Inn without stopping, galloping all the way to the other end of the town before finally pulling up in front of the Chunxiang Tavern.
The Chunxiang Tavern wasn't large — it was even a bit weathered — but it had a certain antique charm. Since it was lunchtime, the tavern was full of patrons eating their meals, practically with every seat taken.
A round-faced, plump man sporting a small mustache climbed down from the carriage, along with a dark-skinned child of about ten. The man strode into the tavern with the boy in tow, bold as you please. Some regulars at the tavern recognized the fat man and knew him as the tavern's proprietor, "Fatty Han." As for the child, nobody recognized him.
"Old Han, this dark-skinned kid looks just like you — don't tell me you had a son behind your wife's back!" someone suddenly joked.
The remark drew a burst of laughter from everyone nearby.
"Pah! This is my own nephew, brought here from back home. Of course he looks a bit like me!" The fat man wasn't offended in the slightest — if anything, he looked a bit proud.
These two were none other than Han Li and his Third Uncle — the man others called "Fatty Han" — who had been traveling for three consecutive days and had only just entered the town.
Fatty Han greeted a few of his regular customers, then led Han Li to the back of the tavern, arriving at a secluded little courtyard.
"Little Li, rest up in this room and gather your strength. Once the steward from the Inner Sect arrives, I'll call you over. I need to go out for a bit to tend to some regulars." Fatty Han pointed to the wing room in the courtyard and said to him in a warm tone.
With that, he turned and hurried toward the exit.
At the doorway, he seemed to have second thoughts and added one more instruction.
"Don't run off. There are too many people in town — you might get lost. It's best if you don't leave the courtyard."
"Mm!"
Only after seeing Han Li nod obediently did he finally leave with peace of mind.
Once Han Li watched his Third Uncle walk out of the room, he felt exhausted and flopped onto the bed, falling fast asleep. There wasn't the slightest hint of a child's shyness around strangers.
That evening, a young servant brought in a meal. It wasn't exactly a lavish feast of fish and meat, but it was palatable enough. After he finished eating, the servant came back in and cleared away the dishes. Only then did Third Uncle stroll in at a leisurely pace.
"So, how was the food? Suit your taste? Missing home a bit, are you?"
"A little," Han Li said, looking perfectly well-behaved.