The main fortress of the Fu Family was situated deep within a mountain called Zidao Mountain, in the western part of the Yuanwu Kingdom.
This mountain was shrouded year-round in a faint purple mist. Not only were ordinary people unable to see clearly after entering it, but prolonged exposure would cause their eyes to stream with tears and their throats to swell painfully. Stay any longer, and the poison would kill them.
Although the locals all knew the dangers of the purple mist and treated it like a venomous scorpion, never daring to approach it even slightly, every year there were still ignorant outsiders who stumbled into it and perished within.
To the Fu Family, who had long since claimed the entirety of this mountain as their own, these deaths among mortals were of no consequence whatsoever.
Mortals died, and that was that — what else was there to say? Besides, to die beneath the "Purple Miasma Poison Cloud Formation," painstakingly arranged by several formation masters the Fu Family had gone to great lengths to invite, was hardly a small blessing for any mortal.
But over the past few days, although Zidao Mountain remained wreathed in its usual clouds and mist, this place — normally seldom visited by anyone — had begun to grow lively. From time to time, cultivators would appear outside the purple mist, shout a few words, and then present something that gleamed with a brilliant red light, resembling an invitation. They would then be escorted into the mist and vanish from sight.
The closest mortal town to Zidao Mountain was a small city called "Taihe." It was not large — only about ten li across, with a population of no more than a hundred thousand. Yet it had everything one could wish for: restaurants, inns, and all manner of facilities, not a single one missing.
"A-Er" was a worker at the "Yongqu" Inn, one of two inns in the city. Though only eighteen or nineteen years old, he had been working in this trade for a solid three or four years.
Now slightly thin and wiry, he was leaning half-heartedly against one side of the inn's front door, calling out in a feeble voice to passersby, inviting them to stay the night.
This was not because A-Er was lazy — it was simply that in the brutal heat of summer, after shouting all morning under the blazing sun along the roadside, no one had the energy to keep their voice up any longer.
So even Shopkeeper Liu — the one notorious for his stinginess and difficult temper —, upon seeing A-Er's listless appearance, merely showed a flash of dissatisfaction on his face, grumbled a few quiet words under his breath, and then buried his head over a thick wooden abacus, calculating the numbers in a hefty ledger on the table before him.
A-Er lifted his head and gazed at the sky, which was a uniform wash of white haze. After a few choice complaints in his mind, he lowered his head again and muttered a greeting so faint even he could barely hear it. He looked even more dispirited than before.
He was just thinking about whether he could sneak back to the kitchen while Shopkeeper Liu wasn't looking, and drink a few cups of cold water to cool the heat in his body, when suddenly the sky above him darkened, and a wave of coolness swept over the surroundings. Startled, A-Er couldn't help but look up — and nearly jumped out of his skin.
Before him, without anyone noticing when they had arrived, stood three bizarre-looking individuals.
One wore a tall cap and hemp robes, was short and plump, and looked like a great ball of flesh. Another was bald and barefoot, with bulging ox-eyes, thick jowls of flesh, and stood over ten feet tall. The last had wild hair tied back with a band, his face full of menace, his eyes cold as ice.
"Esteemed guests — are you looking to stay the inn?" A-Er had not spent all these years as a servant for nothing. After his initial shock, a broad smile immediately spread across his face. With his years of experience sizing people up, he could tell that despite their fearsome appearances, these three were the generous type who would spend freely.
"What a stupid question. Why else would the three of us be here? Prepare three of your finest rooms for us, one for each, and then send up a full table of your best wine and food — brought to our rooms." The short, fat one who looked like a meat ball glared with his small eyes, casually tossed a large ingot of silver that landed squarely in A-Er's chest, and spoke with undisguised impatience.
"Right away, right away! Honored masters, please come in. The wine and food will be ready shortly. A-Er, go and prepare the three best rooms for our guests immediately!" Before A-Er could say anything, Shopkeeper Liu — who had been watching the whole scene at the door — sprang forward like a man of thirty or forty, bounding to the entrance in a flash. He snatched the silver ingot from A-Er's arms and pasted a look of obsequious flattery across his face.
"Yes, Shopkeeper." Though his teeth ached with hatred at Shopkeeper Liu's behavior, A-Er had no choice but to respond meekly. In his heart, he sighed — the tip he'd been about to receive had been snatched away yet again.
If it weren't for the fact that he only knew how to work as an inn servant, and that this city had only two inns, he would never have continued working for this miserly scoundrel.
After mentally cursing Shopkeeper Liu into oblivion, A-Er still wore his widest smile as he led the three men up to a room on the second floor, then withdrew.
"Hm?"
The moment A-Er left the three's side, that unbearable scorching heat suddenly returned. He scratched his head, a wave of puzzlement washing over him. But after tilting his head to think for a moment, he still went downstairs with a belly full of unanswered questions.
A lavish spread of wine and dishes was quickly prepared, and A-Er helped the other workers carry everything up into the room.