Luoyang (2): Inns, Taverns, and Insufferable Rivals
What's the difference between an inn and a tavern? The answer is whether they offer lodging or not. Inns use the first floor as a restaurant where you can eat and drink, the second floor for guest rooms, and three-story ones are pretty rare. Taverns, on the other hand, don't offer lodging at all. They're purely for eating and drinking. And once you see the ru () in the name, you get the idea—they're multi-story buildings stacked like pavilions. They start at a minimum of three floors, and I've heard the really big ones go up to five.
Comparing an inn that serves food to a proper restaurant, obviously the restaurant is going to be way more high-class. Add in Luoyang's sky-high prices, and...
"It's expensive..."
"So pricey..."
"That's Luoyang for you..."
We'd asked around and found the tavern famous for the pinnacle dish that Hong Yeonhwa had been craving. It was bustling inside, and true to its name, Heavenly Fragrance Tower, it specialized in aromatic cuisine—which naturally included soup dishes. The problem? The pinnacle dish was a kind of premium course meal, served only to customers on the second and third floors. Starting from the second floor, you had to pay a seating fee on top of the dish price itself, and the total blew past our expectations.
Maybe this happens all the time, because the waiter gave us a slightly weary look as we tried to order the pinnacle dish from the first floor.
"What would you like to do? Sorry, but we're really backed up with customers..."
Tough call. We had plenty of money, of course. The payout from the Murim Alliance and the bounty from taking down those bandits weren't small sums. It was just that the price we'd heard was beyond imagination.
As I agonized, Hong Yeonhwa tugged at my sleeve with a slightly downcast expression.
"My lord. This lady is fine. There are plenty of other dishes, aren't there? If we splurge on this now, we won't be able to try the rest."
"Sorry, Young Lady Jin. I should've grabbed something from home before we left..."
No, Soso, stop trying to give everything away. The family heirloom saber thing was bad enough, and now this—you leave her alone and she'll probably hand over the family pillar next.
And Hong Yeonhwa—this money was basically hers; she'd earned it, even if she'd handed over the purse strings to me because she'd never managed funds before. Seeing them both hyped up then disappointed, now peeking at my reaction, reminded me of an experiment from my past life.
Platypuses detect electrical currents around them with a special organ in their bill to find prey. But how did they prove it? Simple: They put a hungry platypus in a tank and placed a shrimp and a shrimp-shaped battery at either end to see which one got the feeding response. The result? A smashing success. The platypus reacted more fiercely to the fake shrimp battery than the real one. Well, it spat them all out before swallowing once it realized they weren't food.
To get meaningful data, they repeated the experiment dozens of times—about a hundred, enough for the platypus to learn that batteries aren't edible. But I don't think it was learning. The platypus didn't learn batteries were inedible... it just gave up. How much heartbreak did it endure before resigning itself? Those evil scientists!
With that thought, Hong Yeonhwa and Paeng Soso started looking like pitiful platypuses whimpering in hunger. I couldn't allow that!
I mentally tallied up our budget, running through plans. If we cut our stay in Luoyang short, we could swing it? Just as I spotted a way and reached for silver to hand the waiter...
"Oh? Who's this? The little Soso that Lord Paeng has been searching high and low for is here?"
A unfamiliar man and woman came down from the second floor, and the woman called out. Her voice was soft and lilting, but the tone was pure sarcasm.
"...Jegal Yeongyeong."
Paeng Soso replied in a reluctant mutter—they clearly knew each other. Wait—Jegal? Looking closer, she was dressed in flashy, ornate clothes that screamed I'm from a fancy family. Still, pretty as she was, she didn't hold a candle to our platypuses... er, Hong Yeonhwa and Paeng Soso.
Her companion was oddly striking, with golden hair and blue eyes on an East Asian face. Some kind of constitution like Hong Yeonhwa's? In a world where qi exists, it's possible. But paired with his dark tanned skin and fierce look, he came off like a blond thug fresh from the beach.
Maybe because I was thinking something a bit rude, Jegal Yeongyeong openly sized me up and down like she was appraising returned goods.
"I heard you ran away because you hated the engagement... and you snagged a new guy on the street? Or did you bolt just to do this from the start? Either way, he's no match for my Hwi, right?"
She hooked her arm through his like she owned him, and the guy she called Hwi grinned ear-to-ear, thumping his chest proudly.
"Hahaha! Of course! At least I can buy my girl whatever she wants to eat!"
I'd been this close to buying it! I surged forward in anger, but Paeng Soso blocked me and shouted.
"Yeongyeong! Apologize to Young Lady Jin right now! And you too, Young Master Mo Yong Hwi! Is insulting people out of nowhere what the righteous faction does?!"
Maybe because Hong Yeonhwa had just told her about the corrupt righteous sects, Paeng Soso was extra fired up. And that golden sun-lookalike was from the Mo Yong family? Figures. Those two looked like lovers or fiancés—super close. Me and Paeng Soso were the odd ones out; usually, the heirs of the Five Great Families paired up with equals.
The Mo Yongs used to get looked down on as "bookworm scholars," but now they were solidly at the bottom of the Five Great Families. Maybe that unique look came from barbarian bloodlines.
I'd missed my opening to step in, but I realized something: That Mo Yong Hwi guy never even glanced our way the whole time. Meaning his earlier jab wasn't really dismissing me—it was just to impress Jegal Yeongyeong.
"Ah, sorry ab—"
He seemed to realize and started scratching his head to apologize, but...
"Hng..."
Jegal Yeongyeong clearly knew and had baited him anyway. She snapped open her fan to cover her mouth, darted behind Mo Yong Hwi, and peeked out with a pitiful whimper.
"Hwi... Soso's bullying me."
"Huh? That was just us being wrong..."
"Hwi?"
She gazed up at him with wounded eyes.
"Are you taking Soso's side? Not mine?"
"No, that's not—"
"You like Soso more than me? Is that it?"
"N-no way!"
Her eyes glistened wetly till the end, and Mo Yong Hwi finally nodded frantically.
"Leave it to me!"
He strode toward us. Watching him dance to Jegal Yeongyeong's tune in seconds was ridiculous. Paeng Soso clutched her forehead like she'd seen this before, while Hong Yeonhwa watched with keen interest before tiptoeing up to whisper in my ear.
"That girl Jegal Yeongyeong... she's got a nasty personality."
"Tell me about it. Makes me feel like the luckiest guy alive."
"Then treat this lady and Soso even better."
As we whispered, Mo Yong Hwi reached Paeng Soso and spoke gravely.
"Miss Paeng. Since Lady Jegal was hurt by your words, I'd appreciate an apology."
"Ha, seriously? What? Hurt? Her?"
Paeng Soso screeched.
"Get a grip! Don't you realize you're dancing in the palm of her hand?!"
But Mo Yong Hwi shook his head firmly, committed to his path.
"If you won't apologize, then we'll settle this as martial artists."
He raised his fists into a stance. He hadn't drawn the sword at his waist, so probably not crossing into lethal territory... but a real fight?
"Wait, you're serious, Young Master?"
Paeng Soso gaped in disbelief. Jegal Yeongyeong beamed ecstatically from behind—pleased at pissing off Paeng Soso or puppeteering Mo Yong Hwi? Didn't matter. With them pushing like that, hanging back behind Paeng Soso looked lame.
My recent enlightenment hadn't just given me perfect sword qi. Better inner energy control sharpened my qi sense too. And I could tell: This guy was weaker than Eon Ju-won.
Paeng Soso was probably shocked because Mo Yong Hwi wasn't even at the tail end of first-rate, yet charging at her head-on. I circulated Martial Spirit Divine Art and stepped forward confidently.
"Since it's come to this, let's settle it man-to-man, hot-blood—"
"Ei!"
Pababat!
Before I finished, Hong Yeonhwa shot out, tapped pressure points on Mo Yong Hwi like drumming his body, and knocked him out cold. He crumpled without resistance.
"Wha-wha-what?!"
Now Jegal Yeongyeong gawked, scrambling to catch him.
Huh... guess I didn't need to step in. Still, feeling like I should do something, I wrapped an arm around Hong Yeonhwa's neck as she circled back—deep enough that my hand brushed her chest.
"Hng?!"
I pulled the startled Hong Yeonhwa closer, while my other arm snaked around Paeng Soso's waist. My hand hovered precariously on her hip, just grazing her butt.
"J-Jin... Young Master? Doing this now..."
Paeng Soso ducked her head shyly, but something more important came first. It looked for all the world like I was flaunting my connection to Hong Yeonhwa and Paeng Soso. I cocked my head with the smuggest grin I could muster.
"What're you waiting for? Drag him out before his jaw unhinges."
"Kuh...! I'll remember this!"
With a twisted scowl, Jegal Yeongyeong spat a third-rate villain line, hoisted Mo Yong Hwi, and bolted from the tavern.
Once they were out of sight, Hong Yeonhwa squirmed in my arms and pulled something out—a fat money pouch.
"This is...?"
"I slipped it while hitting his pressure points!"
Her pink eyes sparkled for praise. I ruffled her hair like she wanted.
"Good girl!"
"Hehe~♪"