“Hey everyone… sorry for disappearing.
Had some personal stuff to deal with, but thankfully, everything’s all good now. Really appreciate your patience—back to posting regularly again!”
—–
Actually, this time when coming to Western Province City, besides planning to freeload, Yino truly brought many local specialties from Azure Forest for the owner of Hundred Spirits Pavilion.
Of course, these specialties were also casually taken from the ancient temple that sealed Lily.
Useful treasures had already been distributed by Yino to his traveling companions Wangxue, Yunjin and others.
As for those things that weren’t useful to everyone, Yino planned to give them to the owner of Hundred Spirits Pavilion as trophies from this secret realm.
This was reasonable.
When Yino first arrived, the owner of Hundred Spirits Pavilion had high hopes for him and gifted him many pills in the name of investment, looking forward to further cooperation with Yino.
If the Hundred Spirits Pavilion owner was considered a shareholder, then Yino should indeed reciprocate by showing her some rare goods.
However, before heading to Phoenix Pavilion, Yino planned to first visit the small tavern to catch up with the front desk girl.
After all…
While in the secret realm, he had accidentally encountered a woman in black named Jin Jie.
Jin Jie, Jin Yu (Jinjie and Jinyu for Simlisty)- just by their names, you could tell they were family!
Moreover, it was Jinyu who had helped direct Yino to meet the owner of Hundred Spirits Pavilion.
“Welcome to the Immortal Alliance tavern, noble heroes!”
As the door opened, the familiar cheerful girl’s voice sounded again.
Just hearing this voice, Yino was transported back to his previous life’s game loading screen.
Unlike the quiet atmosphere during his last visit, the Immortal Alliance tavern in Western Province City was now exceptionally lively. Besides cultivators from various righteous sects, there were many independent practitioners registered with the Immortal Alliance who had Western Region appearances.
“With the abyss demons approaching, are there any special bounties from the Immortal Alliance in the Western Region?”
Yino asked casually as he walked to the counter.
He sat down, his gaze fixed directly on the high-ponytailed girl busy serving drinks to customers.
Just like before, Jinyu wore an apron, had orange-red hair and healthy freckles on her face. From her racial features alone, she was clearly of mixed East-West heritage.
“Ah, just a moment!”
“Here’s your beer, customer!”
The girl hurriedly served the drink while stealing a glance at Yino.
In an instant, Jinyu was captivated by the young man’s face and blushed, her previously nimble speech becoming a bit stuttered: “Young Lord, you’ve come again?”
She stood with hands behind her back, smiling brightly and openly.
This was completely different from her business-like smile when dealing with other customers.
Yino could sense that although they had only met once, she was unusually friendly each time she saw him, as if they were long-acquainted relatives.
“Jinyu, do you have deep connections with the Grand Tutor’s Mansion?”
Yino asked curiously, resting his chin on one hand while observing the girl with cool eyes.
Jinyu blinked, parting her lips slightly. She seemed to think of something and became a bit nervous.
“Well… I don’t have any relationship with the Grand Tutor’s Mansion…”
“Then why do you always call me Young Lord?” Yino raised an eyebrow.
As they chatted, he habitually took a cocktail from Jinyu’s bar.
After pouring the drink, Jinyu awkwardly wiped her hands with a towel:
“Because you’re Sister Xinyao’s little nephew!”
“Then what’s your relationship with my aunt?”
“Ah… Sister Xinyao and I…”
The girl was stumped again, looking at Yino with some difficulty.
Just as Yino was about to brush it off as a joke, Jinyu stared at him earnestly and said word by word: “Because of Sister Xinyao’s introduction, Jinyu qualified to work here… With this job, Jinyu can support herself, and the Immortal Alliance has good benefits and policies, providing room and board. Sister Xinyao even helped Jinyu apply for remote area subsidies…”
“So, Sister Xinyao is Jinyu’s benefactor!”
By the end, the girl’s large eyes were twinkling with stars, clearly showing genuine emotion.
However, when the brief narration ended, Jinyu noticed Yino’s surprised expression and belatedly worried that she might have said something she shouldn’t have.
“I didn’t realize my aunt has such influence in Western Province City…”
Yino narrowed his cool eyes, lost in thought.
He had long known that his aunt wasn’t human, but belonged to the Phoenix demon race.
According to history, the Phoenix clan was once one of the totems of this land.
But after the ancient Dragon-Phoenix war, humans chose the Dragon race. Without human support, the Phoenix clan naturally lost, so today most Phoenix clan members dwell in the Western Region.
From this perspective, it made sense that Xinyao would have significant influence in the Western Region.
Moreover, Xinyao was also related to the Grand Tutor’s Mansion. If she spoke to those immortal officials at the mansion, it wouldn’t be difficult to appoint a girl named Jinyu as the receptionist of the Immortal Alliance tavern.
However…
These stories connected together still seemed too coincidental to Yino.
Xinyao, Jinyu, Jinjie, the owner of Hundred Spirits Pavilion…
“By the way, Young Lord, were you asking about the Immortal Alliance’s recent policies?”
Seeing Yino growing suspicious, Jinyu hastily changed the subject to smooth things over.
Noticing that Yino had finished his cocktail, she brought a jug of milky white liquid from the other end of the bar and refilled his glass.
“What’s this?”
“Milk!”
“This is a tavern, why are you giving me milk…”
“Young Lord, you’re only sixteen, at the prime age for growth! You should drink less alcohol and more milk!”
Jinyu hugged a large jug of milk, smiling brightly like sunshine.
Honestly, looking at Jinyu now, Yino felt almost like he had returned home.
“How old are you?”
“Me? I’m seventeen, one year older than Young Lord.”
“Then you’re also at the age for growth. Why not fill a glass for yourself and join me for a drink?”
Yino leaned on the counter, chin resting on his hand, smiling faintly.