Originally, Tang Doudou wanted to reproach this innkeeper until he was pressured to lower the price for everyone to go in, but when she saw that everyone was stirred up and determined to leave, she had no choice but to swallow back her words. Instead, she joined them in their complaints and prepared to leave with them.

  The innkeeper panicked when he saw that they were all leaving. In reality, he wasn't serious about that high a price. He had been planning to start with a high price, then allow them to haggle it down a little. That way, no matter what, he would still be able to earn quite a sum, but if everyone left, there was no way for him to make money!

  When he arrived at this conclusion, his beady eyes whirled, then he quickly moved up to grab Tang Doudou who was at the edge of the crowd. "M-m-m-a'am! Don't be so hasty!"

  "Everyone, don't be so hasty to leave. I was just joking with this lady earlier!"

  Tang Doudou's eyes whirled, then she turned around and asked, "How could you joke with us in this kind of situation? You find it funny to watch us get drenched by the rain?"

  The innkeeper acted troubled and sighed. "In reality, I also have my troubles."

  "Ma'am, you shouldn't waste time and breath with him. It's raining so heavily, you had better hurry and find a place to take shelter!" Someone saw that Tang Doudou and stopped. Since she looked old and was alone, they stopped to advise her.

  Tang Doudou was originally going to leave with them, but after the innkeeper called out to her, she changed her mind. If she really was an old lady, she would definitely go with them. However, it would be difficult to change without having her disguise seen through in a small place like a temple.

  She sighed and looked up at the sky. "It's raining too hard. I'm afraid these old bones won't be able to hold up if I keep walking!"

  "That's right, exactly! Ma'am, you should stay here at my place instead of going with them!" said the innkeeper hastily when he heard this.

  The person that had been trying to convince Tang Doudou saw that she had made her decision, so he shook his head and ran to catch up with the group.

  In the blink of an eye, everyone at the door had left. The innkeeper felt almost physical pain as he took in the empty entrance. When he turned towards Tang Doudou, he looked as if he was looking towards the god of fortune. "Ma'am, please come in!"

  Unexpectedly, Tang Doudou shook her head and crouched down at the door. "An old woman like me can't afford fifty taels ah!"

  "Ma'am, I really was just joking earlier."

  Tang Doudou didn't respond.

  The innkeeper's eyes whirled, then he extended his five fingers towards Tang Doudou.

  However, Tang Doudou didn't even bother to look and just leaned against the wall before closing her eyes.

  "Ma'am, look, your clothes are completely soaked. If you don't get changed, you'll definitely catch a chill. Just spend five taels to get a room. It'd save you the money for buying medicine for a cold, right?"

  "Five taels?" Tang Doudou shook out the insides of her sleeves to show them to him. "Do you feel like I have five taels?"

  The innkeeper's expression stiffened. He had been pretty certain that she was poor due to her clothes, that was why he had set such a high price so that it would be easier to negotiate later.

  However, these people were fleeing for their lives, so they had definitely brought all their valuables. Hence, no matter how poor this old woman was, she should've been able to save quite a lot over the course of her lifetime!

  How could she not even have five taels?

  When the innkeeper's thoughts reached this point, he came to realize that Tang Doudou was trying to get the price cheaper.

  However, there was no way he would fall for it. Five taels was as low as he was willing to lower the price.

  Moreover, there were definitely a lot more people that were escaping from the flood. Even though that batch left, there would certainly be a larger group coming. This was what the innkeeper was thinking as he turned and went inside the inn.

  Tang Doudou sat on the stage and secretly used inner strength to dry her clothing. Then she hugged the black box and stated at the blankly at the building across the street.

  Right at this time, a man came out of that building. He glanced up at the pouring rain, then lifted his foot and stepped out. When his foot landed, an amazing scene occured.

  As he walked, bursts of steam appeared and quickly evaporated as they rose up around him.

  What kind of martial arts was this?

  Tang Doudou was too astonished to think of concealing her gaze. Although that person was very far away, he had keen senses and immediately turned around to look in her direction.

  Tang Doudou sensed this gaze and turned her head away to stare at the accumulating water in front of her.

  Countless thoughts flashed through her head. She went through all the characters of the Jianghu she knew about and finally landed on one name.

  This man was the one that Fu Yunliu had left with before.

  Baili Yu had said that he seemed to know this person.

  In addition, the martial arts he revealed earlier were something that few people possessed. That cloud like thing was a clear indication of his identity.

  Yun Hai! (Cloud Sea)

  Why would he be in Green Maple City?

  And why had he been looking for Fu Yunliu?

  Was it to cooperate in dealing with her and Baili Yu?

  Tang Doudou never would've thought that she would encounter an enemy that she had never met before here.

  While she was puzzling over these things, another person came to the inn.

  Just as that person was about to walk in, Tang Doudou dropped her current thoughts and stood up to block that person's way.

  "This aunt." That person flicked away some of the water on him as he grumbled about the weather, then he cupped his fist towards Tang Doudou and bowed in a strange way. "May I ask what you stopped me for?"

  Tang Doudou pointedly glanced towards the inside of the inn, then sneakily pulled the scholarly-looking young man to the side. "This inn can't be stayed in!"

  The scholar was surprised. "Why?"

  "Look, this inn is located in the most convenient place for people fleeing to take shelter. Earlier, several dozen people had passed by, but no one chose to stay in this inn," whispered Tang Doudou.

  The scholar was confused. "Perhaps they thought that this place was too close so it wasn't safe."

  "It's not like that at all! Based on what I heard earlier, it's because this inn is too expensive!"

  "Expensive?" The scholar laughed. "That's normal. There's only a handful of inns in Green Cloud City. If they didn't make the prices that high, they'd be filled to the brim."

  Tang Doudou nodded. "Since you don't mind, then it seems I've been overly nosy."

  She then released the scholar and went back to sit down. However, as she did so, she quietly muttered, "Haa, so this is the difference between those who have money and those who don't! This old woman can't even afford a five taels inn, but other people won't even lift an eye at fifty taels. Tsk tsk……"

  She had said it quietly, but the scholar was very close to her so he heard everything clearly. His eyes immediately widened and he leaned over to ask, "A-aunt, d-did you j-just say, fifty taels!?"

  "I didn't say anything!" Tang Doudou refused to admit it and just told him to do whatever he wanted and stop disrupting her rest.

  The scholar kept pestering her, but she refused to answer. This sound soon attracted that crafty innkeeper's attention.

  __________

  Credits: Translated by Chiyomira

  [Chiyomira's Corner]

  Enjoy~