Chapter 313 - 247: Before Cyan Cloud Mountain, In a Small Tavern

Chapter 313: Chapter 247: Before Cyan Cloud Mountain, In a Small Tavern

The sun rose in the east.

But the official road was deserted.

After all, the new year was fast approaching, and with the world in chaos, traveling merchants and guests had long since returned home.

Whether they had made a profit or not, it was always better to be home with their wives and children.

This led to bleak business for the inns and eateries along the road, many of which had closed up early to go home for the new year.

But Chen Er hadn’t left.

In truth, he had nowhere else to go.

His parents had died young, and he had yet to marry. He had long since come to see this little tavern and eatery as his home.

Thankfully, these few ramshackle rooms were the only inheritance his parents had left him. Not having to pay rent meant he could just barely scrape by.

So, even though he knew it was nearly impossible for customers to show up at a time like this, he opened the shop door out of habit. Then he curled up behind the counter, dozing by a small stove.

Though he ran an eatery, he hadn’t had a single customer in two days, so he decided to skip breakfast. That would be one less meal to pay for.

Such was the life of a small business owner. Just making a living was hard enough; saving any money meant pinching every last penny.

He silently calculated his savings, then sighed to himself.

’How long will it take to save enough money for a wife!’

With the world in chaos, bride prices had fallen again and again. If you weren’t picky, you could even buy a wife directly from the human market.

But Chen Er wanted more than just a woman to carry on his family line.

In this region, the Chen family was a minor one. He had no brothers or sisters, not even any distant uncles, leaving his branch of the family quite thin.

That’s why he wanted to marry a woman from a large local family. Only then would he have some standing.

But a woman from a prominent local family wasn’t like the women at the market, bought and sold like cattle for anyone to abuse. To marry one of them, you had to go through all the proper matchmaking ceremonies.

That was easier said than done.

So for now, all he could do was dream.

At this thought, Chen Er felt a wave of dejection. He turned his head and looked out the back window at the towering green mountain.

"How could such a massive stronghold just disappear like that!" he muttered, still finding it hard to believe.

After all, in its heyday, Cyan Cloud Mountain’s influence had spread across several surrounding prefectures, and the stronghold itself had been teeming with people.

Back then, Chen Er, being quick-witted and knowing how to get along, had managed to connect with a low-level bandit from Cyan Cloud Mountain who was in charge of procuring food.

That single source of income had earned him more than his little eatery ever did. The small savings he had were all from that time.

If those days had lasted until now, he probably would have saved enough money for a wife already.

Unfortunately, things hadn’t gone his way. Just a month ago, Cyan Cloud Mountain had suddenly sealed its gates and disbanded all of its men.

The sudden event had caught Chen Er completely off guard; even now, he hadn’t quite recovered from the shock.

He truly couldn’t understand how such an enormous stronghold could just vanish into thin air.

And just as Chen Er was sighing over his troubles, the door flap was suddenly thrown open, and a biting winter wind drilled into the shop.

Chen Er immediately poked his head out, his face plastered with a smile. But when he saw who had entered, his heart sank.

The three people who came in from outside were two men and a woman.

The men were tall and imposing, and the woman was stunningly beautiful.

But judging from their clothes and their bearing, they were not the sort of people who would eat at a small shop like his.

And he was right.

The woman covered her nose with her hand, a look of disgust on her face. "Why did you two bring me to this dump? Don’t tell me we’re eating here. I’m not eating this. Look at this room, it’s absolutely filthy."

Hearing this, the two men chuckled. "Of course we’re not eating here. We need to go up Cyan Cloud Mountain, and we have to find a local guide first. Otherwise, it’d be easy to get lost with the mountain sealed by snow."

As he spoke, the leader, a man with a thick beard, beckoned to Chen Er behind the counter.

"You, come here!"

Chen Er approached, trembling.

By now he had seen the swords and sabers on their backs, and he groaned inwardly.

These were clearly people of the Jianghu.

And people of the Jianghu were the last customers Chen Er wanted to serve.

While there were some generous and heroic martial artists among them, the vast majority were difficult trouble-makers.

Sometimes, after a hard day’s work, not only would he not get paid, he’d get a few slaps for his trouble.

Crucially, he had just heard the two men mention going up Cyan Cloud Mountain, which made him even more resistant.

Putting aside the fact that Cyan Cloud Mountain was towering, precipitous, and covered in heavy snow—not an easy climb to begin with.

The key thing was, he could end up toiling all day for them and get nothing for it.

’Who would be willing to do that?’

But despite himself, he still forced a smile and walked over.

"Sirs, what can I do for you?"

"Are there still people up on Cyan Cloud Mountain?" the bearded man asked.

"I don’t know!" Chen Er shook his head.

He really didn’t.

The mountain had been sealed off, but no one knew if anyone was still left inside the main stronghold.

"Big Brother, why waste words on this kid? Let’s grab a bite and head up the mountain. We can loot the place while the others haven’t caught on yet, then go home and have a fat New Year," the other man said boisterously. He then shot a glare at Chen Er.

"You’re going to be our guide. If everything goes smoothly, you’ll be well rewarded when we get back. But if you dare try any tricks... Hmph. Go out and ask around who Tong Ermeng, the Iron Arm that Shakes Jiangdong, is."