Why Did I Become the Innkeeper Again?
In the stillness of dawn, I awoke to the sound of rain.
The ceiling was covered with yellowed wallpaper, and a musty smell of mold filled the room.
Although the headache that had tormented me for a lifetime had vanished, I felt a bit strange.
What was even stranger was that there was a familiar scent in the air, and the scene before me felt oddly recognizable.
The atmosphere of a painfully poor home was generally like this, but no matter how I looked at it, this place was undoubtedly my old home.
Upon closer inspection, I realized this was the small room of the Zihua Inn (紫霞客棧) that my grandfather had left for me.
My name, Li Zihua (李紫霞), also came from this inn.
"Why am I here?" I thought.
After the Zihua Inn had burned down completely, I had never lived in a proper house, so there was no way I could be confused.
Suddenly, the words of an unknown man came to mind.
"This is the last chance. Do not swallow the Heavenly Jade again."
How could I swallow the Heavenly Jade twice? Unless I went back to the past, that is.
"Huh? Wait a minute, the past?" Now that I thought about it, my body felt much better.
It was strange that my headache had disappeared, but the injuries I had sustained while breaking through the Celestial Net were also completely healed.
However, my face felt somewhat sore, as if someone had punched me.
To assess the situation, I opened the door, revealing the shabby interior of the Zihua Inn.
Considering the man's words and the current situation, it seemed to imply that even if I returned to the past, I should not swallow the Heavenly Jade in the same circumstances.
If that was the case, then "now" clearly meant my "past."
I was so flustered that I failed to realize that this situation was truly a blessing.
"Wow, what the hell is going on?" I had always thought of the Zihua Inn as a filthy and annoying place, but looking at it after a long time, the scenery of the inn was indeed calm and serene.
Beyond the entrance of the inn, dawn was breaking over the mountain ridge where the rain had just stopped.
"Hmm..."
I gazed at this scene for a long time.
I waited until the faint sunlight began to fill the quiet inn.
It was truly a long-awaited peace for me.
I felt a bit regretful.
Why did it have to be this time? I did not see my elderly grandfather anywhere in the inn.
I thought it would have been nice to return to a time when I could see my parents, but according to my grandfather, my parents had passed away due to poor health, so it would only have made my heart ache more.
A sudden wave of heavy emotions washed over me, and I couldn't help it.
While I was staring at the scenery outside the inn, my right eye throbbed painfully.
It seemed I had a bruise.
Since I had no mirror, I had no choice but to step outside the inn.
Old memories were likely scattered like fragments or buried in the realm of forgetfulness, so I thought I could recover my memories by exploring the area around the inn.
But that was a foolish thought! I hurriedly ran to the stream to check my face first.
"..."
I was surprised to see my own face.
The various wounds had vanished, and my face looked surprisingly soft.
However, the area around my right eye was bruised and swollen, and my lips were chapped.
"When did I get hit like this?" Anyway, it was the face of someone in their early twenties.
Given how often I had been bullied, it was easy to confuse the timing.
As the rippling water calmed, I stared at my reflection, lost in old thoughts.
In any case, this was definitely my hometown, located at the southern edge of Yiyang County.
Wherever people lived, a unique world formed.
There were no prestigious families or powerful clans here, but the forces of the white and black factions were chaotically intertwined.
To put it simply, based on the standards of the time when I was called the "Wild Horse," this was just a region filled with foolish people.
Among them, Yiyang County had particularly many pathetic individuals.
It was a place where the underworld thrived.
Since I was young, the local ruffians had gathered and engaged in acts that were even worse than those of third-rate gangs, and their dream was to join the black faction outside of Yiyang County.
As I gazed at the tranquil Yiyang County, I couldn't help but shout out loud, "You bastards! I'm back!"
A man who had barely fallen asleep at dawn responded from nearby, "Shut up! You crazy bastard! If you're drunk, just go home quietly. Damn it."
"Yeah, you too."
Another man shouted from inside his house.
At that moment, I realized for sure that I had returned to the past.
I wondered if this stroke of luck was due to my fight against the Demon Sect or because of the mysterious man.
It could be said that my determination not to let the Demon Sect be left alone coincided with this stroke of luck.
During this time, I deliberately acted as the innkeeper.
I thought that if a young boy claimed to be the owner of the Zihua Inn, he might face disadvantages, so I often made up stories that a relative had entrusted the inn to me.
Of course, the local residents who were close to my grandfather knew I was not just an innkeeper but the actual owner of the Zihua Inn, yet they remained silent.
People called me "Zihua," the innkeeper of the Zihua Inn, but that was also my real name.
Memories of a time when I couldn't even claim my own property flashed through my mind like a lantern.
Only then did I smile faintly.
"It's good to be back."
The thought of being able to live again made my body itch with excitement.
I had only begun to seriously learn martial arts much later in this timeline.
So, I couldn't even dare to predict how much stronger I could become this time.
I had advanced at least seven or eight years faster than in my previous life.
In terms of being bullied, insulted, humiliated, and tormented, the profession of an innkeeper was at the peak of the martial world.
However, I would not be bullied here again.
The innkeeper of old had ultimately survived and caused disputes with the Martial Alliance, growing into a man who clashed with the Demon Sect.
To recover my memories, I took a stroll around Yiyang County.
Every time my gaze fell upon something, memories hidden in various corners of the streets began to surface.
The dirty alleyways, the fishy smell wafting from the fish market, the large pot lid placed in front of the dumpling shop, the windbreak covering the stall, and even the peculiar soup restaurant I often visited.
The ordinary sights and smells of this street kept pulling memories from the depths of my mind.
With each recovered memory, emotions I had forgotten also resurfaced.
Strangely enough, although there were all kinds of shops here, the only place I frequently visited was the Chunyang Restaurant, which I went to occasionally.
As I wandered through the alleys and streets, my lips often twisted in discomfort.
I had to save every penny because I was broke.
The miserable feeling I had when my tribute money was taken away came rushing back.
With each alley I passed, the memories that surfaced held little nostalgia.
Though I owned an inn at a young age, I was too busy scraping by to live a life that could be compared to that of a beggar.
I had never spent money on frivolous things, so customers often teased me, calling me a miser.
The bruise on my face now was a similar situation.
A customer once asked me what I was saving money for, like a miser.
Honestly, I was quite surprised when I received that question.
I thought to myself, "I'm an orphan, so of course, I'm saving money. Where would I get the money to spend like you, who work as a guard in the underworld?"
At that time, in my childish mind, I jokingly said... that my wish was to save up money to hear a song from Chae-hyang at the Plum Blossom Pavilion.
I swear, that was truly a joke.
People laughed heartily as I had expected, but the fact that it was a joke was completely lost in the retelling.
I learned then that rumors change their original meaning as they pass through people's mouths.
The wish to hear a song had somehow transformed into a desire to sleep with Chae-hyang.
Isn't it surprising? This rumor spread like wildfire throughout Yiyang County, yet there was no mention of it being a joke anywhere.
"I heard that the innkeeper of the Zihua Inn is saving money to sleep with Chae-hyang."
"He must be crazy. I wondered why he was saving money so desperately."
"What a pathetic guy."
"Even if he does that, Chae-hyang wouldn't sleep with him. She's not a prostitute, and she has a strong sense of pride. Besides, there must be many men aiming for her."
Recalling those old days still twisted my insides.
"No, that was a joke, you bastards. Ah..."
Every time the rumor reached my ears, I had to pull my hair out in frustration.
After all, what a ridiculous yet amusing story it was.
What I had said in jest had somehow become the real reason I was saving money, spreading throughout Yiyang County until it became a legendary tale.
There were even ridiculous jokes about it reaching the Martial Alliance.
I paused for a moment at the Plum Blossom Pavilion, where a blue lantern was hung.
Hanging a blue lantern meant there were courtesans available.
Hanging a red lantern meant not to seek courtesans here.
Of course, the meanings varied by region, and over time, their significance changed, but that was how it was here.
Old memories flashed through my mind.
The guards of the Plum Blossom Pavilion, having heard the rumor of an innkeeper wanting to sleep with Chae-hyang, came to tease me at the inn.
My expression had hardened, and they started by hitting me a few times before finally kicking me.
There were many reasons.
They might have been angry at me for treating Chae-hyang like a courtesan.
It could have been the foolish behavior of the men trying to impress Chae-hyang.
Judging by the state of my face, that incident must have happened just a few days ago.
It was such a long time ago that I hadn't really held onto it, but now that I had returned to the past, I couldn't help but keep recalling that event.
At that time, the reason my face had hardened was that they had intentionally brought Chae-hyang to mock me.
How could I express the frustration and humiliation of that moment? In truth, whether it was a joke or serious, it probably didn't matter to them.
The mere thought that a mere innkeeper was eyeing the most beautiful courtesan at the Plum Blossom Pavilion must have been unpleasant for them.
That was when I first saw Chae-hyang.
She was beautiful, but there was nothing more humiliating than seeing a woman's face filled with anger and contempt.
As those emotions resurfaced clearly, a smile crept onto my lips.
Since I had been humiliated in front of everyone, I thought I would visit the Plum Blossom Pavilion in the evening when the most people would be around.
I needed to turn the "rumor" back into a "joke."
As I turned away from the Plum Blossom Pavilion after gazing at it for a long time, a man working at the fabric shop across the street approached me, speaking up.
"Are you thinking of setting something on fire out of anger? Why are you glaring like that? What a pathetic guy."
His voice was the most pathetic in the world.
Of course, it was true that I was a pathetic guy at this time.
However, the more important fact was that I was still pathetic.