As the night grew darker, a burst of pleasant clip-clopping from horse hooves trotting along the ground rang out from the Flowing Cloud Water Valley outside the gates of the Autumn Reed Inn. Mistress Liu was standing outside the entrance by herself with a pair of tiger-shaped gold accessories hanging from her waist.

A horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of the gates, and a middle-aged man in a scholarly robe emerged from within. The man gave off a natural sense of authority, and he seemed to be a man who was well-versed in both books and the martial arts. However, he was looking quite weary at this moment, and a smile appeared on his face at the sight of Mistress Liu as he said, "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go inside."

Mistress Liu turned around to lead the way into the inn with an indifferent expression.

The man glanced at the tiger amulets hanging from her waist, and his brows furrowed slightly as he asked, "Do you really need to be that cautious around me?"

A cold smile appeared on Mistress Liu's face as she replied, "I'm just a woman who runs a small inn, I can't compare with the mighty prefectural office. Just a couple of days ago, our signature shadow wall was removed, and all I could do was suffer in silence. 

“To add further insult to injury, the perpetrator has brought a bunch of disciples and grand-disciples to stay at my inn, and once again, all I can do is put on a smile and tend to the needs of those revered immortals. It's all thanks to your exceptional governance over the prefecture that I've been blessed with the honor of serving these esteemed immortals..."

"That's enough, Jiahui," the man said in a stern voice. "I know that you're angry about this situation, but I'm not in a much better situation than you are. In order to prepare for the water god temple worship ceremony, I've been running around like a headless chicken ever since dawn, and my throat feels like it's on fire.

“I've come here to rest for a moment at...