Zi Yue quickly helped the both of them up, giving them a quick once over to ensure that there they were not hurt anywhere. Reassured, she then turned back to the man, her gaze turning cold when it landed on him. She had been upstairs about to enter the meditation state to start her daily cultivation training when she heard a loud crash and raised voices coming from downstairs. Worried that something might have happened to Lan-Yi, she had rushed down as quickly as she could. Lan Ying had already entered the cultivation state so Zi Yue did not want to disturb her as any sudden disturbance may disrupt Lan Ying’s Qi’s flow and cause her internal injuries instead. She assumed Ye Yu was cultivating as well for he did not appear to have heard anything when she ran past his room. It was a good thing she had gone to check on the situation downstairs. When she saw a man about to slash at Lan-Yi with a knife, she quickly ran towards him, sending Qi energy to her feet to speed up and was able to stop him in time before anything bad happened. Although she had no idea what had happened there, she was able to understand that Lan-Yi was in danger and she had to help her. Lan-Yi had treated them very kindly over the past few days and they were very grateful for that. Because of her, the cosy inn had felt like home away from home. “Who are you and what business do you have with this lady over here mister?” Her tone was frigid and brought shivers to those who heard it. The man glared back at her, still crouched on the ground in pain. He had never been humiliated like this before and to top it off, it had been a little girl who managed to hit him over with one hit. By the looks of it, he was pretty sure that she was not even twenty yet. “That wretch behind the old lady stole something from me. I have been chasing her down for days now and finally found her. This does not concern you, do not poke your nose into my affairs.” Gritting his teeth as he held back the pain, he slowly stood up, towering over Zi Yue when he finally stood at full height. He was a big man and was used to using his size and height to intimidate opponents. Subconsciously, he had already viewed Zi Yue as an opponent. “I did not! That pendant belonged to my mother and you stole it! I was only taking back what is mine. That is the only thing I have left of her. You do not have the right to take it away from me.” Upon hearing his words, the girl who was hiding behind Lan-Yi exploded in anger, voice shaking in rage. His words had clearly hit a nerve, raw anger replacing any fear she previously had. “That was payment for your father's debt. Since he ran away, the debt is now yours. Be thankful you are too skinny and not attractive enough to be sold to the brothels. That old pendant was barely enough to cover for your father’s debt after deducting the amount I got from your house. Give it back to me now or else.” A look of understanding fell upon everyone as they finally got the whole story. From the sound of it, the girl’s mother had passed away and her father had landed himself in a huge pile of debt, running away and leaving his daughter to clean up his mess. They looked at her in pity. To have such an irresponsible father who, instead of properly caring for her after her mother passed away, gambled away his entire fortune and abandoned his own daughter in order to save his own skin. “Never!” Eyes blazing, the girl fiercely stood her ground. “YOU!” Roaring, he lunged towards her, forgetting that Zi Yue and Lan-Yi were in there. Before he could reach her, Zi Yue grabbed him first, his size not a problem for her at all. “Am I invisible?” The room’s temperature dropped even more when she spoke, those three words holding so much power that even the man forgot himself for a moment. Before he could recover though, someone spoke. “I will pay for her. After that, do not bother her anymore. Do not even step a foot into this inn, you are not welcome here.” It was Lan-Yi. Heads snapped towards her direction in shock the moment the words left her mouth. From the sound of it, it was not going to be a small amount. Yet, she was willing to cover the debt for a complete stranger. They did not know to respect her or to call her foolish. “You… This…” Even the girl was stunned. She had been preparing to bolt when she saw the female warrior called “Zi Yue” stop him so effortlessly. However the inn-owner’s words stopped her in her tracks. This lady was too much of a Samaritan to be true. What was she expecting in return? It was a hundred gold! No one gives up a hundred gold for nothing. There has to be a catch in this. “Oh, really? Alright, since you are willing to pay for her... Two hundred gold. Once I receive two hundred gold, I will never appear before you again. And she can keep that worthless pendant for all I care.” Eyes glinting, his tone changed upon hearing Lan-Yi’s words. “You liar! It is only a hundred gold, where did the other hundred come from!” “The other hundred is interest on the original debt and for the amount of trouble you brought onto me. Not a single gold less.” Speechless. The girl was rendered speechless. This was ridiculous. It was obvious he was making some sort of excuse in order to rip off more money from the inn-owner. Throughout this whole conversation, Lan-Yi was very calm and composed. She walked towards the counter, opened the cash box and took out a wad of notes. Slowly, she walked back to the man and held out the money. “Two hundred gold, take it and leave.” Seeing the money, the man gleefully took it and starting counting it. Upon confirming that the amount was correct, he grinned. “You should thank the heavens above that someone was willing to help you this time round. You must have saved an entire village in your previous life. Thanks for the money!” With that, he turned around and left. Seeing that the entire matter had been resolved, the crowd slowly dispersed with mixed feelings. Some of them felt that Lan-Yi was too foolish, while some of them really respected her for doing that. Others left feeling awe and slight fear towards Zi Yue. “Just now… But... You just… Why?” The girl did not know what to say. Finally she just settled for why. “It’s nothing. I just thought of how I would feel if I am your mother. Just take it as me having too much money with nowhere to spend it on. You’re free now dear. Do stay for a meal before leaving.” With a kind smile, Lan-Yi patted the girl on her back before turning away to clear up the mess the man had created. Just like that? For such a simple reason? She stood there in a daze, not knowing what to make do of the entire situation. “Wait.. Wait! Please, allow me to work here for you to repay my debt! I am grateful to you for saving me, but I simply cannot have you spend two hundred gold on me for nothing. ” Snapping out of the daze, she quickly walked over to Lan-Yi who was placing the furniture back into their original position. “It is alright, you don’t have to feel obligated to stay or return the money to me. Really.” “Please. My mother taught me to always return favours and repay debts of gratitude.” Lan-Yi placed down the chair in her hands. She was silent for a long while, frowning as she took a good, hard look at the young girl. When she finally spoke, all she did was ask for the girl’s name. “Huh??” The girl looked at Lan-Yi, confusion written on her face. Her name should not be the main point here right now… right? “I need to at least know the name my future employee’s name right? I can’t possibly be calling you “girl” or “you there”.” Taking in her confused expression, Lan-Yi smiled and explained. A look of understanding crossed the girl’s face as she got the meaning behind Lan-Yi’s words, her face breaking out into a smile. “My name is Qiu Ting, thank you for allowing me to stay! I will definitely work hard here!” Upon saying that, she quickly stepped forward to help Lan-Yi clean up the place. Zi Yue had been standing at the side, waiting to ensure that the man was not going to be coming back. After a while, seeing that the man had really left, she started to leave as well, heading back up to her room. She had been listening to the conversation, amusement flitting across her face at the enthusiasm Qiu Ting displayed. She had been filled with respect for Lan-Yi just now, knowing that two hundred gold was not a small amount. It was not something anyone would usually do for a stranger with no relations. Zi Yue was also glad that Qiu Ting was able to feel gratitude towards Lan-Yi. When she reached her room, Lan Ying had just left the meditative state. It reminded her of the cultivation she had wanted to start on before she was interrupted by the whole episode downstairs. She easily entered the meditative state and stabilised the flow of Qi in her body. In this state, she “saw” the energy lines of the natural world and started pulling on them, drawing the energy in towards herself. The energy lines had always been clear bright lines of lights to her, which was why she could always “see” them so easily. Today she was going to purely focus on refining her Qi and expelling any impurities. Whenever she fought or expended on her Qi, impurities in her would accumulate. Just now, since she barely expended on her Qi and did not fight, it did not really affect her actually. However, it was already a routine for her to focus purely on Qi cultivation after such situations. By the time she was satisfied with her cultivation progress, four hours had passed and it was already time for dinner. Seeing the room empty, Zi Yue stood up and walked towards Ye Yu’s room. She guessed that Lan Ying had headed over to Ye Yu’s room while waiting for her to finish her cultivation. Even though they seemed to be at loggerheads with one another, the two of them actually shared a love for weapons (i.e. swords, sticks, darts, sabers, anything that can poke others (hard) really) and often had long discussions about it. As she had expected, she found them there in a heated discussion about dual blades. “Knock knock. You two weapon-heads, time for dinner. I’m starving.” Two heads swivelled towards her at the same time, eyes blazing as if to shoot lasers at the person who dared to disturb their conversation. Upon seeing that it was Zi Yue, they sighed, for they knew that if they continued talking and ignored her, they would be mashed like potatoes. No one keeps Zi Yue’s hungry stomach waiting. Heading down, they took a seat at a table. Instead of Lan-Yi who usually took their orders, a young girl came bounding over. “Female warrior! It’s you! I’m taking over for Lan-Yi since I will be working here from now on. What would you like to order?” “Female warrior?” Ye Yu and Lan Ying turned to Zi Yue. They looked back and forth between Zi Yue and the waitress, their gazes full of questions unasked. "Yes! She saved both Lan-Yi and I just now." Putting the notepad in her hands down, Qiu Ting suddenly clasped Zi Yue's hands between her own. "Thank you for saving us just now, I thought we were going to die. I do not have any money on me right now to treat you to a meal but next time when you come back I am sure I would be able to. I'm really thankful and grateful. Thank you!!" Ye Yu and Lan Ying curiosity grew larger after hearing her words. Seeing the look on her friends' faces, Zi Yue sighed and recounted the entire episode to them. While doing so, Qiu Ting was standing at the side, nodding along to everything Zi Yue said, face shining with admiration for Zi Yue. She'd officially see both Zi Yue and Lan-Yi as her heroes now. “It was nothing much, all I did was reached there in time.” Zi Yue ended off her recount awkwardly, clearly sensing the waves of admiration pouring off Qiu Ting. She quickly ordered a few dishes in an attempt to divert’s Qiu Ting’s attention and heaved a sigh of relief when Qiu Ting went off to place their orders. She was not used to feeling such strong admiration from someone. It felt... weird. Plus like what she said, she barely did anything to warrant such feelings. "Female warrior eh? Looks like you've got yourself a fan Yue Yue." Lan Ying grinned and pointed at Zi Yue, finding the whole situation with Qiu Ting highly amusing. On the other hand, Ye Yu was the polar opposite of Lan Ying. "Another competitor..." He darkly muttered under his breath, frown lines creasing his forehead. "Sorry Ye Yu, I didn't catch that. What did you say?” Zi Yue thought she heard Ye Yu say something. Startled, Ye Yu hastily replied "Nothing much, I was wondering where the food was cause I'm starving." He guility turned the other way but he caught Lan Ying's eye. And from the way she grinning at him, it was obvious she caught what he said. He was not going to be able to live this down...