Chapter 007: The Adventurers’ Home

The setting sun, red as blood, spilled over the road leading to the imperial capital.
The distant hills appeared coated in red, and even when farmers were seen working in the fields, they were merely faint silhouettes.
Such a peaceful scene was utterly unseen in the northern lands.
In fact, Du Fan was now in the central part of the empire.
Ever since he decided to leave the north, Du Fan had no intention of alarming anyone. He simply informed his two elder brothers at home and set off.
As they were tasked with guarding the north, they couldn’t leave without permission.
George sent a cavalry unit of 200 men to escort Du Fan back to the capital, along with the protection of the Temple Knights. Even if bandits appeared along the way, they would likely not be foolish enough to attack them.
As for the nobles in Modo, they somehow learned of Du Fan’s departure and each brought him numerous gifts during the farewell. Du Fan wanted to decline, but upon seeing the value of the gifts, he stayed silent.
After all, he had suffered so much in the north—some compensation wouldn’t hurt!
As for Du Fan’s companions, there weren’t many. Aside from Chenchen and Lingsound, who were too delicate to travel and had to stay in the carriage, Nicholas and Tasia were originally members of the Holy Church. They were supposed to travel with Du Fan, but an order from the capital forced them to return early. As for Ferre’s whereabouts, Joshua didn’t ask much… It seemed this grand knight of the Temple Knights had also accepted Du Fan’s decision to bring the Temple Knights to his side.
Du Fan knew well that this wasn’t out of generosity. Sending Temple Knights on his own terms was a serious offense. But perhaps Lord Joshua had received orders from someone in the capital, otherwise he wouldn’t turn a blind eye to such self-serving behavior.
Along the way, while thinking about how much he still had to do once he returned to the capital, Du Fan was more interested in learning from Lord Joshua about Lord Anthony’s attitude.
Though Lord Joshua seemed easy to deceive, who among those in such a high position could truly be that simple?
Despite much effort, Du Fan didn’t obtain any information from Lord Joshua, but he did hear quite a bit about various matters in the capital.

Du Fan spoke highly of Lord Joshua for his broad knowledge, but he never harbored any negative thoughts about him being gossip-prone or trivial. Yet, despite such thoughts, Du Fan was well aware that he represented the combined interests of the Green Family and the Holy Church. Due to his actions, the relationship between these two powerful forces was currently in a honeymoon phase, and he certainly couldn’t offend Lord Joshua over such a minor matter. After all, they weren’t in the North anymore—there were no Northern armies at his back ready to assist, nor any favorable circumstances to take advantage of!

As they continued on their journey, stopping from time to time, they didn’t waste much time. The roads had become easier to traverse due to the frozen ice and snow, so much so that what would have taken a month to cover was now covered in less than half a month.

Upon reaching the central part of the empire, plains stretched everywhere, with the imperial capital visible in the distance. Compared to the icy landscapes of the North, the prosperity of Emperor Gavin’s capital was fully displayed before Du Fan’s eyes.

That night, under the moonlight, Du Fan and his group continued moving forward slowly. Du Fan was walking side by side with Joshua, discussing techniques related to martial arts. After all, although Du Fan had gained memories of combat instincts, they were still somewhat different from real experience. Over the past few days, by seeking advice from Joshua on these matters, Du Fan had learned a great deal.

But before he could finish speaking, several dull thunderclaps suddenly rang out in the sky, and the weather turned gloomy instantly. The spring rain came swiftly, and if they didn’t find a place to take shelter soon, the entire group might end up drenched.

Du Fan and Joshua exchanged a wry smile. Du Fan said, “Lord Joshua, it seems we need to find a place to take shelter from the rain first.”

Joshua glanced at the sky and shook his head. “If I’m not mistaken, there should be a small town not far ahead… Let’s go there to take shelter.”

Du Fan nodded slightly without saying much.

Soon, led by a Templar knight, Du Fan and his group left the main road leading to the capital and took a dark side path. After walking for a few minutes, a relatively quiet small town came into sight.

It seemed this town had never seen such a large army before. As soon as they entered, countless curious eyes stared at them.

Joshua didn’t seem to care and continued to chat and laugh with Du Fan. However, when Du Fan saw that the townspeople weren’t afraid of the army but instead looked curious, he felt somewhat puzzled. But since Joshua said nothing, he couldn’t say much either and could only pretend he hadn’t noticed, keeping a subtle smile on his face.

After a while, the lead knight had found out where the only inn in the town was. The group walked around the town a few times before arriving at a rather new-looking inn.

The inn seemed to have been newly renovated, painted a bright pink-white, with vivid murals on the walls, though the paintings were somewhat vulgar. Above the door hung a sign reading “Home of Adventurers.”

The inn’s door had somehow already been opened. A short, thin, dark-skinned man, likely the owner, rushed out at the sight of potential business, bowing and scraping his feet while sending people to help pull the horses.

Yet his servants, whether pretending or truly inexperienced, were stunned when they saw the hundreds of cavalry behind Du Fan and the others!

Du Fan and Joshua ignored them. Aside from one person with a dozen personal guards, the rest of the cavalry would have to camp outside the inn.

Upon entering the inn, Du Fan glanced around briefly before frowning. Inns in such small places usually doubled as hotels. In the lobby, there were a dozen tables, most of which were greasy and dirty, clearly not cleaned in ages. A few tables had people buried in drinking, ignoring the dozens of newcomers—obviously complete drunkards.

Du Fan and Joshua managed to find a relatively clean table and sat down. Before long, the thin, dark-skinned owner approached and asked what they needed.

Du Fan glanced at Joshua before calmly saying, “We’ll be taking over this inn. Send someone to clean all the rooms. As for those drinking, send them out too. Tell them we’ll cover their drinks.”

The owner bowed eagerly and immediately set to work, ordering his servants to “invite” the drunkards out.

Du Fan glanced at them again and felt a stir in his heart. The servants all seemed strong and robust, with faces showing signs of hard living. They certainly didn’t look like ordinary messengers.

He felt a hint of doubt and frowned slightly, but he ordered a cavalryman from the Northern Legion nearby to invite the owner over.
“Judging from your appearance, you don’t seem like a businessman. If I’m guessing correctly, you must have opened this inn not long ago, right?”
The owner nodded repeatedly, forcing a smile and saying, “Yes, yes, you’re right, young master. The previous owner thought business was poor, so he sold the place. I’ve only taken over recently.”
Du Fan nodded slightly and asked, “Your accent doesn’t sound local, does it?”
The owner was shocked and said, “You’re really astute, young master. I indeed am not from here. I originally came from the South, but out of necessity, I ended up in a foreign land.”
Du Fan said calmly, “I see. Presumably, you weren’t an ordinary person before starting this business, either? From what I see, your servants don’t seem like ordinary people either. I guess they’re all former soldiers?”
The owner sighed bitterly and said, “You’re joking, young master. How could we be soldiers? We were just a lowly mercenary group, struggling to survive day by day. Not long ago, our leader died in a mission, and we couldn’t continue like that. Only one of us got some severance pay, enough to live comfortably for a few years. But in these times, no matter how much money you have, it will run out eventually. So my friends and I decided to open a small inn together. It’s not much, but at least we can make a living and won’t starve in old age!”
Du Fan sighed and said, “I see. I thought you were soldiers. I was wrong… But since you’re going into business, why not do it in the capital? What’s there to make in such a remote place?”
The owner sighed deeply and said, “You don’t know much, young master. Although it’s hard to make money in remote places, at least life is peaceful here… The capital is prosperous, but it’s full of troubles. We ordinary people have no status or backing. If we tried to do business there, we wouldn’t just struggle to make money—we might even struggle to die a good death. Here, people are simple, and by doing small business and earning a little money, we can live comfortably and happily, without worrying about wars or disasters. It’s just the way things are.”