Chapter 54: The Guest Room
The black man behind him patted Li Changluo’s shoulder again.
“King eight eggs, go your mother’s—”
Li Changluo was annoyed—forcing him to speak a foreign language?
“You freak, what are you babbling about? I can’t understand a single word!”
To his surprise, the black man spoke fluent Chinese.
But the voice sounded oddly familiar. Li Changluo tried to recall—it was such a feminine tone, only the tavern’s waiter, Zheng Odd, could speak like that.
How did he get so dark?
Li Changluo hurriedly jumped off the girl in the bright robe.
“You’ve grown well, kid. In such a short time, you’ve gained such powerful demon energy, enough to rekindle the flame of the Divine Cauldron.”
Zheng Odd squinted and smiled shyly. His eyes were small to begin with—now they nearly disappeared, leaving only a black face.
But his smile froze. He had the ability to sense demon energy levels and had already seen Li Changluo’s value.
Minus twenty-one.
Could demon energy be negative?
He’d seen countless little and big demons, even demon kings, from all walks of life in the tavern—nothing he hadn’t encountered. But negative demon energy? That was a first.
Was his own body malfunctioning from overexertion lately?
Zheng Odd focused carefully on Li Changluo again.
Still negative.
No mistake.
Li Changluo felt uncomfortable under his gaze.
“Did you defeat what was inside?” Zheng Odd asked.
“Defeat? Hell, I nearly died in there! Rekindling the Divine Cauldron doesn’t require beating anything—just press a button on the cauldron. Which idiot designed that?”
As he spoke, Li Changluo shot a glare at Ahuang, squatting by the stove. That damned dog, always bullying others—he’d nearly died because of it.
“Haha, Ahuang really wasn’t trying to harm you,” Zheng Odd said, glancing at Ahuang, whose ears drooped as he lay on the ground, looking more dejected than Li Changluo.
“Eh, forget it—the task’s done anyway, right?” Li Changluo didn’t bother arguing further. Effort should yield reward. He grinned at the girl in the bright robe.
She didn’t say much, but took two keys from her belt and tossed them to him.
Li Changluo caught them happily, blowing on them and biting…
Zheng Odd and the girl both stared, dumbfounded. He looked exactly like a miserly landlord—but the keys weren’t gold, so why bite them?
“Thank you! Can we leave now?” Li Changluo bowed to the girl, then pointed at the kitchen door.
She nodded.
“Wait, take this phone. Come visit my room sometime,” Zheng Odd said, holding the phone delicately. “My number’s in there—call me.”
Li Changluo was forced to accept the phone. Seeing Zheng Odd act so flirtatiously sent a chill up his spine. He scooped up the unconscious Xiaoqing and slipped out like a puff of smoke.
Li Changluo paused, poking his head back in. “Almost forgot—how do I cure the poison? I think I’m dying—my hand’s numb. Am I done for?”
“If you’d held her any longer, you’d have lost your arm. If you don’t leave now, I’ll change my mind!” The girl raised her spatula, threatening to hit him.
Li Changluo realized—so he wasn’t poisoned after all. He’d believed her nonsense.
He chuckled and hurried away.
“So generous—two guest rooms at once?” Zheng Odd teased. “Got your eye on that freak?”
“At my age, I could be his ancestor,” the girl replied, turning to gaze happily at the fire in the stove. “I never expected him to have such strong demon energy. This fire won’t go out. It’s not as potent as the boss’s flame, but the dishes won’t taste bad.”
“Indeed, suits my palate,” Zheng Odd mused, resting his chin in his palm.
Li Changluo carried Xiaoqing upstairs from the kitchen.
The monsters in the tavern stared in amazement…
“This kid is heading upstairs in broad daylight?”
“Shameless.”
“So jealous… I want to be shameless too…”
…
Li Changluo pulled out the keys, trying to find the room, but only strange runes marked them—he couldn’t understand a thing.
Fortunately…
Each key bore a totem, resembling the three-legged golden crow from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
The runes differed, but the totem was the same.
Each guest room in the tavern had its own unique totem marking.
Li Changluo, carrying Xiaoqing, searched door by door, finally ending up outside the girl’s room.
What the—could it be?
Both keys were for the girl’s room?
Was he destined to live under the same roof with her?
That would…
Seriously affect his relationship with Xiaoqing.
Li Changluo made a difficult decision—
Let Black Kid find a room elsewhere.
He would shoulder the burden of caring for two girls alone!
Ecstatic, he tried the keys on the door.
The door creaked open.
But when he pushed it, the room inside was nothing like what he’d imagined—certainly not the girl’s room.
He’d spied on her bathing countless times and knew the layout well.
The room before him was far too simple.
Just a wooden bed, a wooden table, and a round stool—though the window let in good light.
Something wasn’t right. Li Changluo rubbed his eyes. This was definitely the girl’s room location.
Maybe he was opening it wrong?
He tried again and again—still the same.
He finally realized: The tavern’s guest rooms were like alternate spaces, and these strange keys unlocked them.
Perhaps dozens of rooms overlapped in the same physical location?
Efficient use of space, indeed.
Still, it beat squatting in a corner of the tavern’s main hall.
Li Changluo placed Xiaoqing on the bed—she slept deeply, beautifully. When she wasn’t being silly, she truly was lovely.
At least right now, Li Changluo was utterly entranced.
He’d rushed so quickly he forgot to ask how to wake Xiaoqing.
He gently tapped her cheek.
No response.
He called her name softly.
Still nothing.
Li Changluo frowned, sighing inwardly—so it was useless.
Was artificial respiration his only option?
His precious first kiss…
But to save her, he would risk it.
He slowly closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and prepared to give up his first kiss for this innocent, adorable girl.
Just then, like in a melodramatic TV show, his phone rang.
Li Changluo was always quick to answer calls—it was instinctive. He fished out his phone.
Why couldn’t he kiss her first, then answer?
He regretted it.
If it was another energy pill salesman, he swore he’d call the police this time.
“Hello, are you a relative of Smith Dog Egg?”
“Trying new tricks, are you? Nice—creating suspense for the opening. But I’m calling the police.”
“Police?” The other side hesitated, then continued, “Comrade, this is the West District Police Station of Li City. Your relative Smith Dog Egg is suspected of soliciting prostitutes. Please come pay the bail.”
“Smith Dog Egg? Never heard of him,” Li Changluo replied gruffly. Suddenly, something clicked. He asked tentatively, “Is Smith Dog Egg a black guy, afro, very fat?”
“You can talk to your relative yourself.”
The phone seemed to be passed to someone else.
“Li, it’s me—I got whored out. Come get me out of here.”