Back To When The Demon Lord Was A Beggar - Chapter 16

The senior brother was sprawled out on the floor, looking completely wasted. It was clear he had downed quite a lot of alcohol, and his heavy build had managed to knock over a nearby table. Seeing this scene, Shen Shangli frowned and let out a silent sigh.

Everything appeared normal. Her senior brother was exactly as he had always been, not a single thing about him had changed. The waiter standing nearby looked a bit at a loss, his every movement indistinguishable from an ordinary person, he seemed like a completely different man from the one who had been standing outside the door moments ago.

The senior brother kept muttering about wine, leaving the waiter with no choice but to turn around and fetch more. The only real anomaly was that despite such a loud commotion, the customers downstairs completely ignored it.

As her soul returned to her body, Shen Shangli opened her eyes and recounted everything she had seen to the group, word for word. She lowered her head and sighed, “Senior Brother really needs to fix his habit of overdrinking. Fortunately, we’re safe for now, but if he encounters real danger in the future, it’ll be a huge problem.”

In the sect, her senior brother was someone who treated her exceptionally well. Every time he refined elixirs, he would make an extra portion specifically for her. Because of this, her relationship with him was better than with her other martial brothers, and she couldn’t help but worry about him after what had happened.

Staying with those people outside meant facing danger at any moment, so she thought about calling him up and using spiritual energy to sober him up, so they could all leave this inn together.

Shen Shangli said seriously, “I’ll go bring my senior brother up in a moment. When the time comes, you all go first, and my senior brother and I will cover the rear. We can’t hold you back.”

She worried that since her senior brother didn’t know immortal arts, everything would fall on her shoulders. If this inn was fraught with danger, it wouldn’t be right to involve the other young masters.

Wu Xiang said, “If they need killing, then kill them. It’s just a few monsters. If you guys don’t have the guts, I’ll do it myself!”

“What if they are ordinary citizens?” Chu Nanzhen asked. They had considered this problem before. The people outside were virtually indistinguishable from normal humans. Rather than looking like monsters, they seemed more like people being controlled. If they truly weren’t monsters, then they would be killing the genuine citizens of Central City.

If it really was a monster’s doing, and the situation mirrored what happened in the Mist Forest, what should they do? Spare the wicked citizens and kill the wronged monsters?

Wu Xiang hadn’t thought about that. He hadn’t considered what to do if they were citizens. He was always focused on solving his own problems first before considering the safety of others. So, when Chu Nanzhen asked the question, his mouth hung open, and he couldn’t find a word to say for a long time. Finally, he muttered, “At worst, it’s just a life for a life.”

“Not long ago, you said that Wuxin gave his life to save yours, so you had to live well. How can you be so willing to throw your life away now?” Zhi Shiyi said, looking at him.

“I was just saying that, I didn’t mean I’d actually give my life,” Wu Xiang felt a bit disgruntled. “I admit what I said was problematic, but there’s no need to be so literal, Shiyi-er.”

 Zhi Shiyi withdrew his gaze and spoke to Shen Shangli, “Miss Shen, you should bring your senior brother up first. We’ll figure out a plan once he’s sober.”

Shen Shangli nodded heavily.

In the time it took to speak, the senior brother had already finished three large jars of wine. Liquid was spilling everywhere, yet he was still shouting, “Bring more wine! Bring more wine!” The waiter stared at the man on the floor and let out an “Aiya!” “Dear guest, with the trouble in the city these past few months, the wine was all bought a while ago, and you’ve drunk it all. There’s none left.”

The senior brother howled at the top of his lungs, “Nonsense! What could happen in this city? If you ask me, you just don’t want to sell to me! I am a disciple of the Qianshan Sect, do you think I’m short of a few coins? Hurry up and bring the wine!”

Standing on the second floor, Shen Shangli shook her head and called out, “Senior Brother.”

The moment her voice rang out, the noise below stopped abruptly. The senior brother froze for a moment before squinting up toward the balcony. He had drunk so much that his head was swimming, and he couldn’t even see people clearly. After staring at the figure above for a long while, he finally recognized his junior sister. He let out a few silly chuckles and replied, “Hey! Junior Sister, what are you doing here? Come have a drink with me!”

Seeing it was the girl from earlier, the waiter sized up Shen Shangli a few times, as if calculating something in his mind. After a while, he said with a troubled face, “So the young lady is this guest’s junior sister. Since you know each other, that makes things easier. With the recent trouble in the city, although things are fine during the day, many shops have stayed closed lately to stay safe, so we haven’t had a chance to restock the wine.”

He turned his head to look at the senior brother lying on the floor and added, “These were the last few jars in the shop, and this guest has finished them all. Even if you wanted more, I couldn’t provide it. Young lady, you should advise this gentleman to drink less. It’s getting late, so you should take him up to rest. Having so many of you in one room is quite a squeeze. If anyone leaves tomorrow, I’ll immediately arrange another room for you.”

“Thank you for your hard work. I will definitely advise my senior brother to drink less in the future,” she said, before heading downstairs to help him. Her senior brother was nearly twice her size, so pulling him up was a real struggle. Even when he stood, he swayed and couldn’t walk straight, and the smell of alcohol radiating from him made her scowl.

If you knew, you’d say he drank too much, if you didn’t, you’d think he’d been pickled in a vat of wine. As they passed the waiter, Shen Shangli feigned ignorance and asked, “I wanted to ask, is it possible to go out at night?”

The waiter let out a confused “Ah?”

Shen Shangli explained with a smile, “My senior brother smells quite unpleasant after all that drinking. I was thinking if we could go out, I’d buy him some new clothes to change into. But I heard from others in the city during the day that it’s best not to go out at night. I didn’t think things could be that serious, so I wanted to ask.”

She wanted to test him, to see if she could coax out some more information. The waiter let out several “Haha”s and folded his hands in front of him. “Isn’t that the truth? The city has been very unsettled lately, it’s better not to go out. If the young lady truly finds the smell on this gentleman distasteful, I have a few unworn new clothes I can give you one.”

Shen Shangli smiled faintly. “My senior brother just said it, he is a disciple of the Qianshan Sect. Since I call him senior brother, I am naturally from the Qianshan Sect as well. Our sect has always upheld the principle of ‘eliminating evils for the people.’ Since the city is in trouble, we certainly cannot sit idly by.”

“Is the young lady planning to go out?” The smile on the waiter’s face slowly faded as he looked at her seriously.

“The sect prioritizes the people. When the citizens are in trouble, we have a responsibility to solve the problem. Since the monsters appear at night, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for us to go out then?” Shen Shangli said with a serious expression. “Besides, the sooner the monsters are eliminated, the sooner the people can feel at peace and come out at night, right?”

Hearing this, the waiter thought for a moment before a smile reappeared on his face. “The young lady makes a good point, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to get out.”

Shen Shangli asked guardedly, “What do you mean by that?”

“The trouble in this city is far greater than you imagine. It’s not something that can be solved just because people from a sect show up. When His Majesty heard about the trouble in the city, he immediately sent sect members to resolve it, but in the end, they all died in the mouths of monsters. If you ask me, you two are just going to your deaths. It’s better to stay put and wait for His Majesty’s arrangements. His Majesty cares for the people, and to prevent unnecessary trouble, he specifically asked sect members to set up an array. At night, you can’t even take three steps past the entrance. So, even if the young lady wants to go out, she won’t be able to.”

“…Tell me, how long has the city been having trouble?” Shen Shangli asked.

The waiter rolled his eyes and let out a “hiss.” “About two months now.”

“May I ask, which sect did His Majesty send, and what were their names?” Shen Shangli inquired.

The waiter shook his head and sighed. “I wouldn’t know that. We common folk only know they were from a sect, we don’t know which one.”

Shen Shangli nodded thoughtfully. Two months was already quite a long time. If such a thing happened in the city, the one in the palace certainly wouldn’t be able to sit still and would definitely have tried many ways to solve it. But she had been here a month ago, and everything seemed normal then. The words of the waiter in front of her couldn’t be fully trusted, it was better to see for oneself than to rely on hearsay.

“Hasn’t His Majesty sent anyone else to solve the crisis?”

“Everyone sent has died! Besides, I’ve heard His Majesty has been very ill these past few months. Some say he’s getting on in years, that there are signs of… well, you know. So this matter had to be put on hold.”

The waiter checked his surroundings before whispering that last part to her. It was understandable, it would be fine if it were just one or two people, but there were many people sitting on the first floor. Arbitrarily discussing the Emperor’s lifespan was never good, for fear that the walls had ears.

Throughout their conversation, her senior brother had been quiet. She looked down and realized he had fallen asleep. She thanked the waiter, took another look toward the door, and then helped her senior brother upstairs.

There was quite a bit of dust on the bed. When her large senior brother lay down, it made a “creak-creak” sound, as if it might collapse at any second. As the group stood by the bed, Wu Xiang pinched his nose in disgust and said, “Is this guy a wine vat? Isn’t he afraid of drinking himself to death?”

Chu Nanzhen shot him a fierce glare. His junior sister was standing right there, it wasn’t right to say such things!

Shen Shangli recounted everything that had just happened to the others. Zhi Shiyi felt something was strange. Not long ago, a letter had come from the palace, and judging by the letter, the one in the palace was still in good health. How could there be signs of his passing?

Zhi Shiyi said, “Since he says we can’t walk three steps out, why don’t we try it?”

There might be some truth mixed with lies, all tactics to keep them confused. Based on the waiter’s tone, he didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping them. In that case, they might as well try.

Suddenly, Chu Nanzhen felt unsteady on his feet. His head felt heavy, breathing became difficult, and his complexion turned deathly pale. Fortunately, the lamp in the room was lit. Seeing this, Zhi Shiyi rushed to help him sit down.

“Xiao Chu, what’s wrong?” Zhi Shiyi asked worriedly.

Chu Nanzhen licked his lips and waved his hand to show he was fine. He said, “I’ve been like this before, it’s nothing. It’s likely some lingering ailment from when I didn’t have enough to eat or wear in the past.”

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