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Edited by RED

The capital; the biggest city in Mirrorlink. A never-ending stream of people entered and exited the city gates. However, this massive traffic opened a pathway by itself when they saw a beggar coming in their way, not willing to go near him.

It wasn’t that the beggar was a powerful being. Instead, it was his face. It looked like the kind where he fell from the skies, landing face first on the ground. Others couldn’t help but feel their stomachs churning when they saw his face.

Perhaps this beggar noticed the strange behaviors others were exhibiting, he stood on the spot and used his messy hair to cover his face, before continuing forward slowly with his stick and broken bowl in hand.

In the center of the capital city, their biggest restaurant, Qi Kai Restaurant was now experiencing its lunch hour rush. It was as busy as a marketplace, people moving everywhere. Their business was prospering like no other.

The ugly beggar came to this Qi Kai Restaurant’s doors and stopped in place. He raised his head and looked at the signboard, then proceeded in.

“Uncle, are you eating in?” the waiter by the door asked with a bright smile, looking at the ugly beggar.

However, the passersby did not find it strange in the least at the restaurant’s waiter speaking so respectfully to such an ugly beggar in tattered clothings.

The previous iteration of Qi Kai Restaurant was called the Ming Lai Restaurant. A year ago, the boss met with some accident and the restaurant was left without an owner. There were people who sought to profit from somebody else’s misfortune and take over this restaurant, but who would have thought, a young waiter who worked here for a few years came forward and put down a hefty sum of money, buying the restaurant. It was then renamed as Qi Kai Restaurant.

After they began their operations, this young boss of unknown origins treated anybody with utmost courtesy, be it revered officials, cultivators, or even people from all sorts of trades.

Some smaller influences had thought that this young boss was a pushover and wanted to take some advantage, but they soon learn how stupid they were.

The most distinct example was that not long after Qi Kai Restaurant began operations, the patriarch of a middle-level household, the Li Clan, cited unsatisfactory food as their reason and were looking for trouble. In the end, the young boss of Qi Kai Restaurant showed up in person and requested for every guest other than the Li Clan to leave the restaurant respectfully, without closing their tab. Then, he got people to shut their doors tight.

Just as people were feeling pity for the kind young boss, the restaurant’s doors soon opened. The interior wasn’t devastated like they had imagined. Instead, their wares were all neatly placed as usual.

The young boss of Qi Kai Restaurant was the first to come out, with his men behind carrying the troublemaker, the Li Clan patriarch, out. Upon taking a closer look, the arrogant Patriarch Li was already dead, and the men were carrying his corpse in the direction of the Li Clan.

The next day, everyone on the streets heard of the breaking news. Qi Kai Restaurant’s boss went into the Li Clan alone, which was guarded by Spirit realm cultivators, and managed to come out unscathed after throwing Patriarch Li’s corpse into their main hall.

It was only then that people understood that this tepid boss of Qi Kai Restaurant was in fact someone not to be trifled with. The reputation of this mysterious restaurant owner gradually spread, and their business prospered in the capital city. The name of this restaurant owner was called Xu Chen.

The scariest thing about Xu Chen was his age; he was very young, but no one dared to inquire about his actual age.

In the end, this owner said something in front of the Qi Kai Restaurant: “There is no such thing as social hierarchy when people visit this place. I don’t care whether you’re rich or not. Those who enter these doors are my guests! Nobody is allowed to look down on them! Otherwise, I’ll have you get the hell out of the capital!”

From then on, nobody dared to cause trouble in Qi Kai Restaurant, and their waiters had never disrespected anyone who entered.

The beggar extended his shivering hand and handed the waiter a mid-grade gemstone upon hearing his words.

At the sight of the gemstone, the waiter looked even happier and asked, smiling, “Uncle, do you wish to dine here, or do you require a private room?”

“Private room; the Heaven character room. Lead the way,” the beggar said plainly.

The waiter blanked for a moment at hearing this, then said respectfully, “This way please, Uncle. I’ll ask the manager to bring you.”

After the beggar entered the main hall, the waiter quickly ran to the manager, who was doing the accounts, and whispered something into his ears. The originally calm manager immediately turned serious and hurriedly walked to the beggar and said respectfully, “Senior, up this way, please. I’ll lead the way.”

The manager went up the stairs, leading the way, the beggar following behind him.

They came to the third story. Unlike the first and second story, it was very quiet at the third story. They arrived at a room and the manager stopped in place, gently opening the doors, gesturing to the beggar to invite him in.

The beggar didn’t say anything and went straight in, taking a seat without being polite about it.

The manager closed the door behind him carefully and asked respectfully, “May I ask for Senior’s surname?”

“Xu,” the beggar answered plainly.

“Then what about Mister’s assumed name?” the manager continued asking respectfully.

“Above Zi,” the beggar replied plainly once more.

However, the manager’s expression turned ugly at hearing this. His hands trembled, saying respectfully, “Please wait for a moment, Sir.”

The manager left the room carefully and shut the doors gently.

The beggar seemed to have never looked straight at the manager since entering the room. He picked up the cup of tea on the table leisurely and drank it.

Soon, hurried footsteps were heard from outside. The doors opened and a well-dressed young man entered, his hand holding a paper fan. This man was the owner of Qi Kai Restaurant, Xu Chen.

“The green hills across the northern outer city walls,” the well-dressed Xu Chen said, lightly slapping the paper fan in his hand.

“The white waters winding around the eastern city,” the beggar sipped on the tea and replied.

“Hmm? Pardon my presumptuousness, who may this Sir be? Xu Chen really couldn’t recognize you,” Xu Chen inquired respectfully.

“Oh, Fifth Brother, must this Young Master give you a kick in the rear before you recognize me?” the beggar said plainly.

Hearing this, Xu Chen, who always showed a calm and collected expression to others, immediately stiffened and knelt to the ground with a plop, calling out “Young Master!” respectfully.

Obviously, the one Xu Chen addressed as “Young Master”, disguised as a beggar and shot by an arrow in the forest outside the capital, was the young master of Xu Clan, Xu Qi.

“Get up. It's been so many years, and you still can't get rid of the habit of trembling at the sight of me,” Xu Qi smiled.

Xu Chen immediate stood up and said respectfully, “Young Master, I received message from Sister Yin yesterday, saying that someone is coming. But I would never have guessed that Young Master would come personally.”

Xu Chen never asked why Xu Qi was disguised as such. He knew well that his young master would often do or say things unexpectedly. Most importantly, Young Master didn't like others asking him why.

“Tell me about it, Fifth Brother,” Xu Qi said plainly as he raised his tea cup.

“Yes Young Master. You probably understood the general picture of the capital city. On the outside, the Huang Clan, Cai Clan, Qin Clan, and Fan Clan are the four top clans and are the most prominent. However, they are all supported by cultivation schools behind the scenes. Behind Huang Clan stands the Undying School; the Devil Feather Pavilion supports the Cai Clan; Mt Forsaken Sword supports the Qin Clan; and the Abyssal Beast School supports the Fan Clan,” Xu Chen explained in detail.

“Which clan was originally supported by the Glacial Ambuscade Pavilion?” Xu Qi interrupted.

“According to our investigations, when the Fan Clan had yet to be among the four top clans, there were traces of Glacial Ambuscade Pavilion behind them. However, after the Qian Clan was destroyed and the Fan Clan successfully took their place, they made connections with the Abyssal Beast School. It was said to be related to the disappearance of the Glacial Ambuscade Pavilion’s School Master, Leng Qianhai,” Xu Chen explained seriously.

Xu Qi nodded in satisfaction. What Xu Chen had gathered was pretty accurate. The Glacial Ambuscade Pavilion School Master Leng Qianhai and their Young Master Leng Shang perished at the hands of Xu Qi in the great battle of Xu Clan ten years ago. The Fan Clan actually changed their masters without understanding the situation. Their methods of swaying to the strong were really quite something. It seemed like the Fan Clan weren't a respectable clan.

“Where does Cai Xiaoxiao stand in the Cai Clan?” a purple-clothed girl appeared in Xu Qi’s mind and he asked.

“Cai Xiaoxiao is the prized daughter of their clan patriarch, Cai Wubo,” Xu Chen glanced at Xu Qi as he spoke.

“What about Huang Xiao?” Xu Qi continued asking.

“Using his family's status as the number one clan in the capital, Huang Xiao acts extremely arrogant and bullies the weak. He doesn't treat human lives as anything important. Over the years, the number of human lives lost as a result of his actions are no small amount. Everyone is afraid of the Huang Clan and can only endure their tyranny. When I first took over the restaurant, he came looking for trouble once and was taught a lesson by me. I had thought his father Huang Sihu would come find me for revenge. To my surprise, he came and slapped Huang Xiao a few times in front of me, then gave me some money as compensation and left just like that,” Xu Chen recalled.

“Oh? If it's like that, Huang Sihu does seem like an interesting character,” Xu Qi said, nodding.

“Also, Young Master, the previous issue of Brother Yin and the two others met with ambush, I only managed to find out that it was related to the Huang Clan. No other intelligence has been gathered for the moment. Please pardon me, Young Master,” Xu Chen said deliberately.

“Hmm. I will personally handle this matter. Ten years ago, the Huang Clan pushed the Qian Clan into ruins for the sake of becoming the number one clan of the capital. And now, they are coming my way. It seems like we can no longer leave them alone,” Xu Qi’s face sank as he spoke plainly.

“Then what should we do now?” Xu Chen asked.

“You don’t have to care about anything else. Just do your part in the capital city; I’ll look for you if there’s a need to. I’ll continue playing as a beggar while you play the boss of the restaurant. I’m leaving,” Xu Qi stood up as he spoke, preparing to leave.

“Oh, right, Young Master, some people from other nations have come to the Capital City in the last few days. Their purposes are still unknown; please be careful in whatever you do,” Xu Chen reminded him, concerned.

Xu Qi nodded and took out something with a flip of his palm, tossing it over to Xu Chen and left.

Xu Chen looked at the Green Mystique Fruit in his hand and slapped himself. His face instantly turned bright red and he mumbled, “I’m useless, Young Master; you had to take care of these trivial matters personally.”

Xu Qi, still in his extremely ugly beggar disguise, slowly walked down the stairs and left the Qi Kai Restaurant. The manager who led the way for him earlier sent him off with his gaze; it wasn’t that he didn’t want to send him off physically, but that he didn’t dare to. That was because the Heaven character private room had been opened for the first time since the current iteration of the restaurant began operations.

Ai, I should have eaten at Fifth Brother’s place first before leaving. What a blunder, Xu Qi suddenly thought as he walked on the main street with his head lowered.

“Hey, hey, beggar. I’m calling you; you hear me?” an arrogant voice suddenly rang in Xu Qi’s ears.

Hearing this, Xu Qi subconsciously realized that perhaps the voice was calling out to him. He slowly raised his head and saw a young man dressed in yellow looking at him with his arms crossed, smiling.

This yellow-clothed young man was none other than Huang Xiao, who had a fleeting encounter with Xu Qi in the forest outside the city earlier.

“Sir, are you referring to me?” Xu Qi asked with a hoarse voice.

“Hmm. Of course I’m calling you, damn beggar. I didn’t think I would meet you here; what fate we have,” Huang Xiao answered, still smiling.

Xu Qi gave him a foolish smile and turned, wishing to leave. He didn’t want to do anything to this guy yet; he would be useful later.

However, Huang Xiao actually ordered his subordinates to encircle Xu Qi.

“Don’t rush to leave. Since we’re fated, I have to gift you something no matter what,” Huang Xiao said arrogantly, then gestured to his subordinates with his gaze.

His subordinates immediately understood what Huang Xiao wanted. They always followed this young master of Huang Clan, day in and day out. Of course they knew what his gaze meant, just that they were feeling bad for this beggar in their hearts. He could only count himself unlucky.

They closed up to him and started to beat up this ugly beggar, punching and kicking him.

Xu Qi was about to retaliate when he saw a familiar figure from the corner of his eye. He gave a slight smirk and cried out in pain.

“Huang Xiao! Stop it!” a female voice suddenly roared.