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As the evening of the fourth day approached, when the two returned to the inn, the Innkeeper suddenly said to Lin Ning, "Guest, the silver for your stay has run out. If you wish to continue staying here, please pay an additional ten taels of silver." Lin Ning reached into his pocket but found no silver. He frowned and said, "Innkeeper, could you please grant me an extension of one day? I will find a way to pay you back tomorrow." The Innkeeper wore a helpless expression and replied, "Very well, I will give you one more day. If by then you still cannot gather the silver, you and this young lady will have to leave my inn."
Upon hearing the Innkeeper's words, Yuan Yueming angrily said, "Innkeeper, don't look down on us just because we have no silver. Once I find the treasure and become wealthy, I could crush your inn with gold and silver!" The Innkeeper clearly thought Yuan Yueming was talking nonsense; he looked at her coldly and mocked, "That would be wonderful! I hope the young lady becomes rich soon. If you truly could get rich, you wouldn't owe my inn this little bit of rent!"
Yuan Yueming had been spoiled in the Min royal palace since childhood, and no one had ever dared to speak to her like that. Just as she was about to explode with anger at the Innkeeper, Lin Ning softly advised her, "Junior Sister, we are outside now; safety comes first. Don't cause trouble!" Yuan Yueming huffed at the Innkeeper and turned back to their room.
After two or three hours passed, the Innkeeper finally ordered a waiter to bring them a plate of mixed tofu, two bowls of rice, and two cups of plain tea—an experience vastly different from when they first stayed at the inn. Yuan Yueming fumed, "This Innkeeper truly has a dog’s eyes that look down on people. He bullies us because we have no silver and serves us such coarse food!" Lin Ning comforted her, saying, "A simple meal is much better than going hungry. You aren't still reminiscing about your lavish life in the royal palace, are you?"
Yuan Yueming quickly replied, "Of course not! I just can't stand that Innkeeper's snobbish attitude. I also don't want to see him demanding silver from us tomorrow. Unfortunately, we still haven't found the treasure..." Supporting her chin with her hand, she continued, "Senior Brother, why don’t you paint something tomorrow and sell it at the market for some silver?"
Lin Ning shook his head and said, "Right now Hong Taiji is hunting for us; doing that would be too risky." Yuan Yueming sighed and said, "Even if Great Khan doesn’t catch us, how many common folks in the cold northern lands would appreciate a painting by Hero Lin? Sigh..." After a moment of silence, Yuan Yueming suddenly blushed and stopped speaking.
Seeing her hesitation, Lin Ning curiously asked, "What good idea do you have? You’re not thinking about gambling in a casino, are you?" Yuan Yueming replied hesitantly, "Of course not! I was thinking... I was thinking..." She stammered as she faced Lin Ning's questioning gaze until she finally mustered up courage and said blushingly, "Senior Brother, how about this: there’s a brothel called Chunhong Courtyard in Hetuala City. You could tie me up and sell me there; once you get the silver, I’ll find a way to escape..." Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Ning angrily splashed the tea from his cup onto her. Yuan Yueming swayed as the tea splattered against the window frame.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she choked out, "I... I saw that you had no silver for rent so..." Lin Ning shouted angrily, "You shouldn’t think of such a disgraceful thing! If Master and Master’s Wife were watching from above and saw you like this, they would surely be heartbroken!" Furious, Lin Ning stormed out of the inn. After spending some time together, any fondness he had just begun to feel for Yuan Yueming instantly vanished. Feeling suffocated inside, he stepped outside for some fresh air; the cold northern night reminded him of warm and happy times spent with Hu Xueyan.
Suddenly Lin Ning heard a familiar voice in the distance: "Father, it seems there’s an inn ahead." Then another familiar voice rang out near him: "Oh everyone hurry up! Let’s stay at this inn tonight!" Lin Ning was overjoyed; although he couldn’t see clearly in the dark who was approaching, he recognized it was Cong Jiang and his daughter Cong Rong. He called out loudly, "Is that Uncle Cong Jiang and Junior Sister Cong Rong coming this way?" The girl responded with a voice trembling with joy: "Senior Brother Zhangmen! It’s us! We finally found you!"
It turned out Cong Jiang and his daughter were worried about Lin Ning's safety and had traveled through mountains and rivers to find him in Borderlands. Lin Ning felt immense joy; he was currently troubled by their treasure hunt while having run out of silver—Cong Jiang's arrival was undoubtedly timely assistance. When Cong Jiang and Cong Rong reached Lin Ning's side, he noticed eight disciples from Sun Moon Gang following them.
Lin Ning happily asked, "Uncle! How did you come to Borderlands?" Cong Jiang replied: "The disciples were particularly worried about your safety; especially Rong'er who mentions your name every day." Even in darkness, Lin Ning could see Cong Rong's flushed face as she shyly called out: "Father..." Lin Ning said excitedly: "You came just in time! I have great news—I found Master’s Wife’s daughter!"
Upon hearing that Lin Ning had found their leader's daughter, all disciples from Sun Moon Gang eagerly asked in unison: "Where is Junior Sister now? Master quickly take us to meet her!"
The group followed Lin Ning back to the inn where he introduced Yuan Yueming to everyone. When Cong Jiang saw Yuan Yueming, he was so surprised he couldn’t speak; he looked her up and down before finally exclaiming joyfully: "It’s incredible! You look just like your mother! Back then when we were fleeing from Yang Yan’s pursuit—I held Rong'er while Wen Hui held you—we could only separate to divert attention from our enemies. Who would have thought nineteen years later you'd grown into such a beautiful young lady?" Yuan Yueming quickly greeted Cong Jiang.
Cong Jiang then anxiously asked: "Where is your Aunt Wen Hui? Is she well?" Hearing Cong Jiang mention his wife Wen Hui made Yuan Yueming's expression turn cold as she replied: "She is doing very well indeed; for the sake of enjoying wealth and luxury your dear wife has long remarried Amin Beile of Later Jin—living a life of silk and satin while leaving me to recognize thieves as my father for nineteen years."
Upon hearing that Wen Hui had abandoned him for another man in Min Kingdom, Cong Jiang felt as if he had been struck hard on the head; he simply could not accept this reality. His face turned pale as he felt weak all over—he seemed to age significantly in an instant. Seeing her father’s distressing expression made Cong Rong rush forward to support him into a chair.
Cong Jiang appeared dazed as he murmured: "Nineteen years... I've missed you every moment... Who would have thought you'd remarry someone else? Why did you do this? Why is heaven so unfair to me? Is wealth really that important to you?" As his sadness turned into anger at this point, Cong Jiang slammed his fist onto the wooden table with tremendous force—the table shattered instantly.
Yuan Yueming remained cold-faced as she remarked: "Well now we have no money for rent anyway; you've broken another table..." Watching Cong Jiang's sorrowful state made Lin Ning feel pained as he said: "Junior Sister, perhaps it would be best if you said less; maybe Aunt Wen Hui truly has her reasons." Yet Yuan Yueming continued unabated: "Yes indeed; her reason is fear of death and vanity..."
Seeing Yuan Yueming criticize her mother so sharply made Cong Rong unable to hold back any longer as she exclaimed: “Don’t say such things about my mother!” Yuan Yueming glanced at Cong Rong who bore a resemblance to Wen Hui with delicate features yet showed intimacy with Lin Ning earlier—this sparked some hostility within her towards Cong Rong.
Yuan Yueming coldly retorted: “Oh? Are you defending your mother? It seems you're supportive of her actions—truly like mother like daughter…” Angered by this remark which left her speechless with only one word “You,” Cong Rong couldn’t say anything more.
Noticing how tense things had become between them made Lin Ning quickly intervene: “Junior Sisters! We are all on the same side here; let’s speak nicely!” After hearing Lin Ning’s mediation both girls fell silent. Yet within her heart Yuan Yueming cursed: “Truly like mother like daughter—I see both of them are cut from the same cloth; neither is worth anything!”
At that moment the Innkeeper pushed open the door and entered their room. Seeing the broken table filled him with distress as he said: “I just heard some noise in here so I came over to check—what are you trying to do? You haven’t paid your rent yet broke my perfectly good table!”
Cong Rong apologized sincerely: “We’re sorry Innkeeper! We’ve brought silver with us—we will compensate for your loss along with paying off what Master Zhangmen and Junior Sister Yuan owe too. Please prepare several rooms for us—we’ve had a tiring day and need somewhere to stay.” She pulled out two pieces of silver from her pocket and handed them over to the Innkeeper who instantly changed his demeanor into one full of smiles upon seeing bright white silver.
“Alright young lady! I’ll immediately instruct my waiters to prepare rooms for all esteemed guests!” With payment received promptly brought forth delicious food and drink for Lin Ning’s group after dinner.
Once they finished their meal together Lin Ning recounted their experiences searching for treasure on Nanshan Mountain to Cong Jiang and others. After a moment of silence Cong Jiang finally spoke up: “I originally planned on going to Shengjing tomorrow looking for Wen Hui but now it seems I must set aside family matters first—focusing entirely on assisting our leader in finding treasure instead. Once we’ve found it then I’ll go seek out Wen Hui.”
Lin Ning nodded affirmatively saying: “Uncle displays great righteousness—putting aside personal matters for everyone’s sake earns my utmost respect.” Noticing it was getting late after everyone had traveled all day they decided it was best each return to their rooms for rest—to regain energy before heading off early tomorrow morning towards Nanshan!
Cong Jiang spent an entire sleepless night grieving over Wen Hui's remarriage into Min Kingdom. The next morning upon hearing Lin Ning speaking early on he stepped out from his room whereupon noticing Cong Jiang’s haggard appearance—his eyes swollen without life clearly indicated last night had been rough on him.
Concerned Lin Ning asked: “Uncle! Are you alright?” Cong Jiang shook his head with a bitter smile saying: “I’m fine—it’s just we have important matters today so I couldn’t sleep last night!” Knowing full well that Cong Jiang fabricated this kind-hearted lie not wanting him worried—they shared an understanding glance without further words exchanged.
After breakfast everyone made their way towards Nanshan Mountain where after three days filled with rain snow—the sky above Hetuala City finally cleared revealing bright sunshine today! As usual Lin Ning led them ahead while clearing footprints behind them.
Arriving at Sixty-Four Hexagrams Diagram plaza atop mountain—the group wielding swords began meticulously striking down upon ground surface while others examined surrounding sandstones closely yet despite hours spent searching they discovered nothing new.
Squatting beside flagpole hitting stones against ground without finding anything unusual left Lin Ning feeling disheartened as he stood up under midday sun casting long shadows behind him.
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