The Lord of Void and Real

52  Chapter 51 Ignorance of Human Affairs

When Shen Luo arrived outside Song Fan County Town, it was past the hour of Xu and the city gates had already been closed. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Seeing that he couldn't enter the city, he directly urged his horse to a small town to the east of the city.

Song Fan County was prosperous in commerce, and this small town was located on the main road leading out of the city. The town was lined with shops, forming a sizable market, most of which were inns, specifically catering to the various traveling merchants for accommodations.

All these inns were manned by a clerk at their entrances, their calls to attract customers overlapping one another.

"Dear guest, would you like to stay? We have hot water in our store, and stewed beef shank that is just freshly cooked and very delicious, and we also have stewed goose, we guarantee your satisfaction."

"Guest, come to our De Yueju, our self-made 'White Sun Fragrance' wine is renowned near and far, we guarantee that after you have tasted it once, you'll wish for a second time, please stay."

Seeing Shen Luo approach, the clerks from several nearby stores swarmed over and called out to him simultaneously.

Shen Luo paid no heed to these clerks, he swept his gaze over the surrounding inns and drove his horse to a plain, relatively secluded small inn, causing those clerks to be greatly disappointed. After all, Shen Luo was dressed quite extravagantly, and the horse he was riding was a good one, clearly marking him as a wealthy client.

There was also a young clerk guarding the entrance of this small inn who seemed to be only about fifteen or sixteen years old, his large eyes spinning round and round, appearing quite clever.

"Guest, do you want to stay? Although our place is not large, it is quiet and the price is quite fair." Seeing Shen Luo coming over, the young clerk pasted a smile on his face and stepped forward to welcome him.

"Give me a quiet upper room, and also some food, make it abundant." Shen Luo had been feeling under the weather in the river for almost half a day, he was already extremely hungry.

"Alright." The young clerk showed an excited smile on his face and took the horse's reins hospitably, leading the way into the inn.

The clerks from other nearby inns were looking over with envy and jealousy mixed in their glances.

Shen Luo dismounted, but as soon as his foot touched the ground, he felt a sudden wave of weakness throughout his body. It was as if a void had appeared inside him, sucking away all the strength from his body.

His ears were ringing, his vision went black in intervals, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

"Guest, are you alright?" The young clerk got a fright and quickly went over to help Shen Luo up.

Shen Luo tried hard to look at the clerk, opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't even have the strength to speak. Not a word was uttered, his face quickly becoming pale.

"What happened? Did he fall off the horse?"

"No, I just saw him dismount from the horse and suddenly faint, he must have fallen ill suddenly."

"Xiao San, it seems like the guest you attracted this time is a troublemaker."

People outside seemed to have noticed the commotion here, gathered around and started discussing. Clerks from other inns also huddled over, starting to make sarcastic remarks, a few of them who were previously rejected by Shen Luo showed a look of schadenfreude.

Seeing that there were more and more people gathering around, the young clerk was so anxious that he broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly called for help inside the inn.

At this time, there were no other guests in the inn, only two waiters, and a thin middle-aged man wearing a civil officer hat who was looking through an account book at the counter.

The three of them also noticed the situation outside and hurried out. They were taken aback upon seeing the situation.

"Xiao San, what happened?" The thin middle-aged man asked in a low voice.

"Manager, what are we going to do?" Xiao San quickly explained the situation and asked dejectedly.

"Oh, this guest must have been fatigued from his journey and fainted. There's no need to make a fuss. You two, carry him inside. Xiao San, you go to Liu's pharmacy and ask Doctor Liu to come over." The innkeeper thought for a moment and immediately issued his orders out loud, allowing the onlookers to hear clearly.

The two waiters beside him obeyed his command, quickly lifting and carrying Shen Luo inside, while Xiao San shuttled off into the outside.

"Everyone, the guest merely overexerted himself, there is nothing serious, you can disperse now." The innkeeper took down a bundle that Shen Luo had hanging on his horse's saddle, saluted the crowd of people at the entrance with a fist, and turned to walk into the inn.

The bystanders, realizing there was no further excitement to watch, slowly dispersed.

Two waiters carried Shen Luo to a guest room in the backyard, carefully placing him on the bed.

Although Shen Luo was not heavy, they were pretty tired from carrying him for so long.

"Master, this man doesn't look like he's fainted from exhaustion. He still has his eyes open, and his body seems quite cold. Could it be some major illness?" one shorter, fat waiter wiped the sweat from his forehead, wondering.

"Don't speculate unnecessarily. Let's wait for Doctor Liu to check first." The innkeeper frowned, reproaching.

"Yes, sir." The shorter, fat waiter realized his faux pas and quickly acknowledged.

"What was all that commotion outside just now?" A voice came from outside, accompanied by heavy footsteps. A middle-aged woman walked in.

She was fat, her face pressed into a slit by her obesity, her skin was rather dark. She wore a bright red silk dress, a gold hairpin on her head, and her attire was garish and ostentatious, making people uncomfortable at first glance.

"Madam." The two waiters hurriedly saluted, seemingly quite afraid of this woman in red.

"Why aren't you in the kitchen? What are you doing here?" The innkeeper looked at the woman with some discomfort.

"What, is this inn only yours? Can't I come out?" The woman in red raised her eyebrows, standing hands on hips.

"We have guests here. Hold your tongue." The innkeeper's expression froze slightly, whispering.

Only then did the woman in red notice Shen Luo on the bed, her expression slightly softened.

"What happened to him? Why is he lying still?" She gave Shen Luo a once-over and asked.

The shorter, fat waiter stepped forward, briefly explaining what had happened.

"What! You brought an invalid like him into the inn! Ensure he is carried out through the back door!" The woman in red commanded shrilly as soon as she heard this.

The two waiters looked hesitant, turning to the innkeeper.

"Don't talk nonsense! This young man came to our inn but fainted at the front door. Can we ignore that? If we get a reputation for turning away the infirm, can we still operate this inn?" The innkeeper retorted, frowning.

"You are the one spouting nonsense! What happens if he dies here? Who would dare stay here then!" The woman in red countered, her voice rising.

"I've already sent Xiao San to call Doctor Liu. I will handle this matter; don't create further chaos!" The innkeeper revealed irritation, his voice cooled.

"Hou Liangcai! Are you going against me? Don't forget, without my dowry from my maiden home, could you, a country bumpkin, have managed to start this inn!" The woman in red thundered in anger, like a shrewish wife.

"You…" Manager Hou choked in rage.

"Master, Doctor Liu is here." Just then, Xiao San's voice came from outside.

Before the voice fell, two figures walked in. Xiao San was leading the way, with a man in a white robe following.

This man looked over forty, his facial features were delicate, under his chin was a black beard several inches long, which gave him an elegant look.

"Master Hou, where is the patient?" The man in the white robe looked around the room, pausing for a moment, before asking hesitantly.

"Doctor Liu is here. We'll discuss this later. Don't make a spectacle here!" Manager Hou cast an embarrassed glance towards the woman in red and quickly greeted the man in the white robe.

Watching the innkeeper's retreating back, the woman in red didn't continue her tirade and kept her silence for a while.