The old woman stared at the sign and facade of this inn, seemingly confirming the location before entering.
Baixi frowned, keenly aware that this old woman was likely surveilling her!
A sense of unease welled up in her heart. At this moment, the waiter hurriedly greeted the old woman, with a sincere smile on his face, and said, "Respected Gu Master, please have a seat inside. If there's any neglect in our service, please forgive us."
After sitting down, the old woman ignored the waiter and instead gave off an air of entitlement as she asked, "Where did the young girl from the countryside who entered the inn before stay?"
"Well...our inn has rules and we can't casually disclose the customers' privacy..." the waiter replied obediently, his smile frozen on his face.
The old woman sneered, her gaze filled with murderous intent. "How dare a mere mortal offend me! I'm curious to see what kind of waves this mortal can stir up!"
She suddenly stood up, grabbing the waiter's collar with a strength that didn't seem human.
This action attracted the attention of countless nearby customers, who didn't stay to watch, but rather quickly left the inn. These were all ordinary people, and in their eyes, Gu Masters were sacred and powerful beings that couldn't be offended. If they stayed in the inn, they would likely be implicated. These were lessons learned through bloodshed.
At this moment, the innkeeper rushed over upon hearing the commotion and immediately apologized to the Gu Master before him, "I apologize profusely, Noble Gu Master. He is a new waiter who doesn't understand the rules and has caused you trouble. In the future, when you come to our humble inn, I will definitely arrange the best private room for you and provide the highest quality service, all free of charge."
The old woman snorted and appeared satisfied, releasing her grip on the waiter's collar.
Just as the waiter thought the crisis was over, the old woman's gu worm in her hand transformed into a sharp dagger and forcefully stabbed into his right eye.
The waiter let out a painful scream as blood flowed from his eye, rolling on the ground with his hands covering his face.
The innkeeper kicked the waiter aside and said, "Kneel down and thank the Gu Master for sparing your wretched life!"
"Thanks to the Gu Master for sparing me, I will never forget your kindness," the waiter said, his voice trembling and helpless as he knelt on the ground, enduring the excruciating pain and blindness in his right eye.
The dagger in the old woman's hand suddenly transformed into a black and green gu worm, shaped like a dagger. It wriggled its way up onto the old woman's hand before slowly changing its form into a pattern, attaching itself to the palm of her hand.
After completing all of this, the old woman chuckled in satisfaction and sat back down.
Seeing this, the innkeeper immediately came forward to pour tea and fetch water for the old woman, showing utmost care and respect. He also felt helpless, as he had done his best to save the waiter's life.
As the innkeeper, he had done all that he could.
Meanwhile, the waiter, still in pain, covered his blood-soaked right eye as he was assisted out. For the rest of his life, he would likely only be able to live with one eye...
In Southern Xinjiang, the status of Gu Masters was immensely revered, seen as superior beings. They possessed the mysterious ability to control gu worms, and ordinary people dare not provoke them.
Gu Masters could freely use various gu techniques and killing an ordinary person would be as easy as turning one's hand. Even if they did commit murder, no one would dare hold a Gu Master accountable.
Some Gu Masters had cruel personalities and ran amok in villages, using gu worms to bring calamity upon people without a second thought. Faced with the gu techniques of Gu Masters, ordinary folks could only endure silently, as one wrong move could cost them their lives.
Therefore, ordinary people held great fear towards Gu Masters. As long as a Gu Master nodded, no one dared to defy their will. This gave Gu Masters in Southern Xinjiang immense power and the ability to dispose of others' lives as they pleased.
In southern Xinjiang, there are numerous villages and tribes, without a unified political power. The geographical complexity and frequent conflicts of interest between different villages and tribes often result in small-scale fights and disputes.
To protect and develop their own territories, each tribe will form alliances with neighboring tribes, creating a complex web of alliances. When major conflicts of interest arise, large-scale wars break out between different alliances.
In this chaotic situation, the Gu masters who possess Gu techniques have become an important force that tribes compete for. They can curse enemies with poisonous Gu curses and command armies of Gu worms to assist in battles. Therefore, tribes strive to recruit Gu masters to maintain their strength.
In essence, Gu masters are not much different from mages.
Gu masters rely on driving and controlling Gu worms to obtain various supernatural powers. It can be said that the power of Gu masters stems from the external carrier, the Gu worms.
On the other hand, mages explore their inner spiritual world - the Consciousness Space - to transform their consciousness into corresponding attribute powers.
The two approaches to obtaining power are completely different; Gu masters rely on external life forms, while mages utilize the internal Consciousness Space.
Southern Xinjiang is plagued with tribal wars and has relatively underdeveloped technology.
The architectural style here is mostly wooden or made of bamboo, even slightly inferior to that of the beast tribe.
The locals dress simply, mostly in solid-colored cloth that appears rough, yet sturdy and durable.
"Where does the foreign girl live?" asked the old woman nonchalantly after taking a sip of fragrant tea.
Although the shopkeeper despised the old woman, he dared not show any sign of it. He respectfully replied, "The foreign girl lives in the large room on the east side of the third floor."
A wicked smile played at the corner of the old woman's mouth as she said, "Put some medicine in her food and let her have a good sleep. I will be waiting here for good news from you."
With that, she placed a white porcelain bottle on the table.
Throughout the entire process, the old woman exuded an air of self-importance and arrogance, her every move filled with pride.
The shopkeeper had no choice but to comply. He picked up the bottle and turned towards the kitchen...
Although the shopkeeper was reluctant to yield to the Gu master, he couldn't defy the orders of such a powerful figure. How could a small shopkeeper dare to go against a Gu master's command?
However, in order to ensure the safety of himself and the others in the shop, he could only swallow his pride temporarily and not only greet the Gu master with a smile but also fulfill their demands. He understood that in many aspects of life, one cannot fight against everything and that a wise person needs to learn to compromise in order to come out unscathed.
Perhaps one day, the Gu master would encounter a countermeasure, but for now, it was important to handle the situation carefully and ensure the safety of oneself and the others in the shop.
With these thoughts in mind, the shopkeeper hurriedly ran to the kitchen and instructed the cook to follow the Gu master's instructions.
He couldn't refuse or dare to refuse the requests of the Gu master.
Moments later, the shopkeeper prepared the food as per the Gu master's request, placing the powder into the dishes and carrying it to Baixi's room.
"Knock knock knock."
"Miss, your food has arrived," the shopkeeper said, knocking on the door.
"Leave it by the door, I'll pick it up later," a crisp voice came from the room.
Hearing this, the shopkeeper placed the tray with the food on the ground by the door.
At the same time, Baixi was also puzzled.
"Why has there been a change in the person delivering the food? Is there something wrong with the food?"
Various questions flashed through Baixi's mind.
To avoid suspicion, she carried the food from the doorstep into her room and threw it aside, ignoring it.
The shopkeeper, upon seeing this, went to the first floor to report the situation to the old woman.
Upon hearing the report, the old woman's mood improved greatly, as her ugly appearance would finally be left behind.
She threw a bag of Bella to the shopkeeper and said, "After the matter is completed, you will receive even more Bella."
It is worth knowing that just this bag of Bella is enough to cover the living expenses of an average person in the Southern Frontier for three months.
Seeing the money, the shopkeeper's eyes lit up, as if he had forgotten how much he had previously disliked this old woman.
There is no deal that cannot be made in this world, it just depends on how much profit is involved.
