Chapter - 390 Both Sabre And Sword Became Missing And the Person Turned Fugitive (8) (2/2)

Zhang Wuji took three 'liang's worth of silver from his pocket and gave it to the innkeeper; he said, ”You can settle the bill after we are done eating.” He was afraid that the innkeeper would not give them any food because of the way they dressed in ragged clothes.

Who would have thought that the innkeeper stood up respectfully and returned the silver with both hands, saying, ”We thank Masters for patronizing our humble establishment; what is some insipid wine and crude rice? Please accept it compliment of our small inn.”

Zhang Wuji was very surprised. As they were seated, he said in low voice to Zhou Zhiruo, ”Has our masquerade been exposed? Why did the innkeeper refuse our money?”

Zhou Zhiruo examined their clothes and appearance carefully, they did look like three beggars; which movement or expression of theirs had given them away?

”From the way that innkeeper speaks, I can tell that he is afraid of something,” Xie Xun said, ”We must be careful.”

They heard some footsteps on the stairway as seven men walked in. As chance had it, these men also dressed as beggars. These seven men went to sit on the table by the window; their manners were haughty. The waiter appeared and respectfully greeted them, calling them 'Master this' and 'Master that', as if they were people of nobility or some high-ranking officials.

Zhang Wuji noticed that some of these beggars carried five pouches on their backs, while some others carried six pouches. Apparently, they were some high-ranking disciples of the Beggar Clan.

The waiter took their order and went downstairs. Before he even returned with their wine and dishes, there were six, seven more Beggar Clan's disciples going up the stairs. In a short period of time, the restaurant upstairs were full with more than thirty Beggar Clan disciples; among whom there were three seven-pouch disciples.

Suddenly it dawned on Zhang Wuji that the Beggar Clan was having their assembly today, and the innkeeper misunderstood them as members of the Beggar Clan. With a low voice he said to better get out of here to avoid trouble. The Beggar Clan people in here are not a few.”

But right at that moment the waiter came back to serve them a large dish of beef and another dish of roasted whole chicken, plus five catties [1 catty is approximately equal to 1 lb or 0.5kg] of white wine. Xie Xun was very hungry; he had gone through the last few months without any decent meals. Smelling the roasted chicken, his index finger twitched and he said, ”We are just quietly eating and drinking; we are not on their way, are we?” While saying that he took the bowl and with 'glug, glug' noise he drank half bowl of the white wine, while saying in his heart, ”Heaven have mercy on me. Xie Xun has wandered overseas for more than twenty years, and today is the first time I can taste wine again.”

The white wine was actually rather strong, the way people in this area brew; but to him it was like the most refined wine. He took a deep sigh as if he was very content. After drinking one full bowl, he suddenly said in low voice, ”Watch out, two people of high skill have just walked in!”

Zhang Wuji also heard footsteps on the stairs, and sure enough, two men with high level of martial art skill went up the stairs. As soon as they appeared on the entrance, a clamoring noise was heard as the beggars stood up simultaneously. Xie Xun made a hand signal, the three of them also stood up. These three actually sat inconspicuously by the wall near the corner, but if they stayed seated when everybody else was standing, they were afraid they would draw some unwanted attention.

Zhang Wuji saw the first man was of medium build and his face looked handsome with a triangular-shaped beard. Dressed in beggar's garments, he looked more like a failed scholar. The man behind him was muscular, with dragon-like whiskers; his face looked ferocious. If he did not have a three-pointed beard, he would look just like Zhou Cang, the warrior holding a broadsword who stood by Guan Gong. These two men were about fifty years of age, their beards had turned grey. On their back there were nine small pouches, which were too small to carry anything, so those pouches were only used to show their rank within the Beggar Clan.