Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 95: Seven Star River View Guesthouse

After nearly six hours of travelling, Gu Ying finally saw the edge of the town. Like Mingshen, Anji had fallen asleep in the carriage about two hours ago after listening to the sound of birds and the rustling of pine leaves. Her adrenaline wore off as soon as the novelty did, not that Gu Ying minded. The road became smoother as they approached civilisation. Thanks to the special crest painted on the carriage prepared by Mingshen, the guards near the town’s gates allowed them to pass without issues. The emblem of the White Stork was very influential, especially with the Gentleman Club running aggressive business operations behind the scenes. Even the best guesthouse in Silver Water Town was owned by Mingshen. The tourism business boomed as soon he established it with Zhang Mou’s help.

Hearing the hustle and bustle of people shouting outside the carriage, Anji roused from her nap and rubbed her eyes sleepily. They left the Celestial Dragon Sect at the break of dawn so that her father would not have a change of heart at the last moment. It was their mother’s suggestion. Thanks to the snacks her older brother packed, Anji was not hungry even though it was already three in the afternoon.

Feeling his comfortable pillow shifting, Mingshen also woke up and realised they were already in town. He quickly wiped away the drool at the side of his mouth and resumed his dignified behaviour. Thankfully, nobody seemed to have seen it.

The first stop of their lengthy journey was in Silver Water Town. Two years ago, this was merely a small village full of fishermen. They traded with other towns for meat and grains. Mingshen stopped by the town on his way back to the Celestial Dragon Sect and decided that it was a great strategic location to create a small riverport for more efficient information-gathering endeavours. The capital provided by Zhang Yi was enough to help him start a small logistics company in the town that was quickly renamed Silver Water Town for marketing purposes.

If there was one thing unique about this little town that attracted travelling merchants and local tourists, it was their crystal clear river and lakes that often reflected the moonlight and hundreds of lanterns along the banks. To boost the town’s popularity, the Gentleman Club kindly spread interesting rumours about the little town’s origins. Some claimed that the town’s prosperity was due to the small traces of silver nuggets found in their rivers, while others thought it was the blessing of fertile river soil and a convenient port that improved the livelihood of villagers. As more traders took interest in Silver Water Town, Zhang Yi advised Mingshen to set up the biggest guesthouse and underground gambling den in it to regulate information trading under a new company name. Most of the logistics and security arrangements for Silver Water Town were controlled by the White Stork group. While they had many employees working to ensure operations were smooth, few people knew that the true owner was a thirteen-year-old cultivator. Mingshen did not need to oversee the business personally, not when he had many proxies acting on his behalf, as provided by Hong Nian Niang.

"Young master, young mistress, please wake up. We have arrived," Gu Ying announced, dismounting from the horse and stretching a little before opening the door for them to alight.

Getting out of the carriage first, Mingshen extended his hand to his sister like a gentleman with a huge smile on his face.

"Welcome to the Seven Star River View Guesthouse, the pride and joy of Silver Water Town."

It was obvious who owned this luxurious establishment. Unlike other buildings built with wood and decorated with lanterns or ribbons, the Seven Star River View Guesthouse had white plastered stone walls and was seven levels tall. Anji craned her neck backwards and squinted her eyes to see what was on the top floor, but the sun was too bright. The architecture definitely matched her brother’s aesthetic sense. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

The hotel was the biggest, grandest and tallest building for miles around. It represented the glory of Silver Water Town, with a large Silver Bell on top of the hotel that rang every twelve hours to signify the start of the day at seven in the morning and the end of working hours at seven in the evening. Anji thought it was rather smart of her brother to design something like this. With such a loud and eye-catching bell, the town did not need any timekeepers. Not to mention, the hundreds of lanterns along the riverside reduced the risk of crimes and the need for night guards. It was a rather safe town with low crime rates and high order.

After getting off the carriage, a stable hand and steward rushed to greet them with deep bows and wide smiles.

"Greetings, esteemed guests. You have arrived just in time for the check-in process. The stable hand will help to groom your horse and transfer the luggage to your room. It must have been a tiring journey. Allow me to show you to your room."

Unsure what to do, Anji observed how Gu Ying and her older brother reacted. Back in the sect, she treated the servants like family. However, she wasn’t naive enough to think of strangers as close friends. It took her a while to become familiar with the villagers at the base of the Celestial Dragon Sect. The only exceptions were the old Wang couple, whom Anji thought of as her grandparents, seeing how she had none.

The room was located on the second highest floor, right beneath the silver bell tower. Anji wondered if the bell would be too loud in this room. However, her older brother reassured her that only special guests could book the rooms on the top floor of this inn.

"It has your noise-cancelling talismans hidden into the walls of the rooms when we were building it," he whispered to her. "Only cultivators can reserve these rooms to activate them."

Nodding her head with raised brows, Anji studied the walls with her Heavenly Eyes. If her brother had not revealed the secret, she might not have been able to sense them either. The talismans were very well hidden, and the walls were rather thick, built from stone and cement with limestone plaster on the outside. The interior was cosy-looking, with expensive varnished wooden walls and fluffy carpeted floors. The porcelain tea set looked expensive, but those paintings with white cranes were familiar. Her brother must have painted and framed them in his private room.

"Would you like us to help you prepare the bath or some refreshments?" asked the steward, feeling nervous. Although the owner of the guesthouse mentioned how cultivators would visit from time to time, meeting them in person would make any layman feel nervous. Unlike the rich young master and his shy sister, the foreigner wielding a sword gave off a dangerous vibe. If he mistreated them, he might lose his head!

Turning to Anji, Gu Ying cocked her head towards the steward. Their itinerary depended on her.

Thinking for a while, Anji decided to look around town first. Although they were staying the night and had tomorrow to explore the rest of the river market, there was something she wanted to do before sunset.

"There’s no need for either," Mingshen replied after Anji whispered her plans in his ear. "We will be sightseeing until late. There’s no need for dinner either. Could you arrange for a boatman to charter us around? My sister wants to visit the Silver River banks."

Brightening up at once, the nervous steward bowed and swore to arrange for the most experienced boatman. Many tourists were excited about the river tour, and the young mistress was no exception. Thankfully, the hotel owner had great foresight to forge ties with the river tour agency.

Once the steward left, Anji immediately ran to explore the spacious room, especially the walls where the talismans were hidden. Gu Ying opened the windows and admired the view of the entire town. Mingshen looked at the girls with a proud smile. It was worth the effort he put in over the last two years if he could give his sister some happy memories before she entered the Mystical Qilin Sect.