Chapter 3968

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Reaching the Proprietress' room, Yang Kai knocked on the door, whereupon a dispassionate voice was heard coming from inside, "Come in!"

Yang Kai shrank his neck, knowing that Bai Qi didn't lie to him. The Proprietress seemed to be in a terrible mood. Just her voice was enough to send a chill down his spine.

However, he was given the order to go out to do something for her, so he wasn't afraid. At the thought of this, he pushed the door open and said, "Proprietress, I'm back."

Inside the room, the Proprietress was seen seated on a chair. With a cold expression on her face, she shot him a glance and scoffed, "How dare you still come back? How do you have the gall to come back!?"

She landed a palm on the table and bellowed, "Why didn't you get killed outside?"

[You're the one who told me to get you some Heavenly Snow Fruits! Why are you reprimanding me now!?] Yang Kai was infuriated as he clenched his fists. Just when he was ready to refute her, he suddenly recalled the fact that she had rushed over to Wind and Cloud Auction House to save Bai Qi and him previously. Suppressing his anger, he stepped forward and said, "Proprietress, I've brought back what you wanted."

"What I wanted? What do you mean?" The Proprietress questioned through gritted teeth. Her expression suggested that she had the urge to bite a piece of flesh off this shameless man. Right after she finished speaking though, she widened her mouth and stared dazedly at the bamboo basket on the table.

The basket was filled with reddish black fruits the size of a baby fist, and they exuded a pleasant scent. They also looked fresh, which suggested it hadn't been a long time since they were picked.

"Heavenly Snow Fruits?" A shocked Proprietress's anger was replaced with confusion as she fell into a dazed state and asked, "Where did you get them?"

Yang Kai scoffed, "Where else could it be?"

A flabbergasted Proprietress stood up straight, "You went to Nine Nether Continent."

An exasperated Yang Kai replied, "You don't say. These fruits are exclusive to Nine Nether Continent. Where else could I get them from?"

"You went missing for over a month because you went to Nine Nether Continent?" The Proprietress widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Where did you think I went?" Yang Kai gave her a dismissive look, but he was stunned to see a tinge of guilt and fear behind her gaze. He wondered what she was guilty and fearful of.

"How did you get there?" She asked.

"How else? I…" He paused as he suddenly realised that he was unable to explain himself. He didn't have a flight type artifact that could resist the tearing force of the Territory Gates, so how could he have gone to Nine Nether Continent? If he told her that he traversed the Territory Gates with just his body, she probably wouldn't believe him; therefore, he decided to not give any explanation as he waved his hand, "Just eat them now. They won't stay fresh if you just leave them out for too long. I'll take a rest now."

After cupping his fists, he turned around to leave.

As soon as he lifted his foot though, Yang Kai felt his collar getting grabbed from behind. Turning his head, he realised that the Proprietress was already standing behind him with her hand clutching his clothes.

"What… Hey! Why are you taking off my clothes?" Yang Kai became flustered. This couldn't be helped, as the Proprietress directly threw him onto the bed, held him down with one hand, and used her other to take his clothes off.

[What has gotten into this woman now?] He wanted to resist, but faced with a Sixth-Order Master, he couldn't even circulate his power, let alone block her. In just a moment, he was stripped down to his underwear.

"Are you out of your mind?" Yang Kai bellowed as his eyes seemed able to spit fire. It was the first time a woman had pinned him down on the bed and forcefully unclothed him.

He shot her a glare, only to see that she had fallen into a dazed state as she stared fixedly at his bare chest and abdomen. Then, she extended her hand and touched his skin.

Her hand was warm and ticklish, which caused him to grunt uncontrollably. At that instant, he quit being resolute to resist her. Suddenly, he gasped as she had irritated his wounds.

Although his body was robust, and he had made use of Space Principles to mitigate the risk when passing through the Territory Gates, he was still injured in the process. With that said, these were not serious injuries as he only looked battered. It would only take him a few days to recuperate fully.

He had returned to First Inn in a hurry and directly met the Proprietress, so he didn't have the time to heal his wounds.

"Did you forcefully pass through the Territory Gates?" The Proprietress gaped at him in disbelief.

Yang Kai pushed her away and got off the bed. Then, he put on his clothes and snorted, "What else could I do?"

"Are you insane!?" She exclaimed, "Do you know that your action was dangerous? What if… What if…"

"You told me to go." Yang Kai adjusted his clothes with his head still hanging low.

"I…" The Proprietress was lost for words. She had indeed told him to head to Nine Nether Continent to get some Heavenly Snow Fruits for her, but she never intended for him to forcefully pass through the Territory Gates. If he had agreed to it, she would've prepared a flight type artifact for him; however, he had rejected her at that time, so she hadn't expected that he would head to the continent on his own. She thought that he had just left the inn without her permission, so she had been blowing her top recently.

"Is there anything else you need me to do? If not, I'll take a rest now. I'm exhausted from all the travelling," Yang Kai cupped his fists and asked. Seeing as she was rooted to the spot, he ignored her and nodded his head before leaving the room.

Upon opening the door, he paused for a moment as he saw the accountant fiddling with his golden abacus in the backyard. Bai Qi and the chef gathered together and muttered among themselves with serious expressions. The chef would bow his head from time to time.

[Don't they have anything better to do?] Yang Kai scoffed and closed the door before leaving.

While he was shuffling towards his room, Bai Qi approached him and directly warned him, "Don't bother the Proprietress for the next three days. Otherwise, you'll suffer terribly."

With a solemn expression, Yang Kai nodded his head. He still vividly remembered the previous incident, so he wouldn't make the same mistake. Secretly, he decided that he wouldn't see the Proprietress even if she summoned him.

After returning to his room, he started meditating to recuperate. Over one month of travelling was indeed exhausting. Presently, Yang Kai wanted to do nothing else apart from having a good night's rest.

It was a quiet night.

The next morning, Yang Kai stepped out of his room and started working with Bai Qi and the others. Business had been good as the inn would always be crammed with people in the afternoon. In fact, First Inn's information business was incredibly profitable, so they didn't have to rely on selling food and beverages to earn an income. The reason they had set up an inn was to find out all sorts of secret information; after all, people from all walks of life would gather in an inn, which was how information was traded, the food and wine were just to make things livelier.

Half a day later, Yang Kai finally had some time to take a rest, so he stayed behind the counter and had a chat with the accountant.

It had only been a short time since those from First Inn arrived in this Star City, but their ability to gather information was truly unrivalled. He found it interesting as he listened to the accountant's narration of the stories about those big shots in the city.

He was most concerned about what happened to Wind and Cloud Auction House, so he asked the accountant about it. Upon learning that they didn't seem to have taken any action, Yang Kai reckoned that they had truly conceded defeat.

As the accountant sorted out the finances, he asked, "I heard that you went to Nine Nether Continent some time ago?"

Yang Kai nodded his head, "Proprietress said that she wanted to eat Heavenly Snow Fruits, which was why I left the inn."

The accountant stared at him, "Proprietress didn't even know where you were headed. She thought that you had run away or something had happened to you, so she visited every corner of the Star City to search for your whereabouts, but she didn't get any leads."

Hearing that, Yang Kai burst into laughter, "Was she really so concerned about me?"

The accountant shook his head in a solemn manner, "I'm not sure about others, but she's definitely concerned about you."

"What do you mean?"

The accountant shook his head again, then he said, "Our Proprietress is a sharp-tongued but kind-hearted person. In fact, she suffered a lot in the past, so while she might appear imposing to others, that isn't what she's really like. She has always treated all of us from the inn extremely well. It's just that she can be hot-tempered at times…" All of a sudden, he stopped speaking and looked behind Yang Kai with his mouth widened.

With a clang, a plate fell to the ground and broke into pieces. Yang Kai turned to his left, only to see that Bai Qi was rooted to the spot with his hand frozen in the air. Besides the broken plate pieces around his feet, the dish also scattered everywhere.

The other shop-hands in the inn were also frozen as though someone had used a Binding Technique on them. All of them, including the customers in the lobby, were staring in a particular direction.

A horrified Yang Kai felt a chill running from his feet to his head, and after a gulp, he turned around creakily, whereupon his pupils contracted.

Presently, the Proprietress was standing in a nearby spot. Her hair had been tied into a bun, which was decorated with some fine jewellery. In particular, there was a Gilded Phoenix Hairpin that was stuck into her bun. As she stepped forward, the Gilded Phoenix flapped its wings gently as though it was about to take off. Her well-fitting clothes made her look elegant and demure. One would especially take note of her radiantly pinkish face. It was as though it had been greatly nourished.

At this moment, the Proprietress was ambling forward with a faint smile on her face. All the men in the lobby couldn't move their eyes away from this alluring lady.

She visited every table and greeted all the customers. From time to time, she would laugh in a sweet, silver-bell like voice. She had even filled the cups for the customers at a particular table. The men at the table were clearly mesmerised by her charm. If it weren't because they were wary of her astonishing strength and status, they would've made her stay to have a drink with them.

Soon, she walked up to the front counter and knocked on the table, "Stop spacing out and get back to work!"

The accountant grunted and remained unmoving. It was apparent that he still hadn't come to his senses.

The Proprietress took a glance at Yang Kai and flashed a smile at him, "Come see me at a later time. There's something I need to tell you."

Yang Kai also grunted and became alarmed. [Why is this crazy woman smiling at me?]

"Clean the mess and mop the floor. Why were you so careless?" The Proprietress said to Bai Qi.

Bai Qi kept nodding like a chicken pecking at rice.

Following that, she turned around and touched her hair before asking Yang Kai and the accountant in a small voice, "Do you think I'm too old to wear this hairpin?"

"No, not at all!" The accountant hurriedly replied, "This hairpin perfectly matches your age!"

Then, he landed a thump on Yang Kai's arm, which prompted him to come to his senses and shout hastily, "Yes yes, it suits you perfectly!"