Approaching the bar, the first thing Yansheng noticed was that the great room was less rowdy than normal, as if a great pressure was suffocating the life out of the atmosphere. Then he saw the figure sitting on the stool by the bar, a large man in all regards, short silver hair framed high cheekbones and a jawline that could cut through steel.
He was dressed in a blue immaculate three piece suit that screamed corporate titan and Italian leather shoes that had probably only ever glided on penthouse suites and high ranking offices, but moving closer, Yan noticed that the visitors tie was askew, two buttons unfastened on his white shirt and looking up at his face, at red eyes that seemed to incinerate the earth, but at this moment, he had lost his sharp edge, simply looking forlornly at the glass cup of wine in his hands, like a dog that had been neglected by its owner.
That stingy damned cat had actually given the new guest the cheapest wine in the inn.
Walking to stand behind the bar, without saying anything, Yan grabbed the glass from the new guests hands without much protest from him.
On the bar counter, Fei bao, no, the cat, was already resting curled up, not giving anyone the time of day on its velvet cushion. He saw what Yan was about to do and knew that even though this inn had an infinite space and supply of food, at the rate Yan was going through everything, he would definitely go broke sooner or later.
'It was so hard raising a human,' the cat thought.
Looking back, Yansheng opened the shelf filled with different types of liquor and went on tiptoe to pick one of his most expensive drinks. Feeling pained, he filled the guests cup halfway and since he was here anyway, he got a cup for himself and filled it to the brim.
Sliding the half filled cup towards the stranger in front of him on the counter top, the movement and the strong and rich smell of the drink finally prompted the other person to look up from staring at the floor and face Yan.
Face card approved!
That was the first thing that Yan thought as soon as he saw the full view of the gloomy depressed dog.
No, he shouldn't call people dogs, maybe this person would be different. He certainly had a different air around him.
Upon seeing that he had finally gotten the attention of his new guest, Yan pointed to himself with a smile in his eyes, hoping to look disarming and reliable.
"I'm Su Yansheng, the owner of this inn."
Then he pointed to the other party.
Getting the cue, the other person replied. "Guo Zhen." Looking back down at the drink on the counter top and picking it up.
Yan did not say anything more, simply moving a stool and sitting on it, taking a sip of the drink in his hand, he was definitely not planning to stand all through this endeavor.
Minutes stretched and no one said anything.
'Can he still go back to the balcony to pick up his dried meat?' Yan wondered internally, but thinking it would be too unethical, he stopped himself.
Time continued passing, a gentle hum of the other guests in the great room talking quietly and the sun dipping in the sky caused there to be an almost comfortable silence at the bar area.
A roguish man dressed in white, refilling his cup with a golden colored liquor.
A cat curled up comfortably with its eyes closed but taking in everything that was happening around it.
And a man in blue with silver hair, seemingly draped in invincle shackles he had placed on himself.
It was a beautiful picture.
Finally a voice broke the silence, in a rich baritone he said. "I don't know how I got here."
Downing the rest of the drink in his cup, Yan responded. "Don't worry, I know."
His smile back on his face, "Care to exchange information with me?" Yan asked.
"Yes." Guo zhen responded, glancing at this person in front of him who apparently smiled all the time.
It was tiring to look at.
Yan didn't know why, but he suddenly felt an arrow peirce through his heart, a dull pain in his chest. "Damn it, who is talking bad about Laozi?"
Feeling the subtle look of discomfort on Yanshengs face, lifting his head the cat opened its eyes, but when it saw that it was simply his pet craving for attention and being silly, he settled back on his cushion.
Yansheng felt another arrow peirce his heart.