---o---
Fu Zhu watched as the group of men at the alley's entrance clutched their clubs, unwilling to leave. With no other choice, he took a step forward, and a staircase automatically generated at his feet, extending all the way to the ground.
The crowd stared at Fu Zhu's god-like display, their expressions a mixture of awe and shock. At that moment, more than a few of them were already considering a retreat.
Fu Zhu walked down the steps and suddenly noticed on his minimap that there was another person behind him. He hadn't seen them before because their map icons had been perfectly overlapped.
[Cifera]
One look at the name was all it took for Fu Zhu to understand the situation.
The group of men with clubs was obviously not targeting him. Just like in a cliché story, they were chasing the person behind him. He had just coincidentally appeared right in the middle of this "tacky" little drama and interrupted it.
After figuring things out, Fu Zhu raised his right hand and gave the group at the alley entrance an apologetic smile.
"Looks like this was my misunderstanding. Please, continue."
With that, he began to walk toward the mouth of the alley. Seeing him approach, the men instinctively parted to make way for him.
Based on the little trick Fu Zhu had just shown, none of them dared to block his path. What if he got upset and decided to wipe them all out?
They were just chasing a petty thief; it wasn't worth risking their lives.
After Fu Zhu had walked out, the group re-formed their blockade. But in that brief delay, Cifera, who had been hiding under the staircase Fu Zhu created, took the opportunity to scramble up it and onto the high wall.
Cifera looked down at the area outside the wall. Dozens of meters below lay a frigid canal. The height made her swallow hard.
"She can't escape! Get her!"
Someone shouted, and the group swarmed forward, brandishing their clubs.
Seeing the menacing crowd charge at her, Cifera's face went pale. She glanced down at her bleeding right leg; in her current state, there was no way she could escape from a whole mob of people.
And so, she simply closed her eyes, steeled her heart, and jumped from the top of the wall. A few seconds later, a splash echoed from below.
The men chasing her were all surprised that she actually dared to jump. But considering she was a cunning little thief, who was to say it wasn't a fake-out?
They climbed the wall and peered down. The outer wall was a sheer cliff face with nowhere to hide.
After watching for a good while and confirming that Cifera had really jumped into the canal, they climbed back down one by one, not forgetting to spit on the ground.
"Damned thief! If we'd caught her and handed her over to the Lord, we might've gotten a bit of money! Chrysos Merchants are a rare sight, after all!"
The group of men left the alley, cursing and grumbling, completely oblivious to the fact that Fu Zhu hadn't gone far and had overheard every word they said.
Chrysos Heirs?
Fu Zhu turned and walked back into the alley. He went up the stairs and found droplets of golden blood spattered on the wall—clearly left behind by that cat-eared girl, Cifera.
Fu Zhu crouched down and dipped a finger into the golden blood on the ground. He rubbed it between his fingers, confirming it was real blood. After a moment's thought, he leaned over the edge and leaped into the canal below.
---o---
"Miss… innkeeper… one… room…"
Ugh…
In her daze, Cifera thought she heard someone talking in her ear.
My waist hurts so much… who's holding my waist?
Cifera dazedly opened her eyes. Before her was a wooden counter. Looking up, she saw a black-haired man talking to the innkeeper behind the counter. As they spoke, the man suddenly pulled out a gold brick the size of a clay brick.
Pfft.
Cifera's mind was still fuzzy, but seeing the man pull out a brick-sized chunk of gold, she couldn't help but scoff internally.
Who carries around a gold brick that big? And just to pay for a room, no less. This is obviously a scam! How have scammers gotten so clumsy these days? They're not nearly as good as me!
Clang.
A dull thud startled Cifera. When she looked up again, she saw that the man had casually tossed the gold brick onto the counter, leaving a small crater in the wood. The sheer weight of the brick made it clear that it was real.
The innkeeper behind the counter was just as dumbfounded as Cifera.
This brick… it's actually pure gold!
The innkeeper stared at the gold on the counter and couldn't help but gulp, her eyes filled with greed. She desperately wanted to claim it for herself, but…
She glanced again at the man who had tossed out the gold brick with such a nonchalant air. His style of dress was unfamiliar, but the fabric was high-quality, and he was immaculately clean. He was definitely not some commoner you'd see on the street.
He might even be a noble from another city.
The innkeeper decided her guess was probably not far off. She immediately reined in her greed and squeezed out an earnest smile.
"Sir, the room doesn't cost this much…"
"Oh, really?"
Fu Zhu had no choice but to pick the gold brick back up. He broke it down into nine gold nuggets and casually placed one on the table.
The innkeeper's mouth twitched as she looked at the gold nugget, which was the size of a pigeon's egg.
"Sir, this is still too much…"
Now Fu Zhu was at a loss. He sighed in frustration. The gold nugget was the smallest unit of gold he could make.
"This is the smallest I can do. Just treat it as a deposit. Rent it for however long its value covers."
"Very well, sir."
The innkeeper quickly took the gold nugget and then very attentively handed a key plate to Fu Zhu.
"Sir, this is your room key. Please take it."
"Mm."
Fu Zhu took the key and headed inside, with Cifera, who was still dripping golden blood onto the floor, tucked under his arm.
The innkeeper behind the counter watched them go, then looked down at the gold nugget she had just received. After a moment of hesitation, she grabbed a mop and cleaned up all the golden blood.
---o---
Third floor.
Fu Zhu was following the key plate to find his room when he suddenly stopped.
Ever since a moment ago, a restless little hand had been exploring his body. Now, it was about to reach his rear.
"Kid, don't you know that men and women shouldn't touch so freely?"
The little hand that was roaming over his body instantly froze.
Fu Zhu looked down. Cifera was still hanging there limply, playing dead. He couldn't help but find it amusing. I already know you're awake, so what's the point of keeping up the act?
"You gonna keep pretending? Then I hope you'll be just as unresponsive when I pull out all your cat fur to make a scarf."
Hearing this, Cifera could no longer keep up the pretense. She lifted her head and glared at Fu Zhu.
"You brought me back just to make a scarf?!"