The Innkeeper

The huntress dragged her defeated body from the roof down towards one of the Hot tub rooms. She had spent the last hour painting, and she had no idea how that would help her situation at all. But that's the way it was with the tavern keeper. He never gave answers directly, and he never helped directly either.

But if his guidance was useless, then she would not have come to depend on it. The answer would reveal itself with time.

She paid for the Hot tub level she could afford, and went inside. After making sure the room was empty and there were no secret peep holes - she was not doubting the Midnight tavern, but she had heard rumors about such places - she stripped and then lowered her sore body into the water.

"Oooh," she could not help but moan as the warm waters massaged her body. This was the first time she had ever spent money on such a place, but she suddenly understood the appeal. Before she could resume her thoughts about what the tavern keeper could have meant, she dozed off, which was for the best since it spared her from seeing black gunk coming out of her skin, then getting washed away with the bubbling water.

At some point during the night, the Huntress began to dream, as she usually did when she spent the night in the tavern. Within the dream she was painting with her finger as the brush, her Qi as the paint, and the universe as her canvas. She painted the same characters that the tavern keeper, and when the characters were drawn the whole world shook around her.

The huntress woke up with a start, looking around the unfamiliar room in panic. But then she remembered where she was, and took a sigh of relief. She couldn't believe she had spent the whole night in the hot tub! But surprisingly, her skin did not get wrinkled from spending too much time in the water. In fact, if anything, it seemed smoother!

That's when the huntress realized that all her scars were gone! In a daze, the huntress walked to the mirror, and actually yelped! Not only were her scars gone but… the rash she had on her face since birth had vanished!

How was this possible? No one had ever been able to affect them at all! Any attempt to remove the rash only made it worse, and yet now, over night, it had vanished.

The huntress touched her face, feeling dazed. Is that what she looked like without the rash? It was actually kind of… cute. The huntress blushed, and was then filled with reluctance. Why couldn't this have happened just a few years ago?

But it didn't matter now. She put on her clothes and once again wrapped her face in bandages, before exiting the tavern.

She walked up to Roan at the bar - no matter what time, day or night, the man never seemed to leave his station.

"Here's your payment for the meat, Miss Huntress," Roan said, handing her a sealed package.

"Thanks. Tell the tavern keeper that I'll be busy for the next week. If… if my hunt works out, I'll pay another visit."

"Good luck," Roan said, and gave her a nod.

The huntress only nodded and turned to leave, but bumped into another guest who was rushing into the Inn.

"Oh, sorry," she said.

"My bad," the young man said at the same time. They both paused, but seeing how the other didn't want to cause trouble, just moved on. They both seemed like they were in a rush.

"Uncle Roan, this is bad," the boy said, rushing up to the bar. "I need to see the tavern keeper right now! It's an emergency!"

Roan, who was wiping a mug clean with a pristine piece of cloth that seemed to never get dirty, calmly replied, "he's on the roof."

The boy nodded, and rushed through the tavern and reached the roof. Upon finding the tavern keeper, the boy could no longer hold himself back.

"Tavern keeper! You have to help me! My stupid family is forcing me to get married to some ugly girl to cement some business deal. I just found out about this! The wedding is in five days!"

The tavern keeper did not at all seem alarmed by the news, and instead wore an amused look.

"It's quite rude to call a girl ugly, young alchemist. How do you know she isn't actually beautiful?"

"How can she be beautiful when her own family admits that she's ugly? But… but that's besides the point. Even if she is beautiful, I'm not ready to get married. It will interfere with my alchemy and cultivation. I have no desire to place such a leash around my neck, holding me back. I do not want to be restrained. A wife will only be a distraction."

"Young alchemist, I understand your plight but… how can I be of help? I'm just a simple tavern keeper."

The alchemist rolled his eyes. That's exactly what the tavern keeper said every time, right before giving him the answer that he desired.

"It seems to me that your problem is not marriage, but the control your family has over you. All you need to do is become independent and gain a backing of your own, and your family will no longer be able to influence you."

"Easier said than done. But I'm not at the level to pass the test of the Alchemist's tower yet. How else can I gain independence and backing in just five days?"

"This is a tough question. Why don't we spend a little time thinking about it? In the meantime, you should have Roan whip you up a special drink. It'll help you calm your nerves. But his special drinks are expensive, so bear that in mind."

"Who cares about that? If there's anything I have, it's money," said the alchemist, heading back down. Although it seemed like the tavern keeper had not given him an answer, in fact he had already done so very clearly. He knew by now that nothing the tavern keeper said was ever simple, and nothing about this tavern was mundane.

He couldn't wait to see how that drink would help him out.