No Fighting Allowed in the Inn-Chapter 144

◎Fu Ji's Death, Plucking the Earth Lotus◎

The conditions were too simple, so much so that Lu Jianwei found it hard to believe.

Elder Yi, sensing her skepticism, chuckled and said, "I'm only telling you how to pluck the Earth Lotus. Whether you can make it to the center of the swamp is entirely up to you."

If she couldn’t get there, it would all be for nothing.

Even if she did reach the center and plucked it, returning safely was another challenge altogether.

"I accept," Lu Jianwei joked. "Perhaps the Earth Lotus and I share a deep fate."

Elder Yi praised, "With such confidence, you must already have a plan."

"Well, I can’t show weakness before even stepping in," Lu Jianwei replied. "Elder Yi, it’s your turn to fulfill your promise."

Xu Sanzuo and Mei Jiuyi tactfully withdrew.

Elder Yi held nothing back, explaining all the precautions for plucking the Earth Lotus.

"Have you memorized everything?"

"I have. Thank you." Lu Jianwei clasped her hands in gratitude. "I’ll head to the swamp tomorrow. For now, I take my leave."

"Lu Jianwei," Elder Yi called after her, "I’ve never heard of any sect producing a genius like you."

Lu Jianwei turned back. "Do you have any advice, Elder Yi?"

"Hidden sects have rules—disciples wandering the martial world must not interfere in its conflicts. Many suspect you come from one. Once word spreads, your inn will surely draw the attention of other sects."

"Attention" was putting it mildly. If things went poorly, she might even face reprimands.

Lu Jianwei laughed carefreely. "I only follow my own rules."

Elder Yi was taken aback. By the time he regained his composure, she was already far away.

The next day, Lu Jianwei and Pei Zhi set off for the Seven-Step Swamp, escorted by the reluctant gazes of the villagers.

On the system’s map, the green dot representing Fu Ji lingered at the swamp’s outskirts.

Either he was lost—or waiting for her.

Lu Jianwei leaned toward the latter.

She would never let someone else reap the fruits of her labor.

Thanks to Little Guest’s analysis, she had a clear understanding of the swamp’s potential dangers.

She prepared for everything foreseeable. For the unforeseeable, she and Pei Zhi’s martial prowess would suffice.

The golden-winged poison locusts in the outer regions could be suppressed by Little Mist.

Most martial artists entering the swamp would face swarms of these locusts. She didn’t know how the warriors of White Cloud Village avoided them, but with Little Mist in tow, not a single locust appeared even as they neared the inner regions.

The green dot on the map followed at a steady distance.

Lu Jianwei pretended not to notice, only signaling Pei Zhi with a glance.

Armed with thorough preparation and formidable strength, the two easily bypassed dangers, cutting straight through the outer and inner regions until they reached the swamp’s heart.

Fu Ji, who had hoped to seize their spoils, was left stranded in the inner regions, trapped in an endless illusion.

—His body was covered in peculiar fibers, and upon intruding into the territory of a species that despised such fibers, they released a scent that clouded his mind, ensnaring him.

Lu Jianwei had no time to spare for him. Standing at the edge of the swamp’s center, she saw the Earth Lotus floating above the mire.

It was as beautiful as described—pure white, untainted by the filth beneath.

But there was only one.

A swamp of this size couldn’t possibly nurture just a single Earth Lotus.

Elder Yi had mentioned that where Earth Lotuses grew, swamp beasts lurked in abundance.

They hid beneath the murky waters, ready to bare their fangs at any intruder.

For a ninth-rank Martial King, the beasts weren’t terrifying. The real question was—could she settle for just one?

The Earth Lotus was a spiritual herb on par with Solitary White Hair, capable of strengthening the bodies of swamp creatures.

But these beasts didn’t rely on it for survival—they hunted.

The Earth Lotus was their bait.

When forest beasts were lured by its allure, the swamp creatures would tear them apart and feast.

To them, a human plucking the lotus was no different from prey.

Bait couldn’t be plentiful. There was only one.

The rest of the Earth Lotuses? The beasts had hidden them away.

The swamp was vast, with no footholds to leverage. Even with qinggong, staying atop the mire for long was nearly impossible.

If she only wanted one, evading or overpowering the beasts wouldn’t be difficult.

But Lu Jianwei wasn’t satisfied with just one.

She wanted the hidden lotuses too.

Elder Yi had said that while plucking the "bait," he’d been besieged by the beasts. They thrashed wildly in the swamp but always avoided a certain corner.

He suspected the rest of the Earth Lotuses were hidden there.

On the map, the green dot inched closer to the swamp—slowly, unnaturally, as if controlled.

Fu Ji was under the influence of the creatures’ scent.

If he didn’t break free, he’d become the beasts’ next meal.

For someone like Fu Ji, who had schemed for years to lure Mei Jiuyi, uncover hidden sects, and harm countless martial artists, Lu Jianwei felt no pity.

If he’d already declared himself dead, then let him die completely in this desolate wasteland.

But Fu Ji was cunning. She didn’t truly believe a ninth-rank Martial King could be so easily subdued.

She took out a silk pouch from her waist and propelled it toward the swamp’s center with her inner force. A burst of energy split it open, scattering powdered herbs into the air.

"What is that?" Pei Zhi asked.

"Precious medicinal herbs, ground into powder," Lu Jianwei replied. "If the swamp beasts love the Earth Lotus, let’s see if they’re drawn to other herbs."

The powder contained high-grade ingredients like Snow Hibiscus and Unraveling Luo Flower. If the beasts took the bait, she could use it to her advantage—

The still swamp began to churn.

Beasts broke through the surface, jaws gaping wide, swallowing mouthfuls of tainted mud.

A few more emerged, hunting for traces of the powder.

But most showed no interest in herbs like Snow Hibiscus.

The only herb Lu Jianwei had that could rival the Earth Lotus was Solitary White Hair.

She had Pei Zhi fetch a long branch, tied a fresh petal of Solitary White Hair to its tip, and dangled it over the swamp.

As expected, the swamp erupted into chaos.

The beasts crowded beneath the petal, leaping and snapping, but it always stayed just out of reach.

Frustrated, they thrashed harder, churning the swamp into a muddy frenzy.

Lu Jianwei toyed with them while watching the green dot on the map.

Fu Ji was nearly at the swamp now.

His steps were unsteady, his eyes vacant—truly ensnared, stumbling toward the beasts’ waiting jaws.

Lu Jianwei retracted the Solitary White Hair.

The beasts, drawn by its scent, surged toward the shore, snarling, ready to climb out and seize it.

"What a shame," Lu Jianwei sighed. She crushed the petal into dust and, with a flick of her inner force, scattered it over Fu Ji.

Now coated in Solitary White Hair, he would become the beasts’ new target—diverting their attention away from her.

She felt no psychological burden. When it came to someone like Fu Ji, who was blinded by greed and had brought calamity to the martial world, she had never been one to show mercy.

Besides, she also wanted to test him.

Her inner force carried the powdered substance toward Fu Ji, on the verge of coating his body, when he suddenly flicked his sleeve, forcefully redirecting the powder toward Pei Zhi.

One always picks the softest persimmon to pinch!

Pei Zhi’s steps were mysteriously erratic, shifting his position in the blink of an eye.

Lu Jianwei caught the scattered powder of "White Bone," gathered it in her palm, placed it back into the brocade pouch, and hung it once more from the tip of a branch before handing it to Pei Zhi.

"Qimen arts?" Fu Ji’s gaze darkened. "Back at the Carefree Sect, you effortlessly dismantled Helian Zheng’s jade formation. What a pity."

Pei Zhi ignored him, using the pouch to lure the beast and redirect its movements.

"You really were pretending," Lu Jianwei remarked. "You’ve schemed so much, even using Mei Jiuyi as an excuse to stir up chaos in the martial world—all just to locate the reclusive sects and uncover information about the Earth Lotus, wasn’t it?"

Fu Ji sneered, "So what if I was?"

"Nothing much," Lu Jianwei replied nonchalantly. "The Earth Lotus formula that the Qi Family once discovered—you were the one who stole it, weren’t you?"

"Indeed, it was me." Fu Ji scoffed. "Lu Jianwei, the master has taken an interest in you now. Must be quite the ego boost, hm? Do you really think he cares about you? You’re just another experiment to him!"

Lu Jianwei nodded. "Understood. You were a failed experiment, then."

"..."

"Perhaps Mei Jiuyi never outright told you he was from a reclusive sect, but you guessed it from his behavior. You once aspired to save the world, striving to become a top-tier martial artist and founding the Thousand Miles Tower. But under the lure of power and ambition, you forgot your original intentions. So he discarded you—just like he’ll discard any other failed experiment, past or future."

Fu Ji, flushed with anger, snapped, "You’ll be next!"

"No, I won’t," Lu Jianwei said with certainty.

Her only goal was to return home. No matter how much Mei Jiuyi tried to sway her, she would never entertain any other ambitions.

His experiment was doomed to fail.

Fu Ji scoffed at her confidence but said nothing more, his gaze shifting to the Earth Lotus at the center of the swamp, his eyes burning with determination.

There was only one Earth Lotus—he wanted it, and so did Lu Jianwei.

Both were ninth-level experts. If they truly fought, it would likely be a battle to the death.

"Manager Lu, why don’t we cooperate? Once we retrieve the Earth Lotus, we can split it evenly."

Lu Jianwei shook her head. "I don’t trust you."

"Then what do you propose?" Fu Ji frowned. "Do you want to fight me here?"

"No," Lu Jianwei said generously. "You can have this Earth Lotus."

Fu Ji froze, suspicion flashing in his eyes.

Naturally distrustful, he found her sudden generosity unsettling. His mind raced with possibilities—was this a trap? He suppressed his initial impulse to seize the lotus immediately.

Lu Jianwei was not someone who could be judged by ordinary logic.

The two stood at a stalemate at the edge of the swamp, while Pei Zhi continued dangling the pouch, teasing the beasts into opening their massive jaws.

The tantalizing prey remained just out of reach, driving the creatures into a frenzy, their enormous bodies churning the swamp into chaos.

Lu Jianwei’s peripheral vision remained fixed on them, noticing that no matter how agitated or ferocious they became, they instinctively avoided a particular area.

That patch of land wasn’t muddy like the rest—instead, it was covered in reedy grass, resembling a lush meadow from afar, dense and unreadable.

After a long silence, Fu Ji finally spoke. "Manager Lu, what exactly are you planning?"

"Martial King Fu, what do you mean?" Lu Jianwei feigned confusion. "I simply don’t wish to engage in a meaningless struggle with you."

"You’ve only been in the martial world for two years, yet you’ve amassed immense wealth. Now you claim you don’t want to fight for it? Do you really expect me to believe that?"

Pei Zhi interjected, "All of that was given as compensation or gratitude. She never fought for any of it."

"Of course you’d defend her," Fu Ji sneered. "You two must be setting a trap for me."

Lu Jianwei patted Pei Zhi’s shoulder and sighed. "As long as we’re here, Martial King Fu won’t dare take the lotus. Should we leave first?"

"Alright." Pei Zhi had also noticed the beasts’ avoidance of that area and swiftly retrieved the pouch.

"Wait!" Fu Ji called out. "What was that powder you tried to use on me? Why were the beasts so drawn to it?"

Lu Jianwei smiled. "Do you want some?"

"Did Elder Yi give you more information?" Fu Ji’s eyes narrowed. "Is this a method to deal with the beasts?"

She tucked the pouch into her sleeve, discreetly storing it in her system inventory.

No point wasting the White Bone powder.

"Martial King Fu, farewell."

She took Pei Zhi’s hand and turned to leave.

Fu Ji: "..."

He wanted nothing more than to strike her down, but he knew she wouldn’t leave herself unguarded.

The only way to kill Lu Jianwei would be mutual destruction.

Now that she was walking away, the Earth Lotus lay within reach—all he had to do was evade the beasts and claim it. Yet he hesitated.

Her departure was too abrupt. There had to be a trick.

Did she know there was greater danger in harvesting the lotus?

Was she waiting for him to take it so she could ambush him later?

Fu Ji lingered at the swamp’s edge for so long that even the beasts grew bored and submerged themselves back into the mire. Still, he took no action.

Lu Jianwei and Pei Zhi sat on a tree branch not far away, overlooking the grassy expanse of the swamp.

"Do you think Mei Jiuyi lured Fu Ji into White Cloud Village just to use the trial grounds to kill him?"

Reclusive sects couldn’t interfere in martial world affairs—but that didn’t mean they couldn’t "passively" intervene.

Fu Ji was the one who sought the Earth Lotus. He was the one who willingly entered the Seven-Step Swamp. No one forced him. So even if he died here, it had nothing to do with Mei Jiuyi or White Cloud Village.

Pei Zhi looked at her, concern and a trace of coldness in his eyes.

"Jianwei, they aren’t friendly toward you either. The reclusive sects share information, yet none of them recognize you."

Those who are not of our kind will always harbor ill intent.

Elder Yi had used the excuse of "taking the younger generation to the Eight Directions Inn to broaden their horizons" as both a training opportunity and a chance to investigate the inn.

Lu Jianwei pinched his cheek playfully. "Are you scared?"

"Not at all," Pei Zhi answered without hesitation.

"Then guess—how much longer before Fu Ji makes his move?"

"He’s schemed for years. Now, he’s reached his limit."

Lu Jianwei nodded. "When he first broke through to the ninth level, he faked his death and operated from the shadows—all to find a way to reach the Grandmaster realm."

The Qi Family’s ancestor had also sought the Grandmaster breakthrough, spending years searching for the formula. Fu Ji had watched from the shadows.

When the Qi Family finally obtained the Earth Lotus formula, he tried to seize it. But the Qi Family resisted fiercely, and the formula was damaged, leaving key ingredients illegible.

After painstaking research, he reconstructed the formula and gathered all the necessary ingredients—except for the Earth Lotus.

He tried following the Qi Family’s leads, only to encounter endless obstacles.

The only ones capable of stopping him were the enigmatic reclusive sects.

He had waited for years. Now, his goal was right before him—how could he resist?

"Jianwei, since ancient times, there has never been a recorded Grandmaster," Pei Zhi suddenly remarked. "The ninth-level pinnacle is the highest realm a martial artist can achieve."

Lu Jianwei smiled and asked, "Are you worried I might also go mad in pursuit of breaking through to Grandmaster?"

"You won't," Pei Zhi replied. "I’m just wondering if the so-called Grandmaster is merely a deception, like the Polar Gold Silkworm."

Lu Jianwei: "It’s entirely possible."

"If the Breathroot Lotus is truly so rare, how did the Heaven-Supporting Hall manage to find it?"

"You mean the rumor that the Breathroot Lotus can aid in breaking through to Grandmaster was deliberately spread? But for what purpose?"

"No matter how secretive the reclusive sects are, a martial artist who breaks through to Grandmaster wouldn’t remain nameless. Yet despite possessing the formula and the lotus, why have they failed to produce a single Grandmaster so far?"

Lu Jianwei held his hand, her expression calm. "Whatever secrets lie behind this, they have nothing to do with us. Where there are people, there will always be conflict. The reclusive sects may not interfere in worldly affairs, but that’s all it is—non-interference."

"Mm, it’s none of our concern."

Outside the swamp, Fu Ji could wait no longer.

The lotus at the center of the marsh silently beckoned to him. The long-coveted spiritual herb was right before his eyes, and he couldn’t resist stepping forward.

As a ninth-level Martial King, his inner energy allowed him to leap from the swamp’s edge straight to its heart.

A ferocious beast suddenly burst from the water, jaws gaping wide.

Fu Ji landed lightly on its head, using the momentum to spring upward again. His hands moved like lightning as he snapped the lotus’s stem.

The moment the stem broke, a surge of viscous fluid gushed out, splashing toward his face.

He twisted aside, shielding himself with a burst of inner energy.

Fu Ji had been cautious—he wore gloves and covered himself head to toe while harvesting the lotus.

But he never expected the fluid secreted by the broken stem to corrode his gloves almost instantly, seeping through his skin.

While the lotus petals were medicinal, its stem was lethally toxic—a poison even a ninth-level Martial King couldn’t withstand.

Fu ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‍Ji’s body stiffened abruptly. The energy in his meridians froze, and like a clumsy dumpling, he plummeted into the fathomless swamp with a dull splash.

As the murky water closed over his head, his right hand still clutched the lotus he had coveted so dearly.

The beasts swarmed, tearing savagely at his rigid limbs. Paralyzed, he couldn’t even grimace in pain.

His figure vanished completely into the swamp, his blood mingling with the muddy water.

Not even his bones remained.

Silence returned to the marsh.

Lu Jianwei and Pei Zhi waited patiently. Moments later, another pristine white lotus emerged from the mire.

"They really do have quite the stockpile," she murmured, landing gracefully. "Let’s go. Time to raid their stash."

Pei Zhi chuckled. Rumors in the martial world claimed that Innkeeper Lu’s favorite pastime was looting treasures.

Now even swamp beasts weren’t spared.

She retrieved the satchel of Withered Snow powder, instructing Pei Zhi to dangle it as bait to distract the creatures.

"Jianwei, be careful."

She nodded. "Nothing will go wrong."

With a prepared sack in hand, she skimmed across the water like a fleeting shadow, alighting on a clump of reeds. Using a branch, she parted the vegetation, revealing a hidden trove of lotuses beneath!

Since breaking the stems was dangerous, she harvested only the petals.

The petals were medicinal, completely non-toxic.

Others, fearing the flowers would wilt, instinctively plucked them with stems attached—thus falling victim to the poison.

Lu Jianwei had no such concerns.

Her system inventory could preserve the petals’ freshness indefinitely.

With her peerless thieving skill, "Cloud-Touching Hand," she swiftly filled her inventory with hundreds of petals in mere moments.

This nest held about a hundred lotuses, each with twenty petals. Not wanting to exhaust the resource, she took only fifty—a thousand petals in total, enough to last a very long time.

The beasts, finally realizing they’d been duped by the Withered Snow bait, roared in fury. They charged, intent on shredding the intruders who dared violate their territory.

Lu Jianwei knew when to quit. She drifted back to shore, unperturbed by the creatures’ anguished howls.

Opening the sack for Pei Zhi, she grinned. "Plenty to spare."

Inside were only a few dozen petals—the rest were safely stashed in her system inventory. Hidden by the reeds, Pei Zhi couldn’t tell exactly how much she’d taken.

It wasn’t that she distrusted him. But her system’s existence defied this world’s logic, and explanations would be tedious.

Pei Zhi shared her delight, retrieving the Withered Snow satchel without leaving even a crumb for the beasts.

Denied their treat and half their lotus hoard, the swamp creatures wailed in heartbroken rage, glaring at Lu Jianwei as if she’d murdered their kin.

With a cheerful wave, she turned and clasped Pei Zhi’s hand.

"Let’s go home."