Chapter 91: The Fire Spirit Suddenly Appears (6)

  Huoxiao Ye found the law of Qingyun Inn, and it was indeed as Wangzi Liuchuan said, "Transform complexity into simplicity, take the straight path and abandon the curved one, be unmoved and unswayed, define things with form, without twists or turns, no need for roundabout ways. If the fire spirit is present, then what you see is what it is."

  Huoxiao Ye arrived at Wangjia Fortress and inquired about Qingyun Inn to no avail. He already felt that Qingyun Inn was probably not within sight, and he needed to grasp the meaning of Qingyun Inn.

  Unlike Zheng Zedao, Huoxiao Ye didn't waste time on complicated reasoning or overthinking. He wasn't willing to use his brain too much, nor did he have the time for it. His guesses were straightforward and direct: if it was this way, then it was this way; no room for interpretation or deduction.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié went to the mountain on the east side, observing the entire Wang family compound from above. However, in the seven rows and columns of the Wang family compound's layout, he saw a "Qīng" character but was misled by the main path of one row and one column, still unable to determine where the Qīng Yún Inn was located within the Wang family compound. After Zheng Zé Dào left, Huǒ Xiǎo Xié slowly wrote down the two characters "Qīng Yún", finally allowing him to think of this principle.

  The character on top, is a Wang character emerging, this Wang character, written in a square and proper manner, isn't it representing the Wang family's large courtyard? Moreover, in terms of direction, the Wang family's large courtyard has its main gate facing east and its back facing west. A Wang character written above the Wang family's large courtyard, with an extra stroke on top, should be the northwest corner of the Wang family's large courtyard, which is also the location of the west gate. I'm afraid the west gate of the Wang family's large courtyard is actually the northwest direction.

  Looking at the bottom of the Qing character, it is a moon character. When people see the moon character, they generally think of the moon, time, and meaning, etc. However, Huo Xiao saw this moon character and only judged by its shape, thinking that it was just a narrow door with two horizontal lines on top. Since "the Wang character comes out first", the west gate of the Wang family's mansion is the location of the Qingyun Inn. So isn't the moon character representing a door with two horizontal lines on top? Can't finding this door be the entrance?

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé just relied on this seemingly dull principle and found the location.

  Finding the location is not enough, you also need to be able to get in, which makes it even easier for Huo Xiao Ye. The word "cloud" has rain above and cloud below, isn't that just a piece of cloud on the ground, and pouring some rain on top of the cloud will do? So Huo Xiao Ye used his mouth to hold water and sprayed it randomly on the disk cloud pattern on the steps, making it rain onto the cloud.

  These methods have broken the meaning of "Qingyun" two words, and naturally found Qingyun Inn. Huo Xiao Ye thought from beginning to end that an inn is just a place where people can live, it's not like digging a hole in the ground or letting people live like mice. As for burning the black fire stone order, or at which point to make a big fire smoke rise, Huo Xiao Ye didn't even dare think about it. What if the black fire stone order is burned? What if the fire is not set correctly and harms others, let alone seeing the blue smoke rise, can you still ride the clouds and drive away?

  The Fire Clan's method of determining one's nature is straightforward and uncomplicated, never deviating from the fundamental principles of the Fire Clan's Dao. The reason the Fire Clan uses this method is to ensure that their disciples have a pure fire nature. As long as you discard all distractions and think solely with your fire intuition, seeing is believing, then you will be able to find the Qingyun Inn. These principles have already been thoroughly explained by Wang Liuquan, so there's no need for further elaboration.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé ran to the entrance of the Qingyun Inn, saw that the gate was wide open, and strode in with a flowing pace. As soon as he stepped inside, he heard a gong sound, and someone called out: "The eleventh one!"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yè was taken aback and stopped in his tracks. A shopkeeper-like person carrying a small gong rushed out from the side, looking at his appearance, Huǒ Xiǎo Yè felt very familiar, but couldn't remember where he had seen him before. The shopkeeper smiled and said to Huǒ Xiǎo Yè: "Welcome to Qingyun Inn, sir! May I ask what brings you here?"

  Huo Xiao Yao hastily retrieved the Black Stone Token from his inner pocket and handed it over to the shopkeeper.

  The young shopkeeper smiled and held the Black Stone Token in his hand, took a look, then grasped it tightly and laughed: "May I ask how you would like to be addressed? Where are you from?"

  "My name is Huo Xiaoxie, I come from Tian."

  The young shopkeeper smiled and said: "Huoxiao Ye, what a great name! Please follow me, I've already prepared the best guest room for you to rest."

  "Uh, uh, I'm broke right now and can't afford to pay."

  "The Green Cloud Inn has never charged a fee. You can stay as long as you like, and eat, drink, and use whatever you need without spending a single penny. Please follow me."

  The young shopkeeper led Huo Xiaoyi further inside, passing through the wing room, before finally entering the front hall of the Qingyun Inn. Huo Xiaoyi looked around and found that it was no different from an ordinary inn. If not for the strange circumstances that had brought him here, and the fact that it was built underground, he really couldn't tell that this place could gather the best thieves in the world.

  In the front hall, there were over ten tables and chairs. At this time, six or seven people were seated, with a monk and a lama sitting together, speaking in hushed tones, their faces filled with devotion, as if they were discussing Buddhist scriptures. The others each occupied a table, quietly sipping tea and nibbling on snacks, without saying a word. Huo Xiaoyao walked in, looking around at them, and these people only lifted their heads to glance at Huo Xiaoyao, seemingly not finding it strange that a new guest had arrived, and nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

  On one side of the hall, there were four shop assistants busy with their work, but the boss was nowhere to be seen.

  Huo Xiao Xie knew that these people must be more powerful thieves than him, so he respectfully bowed his head to greet them. In his heart, he felt proud and satisfied: "I, Huo Xiao Xie, can come here and live with these masters who are even more formidable than San Zhi Liu and Hei San Bian? Just thinking about it makes me content! Haha!"

  The shopkeeper didn't even glance at Xiao Yi, and continued to lead the way forward with a smile. They went up to the third floor, pushed open a door with a sign that read "Three Five", and said with a courteous smile: "Sir, you'll be staying in this room."

  Huo Xiao Xie hastily thanked him, and the shopkeeper continued: "No matter what you need, you can come downstairs to find me. If it's not convenient or you don't want to go out, there is a red rope on the wall beside your bed. Pull it once, and someone will immediately come up to attend to you."

  "Thanks for your hard work! Thanks for your hard work!"

  The young shopkeeper bowed slightly and said, "Sir, there are still four days until the 15th. You can stay in the store for these few days and move around freely, but you must not go out. Otherwise, you won't be able to come back. Rest well, I won't disturb you."

  The shopkeeper finished speaking, smiled and turned to leave. Huo Xiao Ye didn't take him as a shopkeeper at all, respectfully sending the shopkeeper off with his eyes before entering the room.

  This room number eleven, although not as luxurious and grand as the Room A3 where Zheng Zedong lived, has a unique flavor. The room is decorated with antique calligraphy and paintings everywhere, looking very elegant. Huo Xiaoxiao slowly appreciates the objects on display, all of which are exceptionally exquisite and unusual, absolutely not ordinary objects. Huo Xiaoxiao didn't pay attention to it and continued to appreciate it, stopping in front of a painting. The painting depicts several birds, vividly standing on the branches of a tree that has just sprouted bright green new buds, as if they were chirping and calling out to each other. Huo Xiaoxiao praised: "The painting is great!" Huo Xiaoxiao carefully examined it and saw that on one side of the painting, the name of the painting was written, which was "Jiangnan Spring Breeze Bird Language Map". Looking down further, Huo Xiaoxiao suddenly froze, and the signature at the bottom actually read "Qianlong" (the reign title of an emperor). Following closely were several seals, one of which was the imperial jade seal, which Huo Xiaoxiao recognized because he had seen a picture of it in a book about the Qing dynasty emperors.

  Huoxiao Ye's eyes widened in shock, if this painting was really a work of the Qing dynasty Qianlong Emperor, it would be worth a fortune, how could it be casually hung in the guest room? Huoxiao Ye broke out in cold sweat, slowly turning around to look at the more than ten calligraphy and painting antiques in the room, suddenly realizing that probably every item in this house was either an imperial artifact from past dynasties or a rare treasure, taking away just one would make him rich for life.

  Hu Xiao'er wiped the sweat from his forehead, let out a long sigh and thought to himself: "This...this...can Fire King Fuguo really rival a country? He doesn't even put such treasures in his eyes? My ancestors...how much did they steal...I've finally opened my eyes today..."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié looked at the scene with envy, but had no intention of stealing. Huǒ Xiǎo Xié had been a thief since childhood, but was not greedy for wealth. Seeing this scene before him, he felt more admiration and respect in his heart. He thought that Yán Jǐng Tiān and others from the Huǒ family dressed plainly and spent money frugally, not extravagantly. On the contrary, they seemed to be quite stingy. If the Huǒ family was wealthy to this extent, when Huǒ Xiǎo Xié and Yán Jǐng Tiān parted ways, it wouldn't have been just a small amount of money that he gave him, only a single gold leaf. It seems that the Huǒ family's thieving path had long since looked beyond wealth and riches, seeking something else.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xiè let out a sigh, temporarily putting aside the treasure in front of him, and went to check the bedroom. The bedroom was very spacious and clean, with washing utensils and several sets of clean clothes on the table, even with several pairs of shoes. Further inside, there was a bathroom, with a large wooden bathtub, and a bamboo pipe slowly flowing hot water into the tub. Huǒ Xiǎo Xiè was delighted, he had been traveling in the wind and dust for a long time, without taking a good bath, his body felt itchy all over. Huǒ Xiǎo Xiè immediately took off his clothes, jumped into the bathtub, and first soaked in the hot water to relax!