Ultimate Path to Heaven

Chapter 55 Once Again at Drunken Immortal Pavilion

As the smoke rose from the porridge stall, everyone's eyes lit up. A limping old man groped and pulled out half a rough pottery bowl. As the crowd lined up, he repeatedly wiped the chipped edge of the bowl with his sleeve. Xiao Jin glanced at the old man a few more times because of this.

"Hmm?" Following the queue toward the porridge stall, Xiao Jin couldn't help but be somewhat taken aback. "I didn't expect that Chu Wan, a princess, would actually serve the porridge herself."

The people queuing, young and old, were all filthy, and had not bathed in a long time, with a pungent smell of sweat. There might even be some who were sick, but the Ninth Princess didn't seem to mind at all, serving bowl after bowl of porridge with a smile.

As Xiao Jin shook his head, a limping old man lined up in front of the stove, seemingly moved by something.

Looking at the half-piece of rough earthenware bowl in the old man's hand, Princess Jiu's stirring motion slowed noticeably. Then, glancing at the long line behind the old man, Princess Jiu finally carefully ladled the porridge into the half-piece of rough earthenware bowl.

Looking at the thin porridge that seemed ready to overflow at any moment, the old man turned around with excitement in his eyes, but he took very light steps, as if afraid that not a single drop would spill from the rim of the bowl.

At this moment, Xiao Jin followed the old man's gaze until the old man slowly squatted down under the withered locust tree, and then he discovered that the five or six-year-old child under the tree must be the old man's grandson.

The old man kept urging the child to drink while blowing on the bottle, afraid the child would get burned. Only after the child had drunk a little did the old man look at the line again, his face full of anxiety and worry. He swallowed hard, his stomach rumbling.

This scene left Xiao Jin feeling quite uncomfortable, because the old man doted on his grandson and refused to drink a single drop... even though there was no more porridge left in the queue.

Sure enough, when the child finished the porridge and the old man returned to the stove, the pot was empty and there was no hot water left. The crowd that had lined up again gradually dispersed.

Just as Xiao Jin was about to step forward, he saw the Ninth Princess bend down under the stove and pick up a ceramic bowl containing half a bowl of thick porridge.

"Grandpa, please keep this bowl safe. Remember to bring it next time you distribute porridge." With that, Princess Jiu handed the bowl to the old man.

The old man was moved to tears, but he was too excited to speak. Finally, after being comforted by the Ninth Princess, he wiped away his tears and left.

At this moment, Xiao Jin approached and asked, "Is the princess doing this to accumulate merit for the Eighth Prince?"

"You!..." The maid pointed angrily at Xiao Jin, but was stopped by the Ninth Princess.

"Don't think that just because I accepted your gift of grain, you can act recklessly in front of me!" Chu Wan didn't look at Xiao Jin, and calmly wiped her hands.

"First, they massacred the village, then they ravaged the streets. If not for good deeds, what are they after?" Regardless of the Ninth Princess's reaction, Xiao Jin continued, "Just to save the people by distributing porridge?" He paused, then added, "Absurd and laughable!"

"You!" The Ninth Princess, somewhat speechless with anger, exclaimed, "Do you think I don't want to?!"

"What you think is just what you think; what you can actually do is not what you think!" Xiao Jin's words were full of sarcasm.

"At least I, the princess, have tried my best!" At this moment, Ninth Princess Chu Wan, who was glaring at Xiao Jin, raised her noble head and responded to Xiao Jin with an arrogant attitude.

"Do your best?" Xiao Jin's smile was mocking again. "To feed a mere few hundred people?"

"Or are you going to use this shameful evidence to massacre the next long street!" Xiao Jin stared directly at the Ninth Princess, his aura intimidating. "Don't forget, you're also a member of the royal family!"

"You!..." The Ninth Princess was not only speechless with anger, but also shed tears of grievance while she was speechless.

"What, the Ninth Princess, who has lofty ambitions, can't accept this?" Seeing that the time was right, Xiao Jin deliberately softened his tone.

Upon hearing this, the Ninth Princess was slightly taken aback, then wiped away a tear of grievance and looked at Xiao Jin calmly: "You are right. There are many things I can only think about, even though I am a princess."

"Is there a chance?" Seeing the Ninth Princess like this, Xiao Jin immediately perked up: "It's not a pity to have tried my best, the pity is that you didn't try your best."

Based on the information provided by Ye Bufan, Xiao Jin believed that the Ninth Princess did indeed have the 'absurd' ideal of a peaceful and prosperous world.

The reason it is called absurd is that Xiao Jin believes that the so-called peaceful and prosperous world is impossible to achieve, at least he has not thought that it can be achieved at present.

Nevertheless, Xiao Jin still hopes that the Ninth Princess can move in this direction.

"Not at full strength?" The Ninth Princess murmured to herself, repeating Xiao Jin's words, and seemed to agree with those four words.

Not to mention the increased grain tax, the Eighth Prince's massacre of the village, and the slaughter of innocents in the city streets, the Ninth Princess did not do her best to stop it, and even instinctively chose to back down.

Seeing the surprised expressions on the maids' faces, Xiao Jin turned and left without saying goodbye. It was best not to embarrass the Ninth Princess too much at this time; perhaps he would gain something unexpected once she calmed down.

Watching Xiao Jin's departing figure, the Ninth Princess murmured, "Xiao Jin?"

Once Xiao Jin was out of sight and she had completely calmed down, the Ninth Princess looked at her side and called out, "Min'er!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Investigate this young master of the Tongzhou grain store thoroughly for me!"

"This servant obeys!"

Min'er was the Ninth Princess's most trusted personal maid, and many things were entrusted to her. She was in her thirties and at the peak of the eighth rank, making her the strongest person by the Ninth Princess's side.

After receiving the order, Min'er glared fiercely at the city gate, as if Xiao Jin were still there. For some reason, from the first moment Min'er saw Xiao Jin, she felt a strong aversion to him.

A sneeze!

Xiao Jin, who was walking down the street looking around, suddenly sneezed violently!

"Damn, could it be that the Ninth Princess has realized she's cursing me?"

"That shouldn't be the case..."

Xiao Jin had expected to receive agility points, but to his surprise, the system not only failed to respond at all along the way, but also made him sneeze, which sent chills down his spine.

Just as Xiao Jin was lost in thought, Zhang Shi'an, after confirming Xiao Jin's identity, disappeared from a street corner not far away.

At the foot of Xiao Jin Zui Xian Lou, the old manager of Tongzhou Grain Store came to meet him and whispered something to him.

"Oh?" Xiao Jin was slightly surprised but didn't look around. He naturally said to the old manager, "Summon Steward Ye to this Drunken Immortal Pavilion to have a drink with me!"

"Alright! Young master, you may go ahead!" With that, the old manager returned directly to the Tongzhou Grain Store.

'Zhang Shi'an has finally shown his true colors.' Xiao Jin thought to himself as he stepped into Zuixianlou.

"Huh?" As soon as Xiao Jin entered Zuixianlou, he saw Lin Miao at the counter, who was trying to do the accounting with a helpless expression.

'This girl finally has something to do.' Lin Miao noticed this without intending to disturb her.

Lin Miao excitedly tried to walk out from behind the counter, but Qin Yan forcefully pushed her back down, presumably at Lin Yan's arrangement.

Refusing the waiter's directions, Xiao Jin went to the third floor of Zuixianlou again. This time, however, there were very few customers on the third floor.

Sitting down in the same spot, but looking out the window at the 'different' scenery, Xiao Jin once again unconsciously thought of Chu Xiong.

"I wonder if Mother will encounter this Chu Xiong?"

"I can't go to the Northern Region right now..." Xiao Jin felt increasingly uneasy as he thought about it, resenting that the system's numerical points were coming too slowly, and thus he was willing to risk his life to get those defensive points.