"Really? Sister Li'er?" Lu Liluo's eyes lit up as she asked excitedly.
Leng Ruoli nodded slightly.
"That's great! We can play together again!" Lu Liluo jumped up with joy.
However, she quickly drooped her head and looked at Yan Yu, asking, "Sister Yan Yu, can I stay at your inn for a bit longer before I leave? I want to wait until Sister Li'er returns before I leave."
Yan Yu raised an eyebrow. Seeing her excited expression, she wanted to tease her.
"No way. Your grandfather drank so much of my wine, I'm losing money," Yan Yu said with a deliberately stern face.
"Ah… um… Sister Yan Yu, can I work at your inn to pay off my grandfather's wine debt?" Lu Liluo stammered, her expression close to tears.
Leng Ruoli and Yan Yu burst into laughter seeing Lu Liluo's expression.
"Liluo, Sister Yan Yu was just joking with you. Actually, I need to thank you for saving my life yesterday. If you hadn't stopped those guards from taking me away, I might have been flayed alive by that 'Puppet Madam' and never waited for Young Master Mo and Miss Mo to rescue me. Now that I'm alone, if you don't mind, please stay with me at the inn. Let's call each other sisters from now on?"
Yan Yu's gentle and moving smile was so captivating and pure, making people feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze or illuminated by the moon.
In truth, Yan Yu was quite beautiful. She wore her hair in a drooping bun, adorned with a jade hairpin inlaid with a white pearl. She had a round, small face, a pair of phoenix eyes, a delicate nose, and a tender red mouth. She was quiet and steady, and though not stunningly beautiful, she was a charming young lady who was instantly likable.
"Really? Lu Liluo also doesn't have parents or siblings, only an unreliable grandfather to rely on. So, I'll have an older sister from now on!"
At this moment, Lu Liluo smiled happily, her smile tinged with playfulness. Her two dimples were filled with the fragrant charm of spring flowers.
"Haha, seeing you become sisters, I sincerely wish you well. But we have to leave today. We'll celebrate for you sisters when we return."
Leng Ruoli smiled faintly, bid farewell to the two, and immediately got into the carriage with Jun Mohan, heading towards Nanzhao.
Just then, a small, drunken old man carrying a wine bottle stumbled out of the inn.
The old man's hair was messy, and he was as thin as a skeleton. His cloudy eyes narrowed as he looked around for someone. He wore patched clothes and looked like a beggar, yet he was much cleaner.
"Liluo, Liluo, alas, where has this girl run off to play now?" the old man muttered to himself.
"Grandpa, why are you only coming out now? You've been drinking in the cellar for days and almost finished all of Sister Yan Yu's wine," Lu Liluo ran up to the old man, pouting her lips and complaining.
"Go away, go away! You little brat don't understand anything. Liluo, let me tell you, this inn has a heavy aura of killing. The innkeeper and the waiters are not good people. We can't let them waste the wine in the cellar." The old man made a shushing gesture to Liluo and pulled her aside, whispering.
Lu Liluo felt speechless upon hearing this, thinking to herself: Grandpa, oh Grandpa, your granddaughter almost lost her life yesterday, and you only just realized the people at this inn are dangerous! If your granddaughter hadn't been lucky enough to be saved by Sister Li'er and the others, you probably wouldn't even be able to find my corpse now.
"Alright, Grandpa, the bad guys in the inn were already dealt with by Sister Li'er and Young Master Mo," Lu Liluo said helplessly.
Hearing this, the old man was slightly taken aback. Then, with a clearer mind, he asked, "Liluo, you say who dealt with them?"
"Well, it was that elder sister and that elder brother," Lu Liluo replied, pointing her small hand towards the retreating figures of Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan.
The old man looked up and saw a majestic, winding dragon and a phoenix reborn from flames coiling above Jun Mohan and Leng Ruoli.
The old man was instantly shocked and quickly ran out, wanting to catch up with Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan, but they had already gotten into the carriage and were slowly heading south.
Lu Liluo and Yan Yu looked at the old man staggeringly running out and chasing after Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan's carriage for a long time, only stopping when the old man could no longer run.
"Grandpa, what are you doing, chasing after Sister Li'er's carriage like that?" Lu Liluo and Yan Yu asked with great suspicion.
"Oh dear, I missed the chance to get acquainted with them, woohoo… it's all these drinks that got me woozy and delayed me," the old man plopped onto the ground, saying sadly.
Lu Liluo and Yan Yu: "..."
The two of them were utterly speechless, lamenting the wine for the sake of getting to know Young Master Mo and Miss Mo.
Afterward, the two bent down to help him up.
"Grandpa, Sister Li'er and that elder brother will return to Sister Yan Yu's inn for a night after finishing their business in the south," Lu Liluo comforted him.
"Really? You're not lying to Grandpa, are you?" the old man asked suspiciously.
"Grandpa, Liluo is telling the truth. Miss Mo herself told us that they would come back to my inn after their trip south to celebrate Liluo and me becoming sisters," Yan Yu said with a slight smile, her warm smile leaving a deep impression.
Hearing this, the old man looked seriously at Yan Yu and said, "After great misfortune, you girl will have good fortune. Liluo becoming your sister is also a blessing. I, this old man, support your sisterhood, and I won't mind having an extra granddaughter calling me grandpa."
With that, the old man burst into laughter and nimbly got up from the ground, staggering back into the inn.
Lu Liluo and Yan Yu: "..."
Afterward, Lu Liluo said somewhat awkwardly, "Sister Yan Yu, my grandfather talks nonsensically all day. Please don't mind him!"
Yan Yu reached out and stroked Liluo's hair, smiling, "Our grandpa isn't crazy at all. Moreover, he sees many things more clearly than we do. Let's go back too. The inn needs some rearranging, and you, as the younger sister, should help me, right?"
"Of course!" Lu Liluo replied with a smile.
Then, Lu Liluo and Yan Yu walked hand in hand back to the inn. They searched high and low throughout the inn but couldn't find the old man. It turned out he had gone back to hide in the wine cellar and steal drinks again.