Zombie Bodyguard-Chapter 1423 - 1420: Hot Weapons, Cold Weapons

Upon hearing Lin Tian’s words, the old man didn’t speak and directly pulled out a bunch of keys from behind his waist, then picked two from them and handed them to Lin Tian.

Taking the keys, Lin Tian glanced at them and noticed numbers on them, probably room numbers, but there were only two keys, so he couldn’t help but ask, "We have three people..."

Before Lin Tian could finish, the old woman interrupted him: "There are only two rooms left."

After speaking, she neither explained nor concerned herself with Lin Tian, and went off to the corner of the courtyard to sweep the ground, leaving the three of them staring at each other.

"This... Brother Tian, what’s going on?" Even Ghost, with his big heart, was dumbfounded, this old woman’s temper was even bigger than Shen Danxi’s.

Lin Tian helplessly spread his hands, expressing that he didn’t know, and certainly couldn’t be difficult with an elder. The three shook their heads and headed towards the wooden pavilion; Lin Tian had seen the room numbers on the keys, which were the last two rooms on the second floor.

Entering from the entrance where the old man came out, they ascended the staircase to the corridor on the second floor. The structure of the second floor of the pavilion was simple; a corridor with rooms on the right side, and the rooms at the very end were the ones indicated by the room keys.

The room numbers here were not Arabic numerals, but wooden plaques hung beside the doors. The plaques on the two doors in front had carved "Yellow Number Eight" and "Yellow Number Nine."

This room number coding was somewhat peculiar; Lin Tian knew something about it from reading ancient texts. There were no Arabic numerals in ancient times, so the room numbering in ancient inns differed from that in modern hotels.

There were many ways to indicate sequence in ancient times: "Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, White Tiger," "First, Second, Third, Fourth," "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J," "Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig," all could represent sequences.

The "Ten Heavenly Stems" were often used for room numbering, with "Room Number A One" being derived from this. But the room numbers here were clearly not from this sequence system but another set.

"Heaven and Earth, Mysterious Yellow, Universe’s Great Wilderness, Sun and Moon’s Cycles, Stars and Constellations Arrayed, Cold and Heat Come and Go, Harvest in Autumn, Storage in Winter..." This passage is from the "Thousand Character Classic," and these characters were used as sequential numbers.

The naming of Heavenly Room Number One comes from this numbering system; there’s also "Earth Number," "Mysterious Number," "Yellow Number," "Universe Number..."

The wooden plaques appear very old, though perhaps due to frequent polishing, the plaques seem quite shiny.

"Tsk tsk, these plaques have some age to them, judging by the wood and wear, must be over a hundred years old, a real antique, worth quite a bit in the antique market. Truly an Ancient Martial sect, wealthy indeed, even a random item is worth a lot." Lin Tian couldn’t help but shake his head, clicking his tongue in admiration.

"Brother Tian, it’s those opposite pavilions that are worth money, with carved dragons and painted phoenixes, glazed flying eaves. I estimate the beams are made of nanmu wood, I can’t afford even a single beam with all my possessions." Ghost exaggeratedly said.

Lin Tian was amused by him, replying, "In ancient times, there were regulations on the scale and grade of houses. Nanmu was exclusively for royal use; if common ministers or civilians used nanmu in their residences, it was called exceeding their rank, which was severely punished by beheading, but for these Ancient Martial sects, the court probably turned a blind eye."

"Anyway, Ancient Martial families and sects are just wealthy." Ghost joked.

"Brother Lin, only two rooms, how are we supposed to stay?" Yun Xiaotian did not join the two’s discussion but looked at the rooms in front, seeming a bit troubled, then muttered softly, "Clearly so many empty rooms, why only two given!"

Lin Tian casually said, "Probably because of the auction, doesn’t matter. We’re three grown men, staying in one room isn’t an issue, let alone two. One of us will stay separately, the other two in another room."

Unexpectedly, Ghost was the first to propose an objection, saying, "Brother Tian, before coming, Mr. Yun and Uncle Yun asked me to ensure Xiaotian’s safety; I’m not comfortable with him staying alone. How about I share a room with him, and let Brother Tian have one to himself."

Thinking for a moment, Lin Tian nodded, "Mm, that’s also fine. Though Qingshuang Pavilion wouldn’t do anything too daring, during the auction, so many people check-in, inevitably mixed with good and bad, those Ancient Martial Artists are all arrogant, prone to fighting, Xiaotian isn’t their match, still, you’ve considered well, Ghost."

Saying this, Lin Tian handed the "Yellow Number Nine" key to Ghost, then opened the "Yellow Number Eight" room. Ghost, upon receiving the key, also opened the room, but Yun Xiaotian stood on the corridor, hesitant to enter.

Lin Tian found it strange and turned to ask, "Xiaotian, go in, place your items properly and rest a bit, still unsure how Qingshuang Pavilion will handle us seeing Master Tang."

"I... I’ll share with Brother Tian." Yun Xiaotian was a bit troubled, hesitating for a long time before explaining his thought.

Lin Tian was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, thinking it could be Yun Xiaotian’s unfamiliarity with Ghost, not used to it. Without much thought, Lin Tian rearranged, "Alright, Ghost, Xiaotian will share with me, you take a room alone, but be cautious, those Ancient Martial Artists aren’t ordinary people."

"Don’t worry Brother Tian, probably by the time we find Miss and leave, those Ancient Martial Artists haven’t checked in yet." Ghost promised. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Leaving?" Lin Tian murmured softly, then said, "It won’t be that simple..."

It seemed he hadn’t finished his sentence, but he didn’t continue and instead turned into the room, Yun Xiaotian following suit.

"Brother Tian, earlier you said it won’t be that simple, what do you mean? Could Sister Manxue run into trouble?" Yun Xiaotian asked curiously upon entering, being smart, he seemed to have realized something.

Lin Tian paused, a glint of coldness flashed in his eyes as he said expressionlessly, "Do you think those Ancient Martial families, Ancient Martial Artists gathered in Tang City are just for the auction? Many of them seem to be after the Hua Ying Sword in Miss’s hand."

"In this day and age, is there still a point in clinging to those?" Yun Xiaotian didn’t quite understand, indeed, in the era of hot weapons, cold weapons seemed to lose their value.

Of course, this was Yun Xiaotian’s thought, Lin Tian didn’t think the same, perhaps months ago he might have thought so, no matter how skilled one is, a bullet can take them down, however, through experiences in recent times, he knew very well that certain special cold weapons, when wielded by Ancient Martial Artists or other cultivators, even vampires or those with special abilities, could unleash power greater than hot weapons.

For instance, Lin Tian himself was unafraid of bullets, even bombs couldn’t deal with him, but the Hua Ying Sword in Tang Ziqing’s or Miss’s hands could harm his zombie body.

"In this world, some powers are unfathomable, hot weapons are not the rulers of this world!" Lin Tian stated calmly.