Jing Shao descended the stairs. The inn was crowded with travelers. The murmur of conversation, laughter, and the sound of dishes being served created a lively atmosphere. Despite the crowd, the building wasn't old; its foundations were firm, and the structure still retained the elegant air it surely had in better times. However, the floor creaked occasionally, and the paper lanterns were a little faded.
Jing Shao noticed all this with a discreet glance as he walked down the hallway. He didn't care much for the place, but he liked that it at least looked clean.
As he walked towards the kitchen he heard that there were hot springs and as if two dog ears were going to grow he listened attentively - "The hot springs in this place were not bad at all" said a random traveler - "Yes! They are quite relaxing we should come back another day" said another with a smile on his face Jing Shao was excited by the idea of hot springs so he quickly looked for dinner and went upstairs when he entered the children's room and told them the children looked at him so confused that Jing Shao was embarrassed they did not know what hot springs were
"Let's go," Jing Shao said impatiently.
"Shizun... haha, don't you find it awkward... bathing with strangers?" Mei An said, very amused by her reaction.
Jing Shao: "Use a towel!"
Mei An: "And my sister will bathe with us."
Jing Shao: "No! Women bathe in a separate bathroom."
Mei Lin: ....
"I'm not going."
Jing Shao gave up. He knew Mei Lin was hard to convince, so he said, "You can go and try new things."
Mei Lin: ...
After saying this, he dragged Mei An with him.
Mei Lin was sitting on the bed playing with the quilt. She thought about it for a while and decided to go to the hot springs. She didn't know where it was, so she asked and they said it was in the last hallway on the right. As she walked, she noticed as if thousands of eyes were watching her. She thought: "Such stupid people... why are you staring at me so much?" She felt very irritated and was about to get angry until some young women stopped her. "Huh? What's your name? Are you lost?" One of them said. Mei Lin's gaze was naturally very cold and she barely spoke, so she answered, but that couldn't matter less to the women. When they saw that she wasn't going to answer, they changed the question: "Are you going to the hot springs?" Mei Lin: "Mm, that's right."
"Okay, we'll take you," the woman said with a smile. As they walked, the women kept talking, changing the subject with each step they took. Mei Lin's nose was unusually sensitive, and they smelled like a lot of cosmetics and strange aromas. It was unpleasant, so she tried to take a step forward. She didn't want to be by their side.
One of the women bent down a little and said, "Are you going to tell us your name?" Mei Lin stared at her, not understanding why they wanted to know her name, so she said indifferently, "Mei Lin."
The woman: "Oh, what a pretty name! Don't you want to know our names?"
Mei Lin: "Mm, I'm not interested."
The woman: "...
Another woman approached her as well.
"Did you come with someone?" Mei Lin said with a silly smile. Mei Lin was a little amused by these silly women.
Mei Lin: "Mm, I came with my Shizun and my younger brother."
The other woman: "Are you a cultivator?" Mei Lin nodded without saying much. She didn't want to talk too much, after all, she didn't like strangers very much.