Chapter 124

Chapter 124

At the soft clink of silver striking the counter, the person behind it finally took a step forward.

By the candlelight on the desk, half his face could just barely be made out.

It seemed to be a man.

But his features were delicate to the point of femininity, and there was a sinister gleam in his eyes.

Only after pocketing the silver did he say, “Unfortunately, we only have two superior rooms. But right now, only one of them is fit for guests.”

“Because someone died in the other one three days ago. The bloodstains inside still haven’t been cleaned up.”

Hearing this, Ren Fengjue frowned slightly. “Why haven’t they been cleaned?”

The man gave him a cold glance, as if trying to frighten him. “Because the death was too gruesome. It looked like the person had been gnawed on by some wild beast, nothing but mangled flesh and blood.”

“Even the officials had to put in a great deal of effort just to carry the body away.”

“I’m only an ordinary commoner. How would I dare go in?”

Ren Fengjue, however, did not pale at his words. Instead, he questioned him. “You make this inn sound so sinister. Then why are you still here watching over it? Is this inn yours?”

The man seemed to pause for a moment. A strange look flickered through his eyes before he replied, “I’m a waiter here. I promised the innkeeper I would watch the place for her until she returned. Is there a problem with that?”

“Of course not.”

Ren Fengjue’s words carried a pointed edge. “In this day and age, it’s rare to see such a loyal waiter.”

The waiter said nothing more. Picking up a candle lamp, he led the way.

As he walked, he explained the inn’s rules.

“I’ll make this clear in advance. This inn has no hot water, and no one will come running the moment you call.”

“If you want food, you’ll have to pay extra…”

“If you hear any noises at night, it might be rats. Or it might be-a man-eating monster.”

“If you hear something, you’d best not get curious and come out.”

By the time he finished speaking, he had arrived at the door of a room on the second floor. The plaque on the door read-Heaven-Class Room. It was presumably the superior room.

He pushed open the door and asked, “Which of you will be staying in this superior room?”

Ren Fengjue naturally turned to glance at Xia Ximo, as if hesitating over whether to give her the room.

Xia Ximo, who had been walking at the rear, seemed to understand his thoughts at once and hurried a step forward.

“I’ll stay here.”

“Wait…”

This time, it was the waiter who could not help stopping her. As though he found it unbelievable, he asked, “A young lady like you isn’t afraid to stay in this room by yourself?”

“The room on the left is the Earth-Class Room…”

His meaning was obvious. That was the room where someone had died three days ago.

Xia Ximo swept him a cold glance. Though she said nothing, the pressure in her gaze was enough to be felt.

The waiter’s lips moved, as if he wanted to say more, but in the end he stepped aside and let her enter.

Then he opened the doors to the other rooms across the corridor.

“There are four guest rooms here. Please help yourselves.”

Yu Lang pinched his nose and glanced into them one by one. His brows immediately furrowed.

Not only were the rooms narrow and cramped, they also reeked strongly of mildew…

He could not help suspecting whether the quilts and pillows inside were even fit for people to sleep on.

“How long has it been since anyone stayed in these rooms?”

The waiter looked indifferent. “Ever since the first person died, hardly anyone has come to stay here. The last person who stayed was also an outsider.”

A bad feeling instantly rose in Yu Lang’s heart. He asked, “That person… don’t tell me he died too?”

“Yes. He did indeed die.”

“…”

Yu Lang hurriedly tugged Yan Zhengchu aside and whispered, “Daoist Master, why don’t we share a room tonight?”
If thieves caused trouble, he could still fight them.

If it was ghosts, then they would have to rely on Yan Zhengchu.

But Daoist Yan glanced at the bed inside the room and looked utterly disgusted. “The room is too small, and there’s only one bed. I’m afraid it can’t fit two men of our build…”

“I’ll stay next door instead. If anything strange happens at night, just call for me.”

Yu Lang could not help glancing around again and asked him, “Then have you noticed anything wrong in here?”

Yan Zhengchu said solemnly, “The yin energy here is heavy, but for the time being, I haven’t seen any ghosts. You can rest easy.”

Only after hearing that did Yu Lang finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Because they had left the capital in such a hurry and then traveled a long way through the night, it was nearly midnight by now. Everyone was not only exhausted, but also somewhat hungry.

Ren Fengjue called the waiter over, handed him another ingot of silver, and told him to cook a few bowls of noodles for everyone.

The waiter took the money, but his attitude remained lazy. “There’s only some coarse flour left in the kitchen. Rats gnawed on it a couple days ago, too. If you can stomach it, I’ll go cook it for you.”

At that, Yan Zhengchu could not help scolding him. “Since you’ve taken the money, you should find a way to get us something edible. Do you think money is that easy to earn?”

The waiter gave a soft snort. “I’m just telling you the truth. Whether you listen or not is your business.”

Ren Fengjue quickly said, “Since you live in this inn, you must eat on ordinary days, don’t you? Then bring each of us some of whatever you usually eat.”

Only then did the waiter turn and leave.

Seeing this, Ren Fengjue immediately shot a look at Axia, who stood not far away.

Once he heard the waiter’s footsteps fade into the distance, he looked around again.

The inn had fallen into disrepair over the years, and some places even leaked when it rained. The wooden floor was damp; each step made it creak, the sound especially jarring to the ear.

Outside, the wind and rain raged as if it had been destined by unseen forces that they would have to come to this inn after all…

“Daoist Yan.”

Ren Fengjue asked Yan Zhengchu, “Can you still find traces of that ghost now?”

Yan Zhengchu immediately took out his compass again and, using the last wisp of ghostly energy, searched the town for traces of Bai Qingshuang.

Yet the needle only spun endlessly across the face of the compass. In the end, the location it indicated was actually right inside this inn.

“How could it be such a coincidence?”

Yan Zhengchu murmured to himself, feeling that the matter was not simple.

He said to Ren Fengjue, “Although there don’t appear to be any souls in this inn for the moment, there must be something strange about it. My Soul-Seeking Spell indicates that Bai Qingshuang is here.”

“Huh?”

Yu Lang’s heart lurched through a violent rise and fall.

But Yan Zhengchu said to him, “Young Master Yu, I still have one bottle of ‘ashes’ here. I’ll leave it to you again. Scatter them through this inn first.”

Last time, when Yu Lang had been scattering the ashes in the Prajna Realm, he had been ambushed from behind by a Vengeful Ghost and failed to complete the task.

Now, he naturally agreed with pleasure. “You can safely leave it to me this time…”

Yan Zhengchu took a bottle from his robes, handed it to him, and reminded him, “This is the last bottle left. Use it sparingly.”

“I won’t fail your trust!”

Yu Lang took the “ashes” and began identifying the directions.

This time, everything went quite smoothly, and he scattered the ashes from the bottle into the corners of the inn.

But just as he put away the bottle and turned around, a cold, eerie wind swept past. On the wall behind him, a shadow slowly began to emerge.

Yu Lang faintly felt a chill run down his back. He immediately turned his head, and in the next second, a dark shadow swiftly engulfed him.