Logo
Home

Chapter 2293: Rest Stop Pavilion

If the enemy were an individual, they would be cornered and overwhelmed in a fight. However, Elder Xu had already suffered a severe injury; not only had his chest been ripped open, but the monster in his lung had also not yet been incinerated. How could he possibly concentrate on controlling his ethereal spirits?

At this point, Liu Qingdao knew that further negotiation was useless. He waved his hand and commanded, "Advance! Seize these evildoers!" The only option was to fight first and talk later.

Before his words even finished, the Raging Sea Yaksha King was assailed by a group of cultivators. Due to its master's severe injuries, the Raging Sea Yaksha King's attack power was far weaker than usual. It hastily parried a few blows but was struck more than a dozen times. Finally, the Mao Ridge Giant slammed an axe into its lower back. Although not severed in two, its form became ethereal, and its body significantly shrank.

Although ethereal spirits can materialize, they are fundamentally different from flesh-and-blood creatures; they do not bleed when injured, but taking damage consumes their power. The weaker their power, the more ethereal their bodies become. Once they can no longer maintain a physical form, ethereal spirits are forced into dormancy to slowly accumulate power.

Elder Xu, having no intention of fighting now, only wished to retreat quickly. Therefore, the other ethereal spirit he summoned was a great antlered deer, intended to carry him and his group away from the scene.

However, before the great antlered deer could leap, a large net, made of double-layered barbed wire, was sprayed directly towards it from the front. How could Granny Zhu allow them to leave so easily?

Elder Xu, on the deer's back, had already suffered a significant loss of vitality and mental energy. No longer able to hold on, he suddenly coughed several times, expelling fragments covered in white mycelial threads, which continued to writhe when sprinkled with rain. What kind of monster had truly invaded his body, and why couldn't even true fire incinerate it?

***

Wei'an City, Northeast Suburbs.

Twenty-five *li* outside the city, on the official road halfway up the mountain, was a post station which locals called "Resting Pavilion." Crossing this mountain would take one out of Wei'an City's territory.

This official road was usually busy, with a constant stream of travelers, but the anomalies at the Luo River had suddenly disrupted the city's normal rhythm. Combined with the heavy rain, the inn had only two tables of guests.

One table was occupied by five guests chatting around it, though they had only ordered a few bowls of clear water. The other table held a handsome man in a red robe and white undergarments. His face was like polished jade, his skin fair, his brocade robe adorned with plum blossom patterns, and a red tear-mole rested beneath his phoenix-like eyes.

On his table, a coarse bowl held half-full of tea, and a dish contained a few red-skinned peanuts and dried fruit. He kept staring absently at the raindrops falling from the eaves, only picking up a peanut after a long while. The chattering tea guests nearby were ignored by him.

From the back of the kitchen came a woman's voice: "Where's Xiaoyu?"

Another man replied, "Uh, she was just here a moment ago."

Hearing the slight guilt in his voice, the man in the red robe knew this was the innkeeper.

"I just stepped out to refill the water缸. How did she disappear again?" The woman's voice was loud. "You don't care about your own child; sooner or later, she'll be snatched away by a wild wolf or monster!"

"Bah, bah!" The innkeeper was also displeased. "As her mother, can't you say a few nice things about our daughter?"

The man in the red robe raised an eyebrow and suddenly lowered his head to look under the table.

Under the table, a little girl, no more than three or four years old, was lying on her stomach, grinning up at him. Her teeth were very white, but one was missing. The gap was uneven, likely from an accidental knock. The girl's fingers were dark, and her clothes were stained with mud and water. Seeing him look down, she raised her hand and offered him a tiny purple violet:

"For you, pretty flower!"

Its petals were wet, and its roots still had dirt clinging to them—freshly picked, no doubt. The man in the red robe took it readily and asked her, "Why are you giving this to me?"

"You're pretty! Prettier than the flower."

The man in the red robe smiled. When he smiled, it was like a spring breeze drifting through a peach blossom forest.

Behind them, the innkeeper and his wife continued their bickering: "You can't even raise a child properly, nor can you do your work well. The officials have warned us several times that the geology of our back mountain is unstable and might collapse if there's another heavy downpour, but you just refuse to move. Tell me, how many times have you almost been hit by falling rocks?"

"Oh, they're just fear-mongering, it's not the first time," the innkeeper said dismissively. "I've lived in the mountains and wilderness for most of my life. Do they have more experience than I do? Can't I tell if this mountain will collapse without their advice?"

"Stubborn!" his wife cursed him. "If your eyes were so useful, why did you lose one? The few of us following you are doomed sooner or later!"

The innkeeper couldn't stand it any longer and fled in discomfiture. He pushed aside the curtain to the outer area and immediately spotted his daughter.

He quickly walked over, pulled the child out from under the red-robed guest's table, and spanked her on a nearby bench, the smacks resounding loudly. The little girl didn't cry, but bright tears welled up in her eyes.

The man in the red robe offered her two dried apricots. The girl took them and began nibbling, tears still in her eyes. The innkeeper laughed and scolded her, "This naughty girl is such a glutton!"

After carrying her back to the back room, the innkeeper came out with a large teapot and refilled the red-robed guest's tea:

"I forgot to ask earlier, where are you headed in this heavy rain, sir?"

The man in the red robe replied casually, "Xunyang Mountain."

"Are you also looking for the entrance to the Qixia Sect?" The innkeeper paused, sizing him up. "You don't seem the type."

"Why not?"

"Those who dare to seek out a sect's mountain gate are either foolishly bold or have a death wish," the innkeeper said. "You don't seem to be either."

The man in the red robe asked casually, "Then what do I seem like?"

"Either a government official's son or a talent from a prominent family," the innkeeper said with a grin, a gesture very much like his daughter's. "I've been in the wilderness for most of my life; I wouldn't be mistaken."

At that moment, the other guests departed, leaving their silver and exiting the inn. Before leaving, they cast a glance at the red-robed guest. After they had walked a dozen *zhang*, the innkeeper immediately said, "Those people are no good. They've marked you as easy prey. They wouldn't dare make a move in my inn, but they'll most likely ambush you at the mountain path fork about a *li* and a half away. Things have been a bit chaotic inside and outside the city these past few days, and scum like them are looking to profit from the confusion."

The man in the red robe glanced out the window again; this spot faced the back mountain. "What should I do then?"

"Either you go back the way you came and let them lie in wait for nothing, or if you trust me, you can stay the night here. I'll only charge you twenty-five *wen*, and that includes breakfast tomorrow."

"That affordable?"

The innkeeper grinned again, "Just making a friend."

The man in the red robe's gaze returned to the innkeeper: "If one were to judge solely by appearance, you look more like a bandit than they do."

The innkeeper was one-eyed, rough, and dark-skinned, with an eye patch over his left eye (its original color unknown) and a scar on his neck. Guests who looked up at him upon entering often felt they had stumbled into a den of thieves.

"I was, actually, that's why I can spot their kind at a glance," the innkeeper admitted freely. "I used to be a bandit in Tu Mountain, but later I was recruited by the Dragon God Army. After the Dragon God War ended, I didn't want to farm or go back to my old ways, so I simply opened a small inn, just enough to make a living."

The man in the red robe took a sip of his tea. "Operating a Resting Pavilion here is hardly a commoner's way of making a living." Running a business right beside an official main road, with no worries about customer flow, wasn't something just anyone could achieve.

COMMENT
Write Novel
Beyond the Divine States

23954 · 0 · 62

Qingshan

27530 · 0 · 84

Sword Of Coming

75531 · 0 · 76

Cang Yuan Tu

34262 · 0 · 74

Library of Heaven’s Path

87164 · 0 · 54

Dragon Prince Yuan

52601 · 0 · 60