A Small Profit

After night had passed, the other people in Green Rock Town discovered something that astonished them.

The Black Inn at the town gate, which usually dealt in human trafficking, had been burned to ashes overnight.

Some bold souls searched the inn's ruins for a long time and eventually found quite a few partially burned corpse fragments.

In the end, the people of Green Rock Town concluded that the inn had provoked someone it should not have provoked.

Thus, its leaders and all their elite subordinates had been slaughtered in their own inn overnight, their corpses and the inn itself reduced to ashes in a single fire!

In truth, the commotion at the inn last night had not been small. It had already alerted some people, especially the clash between Xiao Ming and the Five-Star Great Dou Shi Gaunt Old Man when Xiao Ming ambushed him.

It had been like thunder in the still of the night, waking many people.

But what kind of place was the Black Corner Region? Street fights and killings were commonplace there, and people had long since stopped finding them strange.

So no one paid much attention. Even those who noticed the inn on fire merely smiled with schadenfreude before continuing with their own business.

Last night, Xiao Ming had found a random spot in the wilderness to make do for the night before entering Green Rock Town once more.

Dressed in a brand-new black robe, he walked down the street. Hearing the occasional discussions around him, he stopped in surprise.

I never expected this to cause such a huge uproar. I just hope it doesn't alert those two Fishing Guys. Otherwise, this will be troublesome—I don't even know what they look like. I got too carried away in yesterday's fight and forgot to leave anyone alive. What a pain.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming frowned in frustration.

Come to think of it, yesterday's battle had been Xiao Ming's first real fight, one of blades, blood, and flesh. It was only natural that he had found it hard to hold back.

Compared with the students at the academy, who merely trained diligently, the traffickers at the inn were all ruthless and coordinated well with one another.

Surrounding and attacking him would have been one thing, but they also frequently used underhanded tactics. They had been vicious beyond measure, causing him no small amount of trouble and even inflicting some injuries.

Some of those details remained vivid in Xiao Ming's mind even now.

Xiao Ming dared say that if someone else had been surrounded yesterday, even if that person had been several stars stronger than him, they would likely have died on the spot.

There had been danger, but the gains had naturally been obvious as well.

At the very least, Xiao Ming felt that his use of Dou Skills had become more proficient.

Whether it was the Profound Tier High-Grade Dou Technique Crimson Flame Sword, the Profound Tier High-Grade Dou Technique Crimson Flame Palm, or the Profound Tier High-Grade Movement Dou Technique Shadow Chasing Wind that his teacher had given him before,

or the Three Flame Ethereal Seal and the Vast Righteous Astral Flame Sword that Xiao Ming had obtained from the Simulator later on, Xiao Ming had gained new insights into all of them. The Dou Qi around his body had become more condensed, and its circulation smoother.

Last night, I swallowed quite a few medicinal pills to restore my Dou Qi and stamina. I hope the spoils I seized will let me recoup the cost. Otherwise, I'll have taken a huge loss.

During yesterday's fierce battle, Xiao Ming had never stopped taking pills to restore his Dou Qi. To be safe, he had even taken Grade Three medicinal pills to ensure a rapid recovery of Dou Qi.

Even ordinary consumable Grade Three Medicinal Pills were not cheap.

After searching the bodies, Xiao Ming had not eagerly checked what he had gained. Instead, he found a place to rest, still not knowing whether he had made a loss.

Forget it. Green Rock Town should have more than one inn. I'll find another one to stay in, take stock of my haul, and clean myself up. Then I'll ask around for information on those two Fishing Guys. The Simulator mentioned that the people at yesterday's inn knew about them, so the people at other inns should know something too.

With that thought, Xiao Ming made up his mind and set off again, weaving through the crowd in search of an inn.

Just as Xiao Ming had expected, Green Rock Town was not small. There were indeed several other, somewhat smaller inns.

Xiao Ming chose one that looked relatively respectable and checked in.

Inside the room stood an enormous wooden tub.

Thin wisps of white steam rose from the still water within it.

Xiao Ming stood beside the tub, reached out to test the water's surface, and nodded.

"Not bad. It's only plain warm water. It seems this inn has no ill intentions for the time being."

With that, Xiao Ming removed his clothes and submerged his entire body in the water, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Ah... comfortable."

"It's been a long time since I last soaked in a bath like this." Xiao Ming scrubbed himself as he sighed.

Based on the body's physiology, keeping the water at a temperature that caused less irritation to the skin could relax both body and mind.

When Xiao Ming had been with the Xiao Family, he liked to soak in the hot springs at the back mountain after training every day to ease his exhaustion.

After arriving at Jia Nan Academy, he had lost that habit. There were no hot springs at Jia Nan Academy, and if he wanted a bath, he could only fetch hot water himself.

Xiao Ming found that too troublesome. Besides, he had always focused on cultivation and did not have many demands when it came to life's pleasures. Most of the time, he only washed up briefly.

Though bathing was comfortable, Xiao Ming did not indulge in it for too long. After washing himself, he changed into clean clothes and sat on the bed.

He held Gaunt Old Man's Na Ring in his hand as Soul Power emerged from between his brows.

This was a low-grade Na Ring. Xiao Ming encountered no obstruction and quickly examined Gaunt Old Man's possessions.

Within the ring's roughly five-cubic-meter space were several Purple-Gold Pattern Cards. Each held tens of thousands of gold coins, adding up to perhaps over a hundred thousand gold coins. They were presumably the fruits of Gaunt Old Man's past robberies.

There were also some low-grade medicinal pills stored alongside them.

Other than that, there were only a few changes of clothes, some food, and other miscellaneous items.

"Is that all..." Xiao Ming shook his head in disappointment, just as he was about to add the Na Ring to his String of Storage Rings.

Then, as if he had discovered something amid Gaunt Old Man's miscellaneous belongings, a thought crossed his mind, and two scrolls appeared in his hand.

A Profound Tier Low-Grade Cultivation Method, the "Profound Yin Art," and another Profound Tier Low-Grade Cultivation Method, the "Withered Wood Method."

He casually pressed the scrolls to his forehead and read the information within. After a while,

Xiao Ming opened his eyes and nodded in satisfaction.

They were indeed genuine Profound Tier Low-Grade Cultivation Methods. The Withered Wood Method was likely what Gaunt Old Man had cultivated.

Xiao Ming did not know where the Profound Yin Art had come from, but with these Cultivation Methods and the items in the Na Ring, he had recouped the cost of yesterday's medicinal pills and even made a small profit.

Realizing that he had not lost money, Xiao Ming felt much happier.

After putting everything away, Xiao Ming donned his black robe again and left the room. He was going to ask the owner of this inn about the whereabouts of the person who possessed Green Rock Profound Water.

"You're saying they live in the most conspicuous residence in the northern part of Green Rock Town?"

Xiao Ming's voice was hoarse beneath his black robe.

"Yes, my lord. I absolutely wouldn't dare lie to you." Feeling the terrifying aura radiating from the person before him, the innkeeper, whose cultivation was only at the Dou Shi level, trembled in fear, terrified that the other party would dispose of him at the slightest dissatisfaction.

Seeing that the man in black did not speak, he assumed Xiao Ming did not believe him and hurriedly poured out everything he knew.

"My lord, the two people you asked about are known in Green Rock Town as the Green Poison Twin Ghosts. The eldest is called Green Ghost, and the second is called Poison Ghost. Both are above the Da Dou Shi level. Aside from He Lai Inn, they are the strongest people in town."

Xiao Ming frowned upon hearing this.

Green Ghost? Poison Ghost? What kind of trash names were those?

Xiao Ming did know of He Lai Inn. It was the inn he had burned down yesterday.

"The Green Poison Twin Ghosts often lure travelers at the various inns in town. They visit my inn often as well. If you don't believe me, just stay for a few days and you'll see them. I truly wouldn't dare lie to you!"

Xiao Ming glanced at the innkeeper's trembling legs and said,

"What else do you know? Tell me everything. For example, their Dou Skills and techniques. They show up here so often—there's no way you know nothing about them, right?"

"I know, I know..."