Star Dou Town and the Noisy Tavern

After traveling for another half day or so.

At the end of the official road, a rugged outline appeared.

A town built atop giant trees loomed like a colossal beast lying in wait at the edge of the forest.

Star Dou Town.

Han Yuchen stopped.

A strange stench of blood, medicinal herbs, and cheap alcohol rushed straight up his nose.

It was like someone had stirred together the sewers of a slaughterhouse, an herbal medicine shop, and a bootleg liquor workshop.

The town before him was full of primal savagery.

Most of its buildings were made of unpolished giant logs, crooked and uneven, yet brimming with a brutally vigorous vitality.

The Soul Masters walking the streets all had fierce gazes and fresh or old scars on their bodies, like walking bombs packed with hormones.

The roadside stalls casually displayed bloodstained beast bones, bizarre herbs, and ores that glimmered faintly.

There was no order here, only strength.

It was an adventurer's paradise and a weakling's hell.

Compared to the beginner village, this was what a true game opening looked like.

On hell difficulty, no less.

Han Yuchen did not enter the town immediately.

He first circled the outskirts, committing the terrain and several main entrances and exits to memory.

It was a habit carved into his bones.

Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit.

And there were hardly any rabbits here.

Afterward, he entered the shabbiest-looking clothing shop.

He tossed several silver soul coins "sponsored" by the Luo Family onto the counter.

"A set of black fitted clothes and a conical hat."

"Make them as ordinary and inconspicuous as possible."

A moment later.

A brand-new Han Yuchen emerged from the shop.

His neat black outfit outlined his lean yet perfectly proportioned physique.

A wide-brimmed conical hat covered most of his face, hiding his overly profound eyes in shadow.

At that moment, he looked exactly like a lone Soul Master who had spent years licking blood from the edge of a blade—someone who did not want trouble, but was never afraid of it.

Mm, this was the right feel.

The low-key lone-wolf build—the optimal answer.

It can reduce unnecessary trouble and make it easier for me to observe others.

He entered the town and headed straight for the largest and noisiest building at its center.

It was an enormous three-story wooden structure with a crooked sign hanging over its entrance.

Hunter's Home.

The largest—and only—tavern in town.

Information always traveled fastest in places where all sorts of people gathered.

Bang.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door.

A wave of heat mixed with sweat, alcohol, and the charred aroma of roasted meat slammed into his face like a wall.

The clamor was deafening.

At least a hundred people were crammed into the tavern.

Soul Masters gathered in groups of three or five, each occupying a rough wooden table as they boasted loudly and spat words everywhere.

Chipped clay wine cups sat on the tables, while mounted heads of vicious soul beasts hung from the walls.

The atmosphere was lively, yet carried a barely perceptible tension.

Everyone warily watched those around them from the corners of their eyes.

Han Yuchen's entrance did not attract anyone's attention.

Like a drop of water, he blended into the murky sea.

He found the most inconspicuous corner and sat down, where he could see most of the tavern.

A curvaceous, scantily clad waitress swayed over.

"Customer, what would you like to drink?"

"A cup of the cheapest ale."

Han Yuchen's voice was muffled beneath the conical hat.

The waitress curled her lip. Clearly uninterested in a poor customer like him, she turned and left.

Before long, a cup of ale topped with cloudy foam was set heavily on the table.

Han Yuchen picked it up and took a sip.

Tsk.

It tasted like horse piss diluted with water.

Fucking awful.

He set down the cup and appeared to close his eyes to rest.

In reality, his spiritual power had already begun working silently.

The entire tavern was far too noisy.

Trying to sift useful information from several hundred mouths was no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

But who said I need to listen with my ears?

A thread of nearly imperceptible Soul Power, as fine as spider silk, extended from his fingertips.

Silently, it merged into the spilled liquor on the floor.

Into the misty moisture in the air.

Into the liquid sloshing inside every wine cup.

Martial Soul, Yulian.

Activate.

Buzz—

The world changed in an instant.

In his mind, the entire tavern became a three-dimensional surround-sound amplifier with no secrets.

Every conversation at every table and every whisper in every corner came through as clearly as though it were being broadcast directly beside his ears.

Full-map vision plus all-channel wiretapping.

Nice.

He began rapidly filtering out useless information.

"Ha! I killed a three-hundred-year Wind Wolf today. Those claws were damn sharp!"

That one's bragging.

"Damn it, Black Heart Zhang raised his prices again. A bottle of the lowest-grade healing potion costs five silver soul coins now!"

That one's complaining about prices.

"Did you hear? Those bitches from the Rose Team nearly got wiped out in the eastern district yesterday. That was thrilling!"

That one's gossiping.

Han Yuchen patiently sifted through it all like a master hacker searching an overwhelming stream of data for a single keyword.

Soon.

He locked onto two key conversations.

The first came from a table near the bar, occupied by several burly men who looked like mercenaries.

One bearded man lowered his voice.

"Hey, did you hear? That spoiled young master, Gao Feng, from the Gao Family of Skywater City brought a whole group of people into town."

"It happened this morning. What a show, tsk tsk."

A one-eyed man chimed in, "More than that. I heard he claimed he was going to hunt a thousand-year Jade Eyed Fox. He even booked the entire eastern district and forbade anyone from getting close."

"Damn it, rich people are really overbearing."

Gao Feng? Jade Eyed Fox? Eastern district?

Han Yuchen silently repeated those keywords.

Then, a second conversation drifted over from another corner.

An Old Hunter with graying hair was solemnly warning his two younger companions.

"Remember, don't go near the eastern district these next few days. It's damn strange over there."

The Old Hunter lowered his voice to nearly a whisper, filled with apprehension.

"At night, Ghost Fire drifts around in the woods there. It's green and eerie, and there are strange cries too."

"Two teams went in a few days ago, and people disappeared from both. Neither the living nor the dead have been found."

"Those people from the Gao Family think they can barge in just because they have numbers. They're simply going there to die."

Ghost Fire?

Strange cries?

Disappearances?

Eastern district!

Han Yuchen's eyes beneath the conical hat suddenly lit up!

The parchment map Supervisor Xiao had given him, marked with the location of the Soul Fragment, instantly surfaced in his mind!

The area circled in red on the map was precisely the eastern district of Star Dou Town!

And that so-called Ghost Fire...

It's very likely the energy glow unconsciously emitted by my Soul Fragment!

The clues linked together perfectly!

My target overlaps with that spoiled young master from the Gao Family!

Well, the script just delivered itself to my door.

This NPC hasn't even reached the location yet, and the boss team has already come to clear the area?

Interesting.

Just as Han Yuchen finalized his next plan.

The tavern's heavy wooden door was violently shoved open again.

Bang!

This time, the force was ten times greater than when he had entered, and the entire door let out a pained groan.

A group of uniformly dressed, arrogant-looking Soul Masters strode inside.

At their head was a young man around twenty years old.

He wore an extravagant white Soul Master robe, with a valuable jade pendant hanging from his waist. His features were handsome, but the unshakable arrogance and insolence between his brows ruined the overall impression.

It was the spoiled young master the mercenaries had just mentioned: Gao Feng.

Eight guards followed behind Gao Feng, their temples visibly bulging and their auras steady.

Even the weakest among them was a Soul Grandmaster above level twenty.

This force was enough to swagger through Star Dou Town unchecked.

Gao Feng's gaze swept over the room with contempt, like an emperor inspecting his own vegetable garden.

The tavern's previously raucous noise unconsciously quieted considerably after he entered.

Everyone looked at him with complicated emotions—reverence, disgust, envy.

Gao Feng greatly enjoyed being the center of attention.

He cleared his throat and loudly declared in a tone that allowed no objection:

"Tonight, I've booked this tavern!"

"Everyone, get the hell out within fifteen minutes!"

"The Gao Family will cover the bill!"

His voice echoed through the tavern.

Overbearing, arrogant, unreasonable.

The tavern instantly fell into a strange silence.

Then came a wave of suppressed, indignant murmuring.

Some hot-tempered Soul Masters had anger on their faces, their hands already resting on the weapons at their waists.

But their companions held them back tightly.

The Gao Family of Skywater City.

They were not people that independent mercenaries like them could afford to offend.

It was not worth risking their lives for a drink.

Very soon, someone became the first to stand up and leave while cursing under his breath.

Once there was a first, there was a second.

In less than five minutes, the once-packed tavern had become empty.

Only the Gao Family's people remained, along with the black-clad figure in the corner wearing a conical hat, as if he had heard nothing at all.

Han Yuchen continued slowly drinking that horse-piss-tasting ale.

His conical hat was pulled low, concealing his expression.

Such a classic villain entrance. Not a shred of originality.

But this was fine too.

It saved me the trouble of coming to find you.

Gao Feng's men began clearing the place, and before long, they noticed the only "holdout" who had not moved.

A guard who looked like the leader of the lackeys frowned and walked over.

Impatiently, he brought the sheath in his hand down hard against Han Yuchen's table.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The crisp knocking sounded especially piercing in the quiet tavern.

"Kid, are you deaf?"

The guard looked down at Han Yuchen, his tone full of contempt.

"Didn't you hear what Young Master Gao said? Get lost!"

Han Yuchen stopped drinking.

He slowly raised his head.

Beneath the shadow of his conical hat, his eyes shone with a frightening brightness, like two cold stars hidden within.

He said nothing.

He merely set the rough wooden wine cup in his hand gently on the table.

Tap.

It was a soft sound.

Yet it was as though someone had hit the mute button on the entire noisy tavern.

In an instant, one could hear a pin drop.