A Dangerous Night

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou knew that despite the magnanimous demeanor of the Silent Daoist, this battle was destined to have a far more complex ending.

The best course of action would have been for the Silent Daoist to take the two of them and escape, but he didn't choose to do so, indicating that he lacked confidence in protecting them from the awakened ancient Nascent Body Integration Realm cultivator.

Lu Yang performed a set of the Senior Sister's Imitative Fist, attempting to summon her. Lu Yang discovered that he could not use his spiritual power and could not even transform.

Lu's Pictographic Boxing is indeed Law Technique.

Meng Jingzhou tested his current level. "Although I can't use Law Power, my physical strength hasn't changed much."

That's good news.

"What time is it now?"

Lu Yang recalled that the second rule stated that "[between Hai hour and Chen hour, closed thatched huts and closed inn rooms are absolutely safe; other places are dangerous]".

The period from Hai Shi to Chen Shi is from 9 PM to 9 AM.

"The car crashed at 9 PM, and the streets are deserted now; everyone must have gone home. We must find a place to stay, or at an inn!"

There were several thatched huts with lights on nearby. Meng Jingzhou knocked on one of the doors and politely said, "Fellow villager, we are cultivators who have strayed into this place. Please open the door and let us stay for the night. We will reward you handsomely; you can choose any gold or Spirit Stone you like!"

Meng Jingzhou tried several shops in a row, but none of them were open.

Lu Yang stopped him. "Don't waste your energy. Have you forgotten rule number six, which is that you must never open the door when you hear a knock? There are definitely more than just us in Buyi Town; there are ordinary people there too, and they need to follow the rules."

[Article 19: The residents of this town shall not disclose anything about this town to outsiders], which indicates that Buyi Town has original inhabitants.

Meng Jingzhou was about to say something when Lu Yang shushed him, signaling for quiet.

A series of heavy footsteps came from not far away, accompanied by large, intermittent breathing, indicating a very large creature. The frequency of the footsteps suggested that it had four legs, or even more. Lu Yang didn't know what kind of monster it was.

Lu Yang could even see the monster's shadow around the corner.

"Run!" Lu Yang whispered, and he and Meng Jingzhou quickly fled.

Before understanding the opponent's skill level and abilities, one should not rashly confront such an opponent.

The two ran in the direction the monster had gone, and without the monster noticing them, they quickly escaped.

The two stopped and listened quietly to the sounds around them. After confirming that there were no monsters, they cautiously walked down the street and found an inn.

The inn was brightly lit, and inside, a person dressed in white was lazily leaning on the counter, while two traveling merchants were discussing which room they wanted to stay in.

"Finally found an inn! I'm exhausted. Two top-class rooms, please." The traveling merchant slammed a silver ingot on the counter.

Your companion quickly stopped you. "Have you forgotten what that paper said? We can't stay in the top-tier rooms!"

"You actually believe that piece of paper?"

"It's better to believe it exists than not to believe it doesn't." His companion took the silver ingot, looked at the blank paper, and felt very uneasy. He thought this town was too strange and he had to leave as soon as possible the next morning.

He smiled ingratiatingly and said to the man in white, "Please bring two rooms with the 'earth' designation."

The person in white accepted the silver without offering change, and directly handed over three keys. "A group can only rent one room. There are only three keys to room number three, and these are all yours."

The traveling merchant frowned. This inn was a total rip-off; a single room in the "earth" category wasn't worth that much money.

Lu Yang reminded the two of them, "You must abide by the rules written on the blank paper."

Remembering the rules that said not to easily trust strangers, and unsure of Lu Yang's intentions, the traveling merchant's companion quickly went upstairs.

Just as Meng Jingzhou was about to suggest a room with the "earth" designation, Lu Yang picked up a pen and paper from the counter and pulled Meng Jingzhou behind him.

Meng Jingzhou suddenly realized that rule number fifteen was: [If you have a problem inside the inn, ask the innkeeper; if you have a problem outside the inn, ask the pharmacy owner, but you cannot talk to them.]

Lu Yang wrote on the paper: Are you the owner of this inn?

The boss wrote: Yes.

Lu Yang took out a silver ingot and wrote, "Open a room with the number 'Di' (地) where no one has ever died."

The owner took out three keys, each labeled "Room Number Four".

The two exchanged a glance and went up to the second floor. They noticed that there were ten rooms in total, eight of which had black doors, while only rooms numbered 3 and 4 had brown doors.

Room number three (地字三房) belonged to the itinerant merchants, and room number four (地字四房) belonged to them.

The two walked in, and only after sitting on the bed did they breathe a sigh of relief, realizing their hearts were beating very fast.

"Didn't your family ever talk to you about this kind of thing?" Lu Yang asked.

"Absolutely not! I had no idea that the ability of the Body Integration Realm was to alter reality and set rules. Looking at my elders who are at the Body Integration Realm, they spend their days raising birds, growing flowers, fishing, and cursing—they don't seem like people with that kind of ability at all!"

Lu Yang agreed wholeheartedly; he hadn't realized the Ask Dao Sect elder was so powerful.

He believed that his senior sister possessed such abilities.

At the very least, the level of sophistication matches the ability.

Footsteps sounded, very light; it must have been someone.

There was a knock on the door from across the street. The voice was gentle and the manner humble. "Sir, are you asleep? The owner accidentally gave you all three keys. I don't know if I can open the door, but there's freshly made dinner here, it's free. Please open the door and I'll bring it in!"

The guest in room number three wasn't stupid either; he knew this was odd, and following the rules, he didn't respond.

When the guest didn't open the door, the knocking became louder and louder, so loud that it could be heard throughout the entire hallway.

"Sir, open the door!"

"Open the door!"

"Didn't you hear me telling you to open the door?!"

"Believe it or not, I'll smash this door down!"

The other party dropped their disguise and pounded on the door violently, but fortunately the door was sturdy enough not to be broken open.

Seeing that the traveling vendor wasn't fooled, the other party switched back to their original gentle tone. "Then I'll leave the food at the door."

The vendors remain silent.

The other party used the same trick again, knocking on Lu Yang and his companion's door. At first, they knocked gently, but then the sound grew louder and louder, revealing their true nature more and more.

Still, no one fell for it.

Footsteps sounded, and the other person left.

"No, the footsteps are too short. They don't sound like they're going downstairs or upstairs at all. They're still on the second floor!" Lu Yang felt a chill.

He imagined a scene in his mind: the other person, with both hands braced against the wall, hid at the top, waiting for the traveling merchant to relax, sneaking open the door to take the food, then descending from above and pouncing on him...

Whether the traveling merchant shared the same idea as Lu Yang or was simply cautious by nature, he showed no intention of opening the door.

"Go to sleep." Meng Jingzhou yawned. The rules said that everyone must go to bed before midnight, which is 11 p. m.

He took a quilt from the cupboard, spread it on the floor, and voluntarily lay down on it.

Then he blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness, with only the faint moonlight filtering through the paper window.

Meng Jingzhou looked out the window, and his heart stopped.

A dark figure appeared outside the window, swaying left and right, as if clinging to the windowsill, straining its neck to look inside.

The problem is, this is the second floor, how tall is the other person?!

"Check if the windows are locked!" Lu Yang shouted suddenly, remembering that the rules said windows couldn't be opened!

Once inside, they were so focused on locking the door that they forgot about the windows; they didn't even know if they were closed or locked!

The two acted swiftly, discovering that the window was indeed not bolted, and quickly bolted it before the other person could knock.

Seeing the human-shaped shadowy figure outside the window made my heart pound.

The two passed their first night without any major incidents.

(Bonus chapter for the gluttonous leader)