Danger Lurks on All Sides

When the two woke up, it was already dawn, and there was still some time before 9:00 AM.

"Yesterday really scared me to death!" Meng Jingzhou recalled the experience of last night with lingering fear.

Lu Yang remained relatively calm. "Let's familiarize ourselves with the rules first. Once we're familiar with the rules, we won't be afraid."

Meng Jingzhou nodded.

The two checked the twenty-one rules to make sure there were no memory errors before they felt relieved.

"What time is it now?"

Just then, the sound of a gong came from outside, and the night watchman called out loudly as he banged the gong, "It's time for the 9 AM bell."

The two quickly went downstairs.

On the first floor, two traveling merchants, holding a saddle, angrily confronted the owner. "We left the horse in the stable in the backyard yesterday, how come there's only one saddle left today!"

Lu Yang remembered the enormous monster he had encountered the previous night; perhaps it was the one that had eaten the horse.

I didn't hear the horse neigh last night, which means it didn't even have a chance to resist. What a terrifying monster!

Ignoring the traveling merchant, the two ran out of the inn.

The Immortal Fairy warned, "These two traveling merchants have a very strong Sha Qi; they are haunted by vengeful spirits. They are not ordinary traveling merchants."

Lu Yang nodded, indicating that he had remembered.

A delicious aroma wafted from the street as restaurants opened, steaming hot dishes tempting the appetite. But strangely, the restaurants were empty, with a sign on one of the steamers that read "Meat Buns".

The people of Buyi Town, dressed in coarse brown linen clothes, were used to this. They would take their breakfast, sit down and eat, and avoid meat buns.

Lu Yang and his companion followed suit, enjoying three sesame seed cakes and a bowl of soy milk with relish.

Lu Yang noticed that people ate very quickly, some even eating while walking, as if they were in a great hurry.

A commotion erupted from one side of the street as a group of people hurriedly fled. People who were eating also abandoned their meals and ran away.

"Let's run too!" Lu Yang grabbed the sesame seed cake and ran.

The two ran to the other end of the street and turned around to see what had just happened.

A group of people dressed in black approached, numbering about several dozen, with knives at their waists.

"Hey you, stop right there!" The man in black called out to one of the fleeing people. The man instinctively turned his head, turning it 360 degrees and drooping his neck.

The man in black laughed heartily upon seeing this, sat down at the restaurant entrance, lifted the lid of the steamer, picked up a meat bun, and started eating, his mouth dripping with oil.

The dead man raised his head, then turned it back, returning to normal, as if he had forgotten what had just happened, and slowly left the scene.

"They're government officials. The rules say we can't eat meat buns, but the officials can, which means they have different rules to follow than we do," Lu Yang analyzed in a low voice.

"There are many kinds of breakfast, but all the yamen runners chose to eat meat buns, which means that they can only eat meat buns."

"And the rules say you can't turn your head, looks like turning your head will break your head!"

The two exchanged a glance and decided to leave, trying to get as far away from the yamen runners as possible.

"At the beginning of life, people are inherently good. Their natures are similar, but their habits are different..." As I passed by the private school, I heard the sound of people reading aloud. The voices were mature, like a group of adults reciting the Three Character Classic.

Lu Yang remembered that the rules stated that "[the private school has been abandoned for many years, there is no private school teacher in the town, and only the sound of dogs barking can be heard inside the private school, not the sound of reading]".

This is absolutely unreasonable.

The two hurried away, but were blocked by a man in gray clothes. "You two look unfamiliar. Perhaps you came from somewhere else?"

[Article 9: The person wearing the gray robe is the private tutor. If you encounter a private tutor, you should pretend not to hear whatever he says.]

[Article 10: Do not make eye contact with the private tutor. If you do, you will turn into a black dog.]

The two reacted first, lowering their heads and walking forward, refusing to look the tutor in the eye or listen to what he was saying.

The private tutor persisted, saying to the two, "Judging from your distinguished attire, you two must possess some level of cultivation. Could it be that you also believe in the rules written on a blank sheet of paper?"

"The rules on a blank sheet of paper are not all true; some of them are misleading."

"Actually, the person who set up these rules didn't mean any harm; he just wanted to protect himself, which is why he resorted to this tactic. The official learned of your arrival and specifically asked me to help you."

"I have a way to leave the town, but the price is that you will lose your memories of the town."

"As long as you recite the Three Character Classic for three days in the private school, you can leave the town! I'm not lying to you. Listen to the sounds coming from the private school; someone already left the town yesterday with my help."

The private tutor suddenly ran up to the two of them, bent down, and looked Lu Yang in the eye.

Lu Yang closed his eyes and walked forward. Before closing his eyes, he saw that the lower half of the other person's face had no skin, and the red muscles were exposed, which was very creepy.

Seeing that the two ignored him and kept their heads down, the private tutor had no choice but to give up. He called out from behind them, "You only have this one chance to leave this town. You'll regret it if you don't accept my help."

The Immortal Fairy said in the spiritual space, "Lu Yang, don't believe him. Only part of what he said is true."

"A part?" Lu Yang was somewhat surprised; he had thought the other party was lying.

"He does have a way to get people out of town, but not as 'humans,' but as 'black dogs.' I saw him release several black dogs last night."

"Before he met you, someone made eye contact with him, and that person suffered a splitting headache, bloodshot eyes, and black hair gradually grew on their arms before entering the private school."

Lu Yang felt a chill run down his spine; the private tutor was extremely capable and not easy to deal with.

"Let's go to the tailor shop." Lu Yang had some ideas that needed to be verified.

The two searched all the tailor shops in Buyi Town, but none of them sold black, white, or gray clothes, nor did they have the corresponding fabrics.

While exploring the town, the two noticed a problem. "Where is the ancestral hall?"

The rules state that the ancestral hall is safe, yet there are monsters inside. Such contradictory statements suggest that this place is anything but simple.

However, the two of them searched around but still couldn't find the ancestral hall.

It was already late, close to 9 PM, and the two had to return to the inn.

"Gentlemen, you're back safely. This inn is very safe, so you don't need to be so nervous. I will protect your safety." At the entrance of the inn, a smiling waiter greeted the two. The waiter had no whites in his eyes; his eyes were pure black, as if he could see things that ordinary people couldn't.

The two men felt a chill run down their spines; the voice was none other than the one that had been knocking on the door in the hallway last night!

It was him last night!

"Waiter, it's not time yet, go back to your room!" The innkeeper shooed the waiter away.

The waiter stared intently at the innkeeper, and the two locked eyes for a long time before he reluctantly left.

Lu Yang noticed that the waiter went to the third floor, which was the top-tier room.