Necromancer and Undead Dog

The innkeeper spat out a smoke ring impatiently. "A room like the ones in ordinary towns, one Silver Scale a night. Want to shower? The public bathhouse is on the first floor, ten Copper Nails a wash."

Annis, though her face was full of disgust, knew there were no better options at the moment.

She counted coins from her pouch. "Fine then, three rooms, two people showering, that's fifteen Silver Scales and twenty Copper Nails total, right?"

Unlike the pampered Annis, He Xi found the conditions quite good.

After all, along the way, he had mostly stayed in shared rooms with straw mats costing twenty to thirty Copper Nails a night.

"That's all," the innkeeper interrupted Annis. "There's only one room left. I can let you have the storeroom in the back to sleep in, I'll give you a discount, one Silver Scale."

"Miss, I'll sleep in the storeroom."

The coachman, Fred, reacted quickly, immediately tossing a Silver Scale, grabbing the key, and darting away, afraid of getting caught in the awkward situation that would follow.

At the counter, only He Xi and Annis were left, staring at each other.

Only... one room left?

He Xi's heart skipped a beat.

This... could it be?

Several hours later, He Xi lay on the soft seat of the carriage, sighing comfortably.

It felt wonderful to have a hot shower, his whole body feeling refreshed.

In Annis's words: "I'll bear with it. We'll talk about it tomorrow when we reach Rose Town. I don't care where you two sleep, but you must shower. I don't want to travel smelling the stench of two sweaty men; it will seriously affect my mood."

He closed his eyes, but his mind was active.

He repeatedly mulled over his plans:

Once we reach Rose Town, the first thing is to register as an Adventurer, then find a way to take on a few high-paying quests... Although Appraisal Spell and Labeling Spell cost an exorbitant five Gold Shields, I still have to find a way to learn them first.

Maybe I can inquire first if any places are looking for Apprentice Mages. I can learn a lot of basic Magic by following others.

Annis doesn't know what she's doing in Rose Town. Perhaps I can continue to rely on this "golden thigh"?

Just as he was lost in thought, Bruce, who had been dozing at his feet, suddenly lifted its dog head without warning.

It looked alertly towards the carriage door, its ears twitching slightly.

Seeing this, He Xi also snapped out of his thoughts and immediately pricked up his ears to listen.

A few seconds later, two deliberately light footsteps could indeed be heard from outside the carriage, along with hushed conversations.

They seemed to have no idea that there was still someone in the carriage.

"Dimi! Are you crazy?! Are you really going to steal this carriage?" one voice said nervously, with hesitation.

"Shh! Damn it! Don't shout my name!" the other voice replied. "Rupert the bastard won all my money! This carriage looks valuable, and that Black Horse is stronger than a Minotaur!

It probably has some monster bloodline. Selling them will be enough for us to live it up for a while."

"But... but... what if we get caught..."

"What are you afraid of! The people in the carriage must be dead asleep in the inn! That delicate little girl and that pretty boy might be doing something right now!

How could they notice anything outside? Let's be quick, lead the horses away, take the carriage with them, find a place to sell them, and no one will ever know..."

He Xi quietly moved to the carriage window, using his finger to part the curtain a sliver and peek out.

In the moonlight, it was two of the guys from the card game at the inn earlier. They were now sneakily gathered around "Nightmare," and the one named Dimi was already reaching out to untie the reins!

He withdrew his gaze, a mischievous smile curling on his lips.

He then gently patted Bruce, gave it a meaningful look, and pointed outside the carriage door, mouthing the word "speak."

Bruce gave him a "I understand" look, a low rumble came from its throat, and it softly chanted towards the carriage door:

"What... awakens the slumbering souls of the departed..."

This sudden sound made the two outside the carriage jump.

"Who?! Who's playing ghost?! Get out here!"

Dimi abruptly drew the dagger at his waist, but his trembling wrist betrayed his fear.

He Xi hid in the blind spot of the carriage window, waited for the opportune moment, and suddenly pushed the carriage door outward!

CLANG!

The two outside screamed in fright, jumped back a step, and instinctively looked up--

In the moonlight, the carriage door was empty.

Then, their gaze shifted downwards.

Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared, and they saw a scene they would never forget.

Beneath a ball of faint white light was a pale dog's face.

Its deep-set eyes were now flashing with an eerie green light.

"A dog... a dog can talk?! Who... who's putting on an act?" Dimi's companion's voice had changed pitch.

Bruce spoke again, deliberately drawing out the last syllable:

"Greedy... thieves... your footsteps... defile... the resting place..."

"An U... Undead Dog! I... I've heard of them in stories!" Dimi was so scared his dagger was almost slipping from his grasp, his teeth chattering, "I clearly saw a pretty girl and a pretty boy in the carriage... How could there be an Undead Dog?!"

"Idiot!" his companion shrieked, thoroughly terrified himself, "The carriage driver! The driver who never spoke! He must be a Necromancer! That girl and the beggar were just his disguised servants!

I heard Necromancers love playing these kinds of tricks! This dog is just a guardian undead he summoned!"

This explanation seemed to make everything logical.

"Spare us! Lord Undead Dog! We were wrong! We didn't know this was a Necromancer Lord's carriage!"

Bruce spoke again:

"Leave... your... tribute... for atonement... then... get lost!"

Dimi was the first to react, fumbling to unbuckle the dagger at his waist and throwing it to the ground with a clatter.

Another person was more decisive, tossing his entire money pouch over, which landed with a crisp jingle.

"Tribute! This is all my money! Please let me go!"

Bruce tilted his head, the gaze beneath the orb of light growing colder: "Not enough... Your filthy... bodies... also defile... this place... Leave... everything... then... get lost!"

Everything?!

Dimi and his companion froze for a moment, then exchanged a terrified glance.

"T-take off our clothes?!"

"Hurry and take them off! Do you want to be captured by a Necromancer and turned into a skeleton?!"

The two no longer cared about anything else, frantically starting to unbuckle their belts, their buttons, taking off their jackets, pants, boots... even their underwear, all in a rush.

In the darkness, two heartbroken men, covering their private parts, disappeared towards the roadside inn.

Only then did He Xi step out from behind the carriage door, picking up the dagger and money pouch from the ground.

He weighed the heavy money pouch, but felt something was wrong with its contents.

He opened it.

"As expected, it's all Copper Nails."

"Fine, even a fly's leg is still meat."