The Ice Dragon Gate Inn

Another month passed, and Ye Ye was now getting closer and closer to the Extreme North.

There were hardly any signs of human habitation around anymore, and Ye Ye was feeling colder and colder.

An inn appeared ahead of Ye Ye. Beside it stood a sign: "Extreme North. Humans forbidden!"

Ye Ye figured this was probably the last rest stop for humans. Once he passed through here, he would be in the true Extreme North!

Ye Ye planned to spend one last night at the inn, then venture into the Extreme North for real and reach the core area to claim his sign-in reward!

As Ye Ye approached the inn, he saw its name: "Ice Dragon Gate Inn"!

(Remove the word "Ice"—does this remind you of a movie you've seen? People in their thirties or forties should have seen it. I watched it with my dad!)

Ye Ye entered the "Ice Dragon Gate Inn" and found that it wasn't cold at all. In fact, it was even a little warm!

Diao Buyu: "Welcome, honored guest. Please come in!"

Ye Ye could tell this man was no ordinary person. He was an expert.

Ye Ye: "Xiao Ai! Scan him!"

[Ping! Scan successful!

1. Diao Buyu, an 89th-level Soul Douluo. Martial Soul: Jade Blade. His Soul Power may be low, but he has mastered his blade to perfection, and he can even burrow through the earth!]

Just then, a woman in revealing clothes walked over and said, "Well, hello there, honored guest! Come on in!"

Ye Ye: "Scan her too!"

[Ping! Scan successful:

1. Jin Xiangyu, a 69th-level Soul Emperor. Martial Soul: Willow Leaf Dart. Her Martial Soul is suited to sneak attacks and can catch people off guard, but her attack power and talent aren't particularly impressive!]

Ye Ye found a seat and sat down, then began observing his surroundings.

At a few tables to Ye Ye's left sat a group of people who seemed to have lived in the Extreme North for a long time. They looked savage, but were actually quite powerful. Their leader was a woman.

Ye Ye could sense poison in their auras. They were probably skilled in using it.

At a few tables to Ye Ye's right sat another group. They all seemed rather peculiar. They looked like men on the surface, but according to Ye Ye's analysis, their bodies had female chromosomes.

They were like eunuchs, except you couldn't tell by looking at them. You could call them intersex!

Their average strength was fairly high, and one among them was an expert whose strength seemed to be at the 89th-level Soul Douluo rank.

At another table sat two people. They seemed to be swordsmen, both wearing bamboo hats and carrying swords.

After observing everyone, Ye Ye realized that while they were weak in his eyes, they were certainly experts out in the world.

Ye Ye could also feel the tension in the air. After scanning with his mental power, he discovered that this was a black inn.

Something big was bound to happen here. The name Ice Dragon Gate Inn alone sounded like it had a story behind it!

(Just so you know, the plot isn't the same as Dragon Gate Inn, and a lot of people will die in the end. Don't mind that, and remember to vote!)

Ye Ye had originally planned to rest for a night, but now he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible and hurry off to claim his sign-in reward.

Jin Xiangyu came over and said, "You're heading to the Extreme North, aren't you? I'd advise you to stay the night and leave tomorrow!"

Ye Ye asked, "Oh? Why?"

Jin Xiangyu said lightly, "Look at the weather. There's definitely going to be a blizzard. Getting caught in one in the Extreme North is extremely dangerous!"

Ye Ye thought it over. With his small frame and low body weight, a blizzard would blow him right away. He'd better stay the night after all!

Author: "Oh, absolutely. Don't argue. Godzilla is so light and such a tiny little thing! (smirks)"

Ye Ye decided to stay the night and wait for the blizzard to pass before heading out to claim his reward. Hopefully, they wouldn't provoke him!

Ye Ye said, "All right. Give me a room!"

Jin Xiangyu: "Would you like something to eat?"

Ye Ye: "No, thanks!"

Ye Ye knew this was a black inn. Who knew what kind of meat they used? Rotten meat? Rat meat? Or maybe... human flesh!

Ye Ye went to his room and settled down to rest, but things outside were far from peaceful!

The groups seemed to be sizing each other up, trying to intimidate their rivals into backing down.

The whole inn was thick with tension. It would only take a spark to set everything off, and that spark might come any moment.

One of the wild men finally couldn't hold back. In a gruff voice, he said, "What're you staring at?"

The eunuchs had already taken a dislike to them. One of them immediately shot back in a shrill voice, "I'm staring at you. So what?"

The wild man didn't back down. He stepped forward. "Keep staring and see what happens!"

The eunuch stepped forward too. They stood face-to-face, close enough to feel each other's breath. "I'm staring. What're you gonna do about it? Hit me?"

No sooner had he said it than the wild man slapped him hard across the face, sending him flying.

The eunuchs instantly summoned their Martial Souls, and the wild men did the same. Just as they were about to start fighting, the big boss of the eunuchs stepped forward, hoping to negotiate with the other side.

The eunuch boss said, "Do you know what a big slap in the face means to a eunuch?"

His voice was enough to make listeners grieve and onlookers weep!

The woman leading the wild men cursed, "So what if I hit him? I'll not only beat him, I'll beat every one of you who can't make up your minds whether you're men or women!"

All the eunuchs flew into a rage, even their boss. They hated nothing more than being called neither man nor woman!

They started yelling at each other again, and soon they were on the verge of fighting.

The innkeeper, Jin Xiangyu, stepped in to break it up. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't fight! My little inn can't take a beating like that!"

The eunuch boss said arrogantly, "I'll pay for anything you break!"

Jin Xiangyu: "Fine, fine! Go ahead and fight!"

Once she had gotten what she wanted, she stepped aside to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Then they started fighting.

Background music: "Rumble, crackle! Bang! Whoosh, whoosh! Boom, boom, boom! Crunch! Pew pew pew!"

Eventually, one of the eunuchs was knocked flying and landed beside the two swordsmen!

The male swordsman said, "Fight all you like, but don't disturb us!"

In an instant, both groups seemed to deliberately turn their anger on him.

The eunuch who had been knocked flying got back up and pointed at the male swordsman. "Say that again! Who do you think you are?"

The swordsman replied without a hint of alarm, "I'm your father!"

The eunuch: "What're you barking about? What're you barking about?"

(Social eunuch.)

Both groups turned their attention to the two swordsmen.

The male swordsman tried to change the subject. "Friends, I assume you're all here for the same thing!"

Everyone stopped. They gathered together and began whispering and discussing it.

Ye Ye had been watching everything outside with his mental power. He knew every move they made and every word they said, and when he heard this, he became interested too.

But Ye Ye guessed they might be looking for a Soul Bone. If that was the case, he wouldn't be very interested.

Just then, the male swordsman spoke again. "Madam, you should know why we're here. Before that man died, he took an Immortal Herb into your secret chamber, and then you sealed it off. You know how important this Immortal Herb is to those of us with Ice Martial Souls. We've been here for a whole day. Please open the chamber!"

Everyone turned their eyes toward Jin Xiangyu.

Jin Xiangyu knew she'd have to tell them sooner or later, so she said, "What are you all staring at? Follow me!"

The swordsman said, "Thank you, Madam!"

"Hmph!" Jin Xiangyu snorted.

Ye Ye now knew he'd guessed wrong, but it didn't matter. Even if it was an Immortal Herb, he wasn't interested. With his current constitution, even an Immortal Herb wouldn't do much for him!

Just then, the system spoke.

[Ping! Quest issued:

1. Obtain the Immortal Herb and absorb it!]

Ye Ye: "Xiao Ai, this Immortal Herb is no use to me. Why do I have to go after it?"

[Ping! Because this is a 90,000-year-old snow lotus. Once the host absorbs it, he won't be afraid of the cold!]

Ye Ye was instantly fired up. This was a great opportunity! He could improve himself and complete a quest for a reward—a win-win!

Ye Ye grinned and said, "This time, I'm taking it!"

Jin Xiangyu led everyone to the kitchen, and Ye Ye seized the chance to join them.

Jin Xiangyu ordered a few waiters to open the cellar.

The waiters searched the ground for a while, then found an iron ring. They grabbed it and pulled hard. An iron chain emerged from beneath the dirt.

The chain went taut. They kept pulling, and soon a wooden door rose out of the ground.

When the door opened, a bone-chilling draft blew up from below, making everyone shiver!

They entered the ice cellar. It was filled with frozen food. Since this was the Extreme North, there was no need for any special storage methods. They just dug a hole underground and put the food inside.

Everyone made their way in and headed deeper into the ice cellar. After a while, they reached the end.

There, they found a perfectly preserved corpse. There was no life left in him, but the cold had kept his body from rotting!

His hand was clenched around an Ice Lotus. It was translucent and glowed faintly, making it exceptionally beautiful.

They exchanged glances, then rushed toward the Ice Lotus in the corpse's hand!

They roared, "It's mine!"

Ye Ye remained calm. It didn't matter who got it first. What mattered was getting out alive so he could keep it!

They started fighting, but the narrow space made it impossible to move freely, and they were afraid their Soul Skills might damage the Ice Lotus!

So they could only trade punches. That gave the wild men an advantage. They were strong to begin with, and the cramped space didn't keep them from using poison!

The eunuchs had it rough. The two swordsmen also held back, sticking to defense.

Jin Xiangyu had already left.

Ye Ye continued watching the show!

Author's note:

This is chapter two today. Remember to vote, check in, and comment!

Also, I'd like to recommend a friend's book.

Black Story. I don't know if it's any good, but if you're interested, give it a try. She originally wrote on an obscure website, but QQ Reading restricted her. Otherwise, she'd definitely have shone.

One more thing: this book has passed 100,000 words! Thanks, everyone, for sticking with me.