Dragon Gate Inn

After resting briefly, Zu Hao rose to his feet once the discomfort had eased somewhat and looked into the distance.

Deep in the desert stood a ruined arched relic.

He walked toward it and, upon drawing closer, found that the arch was supported by two stone pillars weathered and eroded by wind and sand, their surfaces already badly mottled.

Most of the inscriptions on the pillars had long since blurred beyond recognition. Only two large characters, deeply carved into the stone and ancient yet vigorous in style, remained legible: "Dragon Gate."

Standing before the arch and looking westward, he could make out the silhouette of a building in the distance. A Dragon Gate Inn banner seemed to hang from its eaves, fluttering weakly in the hot wind.

"This is Dragon Gate Inn."

Zu Hao understood at once.

He no longer hesitated. Picking his direction, he broke into a sprint toward the inn.

His powerful physique showed itself fully at that moment. Every step was light yet forceful, carrying him more than ten meters at a time. He ran faster than a galloping horse, kicking up a long trail of dust behind him.

This was not even his top speed, merely an adaptive run.

Before long, he approached a tall sand dune.

Just as he was about to descend, his sharp gaze caught sight of two camels strolling along not far below the dune.

Two figures rode atop the camels. Both wore fitted black outfits suited for movement and broad hats to block the sun, but their figures clearly belonged to women.

Almost the instant Zu Hao noticed them, the pair seemed to sense his gaze from the hilltop. They abruptly reined in their camels and turned back warily.

At the crest of the dune, Zu Hao stood bathed in the glaring sunlight, tall and straight.

He wore a well-fitted black outfit that outlined his balanced, powerful frame.

The wind lifted his slightly disheveled hair, revealing beneath it a face so handsome it was nearly dazzling. His sharply defined features seemed sculpted, yet there was an easy openness between his brows and eyes. Sunlight fell over him as though coating him in a faint glow. Against the desolate backdrop, he possessed a breathtaking allure.

The two women on the camels were plainly stunned. For a moment, they forgot both caution and speech.

Everyone loved beauty. Even women who roamed the martial world and had seen much could not help feeling stirred upon suddenly encountering such a man, their hearts pounding without warning.

At that moment, Zu Hao also saw their faces clearly.

Though both were dressed as men and covered in travel dust, he recognized them at once.

They were Ling Yanqiu, disguised as a man while searching for an old acquaintance in Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, and Su Huirong, who posed as a frail palace maid but was actually a West Depot spy.

Su Huirong recovered first. She quickly lowered her head, concealing the flash of amazement in her eyes and her suddenly racing heartbeat. Her fingers unconsciously twisted the reins as she deliberately softened her voice into something timid and gentle, with a faint tremor that was hard to detect. "I-is he from the West Depot?"

Ling Yanqiu was far more experienced in the martial world. Taking a deep breath, she forcibly suppressed the inexplicable flutter in her heart. Zhao Huai'an's figure surfaced in her mind, helping her steady herself.

Her keen eyes swept swiftly over Zu Hao from head to toe, and she slowly shook her head. "Doesn't look like it. West Depot agents rarely travel alone like this, and he... has a very unusual presence."

Even so, Ling Yanqiu's hand tightened slightly around her sword hilt. "But this man is... far too conspicuous. For him to appear alone at Dragon Gate, a place this deserted, is strange in itself. We already have enough trouble on this journey. We should avoid creating more complications and not approach him first."

Ling Yanqiu had weathered the martial world for many years, and all its storms had settled into the sharpness in her eyes.

Though she could not see through the man atop the dune for the moment, anyone who dared travel alone through this man-eating desert, while remaining so composed and neatly dressed, was no ordinary person. He might even be harder to deal with than the West Depot pursuers.

Ling Yanqiu did not wish to invite trouble at this point. From afar, she clasped her hands toward Zu Hao on the slope and gave him a standard martial-world salute, neither servile nor arrogant.

Ling Yanqiu and Su Huirong, those two women aren't good people. Should I kill them?

Zu Hao's thoughts shifted slightly.

He did not make a move immediately. Instead, he copied her gesture and calmly returned the salute with cupped hands.

Then, rather than continuing to sprint, he deliberately slowed his pace and walked toward the distant inn with unhurried composure.

Ling Yanqiu's gaze flickered almost imperceptibly. She lowered her voice and said to Su Huirong beside her, "Let's go."

With that, she tugged on the camel's reins and continued toward the building's silhouette wavering in the heat haze.

Before they had truly reached Dragon Gate Inn, an air of clamor and unrest was already rushing toward them.

The inn entrance was quite lively at the moment.

A group dressed as traveling merchants hurriedly loaded their baggage onto camels.

Old Zhai, the innkeeper, stood at the entrance, repeatedly bowing to the flustered crowd. His face was piled with apologetic smiles.

"Gentlemen! Bosses! Please bear with us, we truly apologize!"

He pointed at the dim, reddish sky, spittle flying as he spoke. "Heaven's about to change its face! Judging by this sky, tomorrow—at the latest, the day after—that deadly black sandstorm will definitely arrive!"

"When that happens, the skies will go dark and the ghosts will howl. This whole stretch of land will be buried alive."

"Once the water and food run out, getting trapped here means waiting to die."

"Our own Household has to hurry to the relay station and take shelter from the storm as well."

He paused, then pointed at the flock of crows flying overhead. "See that? Those crows are here to announce death!"

Ling Yanqiu and Su Huirong had already dismounted and tied their camel reins to the crooked wooden post outside the inn, worn askew by wind and sand.

Su Huirong unconsciously stole another glance at Zu Hao as he approached at an unhurried pace. When she saw him looking her way, she quickly lowered her head again, maintaining that frail, frightened-deer appearance.

Zu Hao glanced at Su Huirong and stepped directly over the weathered threshold into the inn's main hall.

A strange smell rushed at him, a mixture of mutton, sweat, dust, and a faint trace of blood.

There's human blood in there too...

Zu Hao's eyes narrowed slightly.

He had smelled that scent far too many times in the perilous biohazard world. There was no way he could be mistaken.

At that moment, a bald, leanly built waiter hurried over, wearing a professionally ingratiating smile. "Oh, honored guest, what bad timing. You heard it too—Heaven's changing its face. Our humble establishment truly cannot receive guests today..."

"Cut the nonsense."

Zu Hao interrupted him and ordered, "Prepare a whole roasted lamb, completely intact, and open a superior room for me."

He remembered clearly that Dragon Gate Inn was a murder inn. It was best to order an entire lamb here; otherwise, he might end up eating pieces of people.

The waiter's face showed difficulty. Instinctively, he wanted to step forward and stop Zu Hao, reaching for his arm. "Honored guest, I'm afraid that..."

Yet before his hand could touch Zu Hao's sleeve, it was as though it had struck an invisible wall. A gentle but irresistible force suddenly shoved him stumbling backward, and with a thud, he fell onto the floor.

Zu Hao did not even look at the fallen waiter. He walked into the noisy hall on his own, his sharp eyes sweeping over the room.