Evening fell.
As the sky gradually darkened, Lu Mian decided not to press on. Instead, he found an abandoned post station to rest in.
More and more Weird Beings and Evil Spirits now prowled the wilderness, and the terrifying entities they spawned would naturally grow in number as well. Traveling at night was far too dangerous.
When Lu Mian entered the abandoned post station's courtyard, he found the wooden door to the building still tightly shut.
He thought nothing of it and stepped forward to push it open.
Logically, a rotten wooden door like this should have been as flimsy as crumbling tofu.
Yet Lu Mian simply could not budge it.
It was as though a steel gate stood before him.
"Interesting."
Lu Mian narrowed his eyes and was about to put some real strength into it.
Creak-
The wooden door opened on its own.
An old man's deathly pale, eerie face poked out from inside.
"The post station's closed. Find somewhere else to stay."
The old man looked at Lu Mian and spoke impatiently.
Lu Mian studied him with an odd look in his eyes.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Lu Mian decided not to force his way in. He nodded slightly. "All right... I'll be on my way, then."
Just as he turned to leave-
Clop, clop, clop-
A rapid metallic clatter suddenly rang out beyond the post station.
The old man's expression changed when he heard it. "Young man, don't go outside."
"Stay here tonight. Wait until dawn before you leave!"
Faintly, Lu Mian thought he heard neighing as well.
Looking at the pale old man before him, he did not refuse and gave a slight nod.
He followed the old man into the post station.
"The rooms out back have all collapsed. You'll have to