Winning Them Over
Night Hidden Nether Realm. Once you hear a bell ringing outside, it means that everyone should close their doors and windows.
The inn where Sang Ying and her group stayed was no exception. Everyone inside had heard the innkeeper's warning beforehand and knew that there were some strange customs in Moonless City, so none of them wanted to come out and cause trouble for others.
A series of bell sounds echoed from one end of the street to the other, and a gust of cold wind blew, causing the lanterns in front of each house to sway precariously.
In the distorted lamplight, a group of people walked through the long street in the darkness. The one in the lead was wrapped even more tightly in a black robe than Jiang Zhuoxue, not even revealing his eyes.
Even this understated attire was enough to make the people of Moonless City tremble with fear.
Some young, unaware of the danger, were still peering out the window, trying to catch a glimpse. But before they could even move, their stern-faced parents called them back to their rooms.
Fortunately, the procession moved quickly and soon disappeared down the long street. Only after the eerie, chilling feeling completely vanished did the people living on the street breathe a sigh of relief.
Outsiders might not know, but those who had lived in Moonless City for many years naturally understood. This was the latest ferocious corpse created by the Moonless Clan!
Not long after the group left, the back door of the inn creaked open. A figure, slightly indistinct in the night, quickly disappeared into the darkness, vanishing from sight.
On the high-rise building, the shopkeeper watched the person leave, and firmly memorized the figure that the other person had deliberately concealed.
Only after the man had completely disappeared from their sight did the waiter who had been following him speak up, "You have truly keen eyes; you guessed at a glance that this man had ulterior motives!"
While some of these words were flattery, most of them were the waiter's genuine feelings.
After all, he had been observing the guest who had just left for several days, but he hadn't noticed anything amiss. Yet the innkeeper, with just one glance, had determined that there was something wrong with the person and had even set up a formation in the inn, allowing cultivators to enter and exit only through the front and back doors.
And sure enough, they caught him tonight.
The waiter felt a sense of relief as he thought about it. Although he didn't know the details, he knew that this person was probably in cahoots with the one who had caused trouble in the shop earlier!
Those who come to provoke our inn for no reason are all bad news!
The shopkeeper was somewhat aware of the waiter's thoughts, so he waved his hand to stop him from saying anything more, "Alright, just pretend you didn't see what happened tonight, and go home to rest early."
Having received the other party's instructions, the waiter obediently left.
The innkeeper looked around the entire inn, and only after confirming that there were no lurking eyes in the shadows did he carefully return to his room.
The room remained pitch black, but the innkeeper, seemingly accustomed to it, expertly retrieved his communication talisman from his Storage Bag: "Sect Master, that person has left, seemingly heading towards that family. Those who caused trouble at the inn today were probably acting on their orders!"
Even though the shopkeeper didn't name names, both parties on the communication talisman understood what they were saying.
"Ha, all they know how to do is resort to such despicable tactics." A low, husky male voice spoke slowly.
The man, whom the innkeeper called "Sect Leader," stopped paying attention to those people and instead gave the innkeeper a few pointers on running the inn.
This inn was originally built by them as a place to gather information from all sides and to attract cultivators from outside. But today's events made them realize that the other party had probably guessed the inn's true nature, and such deliberate disturbances would certainly not be uncommon in the future.
As the person in charge of the inn in public, the manager is likely to encounter many troubles. The man brought this up specifically so that he could prepare in advance.
Even without the other party mentioning it, the innkeeper had already guessed. He readily agreed to the sect leader's reminder, and then added, "There's one more thing. Today, when our inn was being harassed, two outside cultivators offered their help. I've already told them about the Severed Vitality Mystic Realm, and these two will probably go there to try their luck soon."
The sect leader and the shopkeeper had known each other for quite some time, and upon hearing this, he immediately understood. "You're trying to win over these two outside cultivators?"
"Yes, my little scheme couldn't escape the sect leader's notice," the shopkeeper readily admitted.
A soft laugh came from the other end of the communication talisman, "Don't flatter me like that. Judging from your words, you seem to have a good impression of those two cultivators. You don't need to ask me about this; you can handle it yourself. If you really have some ability, you can talk to Tong'er about it later."
The shopkeeper was startled when he heard the other party mention his son. However, he quickly composed himself, showing no sign of his inner joy, but becoming even more respectful.
You must understand that their sect leader currently only has one exceptionally talented son, and this small sect will definitely be passed down to his son in the future. For the sect leader to say something like this at this time means that he intends to train the manager as his son's manpower.
The innkeeper, who had worked hard at the small inn for many years, felt that his suffering was about to end!
Suppressing their excitement, the two quickly ended their conversation.
The night wind continued to howl, as if some ghosts were whispering in the shadows. The shopkeeper, feeling valued by the sect leader, quickly fell asleep, while the sect leader, who had just spoken with him, was still unable to drift off.
Just like its name, Moonless City is a town where you can't even see the moon. The sect leader looked up at the gray sky above, and his melancholy surged up again.
But before he could even utter a sigh, someone scoffed and chuckled rudely.
"Old man, what's wrong with you this late at night? Why are you sighing out the window?"
The sect leader was speechless for a moment. He looked up and saw his son hanging upside down from the beam, peering down.
Forget about worrying now; the sect leader immediately pointed at his son and roared, "You get down here right now!"
The young man on the beam pouted, but still obediently jumped down amidst his father's roar.
"What's wrong with you again? You were fine yesterday, why are you looking so gloomy and sighing tonight?" Although the young man was a bit too lively and often angered the sect leader, he still had this much perceptiveness.
When his son asked him about this, the sect leader sighed again before saying, "Do you know that our competition with the Moonless Household is about to begin again?"
Once this topic came up, the young man's previously cheerful expression instantly turned into one of indifference.