“Five hundred taels? Do you think I look like I’m worth five hundred taels?”
The bearded man laughed wantonly.
“Hahaha! I’d like to see how you’re going to make me pay today!”
“Since the guest has no money.”
The Waiter’s eyes narrowed into thin slits.
“Then pay with your life!”
A cold glint struck first, and a bloody hole instantly appeared in the throat of the previously lawless bearded man.
“You…”
The bearded man felt a sharp pain in his throat; he finally felt fear.
“Cough, cough…”
He instinctively wanted to open his mouth to beg for mercy, but every bit of strength he used caused more fresh blood to choke out of his throat.
“Cough! Cough!”
The bearded man soon collapsed.
Before dying, he faced the floor where Zhu Lan was located, his face filled with disbelief.
Zhu Lan was also stunned.
She could sense that this bearded man had a cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Condensation.
He must have been used to acting tyrannically, thinking that no one in such a remote village could resist him.
Unexpectedly, he lost his life today in such a muddled way.
What made Zhu Lan’s skin crawl even more was that when the Waiter killed the man just now, he didn’t use any weapons, but his finger.
“Guest,”
The Waiter put on a smile again, his words pulling Zhu Lan’s thoughts back.
“Tell me, did he die pitifully?”
“Injustice brings its own destruction. Since he could so skillfully act like a rogue and try to eat for free today, he must have been a person who bullied others in the past. To have today’s end, he isn’t pitiful.”
Zhu Lan deliberated for a long while before following the Waiter’s lead to answer.
The Waiter seemed very satisfied with this answer.
He smiled and said, “You don’t need to worry. Since we opened our doors, we naturally do business normally. It’s just that something sightless caused trouble, so we had no choice but to strike and kill it.”
Zhu Lan breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed the Waiter had no ill intentions toward her for the time being.
In such a large inn, only the Waiter could be seen.
Zhu Lan kept an eye out.
Furthermore, to be able to open an inn in such a remote place without being afraid of bandits and looters, they must have some level of confidence.
Moreover, if she didn’t see it wrong…
“Guest, you know I’m a demon, don’t you?”
The Waiter’s words made Zhu Lan’s heart race again.
“I don’t understand your meaning,” Zhu Lan answered cautiously.
She did see it.
The Waiter had used his finger just now.
Aside from a few body cultivators who can temper their bodies to such a state, only the demon race, who are born with powerful physical bodies, could do this.
In the cultivation world, after the war between humans and demons thousands of years ago, humans emerged as the victors.
Since that war, the demon race has basically disappeared.
The few surviving demons do not easily reveal their hiding places or their identities.
“I want you to know that there are always peace-loving beings among the demons,” the Waiter suddenly said. “And I am one of them.”
Zhu Lan nodded.
“I understand. There are too many things in the world beyond one’s control.”
The Waiter smiled and clapped his hands.
“You see through things quite clearly.”
“Is it only you running such a large inn?”
“Yes and no. It’s not just me, but I appear the most.”
“Then do you know what plan I should make if I want to go to the Heavenly Chasm Cliff from here?”
“Heavenly Chasm Cliff?” the Waiter exclaimed in surprise.
“You want to join the Heavenly Evolution Sect?”
Zhu Lan smiled.
“For a rootless rogue cultivator like me, the best outcome is to find a sect for protection and concentrate on studying the path to immortality.”
The Waiter hesitated to speak but finally said, “Indeed.”
After saying goodbye, Zhu Lan returned to her room and started packing her bags.
When demons were involved, they were likely brewing some trouble and planning to make a big move.
If a battle broke out then, she, a bit of cannon fodder, would be finished if she got caught up in it.
Although she hadn’t rested for long, every part of this inn revealed traces that “something was about to happen.”
Zhu Lan planned to check out and set off early tomorrow morning.
The sky was just turning grey when Zhu Lan suddenly opened her eyes, packed her things, and went downstairs.
However, no matter how early she was, she was still a step late.
In the warm yellow candlelight, two figures sat silently at the dining table on the first floor.
Zhu Lan stopped in her tracks, feeling a bit of a headache.
The Waiter spoke first.
“Guest, are you in a hurry? You’re checking out so early?”
Since things had come to this, Zhu Lan also sat down honestly next to the two of them.
“My strength is meager, and my ambitions are not far-reaching. I just want to live my life quietly. I might not be able to help you two.”
After Zhu Lan finished speaking, the Waiter and the figure hidden in the shadows of the candlelight exchanged a glance.
The Waiter couldn’t help but laugh.
“Young traveler, you might have misunderstood. We want to make a deal with you. Of course, you can refuse.”
The other dark figure spoke.
“We can make a deal. After you go to the Heavenly Evolution Sect, help us investigate information regarding the Demon God Huodou. As a reward, we will give you a generous sum every time you get useful information.”
Without waiting for Zhu Lan’s reaction, the shadow pushed a small bag already prepared in front of Zhu Lan.
“Inside are all extreme grade spirit stones. You can use them for your own cultivation or to prepare for officially entering the cultivation world.”
There were too many things to digest; Zhu Lan was a bit dazed.
This dark shadow’s voice wasn’t hoarse or sinister.
On the contrary, it was a female voice, and it was quite sweet.
Also—
“Are you two not afraid that I’ll run away with the money? What method do you have to ensure that I will take the money and do the job? What if I take the money and pretend I don’t know you?”
Zhu Lan asked the doubt in her heart.
She had to ask.
The other party was the mysterious demon race; there was no telling if they had some underhanded tricks.
Cultivators’ transactions almost never use mortal gold and silver; spirit stones are the common currency.
But if she took the money and didn’t do the work, and ended up with some sort of curse or mark, it wouldn’t be worth it.
The shadow replied, “That possibility is not high. Even if you pocket these spirit stones, we would only regret misjudging the person. Of course, if we meet again in the future, it would be impossible to treat you kindly.”
Zhu Lan nodded in agreement, temporarily understanding it as the other party being wealthy and confident in their judgment.
“Then how should I contact you after I get news?”
“Liangzhou City, a lame beggar in the southern part of the city.”
“Okay, then I only have one last question.”
“Please speak.”
“Can you show your true face?”
“……”
“I hear your voice is like a spring breeze in March; I only want to satisfy a bit of my curiosity. If it’s inconvenient for you, I won’t force it.”
The shadow was silent for a while.
The Waiter interrupted, “Young traveler, the path to immortality is long. If you can’t help your curiosity about everything, it won’t be beneficial for your journey…”
“No matter.”
The shadow interrupted the Waiter again, took off her hood, and revealed the face under the black clothes.
Zhu Lan was stunned.
The person in black in front of her was actually—
A big-eyed, cute girl!
The girl in front of her was probably not very old.
She had red lips and white teeth, and her watery big eyes held a trace of fatigue that didn’t belong to her age.