Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Eerie Inn

Wind blew through the dark night, and the moonlight scattering down wasn’t warm, but cold.

A thick haze of darkness spread throughout the city, as if some far-off being was holding the brush of the Book of Life and Death and painting splashes of ink into the night.

The tranquil night became like a painting of death, gray and black all over.

The drops of bright red blood dripping from the wanted criminal nailed to the wall became a brilliant and shocking color in this gray and black world.

Soon, a gray figure slowly stepped into the painting, replacing the blood as the most dazzling existence inside and bringing an icy chill tot he outside of the Banquan Road inn.

As the temperature in the surroundings plunged, even the dripping blood seemed to freeze for a moment. At the door to the inn, the old innkeeper’s pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the approaching figure.

That figure had long black hair, a tall and straight figure, a pair of cold eyes, and a well-defined face. He was like a sword that was slowly being unsheathed.

Naturally, this figure was Xu Qing.

His expression was calm as he walked step by step to the corpse of the wanted criminal under the old innkeeper’s gaze. He removed the corpse’s leather bag and expressionlessly pulled out his dagger. With a swift slash, the corpse’s head flew up and into his hands. As the headless corpse fell to the ground, Xu Qing kicked it lightly.

The corpse was sent flying and landed directly at the old man’s feet.

The old innkeeper’s expression was dark. However, a whistling sound came from behind him, and the head of the big snake quickly peeked out of the inn. When it saw Xu Qing, its eyes lit up.

“Gulu, gulu.”

“You can eat it.” Xu Qing glanced at the big snake and said lightly.

The big snake was very happy. It swallowed the corpse in one gulp and nodded at Xu Qing.

“Xu Qing, don’t go too far!” The old innkeeper glared at Xu Qing and spoke coldly.

Xu Qing glanced at the old man and swung his right hand violently. The dagger immediately shot into the distance, and another miserable scream rang out as it pierced the skull of another wanted criminal who was speeding over.

The massive impact caused the criminal’s skull to shatter, and his blood and brains splattered everywhere. The corpse was knocked back several meters by the force before falling to the ground with a bang.

Seeing this, the old man’s eyelids twitched. He felt that Xu Qing seemed to have become more powerful than back on Sea Lizard Island. Worry rose up in his heart.

“What exactly do you want!” Veins bulged out on the old man’s face as he glared at Xu Qing. A dangerous aura emanated from his body, and ropes appeared out of thin air in the surroundings.

But as soon as the ropes appeared, flames erupted from Xu Qing’s body and incredibly high heat swept out in all directions. Immediately, those ropes bent and shied away one after another, not daring to approach.

At that moment, another miserable scream rang out from nearby.

This was the third wanted criminal who had tried to enter the inn tonight. After getting close, his body instantly turned bluish-black and he died of poison.

Xu Qing ignored the dead criminal and stared fixedly at the old man’s neck, weighing his chances of success if he tried to kill the other party. His aura gradually turned colder and colder.

The old man felt depressed as he stared at Xu Qing. He naturally knew why Xu Qing had come, but he wasn’t resigned to just giving away several thousand spirit stones.

But Xu Qing didn’t say a word, making the old man understand that any discussion was already useless. Moreover, the aura emanating from Xu Qing’s body was filled with an astonishing killing intent that made the old man have the sensation of a life-and-death crisis.

“Xu Qing, don’t be impulsive, I still have a trump card!! My trump card is this inn itself. It might look like an ordinary inn, but it’s actually an eerie existence. Right now, it’s in a deep slumber, but once it wakes up, the Seven Blood Pupils’ First Peak will come to suppress it immediately. When that time comes, you’ll be finished, too!”

The old man spoke quickly, and the entire inn shook loudly. Terrifying fluctuations spread from every single piece of furniture, every brick and tile in the inn, as if the entire inn was an eerie existence that was about to awaken.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed and a powerful sense of crisis emerged in his heart. He immediately took a few steps back.

The big snake had been lying on the ground and watching curiously from the very beginning, making no move to help either side as if it was sure that they wouldn’t end up fighting. When it noticed the changes in the inn, there seemed to be a sense of intimacy in its expression, and it rubbed its head on the ground as if greeting the inn.

But after realizing that Xu Qing was looking at it, the big snake quickly made some gurgling sounds and continuously nodded, as if telling Xu Qing that the old man was speaking the truth.

“Xu Qing, I’m not a member of your human race, and this inn isn’t an ordinary inn, either. It’s a kind of eerie existence, and my race has the ability to put these eerie existences to sleep.”

“I brought it to Seven Blood Pupils many years ago and wanted to sell it to the First Peak, but they didn’t give me the money immediately and asked me to guard it for ten years first. They offered too much money, so I couldn’t help but agree. However, I’m still poor, and I also need to cultivate.”

“Also, I’m Huang Yan’s good friend, and I’ve saved Zhang San’s life before, too. The captain of your Team Six and I are life-and-death buddies. Xu Qing, don’t be impulsive, we can also become good friends. The clues to wanted criminals that I gave you before were all real, I never meant to hurt you.”

Xu Qing’s expression was gloomy. He looked at the old man who was hurriedly running his mouth, then he looked at the inn. In his eyes, the inn seemed to have turned into a giant mouth that could devour everything.

He knew that this old man wasn’t simple and definitely had some life-saving trump cards, which was why he had never made a move previously. However, he still didn’t expect that the old man’s trump card was actually the inn itself!

However, Xu Qing didn’t believe the old man’s words about selling to the First Peak and so on.

But even if he didn’t believe the old man’s words, he couldn’t not believe in the sensation of crisis just now. Xu Qing felt that taking the risk to try and kill the old man wasn’t worth it.

Ultimately, he decided not to make a move, planning to first observe this place for a while. Xu Qing glanced at the old man and retracted his killing intent before opening his mouth to speak.

“Give me the spirit stones!”

Sensing Xu Qing’s killing intent disappear, the old man quickly took out three spirit tickets worth 3,000 spirit stones in total and sent them over to Xu Qing with a flick of his hand. After inspecting them, Xu Qing cut the heads off of the remaining wanted criminals and left without hesitation.

From beginning to end, he only said two sentences.

Watching Xu Qing depart, the big snake quickly poked its head out and called out with happy gurgling sounds.

Xu Qing didn’t look back and slowly disappeared into the darkness.

“Stop crying, you ungrateful snake. Our spirit stones are gone, but you don’t even feel any heartache and are instead siding with the one who took them. You know, he was really about to kill me just now, I almost even had to wake up the inn!” The old man was filled with grief and indignation as he quickly swallowed some detoxification pills.

“Gulu!”

“What, I deserve it? You really…” The old man became even more indignant. Flicking his sleeves, he sat down and puffed his pipe fiercely. Internally, he was actually a little shocked by the killing intent that Xu Qing had exuded earlier.

“The baleful aura on this kid’s body is even heavier now. What the hell happened on Sea Lizard Island? Damn it, I have to find out!”

Xu Qing walked forward silently in the dark night, the scene at the inn earlier appearing in his mind. This bizarre world made him unable to determine the truth of the old man’s words, but the danger coming from the inn felt very real.

Thus, after walking a distance away, Xu Qing turned to look back at Banquan Road. After a while, he retracted his gaze and completely put away his killing intent.

Since the magic boat wasn’t done yet, Xu Qing decided to go to the Homicide Department. On one hand, he could cancel his leave, and on the other, he planned to stay a night there. When he arrived at the Homicide Department, Xu Qing saw the captain, who had finished his work and was about to leave.

The captain walked out of the Homicide Department while munching on an apple. When he saw Xu Qing and the three heads he was carrying, he smiled with narrowed eyes and tossed an apple over.

“Catching criminals as soon as you come back, how diligent. Did you not get enough from your trip out to sea?”

Xu Qing caught the apple and handed over a spirit ticket worth 100 spirit stones.

“My gains weren’t bad.”

“I heard there’s an island near the West Reef Archipelago where many people died. You didn’t go there, did you?” The captain beamed as he took the spirit ticket before sitting down on a stone chair nearby and asking with an expression of interest.

Xu Qing glanced at the captain and shook his head.

The captain continued to eat his apple and smiled. He didn’t insist on the topic, instead lowering his voice and speaking in a mysterious manner.

“Let me tell you about an earth-shattering event that happened recently. After you left, there was a major case that was the subject of many heated discussions among the disciples. Ah, too tragic, it was really a tragic death.”

After speaking, the captain looked at Xu Qing as if waiting for him to ask further.

Xu Qing looked back at the captain but remained completely silent.

After a while, the captain sighed.

“Xu Qing, when someone talks to you in this sort of manner, you’re supposed to show some curiosity so that the other party won’t feel embarrassed and can continue talking. This is called being polite.”

Xu Qing pondered for a moment before a curious expression appeared on his face.

This expression made the captain feel a little better, so he looked around and continued speaking in a low voice.

“The captain of Earth Division Team Three, that fish, was killed.”

“The Homicide Department investigated this matter, but he wasn’t a human after all, so we didn’t try too hard. But that fish’s Dao Protectors are still around, and his two sisters in particular are searching for the culprit like crazy…”

“This world is too chaotic. The young master of an allied race died just like that, this is going to be a big deal. Ah, let’s not talk about this anymore. Junior Brother Xu, I’m going out on night patrol.”

The captain stood up and patted his clothes. As he walked past Xu Qing on his way out, he whispered softly.

“The merfolk race and Seven Blood Pupils are allies, so we can’t just stop them from searching for the killer. I’ve heard that… the merfolk race has a secret spell that will allow the two sisters to track the killer down. They’ve searched for more than a month already and investigated everyone who’s had anything to do with that fish. The killer should be found pretty soon.”

“Everyone’s eyes are on this matter. Isn’t it interesting?” The captain glanced at Xu Qing with a spurious smile and left the Homicide Department without saying anything more.

Xu Qing stood still and fell into deep thought.

After a while, a cold light flashed through his eyes. He handed in the heads of the three wanted criminals and stayed overnight in the Homicide Department.

The next morning, Xu Qing left the Homicide Department and patrolled the streets as usual. When he passed by a stall selling candied haws, he bought a stick and ate a few bites before walking into an alley and standing still.

Soon, a woman walked over from behind him and knelt down.

"Master."

This woman had a graceful figure and her appearance was very charming. She used to be Xu Qing’s informant, but later on, he stopped needing information, so he never summoned her.

“What’s been happening recently?” Xu Qing turned around and asked the woman calmly while eating candied haws.

The woman’s heart trembled as she looked at the stick of candied haws in Xu Qing’s hands, but her eyes soon filled with passion again.

“Recently, the discussion in the city has been dominated by two matters. One is that the great competition held for the Seventh Peak disciples every 30 years is approaching soon. Every time the great competition comes around, rivers of blood will flow. It’s said that last time, the great competition was held in the merfolk race’s home, and after it finished, their islands were all soaked in blood. Later on, they ended up becoming an ally of Seven Blood Pupils.”

“The second matter is also related to the merfolk race. Their young master died, and his sisters have been searching the port for more than a month…”

There was a lot of news in the port, and it wasn’t necessarily the far-off sect disciples who knew the most. After becoming Xu Qing’s informant, this woman had obviously spent a lot of effort investigating all sorts of news, making Xu Qing very satisfied. He pondered for a moment before asking again.

“Anything else?”

The informant thought for a while before opening her mouth again.

“It’s nothing major, but there was a small sect that recently left the territory of Seven Blood Pupils. This sort of matter is rare, so I have some impression of it. It seems to be called the Va-something Sect.”

“Vajra Sect?” Xu Qing narrowed his eyes.

“Right, the Vajra Sect.” The informant nodded.

Xu Qing fell into deep thought. He gave the informant five spirit stones, then turned and left.

Five spirit stones was already a lot of money for the woman. Her breathing was rapid, and her eyes became even more fanatical as she looked at Xu Qing’s back.

After he left the alley, Xu Qing walked along the streets, thinking about the Vajra Sect’s migration.

“They left?” Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, and he thought about the matter with the merfolk race again. After listening to the captain’s words and hearing his informant talk about it, killing intent rose in his heart.

“These two matters are hidden dangers.”

Xu Qing muttered inwardly, but his face didn’t reveal the slightest bit of killing intent. After his patrol ended without incident, he went to the Sea Records Pavilion and reported the giant towing the bronze dragon carriage.

According to the rules of the Sea Records Pavilion, after new information was reported and confirmed to be true, there would be a reward. However, the confirmation would take time, so Xu Qing left after making his report and arrived at the Transportation Department when dusk fell.

When he got there, he saw Zhang San, whose expression was exhausted but also fanatical.

“Junior Brother Xu, your magic boat this time is my proudest work so far!” Zhang San brought Xu Qing to the warehouse and pushed the door open.

As the door swung open, an astonishing magic boat appeared in Xu Qing’s vision.

Its 300-meter-long body was completely covered with sea lizard skin, and a black light wandered the boat, giving off the aura of the peak of Qi Condensation. Even the naked eye could tell that its defense had reached an astonishing level.

The basic structure hadn’t changed, but two huge curved horns had been added, one on each side of the hull. They gave off fierce and sharp auras that even made Xu Qing’s eyes narrow when he looked at them.

Even more astonishing were the sails. The eight sails from before had become twice as large, and their structure had also been modified. They were pitch-black, like the wings of some fierce beast.

That wasn’t all. The inside of the boat was actually covered with Foundation Establishment sea lizard skin, making the boat even stronger than it looked on the outside. This difference was enough to eke out a path to survival in critical moments.

“As for the divinity, I’ve extracted it already and integrated into the eight sails. Once you activate them, your magic boat will be able to fly in the sky and dive into the sea.”

“But most importantly, I’ve connected the divinity to the entire boat, so this magic boat of yours actually has a certain degree of regenerative power. Among all the magic boats in the entire Seven Blood Pupils, this is one of the rarest and most precious attributes!”

“Moreover, you can stimulate the divinity to release a shockingly powerful attack. It’s hard to say whether or not a Foundation Establishment cultivator can block it, but there’s a high probability that it can at least inflict serious injuries on them. Well, I don’t recommend using it like that, though. It’s a huge waste. After a few such attack, the divinity will be completely consumed, and once the divinity disappears, your magic boat will also become much weaker.”

“It can be said that although your magic boat is still a magic boat and hasn’t been promoted to the level of a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s magic ship, it’s not much worse than most ordinary magic ships. As long as you can add a Foundation Establishment-level power supply, it can be classified as a real magic ship, and not an ordinary one, either!”

“Don’t be too hasty to add a Foundation Establishment power supply. If you want to add one, make sure it’s the heart of the best beast you can find. If you can get your hands on the heart of a divinity lifeform… then your magic ship won’t be too different from a divinity lifeform in the Foundation Establishment realm!”

“I know you don’t like to be showy, so I added a cover that allows your boat to look the same as before. You can change its appearance at any time!” Zhang San looked at the magic boat with a fanatical gaze as he introduced it to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing inhaled sharply. Looking at the behemoth in front of him, his heart was filled with shock.

A long while later, after he left the Transportation Department and returned to Dock 79, waves of emotion were still surging in Xu Qing’s heart.

At that moment, there were five figures speeding through the dark night in the Seven Blood Pupils main city. Two were in front while three followed behind.

The three at the back seemed to be followers, while the pair in front were two women with sharp gazes. They were the merfolk youth’s elder sisters, as well as the third highness’s lovers.

The younger sister’s expression was filled with intense killing intent while the elder sister had an enigmatic look in her eyes. They were thinking of different things, but their goal was the same.

“We’ve searched for over a month, found everyone who had conflicts with our brother, and eliminated all of them one by one. There’s only one person who we couldn’t investigate because he went out to sea!”

“It’s fine. As long as we look closely, we’ll be able to determine through our bloodline whether or not he’s really the killer!”

“If it really is him, I’ll skin him alive, and let him regret being born into this world. I’ll eat his flesh every day, let him die in the most miserable way possible, then extract his soul and let him spend the rest of his life burning in a merfolk lamp!” The younger sister gritted her teeth with a ferocious gaze full of astonishing hatred.

At that moment, the night wind blew. It was as if an asura was heading out to kill!

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