Chapter 38 Part 1: Phoenix Tail Flower (VIII)

It was almost noon, and Tang Tang suggested leaving the village and heading to the city to find an inn while it was still early.

Sui Ning was a bit surprised and asked, “Haven’t you been here for four or five days? Haven’t you found an inn?”

Tang Tang felt embarrassed and stuttered. “Well, you see, I…”

Ah Yan jumped out and said confidently, “You ran out of spirit stones.”

Tang Tang’s face turned red immediately, and she looked at Ah Yan with some dissatisfaction. “I didn’t run out of them. I just…lost them.”

Sui Ning and Xie Changzhou were puzzled. The spirit stones of cultivators are usually stored in a Qiankun bag. Tang Tang’s Qiankun bag was still with her, so how could she lose her spirit stones?

Seeing their confusion, Tang Tang explained hesitantly, “I met someone on the road who was very strange and talked to me in a vague way. I thought he was a trickster from the martial world and planned to give him some spirit stones to get rid of him. Who knew he would snatch my Qiankun bag and run away?”

Feeling embarrassed, Tang Tang’s voice grew smaller and smaller. “I didn’t catch up with him and just found my Qiankun bag halfway through the journey. Everything was still there except for the spirit stones. He even stuffed a bag of candy for me.”

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“Fs oblal byhl usw clld pvyukdt vblpl rypv qlo eyup?” Fwk Lkdt ypjle.

Mydt Mydt obkprlale, “Kwpv qkdekdt y vall vs pzllr wdela kd vbl hkzzytl. R rzyddle vs qkde psxl vlxrsayau osaj qsa y qlo eyup. Ebs jdlo R oswze awd kdvs usw yde Kkydgwd?”

Fbl pxkzle yde bwttle Fwk Lkdt’p yax. “Lkdtdkdt kp ps jkde. Zsw osd’v ycydesd xl.”

Fwk Lkdt nswzed’v blzr cwv qllz yxwple. G nwzvkhyvsa oyp asccle sq bla prkakv pvsdlp yde alewnle vs qkdekdt y vall vs pzllr wdela. Fbl oyp prllnbzlpp yde oyzjle okvb Gb Zyd obkzl bszekdt Dkl Ubydtgbsw’p byde. Mydt Mydt oyzjle clpkel bla, bszekdt sdvs bla yax.

Mblal olal byaezu ydu rlsrzl kd vbl kdd, xspvzu zsnyzp qasx svbla hkzzytlp obs nyxl vs vbl nkvu qsa cwpkdlpp yde zsetkdt. Gp pssd yp Fwk Lkdt yde bkp nsxrydksdp ldvlale, vblu kxxlekyvlzu yvvaynvle vbl yvvldvksd sq vbl ldvkal assx.

Dkl Ubydtgbsw yrrasynble pzsozu yde pyke, “Rddjllrla, ol dlle zsetkdt.”

Mbl kddjllrla oyp y xkeezl-ytle xyd okvb y ckt clzzu. Tl zssjle blpkvydv obld bl pyo Dkl Ubydtgbsw yde bkp nsxrydksdp yde obkprlale vbyv bl oydvle vs alqwpl.

Dkl Ubydtgbsw’p nsze, obkvl byde vssj swv y cyt sq prkakv pvsdlp qasx bkp Ckydjwd cyt yde bydele kv vs bkx, alrlyvkdt nyzxzu, “El dlle zsetkdt.”

Sui Ning thought to herself, staring at the bag of spirit stones and feeling a bit distressed.

Sure enough, no matter where they went, capitalism always existed, and money was the key.

The panicked innkeeper’s eyes lit up when he received the bag of spirit stones and saw that it was filled with medium-grade spirit stones, enough to cover the inn’s income for a year!

He immediately walked out from behind the counter with a smile on his face and said, “Please, come this way.”

“Xiaolin, come over here!” The innkeeper waved his hand to call over a young man dressed as a waiter. “Escort these distinguished guests to the upper rooms and provide some food for them.”

“Okay!” The waiter threw his towel over his shoulder and quickly led the way for them. “This way, please.”

“Thank you.” Xie Changzhou nodded slightly in gratitude.

As they left the lobby, they could hear whispers and murmurs behind them.

“These people don’t look like they’re from our city of Yong’an. Why should we let them stay in our inn?”

“Yeah, what if they bring bad luck and attract the green-faced ghost back? It’s been so long since it last stole children. What if they bring it back?”

Their voices were already very low; they thought that Sui Ning and the others couldn’t hear them, and they were discussing it with some disregard.

Sui Ning felt like laughing. They were all cultivators, and their cultivation levels were not low, so their senses were naturally much sharper than ordinary people’s.

The range they couldn’t hear didn’t mean that Sui Ning and the others couldn’t hear them.

But they talked about bad luck.

It seems that the reason why Yong’an City is exclusive to outsiders lies here.

As soon as they arrived upstairs, the waiter turned around and smiled, saying, “Dear guests, all these rooms are empty. You can choose to stay wherever you like. I’ll bring you food in a while.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“No trouble, no trouble. Rest well.”

The waiter turned around to leave, but Sui Ning quickly stopped him and said, “Wait a minute.”

He turned around in confusion and asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?”

Sui Ning asked, “Do you know why this city is so unwelcoming to outsiders like us?”

The waiter’s expression froze, and he avoided eye contact.

Sui Ning smiled and casually said, “My fellow disciples and I came down from the mountain to take care of some business. We’ve been treated with suspicion the whole way here, and we couldn’t even find a place to stay last night. Naturally, we’re a bit curious.”

The waiter hesitated, looking at Sui Ning and her companions, unsure of what to say.

“If there’s really something you can’t tell us, then I won’t ask. I don’t want to put you in a difficult position.” Sui Ning lowered her gaze, trying to recall the green tea performances she had seen before, feeling a mixture of disappointment, helplessness, and sadness.

System: [Good tea, bring another cup!]

Tang Tang: Ningning, you’re so clever!

Xie Changzhou’s eyes darkened slightly, with a hint of coldness flashing through his warm eyes. He curled his hand, which was resting behind his back.

The waiter had never seen such a beautiful and charming young lady before. He felt sorry for her, and all his concerns disappeared.

Looking around, he leaned in and whispered to Sui Ning and her companions, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but these things are hard to explain.”

Sui Ning’s eyes narrowed, but her face remained calm and expressionless. She asked, “What’s wrong?”

The waiter lowered his voice and said, “I don’t know if you’ve heard about the Green-Faced Ghost. Many children have gone missing in our Yong’an city, and they say the Green-Faced Ghost is responsible. A few young adults disappeared half a year ago, and people say the Green-Faced Ghost has had his fill of children and is now going after adults.”

“The key point is that there is a coincidence. The green-faced ghost had not appeared for several months before those young people disappeared.”

The waiter turned his head and looked at the stairs behind him, making sure that no one was there before whispering, “And those young people disappeared only after a group of outsiders came to the city. It’s quite a coincidence, don’t you think?”

Tang Tang also lowered her voice and leaned closer. “So the people in the city think that the outsiders brought some bad luck and brought back the green-faced ghost that had been gone for a long time?”

The waiter’s eyes lit up, and he became excited. “Yes, that’s what the people in the city are saying!”

Tang Tang’s mouth twitched as she made eye contact with Sui Ning, both of them speechless.

The information the waiter provided was probably just a coincidence. If the green-faced ghost really wanted to prevent outsiders from entering the city, it could have simply spread the rumor about the evil happenings in Yong’an City. After all, the Changming Sword Sect turned a blind eye to it, and it could also deter people who wanted to enter the city.

So it was probably just a coincidence that the green-faced ghost happened to capture those young people when outsiders came to the city. After all, Yong’an City is a large city, and there are many people coming in and out.

The people have long been wary of the green-faced ghost, and even the slightest movement could scare them to death.

Most people believe in superstitions and rumors about ghosts and the supernatural. As long as someone spreads a rumor, there will always be people who believe it. Over time, countless people will believe it.

The waiter continued, “So, gentlemen, try to stay indoors today as much as possible to avoid being targeted by the people in the city.”

Sui Ning nodded. “Okay, thank you, waiter.”

The waiter turned and left, and the corridor was empty except for a few of them.

Xie Changzhou took Ah Yan’s hand and looked towards Sui Ning and Tang Tang, saying, “Ah Yan and I will share a room. The evil spirits in the city are causing trouble, so Sui Ning and Tang Tang will be safer together. Let’s rest for now.”

The two of them agreed, “Okay.”

***

The night breeze was chilly, and the full moon was rising high in the sky.

As expected, the dull sound of the clock striking the dog hour echoed. The doors of the inn were tightly closed, and the pedestrians on the street hurriedly dispersed. After a while, the outside became silent.

Tang Tang leaned against the window and looked outside. All the lights in the city were out, and the huge Yong’an City was pitch black, without a hint of light.

She still didn’t quite understand and asked, “Sui Ning, although Changming sword sect is petty, even if they ignore this, why aren’t other sects coming to deal with the evil spirits?”

Sui Ning was bending over to make the bed and chuckled at her words: “Tang Tang, you’re oversimplifying things when it comes to these sects.”

She walked slowly to the bedside and, along with Tang Tang, looked outside the window, asking softly, “Is Yong’an City prosperous?”

“It is.” Tang Tang nodded, looking puzzled. “What does the prosperity of Yong’an City have to do with the sects dealing with the evil spirits?”

“No, it’s a big deal.”

Sui Ning turned her head to look at her, and her pitch-black eyes had a hint of seriousness. “It’s precisely because Yong’an City is too prosperous. Even if Changming Sword Sect has some conflicts with Yong’an City and ignores them, it doesn’t mean other sects can intervene.”

“The matter of Yong’an City is tacitly approved by the Changming sword sect. After all, the Green-Faced Ghost hasn’t gone to cause trouble in other cities. Moreover, do you know that even without the support of the main sect, Yong’an City is still prosperous and magnificent? Hundreds of years ago, it was even more prominent than the main cities of many sects.”

Tang Tang had a vague understanding in her heart, and her throat felt inexplicably dry: “So, the Changming Sword Sect doesn’t want the development of Yong’an City to surpass their main city, and they’re turning a blind eye to the Green-faced Ghost’s actions.”

Sui Ning curled his lips and smiled lightly: “Tang Tang, when the main sect has approved something, would other sects come and interfere with the Changming Sword Sect?”

Tang Tang’s lips moved, wanting to argue, but all the facts were in front of her, each one challenging her understanding and pointing to what Sui Ning said.

It was too absurd. One of the four major sects in the cultivation world, a famous and prestigious sect, was actually so despicable in their actions?

Tang Tang was reluctant to believe it. For so many years, her stereotypical impression of the major sects was that they were impartial and saved the people from danger.

Sui Ning lightly patted her shoulder. Her beautiful face was calm; her black eyes were clear and quiet; there was not even a ripple.