Free Web NovelChapter 1133: Chapter 770: Nightmare (Happy Holidays)
On this journey, it seems that there are very few high-rise buildings, and most of the street-facing structures are unevenly-built shop fronts, behind which lie a large number of dirty and disorderly residences.
The city planning is nonexistent; many buildings have no roofs, using welded iron sheets instead. In areas close to the city’s edge, there were even some dilapidated wooden huts.
As they entered Bangshu Town, Yang Xiao grew increasingly suspicious. This place was too desolate. Despite being quite a large town, there were few pedestrians on the road. Some areas with flickering red signs were even less lively than the taverns they had encountered earlier.
Under Tai Wenqin’s guidance, the convoy of two vehicles finally entered a muddy dirt road, stopping in front of a dark two-story building. As they approached, Yang Xiao noticed it had a signboard outside, making out unfamiliar Myanmar-Tai script, though the sign was currently unlit.
Tai Wenqin was the first to exit the car to negotiate. His long braid, reminiscent of people from the previous dynasty, was coiled around his neck. Professor Cui informed Yang Xiao that this was a hotel, rather secluded, and they had rented it five days ago.
Not long after, Tai Wenqin brought a fat man out from the hotel’s entrance. Seeing this, Professor Cui and Yang Xiao got out of the car and directed everyone to carry the boxes inside.
From the outside, the hotel looked unimpressive, but inside it had dozens of rooms, divided into east and west courtyards, separated by a locked wooden door.
They had rented the better-conditioned east courtyard, while the west courtyard housed the hotel owner’s family and some scattered tenants.
Tai Wenqin promised them that the hotel owner’s family were honest people, and he had also looked into those tenants and found they were poor local families with children, so living here wouldn’t be a problem.
After struggling the entire night, Yang Xiao and the others were exhausted. Professor Cui arranged for people to keep watch downstairs, and the two most important boxes were brought to Yang Xiao and Professor Cui’s room.
"Where’s Tai Wenqin?" After personally supervising the boxes’ placement in the room, Yang Xiao turned around and found Tai Wenqin was missing. His brow immediately furrowed.
Professor Cui walked up the creaking and decaying stairs, "He’s gone to contact people from the Yin Temple for us."
The only Fierce Level Apostle among them was assigned to keep watch downstairs, and Professor Cui advised Yang Xiao to rest properly.
Just after lying down for a short while, footsteps were heard ascending the stairs outside the door, followed by a knock, "Boss."
It was the voice of one of their own. Before Professor Cui could react, Yang Xiao walked to the door, but instead of opening it immediately, he responded through the door, "What’s up?"
"The store owner has something to discuss." Their own person replied from outside.
Upon opening the door, other than their own person, a fat man stood behind them, who first clasped his hands to greet Professor Cui, then gestured while speaking.
Their own person translated for them, saying the fat owner had prepared food and invited them downstairs to eat.
"Tell him, thank you for his kindness, but we’re tired, and prefer not to be disturbed." Professor Cui instructed.
Traveling outside, they carried their own dry rations; it’s wise to be cautious in places like this.
After hearing the translation, the fat owner made no further entanglement, bowed again, and turned to go downstairs.
Once they confirmed the fat owner had gone far, Yang Xiao closed the door, assuming a solemn expression. He noticed the fat owner’s teeth were very black, not just stained from tea or coffee, but a kind of black that reminded him of that half bag of opium, the colors were very similar.
However, an ordinary hotel owner certainly couldn’t afford such things, even cheaper grades would be out of reach. He couldn’t help but suspect this might be a black market establishment.
Thinking deeper, Tai Wenqin might be in league with this hotel owner. First settling them down and then heading out to gather help to catch them all in one fell swoop.
It’s not impossible, and Yang Xiao couldn’t be blamed for being overly suspicious. In places like this, each mistake can be fatal.
"Uncle, I feel there’s something wrong here." Yang Xiao said worriedly, "Please stay in the room and don’t go anywhere. I’ll go out and scout around."
"Being cautious isn’t a bad thing. Be careful and don’t wander far." Professor Cui advised.
Leaving the room, Yang Xiao went to a secluded corner, confirmed no one was around, and took out the Soul-Capturing Mirror, slipping into the Mirror World.
Soon, he found the fat hotel owner in the adjacent west courtyard. The fat owner had just returned to his room, acting suspiciously. He first locked the outer door, then entered the bedroom, locked the bedroom door, and then used a key to open a wooden drawer.
The next second, the contents of the drawer made Yang Xiao’s pupils tremble—it was a very small burlap bag, nearly identical to the one he had given his mentor containing Life-extending Ointment.
"Damn it..." Yang Xiao’s heart skipped a beat; despite all precautions, they were still led into a den of thieves.
Tai Wenqin wasn’t a good guy; he killed the Snake Head Boat’s captain simply to prevent them from intercepting.
But the next second, Yang Xiao thought it was incorrect. With Tai Wenqin’s capabilities, if he wanted to kill and rob, it wouldn’t be necessary to go to such trouble. He could have dealt with the crew while still on the boat, rather than lure them to town.
Was there a misunderstanding, or... Yang Xiao’s eyes narrowed slightly, suspecting the man had other intentions.
The fat boss used his fingers to pinch a small amount of black powder from a cloth bag, then tapped his pipe, stuffed the powder into the bowl, and hurriedly went to the bed, leaning at an angle against the pillow, and started to smoke contentedly.
With the first puff, the tension in the fat boss’s face instantly relaxed. With the second, he was almost in ecstasy, even showing a mysterious smile.
Yang Xiao, curious, appeared instantly beside the fat boss. He tapped the boss on the head with the Human Bone Staff, and the man immediately fainted.
After confirming that no one was around, Yang Xiao quickly approached the small drawer where the bag was hidden. He pinched some of the powder into his palm and realized it was some dried plant ground up, similar to tobacco leaves.
He put his nose close to sniff it and found it had an indescribable fishy smell.
This stuff wasn’t anything good, but it had nothing to do with the Life-extending Ointment. Yang Xiao had seen his uncle’s Life-extending Ointment, and their scents were entirely different.
After restoring the scene, Yang Xiao grabbed the still-lit pipe and placed one end against the fat boss’s arm. He then returned to the Mirror World.
The next second, the fat boss, feeling pain in his arm, woke from his stupor. He blinked and stared at the pipe in his hand, seemingly in thought, but in less than three seconds, he continued to slouch at an angle on the bed, puffing the pipe again. Two puffs later, he regained his previous blissful expression.
"Good thing this stuff hurts the brain." After observing for a few more minutes, Yang Xiao quietly left.
He quickly found out about the families living in the West Courtyard. Comforting to him was that these were all ordinary people, many with children, posing no threat to them.
One family piqued Yang Xiao’s curiosity: an elderly couple with a girl around 16 or 17. The three sat silently on the bed, tears quietly streaming down their faces, seemingly troubled by some hardship.
On the table lay packed luggage, just two bundles, one large and one small, tied together by a carrying pole.
Judging by their attire, Yang Xiao guessed they couldn’t afford the rent and were about to be thrown out by the shop owner.
Running into them was fate, perhaps a good omen for his journey. Yang Xiao thought of asking Tai Wenqin to help with some rent for the family when he returned.
In this chaos, an old couple with such a young girl faced uncertain mess if left on the streets.
Yang Xiao didn’t just examine the inn where he stayed; he also checked several nearby buildings, finding nothing amiss, but did stumble upon a couple’s intimate moment.
Yang Xiao also discovered the inn owner’s same type of "tobacco" in several other homes, suggesting that people here had a habit of smoking it. Perhaps he misunderstood Tai Wenqin.
Returning to his room, Yang Xiao reported his findings to Professor Cui. By then, dawn was nearing, and Professor Cui urged Yang Xiao to get some rest as they had a busy day ahead.
Exhausted after so much fuss, Yang Xiao fell asleep almost immediately, but his sleep was restless. He dreamt of racing through a dark forest, not knowing why, feeling chased by something.
Several times, he wanted to look back, but each time he tried, a voice from behind warned him not to turn around.
The voice was familiar, but he couldn’t recall who it was until, at last, he tripped over a tree root protruding from the ground. Inadvertently glancing back, he saw a bloodstained face.
It was Tai Wenqin.
But terrifyingly, his body was gone, leaving just a solitary head. The head was tied with a braid at the back and hung from someone’s waist, swaying incessantly.
As Yang Xiao struggled to lift his head to see the pursuer’s face, Tai Wenqin’s head suddenly opened its mouth wide and roared at him, "Run!!"
"Huff—"
"Huff—"
The next moment, Yang Xiao was jolted awake, sitting up abruptly, gasping heavily, forehead slick with cold sweat, and his back drenched.
"Had a nightmare?" Professor Cui’s voice came. Yang Xiao turned to see Professor Cui not in bed but sitting alone at the table.
"Have some hot tea to calm down." Professor Cui poured a cup of tea, walked over, and handed it to Yang Xiao. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Yang Xiao took it with both hands, feeling the warmth from the tea seep into him. His pupils trembled, still shaken by what he had seen.
Tai Wenqin’s bloody face was so realistic, its eyes seemed ready to fall out, with the blood-stained braid relentlessly tied at the pursuer’s waist.
Suddenly, Yang Xiao thought of something. When he lay down, Professor Cui also went to bed, and now, it wasn’t even dawn. Why... why was he also awake?
Noticing Yang Xiao’s puzzled look, Professor Cui let out a deep breath and didn’t hide it from him. "Little Yang, I just had a nightmare, a terrible one," he said softly.
