"Dong!"
A dull thud echoed from the entrance of the inn as a heavy object was thrown onto the ground. The waiter peeked out from behind the counter, wondering who had tossed a sack into their establishment.
"Hey, who is that!"
The waiter rolled up his sleeves and stepped out from behind the counter. His field of vision finally widened, revealing the crimson blood seeping from the sack, accompanied by the stench of gore.
"Damn it!"
The waiter was even more incensed.
His face contorted in anger, his steps quickened as he rushed outside, cursing, "Who is it, which damned, rootless fellow... Mmmph..."
With a swish, a white figure suddenly entered the waiter's line of sight. The waiter trembled all over, startled. After a moment, just as he was about to shout, his gaze fell upon the bloodstained whip the person was carrying. He clamped a hand over his mouth in terror.
"Is Physician Feng Luan Feng staying here?"
The man, holding a saber, had a smile curving his lips as he spoke. He seemed completely oblivious to how perverse and terrifying he looked, grinning at someone while holding a bloodied whip.
The waiter opened his mouth, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. He couldn't speak. He didn't know who the man meant by Physician Feng Luan Feng was, but he vaguely recalled someone addressing the noble and elegant young master as Young Master Feng. Those people had been staying at their inn for some time, never venturing out, merely residing within the establishment… Could this man be here for revenge?
In an instant, countless thoughts raced through the waiter's mind. He hesitated for only a second before nodding frantically at the man.
"Very good!"
The man picked up the sack. Blood flowed onto the floor. He turned his head to the waiter and apologized, "Apologies for making you clean the floor multiple times."
The waiter wanted to speak but could only nod again.
The man walked to the center of the lobby and placed the sack on the ground. He unfastened it and reached inside, fumbling around. With a rough grab, he pulled out two human heads by their hair.
The moment the waiter saw the heads, his legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground.
"Kill... kill... someone!"
He dared not shout, lest he invite death. His voice was muffled, as if wrapped in cloth and thrown into water.
The man ignored the waiter and, with great interest, pulled out the heads one by one, piling them on the table to form a mountain of heads.
The smell of blood drifted into the rooms through the door cracks. Nan Shiying pushed open her door and walked to the railing, looking down.
Sensing the gaze from above, the man looked up. Their eyes met in the air. The man was the first to express goodwill, raising his signature smile. "I am Jin Yang. I wish to befriend the divine physician."
As he finished speaking, he pointed to the heads on the table. "Eighteen heads, eighteen tokens. Please, Divine Physician, accept them."
Nan Shiying looked at him. This was the first person who had dared to enter Xiling County after killing members of the Ghost煞 Sect. His silver fox fur-lined coat was not stained with a single drop of blood. Looking at the whip he had just thrown to the ground, he must have had a fierce battle after entering the city. Jin Yang's name was not widely known in the martial world, but after this incident, if he survived, his name would surely spread throughout the entire Jianghu.
Poison Elder and Luan Wencheng opened their doors almost simultaneously. Perhaps they had heard the conversation between Feng Luan and this man named Jin Yang, as they showed no surprise at the scene. They walked downstairs, observing the heads up close. The severed necks were not cleanly cut, indicating they weren't severed by a saber but twisted off, as if twisting a dough knot. Under the force of two different pressures, there was always a moment when the knot would break in the middle.
Poison Elder mused, his peripheral vision catching sight of the whip lying on the ground.
"Ah, they were twisted and pulled off after being bound by the whip."
"Quite artistic!"
As Poison Elder studied the manner of death of these individuals, Nan Shiying's gaze paused briefly on a particular head before quickly moving past it.