Chapter 1 The Appearance of the Words Fu'an Inn

The moment the words "Fu'an Inn" were uttered, even the surrounding temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. Taking advantage of the crowd's stunned moment, the woman dragged her child and quickly ran away.

Reacting, Tang Qisheng subconsciously wanted to chase after her, but Zhang Qizheng stopped him, whispering, "Don't chase. Don't attract attention."

Understanding the implication in Zhang Qizheng's tone, Tang Qisheng turned his head to look around and suddenly noticed that the pedestrians who had been hurrying along had stopped, staring at him with tense expressions.

And upon realizing that they were being watched, the pedestrians immediately quickened their pace, practically fleeing.

"Why are they so afraid of us?" Fatty blinked, increasingly confused. They had only just arrived in this world, why were they being treated like demons?

Jiang Cheng surveyed the surroundings. Although many of the shops were open, there wasn't a single person to be seen inside. No shopkeepers, no customers. Jiang Cheng walked and observed, eventually focusing his attention on a street stall.

These small stalls were temporary. Almost all of their possessions were on a small flatbed cart that could be pushed away. Those hurrying pedestrians would occasionally stop, buying a few sesame cakes as quickly as possible, then stuffing them haphazardly into their bags and continuing on their way.

There weren't many similar stalls on this street, but they all seemed to be doing pretty good business. As Jiang Cheng and his group approached a stall, the four people who had been waiting nearby scattered as if they had seen a ghost. Three of them simply left, continuing on their journey, while the last man, perhaps because he had already paid, was reluctant to leave without his sesame cake. He stood at a distance, watching, seemingly waiting for Jiang Cheng and his group to leave before returning.

The stall was run by a husband and wife. The couple's faces changed drastically when they saw Jiang Cheng and the others. The woman trembled, while the dark-skinned man hurriedly packed up his things, handing over all the remaining sesame cakes. "Esteemed... esteemed officials, please don't be angry. My wife and I are law-abiding people. We don't know anything. I'll leave now, I'll leave immediately! These... these sesame cakes are a tribute to you esteemed officials!"

The couple's fearful appearance, and the term "esteemed officials," indicated that they had mistaken them for someone else. Li Bai stepped forward to reassure them. "Don't be afraid. We're not officials. We're just passing through. We're new here and want to ask you some questions."

The honest man widened his eyes. "What? You're not with the government?"

"Of course not. We're just passing through." Fatty had a very approachable demeanor. After a few words, the couple's expressions softened considerably.

Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Jiang Cheng took the initiative to ask the first question, "Why did you think we were with the government?"

Not just this couple, but also the mother and daughter from earlier, and the surrounding pedestrians, seemed wary of them, probably mistaking them for government officials. But they weren't wearing official uniforms.

"If you're not with the government, how dare you use something like that?" The man looked puzzled, pointing at Gao Yanqing, or rather, at the package on Gao Yanqing's back.

The package had been provided by the soldiers and contained waterskins and flatbread, their breakfast.

"Is there something wrong with this package?" Zhu Jie asked, confused. They had already inspected the package and found nothing wrong. They were vigilant.

Hearing this, the man swallowed. "Of course. That package is from the Zhennan (Pacify the South) Marquis’s residence. It has the Marquis’s residence’s exclusive pattern. Everyone in Luo'an City recognizes it."

Upon learning that Jiang Cheng and his group were also ordinary people, the man breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he invited them to sit down in front of his simple stall, and after calming his nerves, he kindly warned, "If you have nothing to do with the Zhennan Marquis’s residence, I advise you to quickly put away that package, lest you attract trouble."

"Also, if you don't have anything important to do, leave here as soon as possible. Recently, things in Luo'an City have been..." The man suddenly stopped, then turned his head to look in another direction, a look of fear on his face.

Suddenly, the woman behind the man began to cry, sobbing, "It's too late, dear. I heard they've already closed the city. Only allowing entry, not exit, unless you have a pass from the Marquis’s residence."

"Ai—" The man sighed, looking resigned to his fate.

Jiang Cheng reached out and took the teacup that the man handed him, taking a small sip. He continued to probe, "Sir, we're new here and don't know what's going on in the city. But why does it feel like the people around here are... fleeing?"

The man pursed his lips, clearly hesitant to reveal these things. Finally, he sighed, looked up, and said, "Since you're willing to call me 'Sir,' I won't hide anything from you. Recently, Luo'an City hasn't been peaceful. Every night, things are uneasy. At first, soldiers would patrol at night, but then, I heard there were a few strange incidents, and even the soldiers were afraid to walk at night. They hired quite a few monks and Taoists, but in the end... in the end, none of them were any help!"

"That's because they didn't hire me. This Daoist is invincible in subduing demons and eliminating evil. Amitabha, good, good." Shao Tong placed his left palm in front of his chest and skillfully made the sign of the cross with his right hand.

The man widened his eyes. "You... you're a Daoist?"

Lu Qin blocked Shao Tong, explaining to the man, "Don't mind him. He's my cousin. One year, he was walking in the mountains and a falling rock damaged his head. Ever since then, he's often said nonsensical things." Lu Qin pointed to her head.

Hearing Lu Qin say this, Jiang Cheng was slightly surprised. At the same time, he keenly noticed that Shao Tong, who seemed mentally unstable, didn't even refute it, as if he hadn't heard anything.

"I see." The man nodded in understanding. At the same time, he told Jiang Cheng and the others what he knew about the situation. It was from the man that Jiang Cheng and his group obtained their initial information about this place.

This city was called Luo'an City, located on the border of the dynasty, making its geographical location very important. It was originally built as a military stronghold, with a large number of troops stationed inside. The so-called Zhennan Marquis’s residence was located in Luo'an City. Because the emperor was far away and he held military power, the Zhennan Marquis had absolute power of life and death in Luo'an City.

Jiang Cheng roughly understood. The people who had come to find them this morning were the Zhennan Marquis’s personal guards. And based on Jiang Cheng's experience, the strange happenings in the city were likely related to the Marquis’s residence.

The man lowered his voice, mysteriously leaning closer. "I heard people passing by say that another strange thing happened last night. This time, it was the Wu shopkeeper's family at the Fu'an Inn."

"Do you know the specifics?" Yao Shunyu pressed.

The man shook his head repeatedly. "I don't know, but I heard that the entire inn was sealed off, completely surrounded, like the previous times. The scene is all water, I don't know where so much water came from."

The couple had limited information. After bidding them farewell, the group headed straight for the Fu'an Inn, since all the clues currently pointed there.

Just as the man had said, before they reached the Fu'an Inn, they were stopped dozens of meters away. Large white cloths had been hung up on the street, blocking the view behind them. These people were all city guards, judging by their attire.

The leading soldier sized up Jiang Cheng and the others, asking, "Are you the esteemed experts who answered the call?"

Hearing the words "esteemed experts," Fatty's teeth ached. Every time they were called "esteemed experts," nothing good ever came of it. It was practically a rule.

Before he could finish speaking, a man with a saber walked out from within. This man was tall and exuded a fierce aura, clearly a general who had been on the battlefield and tasted blood.

The general cupped his fist toward Jiang Cheng and the others, his attitude fairly polite. "Esteemed experts, please follow me."

As he spoke, the white cloth was lifted, and the group walked through. Behind it was still the same street. Not far away was the Fu'an Inn, but the Fu'an Inn was now completely different from what they remembered from last night. The seemingly sturdy gate had been smashed open and lay crooked on the ground. And a large area around the inn was wet.

Jiang Cheng walked through a sunken spot filled with water.

The general subconsciously rested his hand on the hilt of his saber, a look of unease in his eyes. "As you masters can see, it was much worse when we first arrived. There was water everywhere, as if it had been flooded."

Walking into the inn, the scene before them was even more shocking. Everything inside the inn had been soaked in water and was wet. Gao Yanqing was very tall. Without hesitation, he picked up a fallen armchair, stepped on it, stretched out his arm, pressed it against the wall, and tried to reach as high as possible. After a moment, he jumped down with a serious expression. "It's all wet. There was much more water than I thought, at least three meters high. The upper part of the wall is also wet. It wasn't splashed up, it was soaked. It's hard to imagine..."

Hearing this, the general nodded, looking around warily. His tone was strange as he said, "That's right, we can't figure it out either. It was fine yesterday, but suddenly it became like this overnight. The strangest thing is this flood. How did this water get here? And only the area around this inn was flooded. Places farther away were not affected at all."

Thinking about the general's words, Jiang Cheng noticed something strange. The general asked how the water got here, not where the flood came from. Did this mean that the general knew where the water came from?

Sure enough, after hearing Jiang Cheng's question, the general answered decisively, "I know where this water came from. It's lake water, from the Chun Shen (Spring God) Lake, dozens of miles away. It's from there!"

"How do you know?" Zhang Qizheng asked, sensing a strange aura. Especially when the words "Chun Shen Lake" were mentioned, a hint of fear flashed in the general's eyes.

The general didn't answer directly. Instead, he squatted down and found an inconspicuous green plant from the messy room. Jiang Cheng took a few glances and asked, "Is this seaweed?"

"Yes, but this seaweed is special. It's called 'Beauty Fragrance.' It only grows in the Chun Shen Lake, dozens of miles away from here. It's unique in the world." The general said with certainty, "This inn is full of this seaweed. There's no mistake. This strange flood came from the Chun Shen Lake."

"Has anything happened at the Chun Shen Lake recently?" Jiang Cheng pressed.

The next moment, the general's expression changed. He changed the subject, "Masters, let me take you to see the bodies first. Perhaps you can find some clues that we ordinary people can't."

"We appreciate your trouble, General," Jiang Cheng said politely, cupping his fist.

Corpses were always the most direct clues. And judging from this flood, the Wu shopkeeper and his family in this inn, as well as the guests who lived here, were probably all dead.

Arriving at the backyard, the water had receded. Several corpses were lined up on the wet ground, covered with cloths. Zhang Qizheng didn't hesitate and was the first to walk up. Even though he was prepared, he was still shocked by the appearance of the corpses when he lifted the white cloth.

The corpses were incomplete, as if they had been torn apart bite by bite. Their faces, necks, and bodies were covered with bite marks. And the most terrifying thing was that, judging from the extent of the tearing and the tooth marks, it looked more like they had been bitten by people.

"Why are there only six bodies?" Zhu Jie asked, puzzled. In her opinion, this three-story inn should have more than six people living in it.

Seeing Zhu Jie's confusion, the general explained, "The situation is special now. Almost no one is staying at the inns. The Fu'an Inn only had the Wu shopkeeper's family."

"The Wu shopkeeper, his wife, and their two daughters. Oh, and a handyman who lived in the inn."

Hearing the general's words, Lu Qin frowned. "General, that's only five people. But there are..."

Everyone noticed the anomaly that Lu Qin had discovered. There were six bodies, one extra.

"Who is this sixth body?" Fatty asked.

Unexpectedly, the general simply ordered his men to uncover all the corpses and then motioned for everyone to look at the last body, shaking his head. "I don't know. We haven't been able to identify this person."

Judging from the corpses, all six had died in the same way. Although they had been bitten and torn to pieces, their general shapes and appearances could still be distinguished. This last body, the unidentified one, was a woman, ordinary-looking, with her only remaining eye wide open, staring blankly at the sky, as if lamenting the unfairness of the world. Her lips and half of her cheek had been torn off, exposing her gums, which were hideous and terrifying, causing instinctive revulsion.

"We brought in merchants from nearby to identify her, as well as people from the city's household registry. Everyone said they had never seen her. It's as if this person appeared out of thin air," the general said, still shaken.

For some reason, the words "out of thin air" seemed to trigger something deep within Jiang Cheng's mind, making his nerves tense. "Has this happened before? Have there been unknown bodies appearing before?"

"No, this is the only time," the general replied.

Suddenly, Lu Qin, who hadn't said much, squatted down and, under everyone's gaze, inserted her finger into the unknown woman's eye. Then, she gently swiped inside. The next moment, a thin, transparent piece appeared on her fingertip.

Everyone was stunned because they recognized it as a contact lens.