Chapter 128: Corpse activity is a normal phenomenon

As the two returned to their room, they encountered the two peddlers. Yesterday, the peddlers had been rude, but today they were unusually friendly, even inviting the duo in to sit. Lu Yang, unwilling to have too much contact with them, directly refused.

The peddlers, unfazed by the refusal, closed their room door. The sound of gongs rang out once more, and the night watchman called, "It's Haishi!"

*Thump-thump-thump*, the rhythmic footsteps echoed down the corridor again. The waiter, with his pitch-black eyes, roamed the hallway. He lightly tapped on the opposite door: "Guests, are you there? Please open the door."

Just as the two expected the peddlers to refuse to open the door, like the previous night, with the waiter's knocking growing increasingly deafening, a creak echoed. The opposite door opened.

One of the peddlers was startled by his companion's action: "You—what are you doing! Why did you open the door?" "Quick, close the door! Close it!" "If you want to die, don't drag me with you!" "Why can't I close the door?"

Although there were clearly two peddlers, only one spoke from beginning to end. The other remained completely silent, which was extremely eerie.

"You—don't come any closer! Ahh—" A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the opposite room, followed by complete silence.

"What happened? The peddlers aren't stupid, so why would they open the door on their own?" A chill ran down Meng Jingzhou's spine. Lu Yang pondered for a moment, then thought of a possibility: "Do you remember the person we saw killed by the officers this morning? He came back to life and looked no different from a living person."

"The rules stated that reanimated corpses are normal, but they didn't say anything about corpses coming back to life!"

"Is the person who came back to life this morning truly still himself?" Meng Jingzhou's eyes widened. "Are you saying... one of the peddlers was already dead, but his companion didn't realize it?" Lu Yang nodded, "Exactly!"

Meng Jingzhou's scalp tingled. Seeing the bustling streets earlier, he had thought not many people had been harmed. Now, it seemed there might have been many living dead wandering the streets in broad daylight!

Violent knocking resumed, this time at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's door. "Help! Quick, save me! The waiter is going to kill me!" "Open the door! Open it now!" "Please, have mercy and save me! I can give you gold, spirit stones, even the location of ancient ruins!" "Don't kill me—"

Then came the dull thud of an ax burying into flesh and hitting bone, accompanied by the peddler's screams. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged a glance. Both decided not to open the door; there had clearly been silence from the opposite room just moments ago, so this renewed plea for help felt utterly wrong—strange and bizarre.

Furthermore, Lu Yang had learned from the Immortal Fairy that the two peddlers were not good people, so there was no need to save them.

The peddler's voice faded, and the waiter's gentle knocking returned: "Guests, are you there? Please open the door?" "Guests, are you there? Please open the door!" "I told you two to open the door!" "Open the damn door for me!"

Just like the previous night, the knocking grew louder and louder, audible throughout the entire inn.

Whether due to the door's quality or a rule restriction, the waiter did not manage to force the door open. Lu Yang heard the waiter ascending the stairs, presumably returning directly to the 'Heavenly' room.

The monsters outside the window did not reappear; the night passed peacefully.

When they left the inn the next day at Sishi, Lu Yang noticed that the door opposite theirs had changed from brown to black. The two peddlers emerged from the room, chatting and laughing, and greeted Lu Yang with smiles.

Rule 16: After entering a black door, do not speak or eat anything inside.

Lu Yang's eyes narrowed. The two peddlers no longer seemed to need to follow the regular rules.

Meng Jingzhou couldn't help but ask, "Who was screaming for help last night?" The two peddlers looked genuinely puzzled: "Screaming for help? Who was screaming for help?"

Unsure of the peddlers' true situation, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou decided not to elaborate and quickly left.

During the day, they trailed the officers from a distance, observing that they ate only one meal a day, which always consisted of meat buns. Meng Jingzhou had once secretly taken a meat bun; upon opening it, he saw not only meat but also what appeared to be fingernails and hair.

After eating, the officers would walk through the streets, herding the crowd like ducks. Any unlucky person who accidentally turned their head would instantly die a horrific death and then reanimate.

"Did you notice? The officers patrolled the entire town, but they never went near the private school!"

Lu Yang unrolled a map he had drawn while exploring the town yesterday. It marked the carriage crash site, the inn, the private school, the tailor shop, the pharmacy, and the government office. The map was, to say the least, poorly drawn, but the good news was he could understand his own work.

"It seems they don't all follow the same rules, and they're not a unified front!" Meng Jingzhou chuckled, seeing this as good news and considering how to use it.

As they walked down the street, they noticed figures flitting inside the thatched huts through the paper windows.

The rules stated that one could not return to a thatched hut or the inn before Xushi. So, what could the figures inside the thatched huts be?

"It seems this town has many more rules we don't know about."

Different identities had to follow different rules. Lu Yang thought that ancient cultivators at the Integration stage must have been incredibly bored.

"Immortal Fairy, can you see what's happening outside? How is my master doing in the fight?" The Immortal Fairy clicked her tongue in amazement: "Your master has a deep understanding of the sword path; he's holding his own against four opponents." Lu Yang nodded, feeling reassured.

The two returned to the inn. Lu Yang wrote a line on a slip of paper and handed it to the innkeeper: "Are you from outside?" Meng Jingzhou watched, understanding Lu Yang's intention. The rules stated that locals couldn't reveal information about the town to outsiders, but the innkeeper could, implying he wasn't a local.

The innkeeper, surprised by Lu Yang's question, wrote "Yes." Lu Yang wrote: "Are you a normal person or a cultivator?" The owner wrote: "Ninth-level Qi Condensation." Lu Yang wrote: "How did you become the innkeeper?" The owner wrote: "I cannot say." Lu Yang wrote: "Do you have to follow different rules from us? What are the specific rules?" The owner wrote: "I follow the rules of the Commoner Town Inn. I cannot tell you the specific rules."

Lu Yang then wrote: "Do you want to leave?" The owner's right hand trembled as he wrote: "Yes."

Lu Yang took out his identity jade token: "We are disciples of Wen Dao Sect, we stumbled in here by mistake, and we also want to leave." Upon learning they were Wen Dao Sect disciples, the owner became even more agitated, writing with a trembling hand: "What do you need?"

Lu Yang wrote: "Take off your white clothes." The innkeeper was first stunned by Lu Yang's request, not expecting such a demand. His rules stipulated that he should fulfill guest requests as much as possible, excluding those that violated ethics, but they didn't mention anything about not being able to take off clothes.

The innkeeper took off his white clothes and handed them to Lu Yang. Lu Yang took the clothes, then he and Meng Jingzhou returned to their room.

"They've been knocking on our door for two days, now it's our turn!" Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou smiled coldly.