Chapter 129: Stance Reversal

As the Hai Shi hour arrived, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were the only two guests in the entire inn.

The innkeeper came down from the third floor, carrying an axe. Blood, not yet coagulated, was still on the axe, dripping steadily. He did not know whose blood it was.

A smile played on his lips. Although he had stumbled into the small town and was forced to abide by its rules, this rule was not without its opportunities—a chance to unleash his true nature.

He had forgotten how long he had been in Cloth Town and could no longer recall how many people he had killed.

These two were also lucky. Cloth Town was full of pitfalls, yet they hadn't fallen into any traps and had survived until now. The previous batches of guests hadn't been so fortunate; unfamiliar with the place, ignorant of the paths, and disbelieving of the rules, they were quickly annihilated.

There were ten 'Earth-tier' rooms, and the fact that nine of their doors had turned black was proof of this. And that didn't even include those foolish enough to stay in the 'Heaven-tier' rooms on the third floor.

The luck of these two newcomers was about to run out.

He decided to keep knocking on their door all night, until morning. Even if he couldn't kill them, he would torment them.

'Strange, the Earth-tier Room Four had its lights on for the past two days. Why are they off today?'

The innkeeper quickly understood the reason and sneered, 'You think I'll let you off just because of this? Naive.'

He adjusted his tone and gently knocked on the wooden door: 'Dear guests, please open the door. Perhaps there's been some misunderstanding between us.'

The innkeeper paused, then spoke again in a more calm and trustworthy voice: 'Dear guests, please open the door. Perhaps there's been some misunderstanding between us.'

As usual, there was no reply.

Suddenly, a hand appeared from nowhere and grabbed his ankle.

'Who's there!'

He abruptly looked down and saw that at some point, a dog hole had opened in the wall below Earth-tier Room Four. A pale hand stretched out from the hole, gripping his ankle tightly.

The hand possessed extraordinary strength. With a powerful tug, it pulled him down.

Thud—

The innkeeper fell to the ground, and his axe flew to the side.

He desperately scrambled outwards, trying to break free, but the hand's grip was far stronger than he had imagined; he couldn't escape!

He was always the one pulling others; when had he ever been pulled himself!

He would die!

A ludicrous feeling arose within him! But how was this possible? He was the hunter; the guests were the prey!

'No, this is possible!' The innkeeper recalled the second rule.

From Hai Shi to Chen Shi, thatched cottages with closed doors and inn rooms with closed doors were absolutely safe. Anywhere else was dangerous.

Earth-tier Room Four was still closed. For guests, it was an absolutely safe place. If he were pulled into the room, his fate would undoubtedly be grim!

The innkeeper desperately dug his fingers into the floor, like prey halfway swallowed by a python, trying to escape to salvation. He cried out with all his might, 'Help! Help! Save me!'

His cries were sincere and desperate.

Unfortunately, no one came to his rescue.

The rules of Cloth Town Inn contained no clause about saving the innkeeper.

When more than half of his body had been pulled inside, he pressed both hands firmly against the side walls and exerted tremendous force, finally breaking free from the restraint.

The innkeeper didn't bother picking up his axe and limped back to his Heaven-tier room.

'You let him get away?' Meng Jingzhou said, a little helpless. The other party's strength was surprisingly great; he had crushed the opponent's ankle but still couldn't hold him.

The two of them decided they had to deal with the annoying innkeeper today, no matter what. He kept banging on doors late at night instead of sleeping.

He should have gone out and asked around. When have two respectable sect leaders of the Demonic Cult ever been subjected to such bullying?!

After two days of observation, the two had understood the inn's rules and quickly formulated a plan.

Lu Yang first used his Azure Edge Sword and, comparing it to the innkeeper's size, dug a hole in the wall below.

By using the rule 'closed rooms are safe,' they ensured that even if they pulled the innkeeper inside, they wouldn't be harmed by him. The initiative remained with them.

'Prey with some fight in it is much more interesting!' A cruel smile played on Lu Yang's lips, and his chilling voice echoed through the room.

Two dark figures emerged from Earth-tier Room Four. One carried a sword, the other was empty-handed. The empty-handed one picked up the fallen axe.

The sword tip scraped across the ground, making an irregular scraping sound. Blood dripped from the axe, making a soft pattering sound.

The two dark figures, armed with bloodied weapons, roamed the inn.

Second floor... nothing. Then he must be on the third floor.

The third floor had four rooms in total, all Heaven-tier.

The dark figure with the sword knocked on a door, his voice mild: 'We heard there's free dinner here. We're hungry and would like to eat. Please open the door.'

Seeing no movement from Heaven-tier Room One, Lu Yang grew impatient and pounded hard on the door: 'Open up! We want to eat! What kind of service is this?!'

'There's been a misunderstanding between us. Open the door, and let's talk properly!'

'Open up! Open up quickly! If you don't open up, I'll smash the door down!'

The knocking was so loud it could be heard throughout the entire inn.

Lu Yang kicked open Heaven-tier Room One. It was empty. He tried to enter, but was blocked by an unseen force and couldn't get in.

Rule Five: Heaven-tier rooms cannot be entered.

The innkeeper, hiding in one of the rooms, trembled as he heard the commotion next door.

'No, don't be afraid. The rules say Heaven-tier rooms cannot be entered. They can't come in, they can't come in.' The innkeeper repeated that they couldn't enter, though his heart was filled with uncertainty.

Heaven-tier Rooms Two and Three were both kicked open by Lu Yang, but there was no sign of the innkeeper.

'Then it must be Heaven-tier Room Four!'

Without hesitation, Lu Yang kicked it open directly. Sure enough, he saw the innkeeper cowering in a ball in the darkness.

'Come out! I'll spare your life!' Meng Jingzhou threatened with a harsh and severe tone.

Seeing Meng Jingzhou's bluff, the innkeeper felt relieved and burst into laughter: 'Haha, it seems you also have to follow the rules!'

Only he could decide who entered or didn't enter a Heaven-tier room. Furthermore, inside a Heaven-tier room, he held absolute advantage; no one could harm him!

Just as the innkeeper was wondering whether to pull the two inside, Lu Yang unhurriedly took a wooden plaque from behind him. Upon seeing it, the innkeeper's face twisted into an expression of utter horror.

The plaque read: Earth-tier Room Four.

Lu Yang had anticipated this situation. He had tried replacing the nameplate of Earth-tier Room Three with that of Earth-tier Room Four. The black door of Earth-tier Room Three had then turned brown, proving it had become 'Earth-tier Room Four'.

This method was viable.

Lu Yang replaced the nameplate of Heaven-tier Room Four with that of Earth-tier Room Four. The barrier disappeared, and they could now enter directly.

One carried a sword, the other an axe. Both had terrifying smiles on their faces.

Under the innkeeper's horrified gaze, the two entered the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.

Now, this was Earth-tier Room Four. For them, it was absolutely safe.

Lu Yang kicked the innkeeper over, then severed his hand and foot tendons to prevent escape.

Meng Jingzhou gave him two hard slaps across the face, as interest for all the fright he had caused.

Next, the two dressed him in white clothes.

'Tell us, what do you know!'

Rule Seventeen: Do not easily trust strangers. People dressed in white clothes speak only the truth.