The smile on the man’s face had just returned, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold, menacing gaze. “Who exactly are you? How do you know these things?”
Li Tan naturally knew because of his spiritual power, but he had neither the intention nor the interest to explain everything truthfully. He replied indifferently, “Who I am has nothing to do with you. How I learned these things is also none of your business.”
The man silently sized up Li Tan, probably trying to guess his cultivation level, but he couldn’t detect anything. However, since Li Tan didn’t seem very old, the man vaguely guessed he was a cultivator at the Houtian stage.
“If that’s the case, let’s skip the pleasantries. Tell me, what do you want?”
Li Tan coldly examined the three people in the kitchen. “There are too many bad people in Jiuzhou, like pests that can’t be completely eradicated. However, when I encounter them, I have no reason to stand idly by. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll destroy your own cultivation and manage this inn honestly. I won’t pursue what happened before.”
“Young fellow, forgive when you can. Let me tell you the truth, we dare to run a business here because we have more than just strength on our side.”
The man’s meaning was easy to understand—his group had certain connections with the local orthodox organization.
Some people, because of their interests, turned a blind eye to their actions or even covered for them.
Li Tan was completely unimpressed by the threat in the man’s words and said expressionlessly, “You still have one minute to consider.”
As soon as he spoke, the man’s face turned completely dark. He said heavily, “You refuse the good wine and insist on drinking the punishment wine. Don’t you really think we three are soft targets?”
“Twenty seconds left.”
Li Tan still seemed indifferent.
“Hmph, kid, you’ll regret your actions. I want to see what capital you have for acting so arrogantly.”
As soon as the man finished speaking, he suddenly flicked a dart out from his sleeve.
This kind of sudden attack was extremely difficult to react to. The man sneered contemptuously, as if he could already see the regret on Li Tan’s face after being hit.
However, his little trick was childish in Li Tan’s eyes. Without even moving, Li Tan simply raised his hand and effortlessly caught the swiftly approaching projectile between two fingers.
Then—
Whoosh! An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Li Tan directly threw the dart back at the man. The man failed to catch it, so the dart accurately struck his heart.
Thud! In an instant, the man collapsed to the ground.
“Twenty seconds left.”
Li Tan acted as if nothing had happened, as if he had just killed a chicken.
The remaining two were completely stunned, their will to fight gone. They both covered their lower abdomens with their hands, then forcefully circulated their spiritual energy to destroy their own dantians.
“Remember to serve the dishes properly, and I want normal ingredients.”
Li Tan spoke as if he had just chatted with them for a while, then calmly walked out of the kitchen.
As soon as the door was closed, a sound of something crashing to the ground came from inside.
In the long run, Li Tan’s actions made this area much safer. Missing persons cases almost ceased to occur. In the short term, however, it caused that day’s dinner to be served more than an hour late.
Quickly, dawn arrived. Li Tan and his group continued on their journey, and nothing else happened along the way. Two hours later, they safely arrived at the city closest to Feiyu Sect—Sushui.
As soon as the carriage reached the city gate, Li Tan’s ears were immediately filled with all sorts of sounds. He lifted the curtain and looked outside. The streets were bustling with people, and the city gate was completely blocked. At this moment, perhaps only birds could get through.
Normally, it wouldn’t be this crowded. The main reason was the recruitment event of Feiyu Sect drawing people in.
These people weren’t necessarily all here for the trials; merchants and ordinary townsfolk from surrounding cities had also deliberately come to see the spectacle and catch a glimpse of the “immortals.”
“Brother Li Tan, it’s so lively here!”
Li Jiaying lifted the curtain and looked outside, her big eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Let’s go down and have some fun!”
Li Jiaying turned around and looked at Li Tan with anticipation.
“Be a good girl, Jiaying. We’ll come back another time. Right now, we need to find a place to stay first, or we’ll be sleeping on the streets tonight.”
“Brother…” “…Okay, let’s play a little…” “…Just for a while.” Li Tan sighed helplessly and nodded. Immediately, Li Jiaying jumped off the carriage like a fish diving into water, full of joy.
Li Tan followed behind her. At first, his hands were empty, but soon he was carrying two large bags full of various items—masks, clay figurines, and more.
At noon, half the day had passed. The originally spacious carriage was now completely filled with the things Li Jiaying had bought, and they resumed their search for accommodation.
Li Tan and his group quickly found a rather upscale inn on a bustling street, but it was already full. They searched for many others, but all were booked. Eventually, they found one, but there was only enough space for nine people. Li Tan arranged for Li Hantian and the others to stay there first, while he and Li Jiaying continued searching.
Actually, he wanted to leave Li Jiaying there, but the girl stubbornly refused.
On the bluestone road—
“Please don’t tell me we’re really going to sleep on the street tonight?”
Li Jiaying asked worriedly.
Li Tan gave her a sidelong glance and said, “It’s your own fault.”
Li Jiaying blushed and playfully stuck her tongue out.
Li Tan shook his head with a faint smile, without any trace of blame. Anyway, sleeping on the street wasn’t the first time for him. There had been times when he was being chased and couldn’t even sleep on the streets.
But their luck was pretty good. After circling around Sushui City for quite a while, they finally found a small inn on a relatively secluded street.
Standing in front of the inn, Li Tan, leading the way, thought with slight amusement, “Why does it always end up in a place with almost no people? Could this be another black inn like yesterday’s?”
But although he thought that, this was still within the city, where the city lord’s mansion maintained order, so such situations shouldn’t exist. He used his spiritual sense to scan, and the innkeeper was indeed an ordinary person.
“We’ll stay here tonight.”
After greeting the innkeeper, Li Tan led Li Jiaying inside. The innkeeper, apparently surprised to actually have guests, warmly welcomed them.
“Two people, how about five silver coins?”
The innkeeper wore a face full of eagerness and smiled.
Li Tan nodded. “Fine. Please prepare a room for us and get us something to eat.”
“Right away, please wait a moment.”
The innkeeper said and hurried to the back.
But suddenly, a loud shout came from the entrance: “Wait!”
The innkeeper turned around and saw that a dozen or so elegantly dressed youths had appeared at the door. Among these youths was an old man with white beard. They were also here from other places to participate in Feiyu Sect’s recruitment trials.
“Ah, gentlemen, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?”
The innkeeper bowed nervously and asked.
A youth with a scar on his left cheek glared at him and snapped, “Obviously to stay.”
The innkeeper hurriedly counted their numbers and hesitated, pointing at Li Tan and saying apologetically, “The rooms have already been taken by that gentleman, so there’s not enough space for all of you.”
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