The empty city was destroyed (7)
Seeing Ye Yingying hesitate, Shaoling encouraged her, "It's alright, at worst we can work for the shopkeeper to pay off the debt when he remembers."
Shao Ling's eyes were sincere, and he didn't seem to realize he was doing anything immoral. Coupled with his unwavering tone, Ye Yingying felt that this guy might be a habitual offender who did this kind of thing.
But given the current special circumstances, his suggestion is indeed a possible solution.
Ye Yingying straightened up and walked towards the innkeeper. The innkeeper was a simply dressed middle-aged man with a shallow scar on his left cheek. He had sharp eyes and eyebrows, and looked more like a man who had been through the wringer than someone who worked with an abacus.
Judging from his appearance, you really can't tell he's kind-hearted.
Just as Ye Yingying was wondering what was going on, the shopkeeper suddenly looked up at her with a friendly smile on his face: "What can I do for you, sir?"
"Give me one... no, give me four rooms."
Ye Yingying stared at the shopkeeper nervously, afraid that he would ask her for money.
To everyone's surprise, the shopkeeper, just as Shaoling had said, agreed to her request without asking for a single penny and turned to fetch the key hanging on the wall.
Wow, that's amazing! Ye Yingying was astonished as she watched the shopkeeper hand her the key.
"Please keep this key safe, sir. Once it's lost, you won't get another one."
The shopkeeper even thoughtfully reminded her to take good care of it.
Now she believed that the shopkeeper was truly kind.
Ye Yingying took the key and was about to leave when the innkeeper called out to her, "Don't rush, sir. I'll have someone take you to your room."
After saying that, he looked around and suddenly saw a figure walking in. He immediately waved and said, "Girl, quickly take the guest upstairs to see the room!"
"Okay!"
As soon as she finished speaking, two more familiar voices rang in Ye Yingying's ears.
"I don't think they would come to a place like this."
"Let's take a look first, and if it's not right, then we'll go."
Ye Yingying looked in the direction of the sound and found that behind the long-braided girl who had just lured her to the shop, there were two young men, one tall and one short, who were Zhao Yuxiao and Wu Yue!
The three people's eyes met, all surprised.
"Miss Ying'er, you're here too!" Zhao Yuxiao grinned, then turned to Wu Yue and boasted, "I told you I made the right choice coming!"
Wu Yue didn't speak, but just snorted disdainfully.
"Perfect timing! Let's go upstairs together!" Ye Yingying waved the keys in her hand at the two of them. "Oh, by the way, I met someone new..."
She turned and waved to Shao Ling, who smiled and nodded in response.
"What's going on?" Wu Yue also noticed the unfamiliar man and frowned. "Is he like us?"
“Exactly.” Ye Yingying nodded, then called out to Shaoling, “Brother Shaoling, let’s go upstairs first, and we’ll come find you later!”
"Alright, Miss Ye, you can go ahead with your business. Don't worry about me!"
So the three of them followed the girl with the long braid upstairs to the guest room. After the girl left, they closed the door and looked at each other.
Finally, Wu Yue spoke first: "Tell me, what's the situation on your end?"
"I was brought here by that little girl and met the person downstairs. He called himself Shaoling and, like us, he came into this formation from the outside."
"Was that strange spiritual energy you sensed earlier coming from him?"
“It must be him,” Ye Yingying said seriously. “He has companions, we don’t know how many of them they are, but they are also here to find magical artifacts.”
Wu Yue frowned, her expression displeased: "So, aren't they the enemies?"
"You two seem to be getting along very well. What's going on? Have you become friends with him?"
Faced with her questioning, Ye Yingying calmly explained, "What are you talking about? We're all in the illusion array now. More people means more help. Why rush to draw a line?"
“Miss Ying’er is right. We can’t even use spiritual energy in this illusion array, so having more helpers is not a bad thing,” Zhao Yuxiao chimed in.
In a two-on-one situation, Wu Yue couldn't continue arguing. She pursed her lips in tacit agreement and then asked, "Did you get any clues from him?"
"Hmm... He told me that the innkeeper is kind-hearted, and that I didn't spend a single penny to book these four rooms before you arrived."
"..."
Ye Yingying spoke of taking advantage of others so naturally that the other two fell silent for a moment.
Young Master Zhao, in particular, blushed instantly and stammered, "This...this...is this alright?"
“Why not? Aren’t you still on credit with Qi Shuojun?” Ye Yingying retorted.
"That's because we're good friends, and he doesn't care about that little bit of money! But the innkeeper isn't familiar with us at all..."
"Alright, alright, we have to do it now, even if we don't want to. We don't have any local currency on us, and we need a place to stay for the night."
Wu Yue quickly accepted this fact and changed the subject: "Everyone here is talking about the Imperial Preceptor's Ritual. The Imperial Preceptor they're talking about must be Zhan Yan. We need to meet him."
“We’ve talked about this too, but we still haven’t figured out how to see Zhan Yan.” Ye Yingying lowered her eyes. “Besides, we don’t know where Yun Yanqiu is…”
Yun Yanqiu was still bound by the Witch Spirit Lock. Although he couldn't use his spiritual power within this illusion array, Ye Yingying was still worried that he might suddenly experience excruciating pain again. While she couldn't do anything about the lock, at least being able to stay by his side was good enough…
"What's there to worry about him? He's the one we don't have to worry about the most here."
"Senior Yun is so powerful, he'll definitely be fine."
“Let’s go directly to find Zhan Yan’s method. We’re sure to run into him on the way.” Wu Yue said, then pushed open the door and went out. “Oh, and bring that guy with the missing spirit too. Might as well use him.”
The three of them went downstairs, only to find that the tables and chairs in the lobby were empty, with only the innkeeper and the little girl with the long braid remaining. The young actress who had been sitting there earlier was nowhere to be seen.
"Are you looking for that guest from earlier?" the little girl asked, leaning closer.
Where did he go?
He said he was going to find his companions.
"He runs pretty fast." Wu Yue clicked her tongue and turned to look at Ye Yingying. "Indeed, we don't need to worry about him."
Ye Yingying shrugged awkwardly: "I can't stop him from finding his accomplices."
"Don't worry, everyone. He's also booked a room at our place and will definitely be back tonight," the innkeeper reassured them.
"How do you know?" Wu Yue asked, doubting his confident tone.
Before the innkeeper could explain, the girl with the long braid beside him interjected, "We're the only inn in the city that can accommodate out-of-towners, and besides, there's a curfew after midnight. If he doesn't come back on time, he'll be arrested by the jailers and sent to the convict's ward, and then he won't be able to come back!"
After saying that, the shopkeeper added, "Before he left, I explained the curfew to him. Please keep it in mind when you go out, and don't break the rules because of playing around, lest you bring disaster upon yourselves."
These words, coupled with the shopkeeper's serious face, were quite convincing, but the punishment sounded a bit too severe.
"Here, if you don't go home on time, you get beheaded?" Wu Yue couldn't help but frown and shrink her neck.
"Hey, don't be afraid, sir. This is the only rule in the city. There are no other taboos."
Upon hearing this, Ye Yingying quickly asked, "Then, shopkeeper, may I ask you if there is any way to meet the Imperial Advisor?"
"You want to see the Imperial Advisor?" The shopkeeper was slightly surprised. "The Imperial Advisor will be performing a ritual in the palace square at sunset the day after tomorrow, and you will be able to see him then."
"I know that, but I'd like to speak to him face-to-face. Is there any way to do that?"
"The Imperial Preceptor doesn't receive guests alone during celebrations." The girl with the long braid tilted her head, looking at Ye Yingying with curiosity. "What are you planning to do?"
Seeing that she was a little wary, Ye Yingying had no choice but to change the subject: "It's nothing, I just heard that he is very capable, and I thought if I could chat with him for a bit, I could brag about it to others when I got back."
"Ugh... How superficial." The girl with the long braid looked disdainful.
"Ahem!" The shopkeeper coughed heavily twice and said sternly, "Yun girl, how dare you speak to a customer like that?"
Then he bowed to Ye Yingying and the others and apologized: "I have not disciplined him properly. This child is used to being wild and has no sense of propriety when speaking to guests. I hope you will forgive him."
"As compensation, all of you can eat and drink at the shop for the next few days free of charge. What do you all think?"
Goodness, no room fee, no food or drinks, it's really free, no money spent at all.
This made Ye Yingying feel embarrassed, and she waved her hand repeatedly to decline, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing, why bother arguing with a child."
"Hey, but..." The innkeeper wanted to say something more, but Ye Yingying's conscience couldn't take it anymore, so she quickly pulled Wu Yue and Zhao Yuxiao out of the inn.
The three walked onto the street, and Wu Yue couldn't help but complain, "Is this shopkeeper really in business? I have a feeling there's something fishy going on."
"Have we walked into a shady business?"
"Really? Why do I think the innkeeper seems quite friendly?" Zhao Yuxiao scratched his head blankly, completely unaware that there was any ill intent behind the free food and lodging.
"I think you're a complete idiot, just the right person for them to fleece." Wu Yue couldn't help but roll her eyes again.
"Alright, let's ask around on the street again and see if there really is such a thing as a curfew."
It was midday, and the sun was even hotter than before. The heatwave swept across the land, distorting the distant scenery. Pedestrians on the street could not bear the heat and sought refuge in the stalls along the roadside to cool off.
The shady spot instantly filled with people. Those who were lucky enough to order a bowl of tea and sit and chat could do so, while those who were unlucky simply squatted on the ground and pulled up their collars to cool off.
Ye Yingying and the others were also affected by the heat, so they had to roll up their sleeves and slip into the cool ground to cool off.
"Why is it so hot today? Isn't it already autumn?" At the stalls, bored people talked about the unusual weather.
"Who knows what Tian is thinking? Didn't the Imperial Advisor just perform a sacrificial ceremony this morning?"
"It doesn't matter. The Imperial Advisor is all-powerful and will surely pray for rain for us."
"Yes, yes, as long as we are sincere, that's enough."
The mere mention of the Imperial Advisor caused an immediate stir among those present.
Everyone closed their eyes, placed their hands together over their hearts, bowed slightly, and all assumed a prayerful posture facing the palace.
Ye Yingying was taken aback by this sudden change. She looked at Wu Yue and found that the other was even more shocked than she was.
“How could this be…” Wu Yue stared wide-eyed in horror at the crowd of people bowing around her.
The gestures these people made while bowing were clearly the same ones used by the shamanic tribe during their sacrificial rites to declare their sincerity and unwavering resolve.
"He really is a member of the Witch Clan..."
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