Chapter 402: Chapter 401 Black Shop_1

The carriage trudged along slowly on the official road. The road had not been maintained for many years, and it had grown bumpy and uneven. However, Old horse made light work of the uneven road, moving so smoothly that the two passengers in the carriage felt not the slightest bit of bumpiness.

“We are in Wild State now.” Lu Yang unfolded the map. On the map was a shiny mark representing their location, which was a magic artifact that could roughly show where they were. It was an essential artifact for travel.

“It’s getting dark. Let’s look for a place to rest nearby.” Meng Jingzhou didn’t see the need to hurry along the road now that it was nearing nightfall and they were in the Wild State.

“Hey, look, there’s an inn here. We can stay there!” Meng Jingzhou spotted an inn not far off. The signboard was hanging precariously, and the name of the inn was hardly visible. The quality of the inn seemed questionable.

Lu Yang looked at the inn suspiciously. It was eerie, as if a gust of wind could easily blow it down.

“We’ll have to make do. It’s better than spending the night in the carriage,” Lu Yang comforted himself.

Two men and a horse arrived at the entrance of the inn. The doors were wide open, revealing utter darkness within. There was no one in sight, and the place appeared to have been abandoned for a long time.

Only then did the two men make out the name of the inn—Qingming Inn.

“That’s not a very auspicious name, huh. Is this place out of business or still operating?” Muttered Meng Jingzhou before stepping in and bellowing, “Is anyone there? We’d like to stay the night!”

There was no response.

Meng Jingzhou shouted again: “Anyone there? We want to stay the night!”

There came a thump from the counter, as though a body had just fallen onto the ground. The sound was dreadfully muffled.

“Who’s that making a racket? Don’t you understand the basic manners of staying at an inn?” A man wearing a white paper hat grumbled as he crawled out from behind the counter, glaring at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

“We’d like to stay the night. Give us two of the best rooms!” Meng Jingzhou had a rule of only staying in the best places wherever he went.

“Both of you are here to stay?” The man in the paper hat looked at them incredulously, stretching his neck to look behind them and finding no one following them.

“Get lost, stop causing trouble. This is not a place for you. Go find somewhere else to stay,” The man in the paper hat shooed them away impatiently.

Meng Jingzhou was stumped. He had stayed in many inns before, but this was the first time he had been refused accommodation.

“Your inn is fully booked?”

“We still have half of the rooms vacant.”

“Then why won’t you let us stay?”

The man in the white paper hat, noting that the two men genuinely didn’t understand the situation, was about to explain, but then there was a commotion upstairs.

Thump——Thump——Thump——

There was a rhythmic, unvarying pattern of footsteps from upstairs that was enough to make one’s heart race.

A cultivator in a daoist robe descended from the second floor, followed by a group of individuals shrouded in black cloth. Silent and eerie, they appeared particularly frightful in the pitch black of the night.

The mere number of people covered in black cloth made Lu Yang and the others doubt if there were adequate rooms upstairs to accommodate so many people, especially since the man in the white paper hat had mentioned they still had a handful of vacant rooms.

Could it be that more than a dozen people were staying in the same room?

How would they fit? Were they supposed to sleep while leaning against the wall?

“Buddy, I’m checking out. This is the worst Qingming Inn I’ve ever stayed in.” The cultivator in the daoist robe tossed a string of copper coins to the man with the paper hat. The coins were an unfamiliar design to the two of them. There was also faint fluctuation of magical power coming from the coins as if they had a special purpose.

The man with the paper hat chuckled and did not respond; he was more than content as long as he got paid.

Lu Yang was puzzled. It was already nightfall, so why would they check out at this hour?

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were taken aback when they got a clear view of the people enveloped in black cloth.

The eyes of the people wrapped in black cloth were dull, and some of them had mud and grass in their mouths and noses. Some of them were disfigured, as if struck by something. Some others looked withered and old, reduced to skin and bones.

“Drowned, cause of death blunt force, natural death… These are all corpses!”

“Corpse-driving technique?!”

No wonder they checked out as soon as it got dark. Rest during the day and drive corpses at night, just as the books had described.

The two of them didn’t expect to encounter the famed corpse-driving technique as soon as they entered the Wild State.

After the man in the paper hat pocketed the copper coins, he glanced at them: “This is an inn for corpses, offering lodging for corpse-drivers. The rooms are all for the dead. If you don’t mind, you can stay here.”

The two of them twitched at the corners of their eyes. Staying in a room meant for the dead was somewhat disconcerting.

“That man just now, was he able to use the corpse-driving technique? Is he from the Corpse Chasing Sect?” Lu Yang asked. If he was from the Corpse Chasing Sect, they could have a chat with him.

The man in the white paper hat shook his head: “You two are not locals, are you? I always wondered why Qingming Inn became a chain brand in the Wild State, why did the living come to know about our inn and stay here.”

“We are from Yunzhou.”

The man in the paper hat seemed to understand: “Ah, the big central state. No wonder. I’ve heard that you even have Seek Dao Sect, one of the Five Great Immortal Sects. Due to this, Yunzhou is also incredibly prosperous, with well-developed transportation, thriving economy, and countless powerful figures.”

He corrected them: “Not only the Corpse Chasing Sect, but many freelance cultivators in the countryside are also able to use the corpse-driving technique. It’s just that they aren’t as solemn as the Corpse Chasing Sect. In our Wild State, no matter if they are freelance corpse-drivers or disciples of the Corpse Chasing Sect, they are all collectively referred to as corpse-drivers. Their transactions also aren’t done in Spirit Stones but in the form of Big Copper Magic Coins.”

The man in the paper hat waved a string of copper coins in his hand: “Like this.”

After thanking the man in the paper hat, they decided to find another inn.

As they left Qingming Inn, Lu Yang noticed a sign lying face down at the inn’s entrance. Wanting to help, he picked it up for them.

On the sign were the words: Due to a change in business strategy, this branch has moved 20 miles east of Baiquan Town. We apologize for any inconveniences caused.

The date of the notice was five years ago.

“What?!”

They both snapped their heads up, staring at Qingming Inn in shock, as a chill crept up their spines.

The real Qingming Inn had relocated, so who did they just see?

They rushed back into the compound, but it was empty. The man in the white paper hat was nowhere to be seen.

“Was that man a human or a ghost?”

They were horrified. From start to finish, they hadn’t sensed anything unusual about the man with the paper hat. Even when facing Meng Jingzhou, who had a pure Yang body, the man in the white paper hat had no reaction at all. How high could his cultivation level be? Was he the King of Ghosts?

“Go!”

On a decisive command, a group of cultivators dressed as constables emerged from all directions, rushing into the inn.

“Damn it, he got away!”

The man leading the group had a thick, bushy beard all over his face. He was displeased at not finding the man with the paper hat inside the inn.

“Sir, may I ask what’s going on?” Lu Yang asked politely.

Seeing that Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had just exited from the inn, the bearded constable knew they weren’t suspicious subjects. He explained,

“This Qingming Inn has been abandoned for five years, but during these years, there have been people who claimed to have stayed here. They thought it was haunted and reported to us. After our secret investigations and matching testimonies, we finally knew what was going on.”

“A man wearing a white paper hat was pretending to be the innkeeper and acting as if this place was still in operation, letting corpse-drivers in and earning money through this.”

“As the corpses don’t mind where they stay and can withstand rough conditions, the corpse-drivers tolerated this for a while. However, one of them couldn’t stand the unbearable condition of the Qingming Inn anymore and lodged a complaint with the headquarters of Qingming Inn. The headquarters were taken aback as this branch had already closed down. That was when they discovered the case.”

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“When we figured out the truth, we decided to lay low and wait for the man in the paper hat to appear. But unfortunately, he managed to escape!”

Lu Yang: “…”

Even this kind of thing is possible in the Wild State to make money?