Chapter 135: The Pharmacy
Chapter 135: The Pharmacy
Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii
"How many dangerous people are in the inn?" Lu Yang first sought to ascertain the source of threat in the inn, whether it was just the waiter.
The waiter in white clothes trembled as he extended two fingers, "Tw-two."
"Who?"
"You two."
Meng Jingzhou advanced with a kick: "Keep it straight!"
The waiter, helpless, confessed that in his white clothes he could not lie; indeed, the two of them were the most dangerous in the inn.
Lu Yang rephrased his question: "To ordinary people, how many dangerous individuals are in the inn?"
"Just me," the waiter truthfully answered.
"Who is stronger, you or the innkeeper?"
"I am stronger, but we must follow different rules. He can naturally suppress me."
"Is your strength the same in the rooms marked with heaven as it is elsewhere?"
"No, based on the rules, my strength in the rooms marked with heaven is greater."
"Are there others like you who have different strengths in different places?"
"Yes, for example, the entities in the thatched cottages during the day. They are strong within the cottages and can freely move between them, but once they leave, their strength becomes no different from that of ordinary people, and they lose their ability to move through spaces. However, I don't know exactly what those entities are."
"Anything else, like the enforcers in black or the private school teacher in grey, do they have enhanced strength?"
"No, but they were cultivators to begin with, so they are much stronger than ordinary people."
"What's the relationship between the enforcers and the private school teacher?"
"I guess it's not good, there might be competition. Like me and the enforcers, we need to kill a certain number of people to leave the town. I'm not sure about the specifics on the private school teacher's side, but the requirements are probably the same."
"Do you know where the town chief is?"
"I heard he's in the official residence, but I've never seen him come out."
"How can the town chief be killed?"
"I don't know."
"What are the town chief's powers and abilities?"
"I don't know."
"Where is the ancestral hall?"
"The ancestral hall cannot be found during the day; it only appears at the hour of Hai." The waiter answered all questions, appearing quite honest.
The information provided by the waiter aligned with what Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had speculated, with little discrepancy.
Having no further questions, Lu Yang acted, removing the waiter's white clothes before piercing his body with a sword, ending his life.
As helmsmen of a demonic sect, they believed in leaving no survivors.
"Lucky you took it off earlier, or the white clothes would have been stained," Meng Jingzhou stretched, "Finally, we can have a peaceful sleep."
Lu Yang felt similarly, content with the night's achievements and glad for the absence of annoying knocking.
They searched the waiter and found the inn rules, but having already deciphered them, this was of little use.
"Our rules disappeared after one reading, and if not for our good memory, we would've forgotten them by now. They can keep a copy of the rules to ensure they remember correctly; it seems the waiter and his kind are treated quite differently from us."
On the third day at the hour of Si, the night watchman's call woke them up, and they yawned, feeling refreshed from a good sleep.
The innkeeper, hearing the commotion and the waiter's cries for help last night, decided to check on him in the morning.
Seeing the waiter's gruesome death, he remained silent for a long while.
Are these two really from the righteous path?
Leaving the inn, Lu Yang left a note for the innkeeper: "The white clothes worked well, we'll borrow them for another two days."
Lu Yang did not notice the innkeeper's gaze filled with a trace of terror.
And that note, its tone, why did it sound so much like those domineering demon cultivators who refuse to pay their debts?
"That thing's pretty good, I'll borrow it for a bit, and I'll give it back once I'm done with it" kind of vibe.
"Must be my imagination?"
Clearly, the innkeeper knew very little about the Dao Seeking Sect.
For low-level cultivators like him, most of what they know about such a colossal entity as the Dao Seeking Sect comes from rumors.
And rumors, most of the time, are unreliable.
After leaving the inn, they found a pharmacy with a young apprentice in gray clothes greeting them warmly.
"What do you need, sirs? Did you hear a dog barking, or did you encounter a black dog?"
"If you heard barking, I have the right medicine for you."
The apprentice brought over a pot of bubbling red medicine, "This is made from cinnabar grass ground into powder and boiled for ten hours. After drinking this medicine, you will feel temporarily drowsy. Sleep it off, and the effect of the dog barking will be gone."
"If you encountered a black dog, then you must follow me quickly; otherwise, you'll soon be assimilated by the black dog."
"There's a well in the back of the pharmacy. You need to draw water from it yourself. As long as you drink the water you draw, you won't be assimilated by the black dog."
Meng Jingzhou wanted to say they were looking for the owner but was stopped by Lu Yang.
Meng Jingzhou understood Lu Yang's intent; there was no need to explain to the pharmacy apprentice, who is a stranger, and likely speaking falsehoods.
They sat comfortably, letting the apprentice show his anxiety and concern for them without saying a word.
About half an hour later, the apprentice went into the backyard, and the pharmacy owner in white clothes appeared.
"Did you encounter any trouble, or do you have any questions?" The pharmacy owner, an old man with a kind face, seemed trustworthy enough to share one's troubles with.
They remembered the rules, which stated they should not speak with the pharmacy owner.
Lu Yang handed the owner a note: We heard a dog barking, what should we do?
"You'll need two qian of Tongming grass, moisten with saliva, crush it, and use the pulp to plug your ears. Plug them for a quarter of an hour to negate the effect."
Lu Yang wrote again: We'll take four qian of Tongming grass. Also, what if we encounter a black dog?
"Encountering a black dog is troublesome. Those who see a black dog will involuntarily start barking. Once they bark, they'll be assimilated by the black dog."
"There's a solution, though. Sew your mouth shut with needle and thread, leaving no gaps, for half an hour. During this time, do not make any sound, and you won't be assimilated by the black dog."
Lu Yang listened carefully, then wrote: How do we leave the town?
"Leaving the town, that's even more troublesome. I even think it's impossible."
"There's a temple in the town with a half-naked Buddha statue blindfolded. Take the statue out of the temple, smash it, and a passage to the outside world will appear. However, there's a bone-disintegrating wind in the passage. The wind enters through the seven orifices and exits the same way. Between entering and exiting, the flesh dissolves, leaving only a skeleton. Death is certain, and no one can resist."
"This is the only way to leave the town."
Their hearts sank at such rules, clearly designed to prevent anyone from leaving.
Thinking about it, the ancient Unity Stage cultivators hidden here would definitely not allow their presence to be exposed.
(End of the chapter)