Goose City, Tongful Inn.

"Dear guest, we really don't have any rooms left," the innkeeper said helplessly. "All our guest rooms are full. I had to offer a silver incentive to persuade two guests to share a room just to free up a single one for your group. The only other place to sleep is the large communal sleeping area in the main hall."

Manager Xu drew a sharp breath. He glanced at Li Ang and the others behind him from the corner of his eye. Gritting his teeth, he took some silver pieces from his sleeve and placed them in the innkeeper's hand. "Brother, please do me a favor and talk to the guests upstairs again."

"You'd be doing me a favor too, brother. If I go upstairs again, I'm afraid I'll be chased out," the innkeeper said with a forced smile, returning the silver pieces to Manager Xu's hand. "If it really doesn't work out, I won't charge you for your stay."

This... Manager Xu scratched his head, clearly frustrated. "Damn it, there are only three inns in this city, and they're all fully booked!"

Li Ang interjected, "Why are there so many people?"

"You haven't heard, guest?" The innkeeper spread his hands. "In a few days, Lvzhou City will welcome an Auspicious Beast, and many devout men and women are going there to witness it."

"Auspicious Beast?" Yang Er asked in confusion. "What's that? It's not a pig with golden wings, is it?"

Before the innkeeper could answer, a merchant at a nearby table interjected, "Of course not.

"The last county magistrate who dared to present a golden pig as an Auspicious Beast, trying to deceive the Emperor and dupe his superiors, had long ago been exiled to Cliff State to feed the fish.

"This time, the Auspicious Beast is the real deal.

"It's said that Annam captured a marvelous and rare creature that speaks human language, understands numerology, is adept in shamanistic divination and Buddhist rituals, and comprehends yin and yang. They specifically dispatched a diplomatic corps to bring it to the capital, ready to present it to His Majesty.

"The Annam Diplomatic Corps happens to be passing through Lvzhou City."

Yang Er was somewhat skeptical. "Really?"

"Whether it's real or not, where there are people, there's business." The merchant shook his head with a bitter smile. "Unfortunately, I arrived a few days too late and couldn't even book an inn room. Tonight, I'll have to squeeze into the communal sleeping area."

Upon hearing this, Manager Xu winced, then turned to Li Ang and said quietly, "Taoist priest, perhaps I should send someone to inform the magistrate at the County Government? I've heard the magistrate of Goose City enjoys associating with accomplished Cultivators. If he knew a Cultivator like you was here, surely he would..."

"No need." Li Ang shook his head. He wasn't carrying any official credentials, and getting involved with government officials before reaching Lvzhou City would only bring unnecessary trouble. "Let's just stay here for the night. The room that was freed up can be given to the women and Haier Scholar."

The innkeeper nodded. "Mhm, I'll go and arrange that."

Manager Xu still seemed reluctant, but since Li Ang had agreed, he felt it wasn't his place to object further and could only mutter under his breath, "But we're a reputable large trading company..."

As night fell, the women accompanying the merchant caravan rested in a room on the second floor. A young Waiter at Tongful Inn piled all the benches from the main hall into an adjoining room, then pushed more than a dozen tables together in a corner of the main hall. He then laid bedding over them, hastily creating a large communal sleeping platform for the guests without rooms to squeeze into.

Li Ang, Wanli Fengdao, and Xing Hechou, all rough men, weren't particular about their living conditions. After all, they had endured far worse conditions during script missions; just having a place to sleep was good enough.

「At night」

The inn's main hall filled with the sound of snoring. The merchant who had chatted with Li Ang's group during the day tossed and turned. He felt something sharp under his bedding poking his back, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Just as he was about to quietly get out of bed and lift his bedding to see if a nail was poking him, the traveler sleeping beside him turned over with a snore.

Then, the merchant faintly smelled an unusual fragrance. The scent was elusive and sweetly fragrant, like sugar or honey.

For a moment, the merchant felt as if he were floating on clouds; his head grew heavy, his eyelids drooped, and he drifted into a stupor.

When he woke again, he was still curled up in his bedding, but a pillow was now pressed heavily onto his face.

? ! ? !

A suffocating sensation rushed over the merchant. Terrified, he struggled frantically. However, his hands and feet seemed to be bound tightly with ropes. He struggled, but all his efforts to break free were in vain. He tried to shout, but a pair of large hands under the heavy pillow firmly covered his mouth. He could only manage a low, faint "MMPH MMPH" sound.

A crooked inn? Have I run into bandits?

A torrent of thoughts flooded the merchant's mind. As the suffocation intensified, these thoughts dissolved into unwillingness, confusion, and agony.

My parents, my wife, my children... Who will look after them...?

"COUGH!"

A muffled cough sounded, and the hands covering the merchant's mouth stiffened instantly.

"This inn's braised beef is truly amazing... Tastes pretty good..."

A young man's groggy voice mumbled from one side of the communal sleeping platform. The merchant immediately recognized it as the voice of the short-haired, black-robed Taoist priest from earlier that day.

Taoist priest, save me! he roared internally, struggling even more fiercely.

However, the hall was pitch-black; you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The "travelers" sleeping on either side of him were using all their strength to hold down his arms and legs, preventing any escape.

"Easy there, old timer, I'll just pull out your oxygen tube first..."

The young Taoist priest continued to talk nonsense in his sleep, completely unaware that the merchant on the other side of the communal platform was on the verge of tears.

"Esteemed contestant, what inspired you to grace the grand stage of The Voice? My legs..."

The young Taoist priest seemed to be telling lame jokes in his dream and even began to chuckle to himself, laughing "HEH HEH HEH" incessantly.

The ruffians flanking the merchant waited a moment. Confirming the Taoist priest hadn't awakened, they once again shoved the pillow down hard on the merchant's face.

"I say, can't you give a man a break? Is there really a need to be so ruthless?"

The Taoist priest's voice suddenly turned grave. Before the merchant could comprehend what was happening, an explosive ROAR echoed beside his ear.

The force pinning his limbs vanished instantly, and the quilt covering him was flung aside.

Li Ang, dressed in a white shirt, stood on the hall floor. He looked at the two ruffians sent flying by Fragment Scatter and sighed softly, "It's the middle of the night. Can't you just sleep peacefully?"

The explosive sound of Fragment Scatter was quite loud, startling not only the people sleeping in the communal area of the main hall but also the innkeeper and young Waiters sleeping in an adjacent room on the first floor.

Three Waiters, armed with long clubs and candles, rushed into the hall. They stared at Li Ang and the others in a standoff, their faces blank with confusion.

Only Xing Hechou and Wanli Fengdao remained asleep, their eyes closed.

"Taoist priest, what happened?" the guard Yang Er asked in a low voice.

Li Ang gestured with his chin towards the two ruffians. "These fellows likely had their eyes on this merchant's money and were planning to rob and murder him tonight."

"Murder?" Yang Er frowned, looking at the two sullen-faced travelers. "Are they insane? This inn is crowded, and the doors and windows are securely locked. If they murder someone tonight, they'll be wanted by the County Government by morning and swiftly apprehended."

"They merely employed a method to dismember and disperse the body," Li Ang said indifferently. "Several of them pretended not to know each other and checked into the inn together. When choosing beds, they surrounded the target. At night, they planned to use an unusual fragrance to drug the other people in the communal sleeping area. Afterwards, they would smother the merchant with a pillow. They would then use the cloth and lime they brought to wrap his hands and feet, dismember him with a knife, and cover up the bloodstains. Finally, they would stuff the body parts into their parcels. The next morning, each of them would leave the inn with a parcel containing different body parts, pretending nothing had happened."

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