Chapter 231

Chapter 231

"Around an hour and a half after we each returned to our rooms."

Wu Yu even pinpointed a specific time.

Xie Yin Xue, who was enjoying the view outside from a window, paused momentarily. At that time, he was preoccupied with Bu Jiu Zhao and hadn't paid much attention to any noises outside their room. But he thought if it had been something significant, Bu Jiu Zhao would've alerted him... right?

Xie Yin Xue felt uncertain and a bit guilty.

Because a fleeting glance at his own fingers reminded him of the noises he hadn't been able to suppress the night before.

Thankfully, Chu Yi Yang intervened, "I heard a dog barking."

Xie Yin Xue's lowered eyelashes fluttered as he slowly lifted his gaze to Chu Yi Yang.

Chu Yi Yang stayed in Room Seven in the Human Wing, the closest participant to Xie Yin Xue and Bu Jiu Zhao's rooms except for Liu Bu Hua. Although the remark sounded slightly derogatory at the moment, it assured Xie Yin Xue that the "dog barking" Wu Yu referred to wasn't about him and Bu Jiu Zhao.

Tan Fan Yi also chimed in, "I heard the barking as well, accompanied by laughter."

"Exactly, the barking and laughing were loud," Xuan Ting rubbed his arms, "and the howling wind outside made it all the more eerie."

"Something's definitely amiss," Bai He Zi concluded. "Don't panic, everyone. I'll go charm the little fox spirits and inquire if anything significant happened in the inn last night."

Xin Tianhao felt that Bai Lizi's words were even more unsettling. He almost blurted out "Watch out for the Fu Rui spell!" Fortunately, Bai Lizi hadn't found the white goose and gray bead when the elusive Qin He, with a worried expression, appeared before them. He solemnly informed the group, "Last night, another servant of the fungi people perished. They had their skulls smashed by stones, dying in a most tragic manner. I'll take you esteemed Daoists to see..."

Fearing that Qin He might bring another cart filled with bloody corpses of the fungi servants and scare Xin Tianhao into fainting again, Yu Jiayi hurriedly interjected, "Manager Qin, there's no need to see. We extracted some information from He Duo's mouth yesterday. He revealed that there are seven beasts in the inn, one of which is an ancient evil creature. I suspect there will be more incidents involving the fungi servants every night until we deal with these beasts."

Qin He sighed deeply, wiping his face with his sleeve, looking genuinely grieved. "Alas... I hope you esteemed Daoists can swiftly find these beasts and bring them to justice. Avenge my little fungi people."

With that said, Qin He departed.

The participants were accustomed to his unpredictable appearances and disappearances. Once he left, they resumed their search for the white goose and gray bead.

Upon seeing Bai Lizi, Hui Zhu immediately presented a small jade token, saying, "Esteemed Daoist Bai Lizi, this lists all the guests who have dined with He Duo in the past few days. It's been thoroughly compiled."

The jade token functioned somewhat like a modern USB drive storing images and text. Participants only needed to touch it, and the list of guests would instantly appear in their minds — names, appearances, all vivid and unforgettable.

Overwhelmed, Xin Tianhao exclaimed, "How great it would be to use this jade token for university entrance exams!"

"You can't take items from the instance out," Bai Lizi shattered Xin Tianhao's hopes, bent down to pat Hui Zhu's head in gratitude, "Thank you."

Hui Zhu shyly lowered her pointed ears, "It's no trouble at all."

Who could resist loving such a docile and affectionate little fox?

Bai Lizi enjoyed the silky-smooth touch of the fox fur under her palm, reluctant to let go. She glanced at the watering can in Hui Zhu and Bai E's hands and asked, "What are you two up to? Watering plants?"

"Yes," Bai E replied gently, holding the watering can, "After the death of the guest from Bohemian Isle, where it frequently rained and flooded, the fog and water have disappeared. It's as if a drought has struck. Manager Qin asked us to water the plants in the backyard so they won't wither."

"Don't you have dancers in the inn whose dancing causes rain?" Xuan Ting remarked without hesitation. "Why go through this hassle? Let them dance a couple of tunes."

Bai E looked troubled, "We tried, but it didn't work."

Man and Xiao Man were both magical beasts. Their presence usually caused heavy rains, but their magical powers were weak. If another magical beast with a similar ability but stronger power was present, then the situation would become like this — even if they danced their hearts out, not a single drop of rain would fall from the sky.

Thus, Chu Yiyang concluded, "Among the living beasts in the inn, one causes severe drought whenever it appears."

"Brother Xie, do you have..." he started, glancing at Xie Yinxue. His words halted as he noticed the young man's slightly familiar new hairstyle. After a brief pause, he finished, "...any clue about it?"

The young man leaned against a window, his long hair neatly tied up. Stray locks fluttered in the breeze, giving him an ethereal aura. Had it not been for his deep, ink-black eyes, people would've thought they were seeing another Bu Jiuzhao. However, his voice was gentle and soothing, unlike Bu Jiuzhao's cold tones. He captured everyone's attention, "Based on the sounds you heard last night — a dog's bark, human laughter, and a strong wind. Only one creature from 'Shan Hai Jing' matches all these descriptions: Shan Quanjun."

"Now that you mention it, I recall," Chu Yiyang exclaimed, slapping his palm with his fist, "It's documented in the 'Bei Shan Jing': 'In the mountains of Yufa, there exists a beast. It resembles a dog but has a human face. It's known for its swift movement and laughs when it sees humans. Its name is Shan Quanjun. Its movement is as swift as the wind, and its appearance always brings about strong winds.' That's the one!"

"Exactly," Xie Yinxue agreed.

Tan Fanyi adjusted his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, "So, we are to search the inn for... a dog guest with a human face?"

"But how do we even begin searching?" Wu Yu asked in confusion, "Do we strip each guest to see if they have a human body or a dog's body beneath their clothes?"

At the mention of "stripping clothes", Xuan Ting couldn't help but recall the horrifying sight when the red-clothed sparrow demon shed her garments yesterday. His previously broken right arm throbbed slightly, he swallowed hard and remarked, "…That approach seems rather inappropriate, doesn't it?"

What if a guest, upon undressing, releases several blood-thirsty little demons from their chest?

Cai Lele suggested, "Stripping them is indeed inappropriate. Let’s first narrow down the list of suspects. If Shan Zhao Jun appears dog-like, he might be of shorter stature. Why don't we start by looking for guests who are shorter?"

"Dogs vary in size from small to medium to large breeds," Yu Jiayi pointed out, shaking her head in disagreement, "How can you be sure he is of a smaller breed with a shorter stature? What if he's as tall as an Alaskan Malamute, standing taller than several of us girls?"

Liu Fei was close to despair, "So, what should we do now?"

Baihezi said, "Let’s stick to yesterday's plan and inquire with those who dined with Heyao based on the list."

"Are you trying to gather clues or just wanting to meet that 'Bo Lang' character?" Xuan Ting, who always quarreled with Baihezi, rebutted, "We agreed on that plan yesterday because we had no other leads on the malevolent beast. Now that we have information on Shan Zhao Jun, shouldn't we prioritize him?"

"Enough already! The two actions don't conflict; we can pursue both simultaneously."

Chu Yiyang interrupted Xuan Ting impatiently, "After Heyao entered the fairy inn, he dined with thirty-three guests. Excluding Xie Yin Xue, who will question those who consumed Heyao's body, everyone else will inquire with three guests each who shared a meal with Heyao. After questioning, you'll have to... find a way to observe their bodies."

Xin Tianhao's face flushed red, "Uh, I'm still a student, you know."

"…Not every guest needs to be observed," Chu Yiyang, realizing the ambiguity of his words, tried to clarify, "Shan Zhao Jun always smiles in the presence of humans. If a guest hasn't smiled throughout their interaction with you, there's no need to observe their body."

This method is applicable to all guests in the inn.

However, the issue is that very few guests in the inn remain expressionless. Most of these demons are cunning and deceitful. Some, like the red-clothed sparrow demon, even wear a mask of smiles to lure their prey closer.

Xie Yin Xue was already aware that Bu Jiuzhao was an ancient malevolent beast and the reason behind Heyao's diminished powers. Thus, when interrogating those who consumed Heyao's remains, he wasn't overly concerned. He was more puzzled about how to discern whether their bodies beneath their heads were human or canine. After all, to clear this level, all the common malevolent beasts need to be identified and eliminated.

Forcefully stripping them was certainly not an option. They couldn't even defeat the red-clothed sparrow demon with many people on their side yesterday, so Xie Yin Xue on his own would stand even less chance.

As for outsmarting them...

Xie Yin Xue was deep in thought when Liu Buhua asked, "Godfather, have you figured out how to observe their bodies?"

Xie Yin Xue pressed his lips together, "Not yet."

He didn't trust Liu Buhua to act alone. So even though Liu Buhua was assigned three guests to question, he hadn't begun his inquiries. Xie Yin Xue wanted Liu Buhua within his line of sight, waiting for him to deal with the demons who consumed Heyao's remains first. After that, he would accompany Liu Buhua to question the three guests who dined with Heyao.

"I still need to figure out how we're going to inspect them," Xie Yin Xue said to Liu Bu Hua, "Which three guests were you assigned? Let's go take a look at them first."

Liu Bu Hua pointed towards a round table in the southeast corner of the third floor, saying, "Those three over there."

"Esteemed gentlemen, I am Xie Yin Xue, a sword cultivator from the Wan Jian Palace. I wish to inquire if any of you, while dining with He Tu recently, might have..."

As Xie Yin Xue and Liu Bu Hua approached with intent, they were interrupted by Liu Bu Hua exclaiming, "Sir, I must say your pectorals seem impressively sculpted. Might I have a closer look?"

“……”

Xie Yin Xue halted abruptly, slightly wide-eyed. Turning to Liu Bu Hua, he noticed the three demon guests who had been listening to him were now staring in stunned silence.

"Bu Hua, what..." began Xie Yin Xue.

"What is it, godfather?" Liu Bu Hua whispered, covering his mouth with his hand. "Didn’t you say we were to inspect their bodies?"

Xie Yin Xue: "..."

By "take a look", he meant to ask the three about He Tu's loss of power, not literally inspecting their bodies!

Author's Note:

① In the Mountain of the Damned resides a beast. It looks like a dog with a human face. It is adept at throwing and laughs when it sees humans. Called Shan Quan Jun, it moves as swiftly as the wind. When it appears, great winds sweep across the land. - "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Northern Mountains"