Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 267 Hehehehehe
"This wine of mine is so potent that even someone as skilled as Master Hu would have to reveal his true colors after drinking it. If you guys, who have no spiritual energy left in your stomachs, were to sleep with him for a day, it would be a miracle if you could even handle it!"

After the innkeeper finished speaking, he gave a cold laugh, turned around, and swayed back into the inn.

The middle-aged man looked anxious: "What...what should we do? If we really have to sleep for ten days, won't that cause problems?"

Someone said nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of? He has so much money anyway. Let him stay at this inn. When he sobers up, he can pay the bill himself!"

Someone else said, "But I've heard that this inn is already fully booked!"

The man replied, "Yes, I inquired and found out that three people are leaving Taoyuan Village early tomorrow morning to go to Dayang Village. That will leave two extra rooms. I just booked one with the innkeeper, and the remaining one can be given to Wang Shanren!"

Shi Yizhi couldn't help but interject, asking, "Brother, are the three people you mentioned two women and one man, disciples of the Dragon Pool Sect and the Jade Void Sect?"

"Hey, how did you know?" The man looked at Shi Yizhi, first surprised, then disdainfully said, "That brat from the Jade Void Sect is so arrogant! His rank is only two levels higher than mine!"

Shi Yizhi chimed in, "We met briefly at noon. People from the Jade Void Sect are always a bit arrogant, and besides, he's young and a bit naive."

The man sized Shi Yizhi up and down, and said, "Hey! He's young? I think you're even younger than him! I've heard that the White Stone Immortal Sect values ​​character the most when accepting disciples. With his appearance, there's no way he'd get in! Tch!"

……

The courtyard was lively for a while, but as the crowd dispersed, it gradually quieted down.

The middle-aged man who was with Wang Shanren volunteered to stay, saying that he would take care of Wang Shanren and help carry him to his room after the others checked out at dawn.

The others gradually left, some saying they had gone to stay at a merchant's house, others saying they had taken the village head's advice and were going to spend the night at the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple. Before long, they had all dispersed.

Once most people had left, Zhu Ye took out the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Plate and placed it on the table.

The compass needle was still trembling, always pointing towards the backyard.

Jiang Wanli and Shi Yizhi both looked rather solemn. The middle-aged man next to them, however, sat down very familiarly, also looking at the compass, and asked curiously, "Young brothers, what's wrong with this compass? Why is the needle moving so much? Is it broken?"

Zhu Ye didn't hide anything and frankly said, "This is a Yin-Yang Bagua compass that the temple keeper of the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple rented to us. He said it can identify ghosts. The more the pointer shakes, the closer it is to a ghost. If the color turns red, the stronger the evil energy, then it is a fierce ghost that ordinary people cannot deal with."

"Ghosts, ghosts, ghosts!?"

The middle-aged man was so frightened that his voice trembled: "I only knew that this place was full of spirits and deities, how could there be ghosts too!?"

Seeing that the other party knew nothing, Jiang Wanli boasted smugly, "Not only are there ghosts, but also the underworld and the judges of Yama!"

As he spoke, he recounted all the things Zhu Ye had told him about the underworld and the City God, and then exclaimed, "This place is truly magical. Yin and Yang, life and death, all have their own cycles, repeating endlessly, life after life."

"Since you young men are being so frank, I won't hide it from you either. Actually, I do have some information about the 'key to clearing the game'!"

The middle-aged man cupped his hands in greeting and said formally, "My surname is Du, and my name is Du Chongshan. I am the head of the Mangshan Sect."

Du Chongshan took the initiative to be friendly, and Zhu Ye and the other two introduced themselves. Then, Du Chongshan continued, "Before I met Wang Shanren, I saw a secret room at Master Hu's house. Later, after making inquiries, I learned that the secret room had only recently been built. Although Master Hu did not avoid the secret room, no one knows what's inside..."

Jiang Wanli asked, "What does this have to do with the 'pass key'?"

Du Chongshan said mysteriously, "That's the key. When I was taken to the mine by Master Hu's steward, I specifically inquired about it. Although the steward didn't know what was in the secret room, he did see a white-haired immortal come out of the secret room and chat happily with Master Hu. He also told Master Hu to guard the things in the secret room well!"

"White-haired...immortal!?"

This statement greatly encouraged Zhu, Ye, and the other two.

As everyone knows, the sect leader of the White Stone Immortal Sect is a white-haired immortal!

"Could the 'key to success' be hidden in this secret room?"

Shi Yizhi couldn't wait to "analyze".

Du Chongshan replied, "No one dares to say for sure, but whether it's the 'Trial Array' or the 'Immortal Fate Gathering,' they were all set up by the White Stone Immortal Sect. And the sect leader of the White Stone Immortal Sect is a famous white-haired immortal. It's possible that this place was arranged by the White Stone Immortal and the immortals and gods of this place to let us come in for 'trials'... who knows!"

Although Du Chongshan didn't definitively say it, his words clearly implied that he believed the secret room contained the "key to passage."

Jiang Wanli hesitated and said, "But since it's a secret room, we definitely can't get in, right? And Master Hu is a fox spirit, so forcing our way in is impossible... We can't just run up to Master Hu and ask him if he can give us the 'key to the passage', can we?"

"Forced entry is definitely out of the question, and he certainly won't give it to us if we just ask... but perhaps we can think of another way..."

Du Chongshan offered his analysis: "Just now, I overheard the shopkeeper saying that even Master Hu, after drinking her 'Ten-Day Intoxication,' would sleep for a whole day..."

At this point, Du Chongshan stopped speaking, but the unspoken meaning in his words was clear to everyone. "No."

Zhu Ye shook his head and said, "I would like to advise you all that this is a 'trial formation.' You may not know what we have been talking about, but it is all in the eyes of Immortal Bai Shi. Even if you want to obtain the 'key to pass through,' you must act uprightly and honestly. You cannot use unorthodox methods or seek immortality through questioning your heart. If you really make a mistake, then you will be at a disadvantage."

Zhu Ye's words caused Du Chongshan's expression to change slightly, but he quickly coughed a few times to cover it up and said, "Brother Zhu is right. I was just anxious and misunderstood. But if we want to act fairly, how can we obtain the 'pass key' from that Master Hu? I wonder if any of you have any plans?"

Jiang Wanli shook his head awkwardly, and Shi Yizhi shrugged as well, looking helpless.

Zhu Ye, after a moment of silence, spoke up: "To be honest, Brother Du, while I believe what you've said, this afternoon I also learned some news from the old fisherman in the village..."

He quickly told Du Chongshan about the mountain spirit, the treacherous ghost, and the old fisherman's promise, finally concluding, "The secret room in Master Hu's house might contain the 'key to the pass,' but it might not..."

"The same applies to the old fisherman's place!"

Du Chongshan said hurriedly, "He only said that the treasure might be the 'key to passage,' but he didn't say it definitely is! But I heard from Master Hu that the steward saw the 'white-haired immortal' with his own eyes!"

Zhu Ye nodded, waving his folding fan, and said, "Yes, Brother Du is right. However, we've only been here for a day, so there's not much we can find out. Isn't it said that this 'Trial Array' won't end for another seven days? We might as well investigate for a few more days. There's no need to rush. Maybe the 'key to passage' isn't in Peach Blossom Village at all, but in places like Little Yang Village or Dayang Village. In that case, no matter how much effort we put into Peach Blossom Village, it will be a waste of time."

Du Chongshan could only say dejectedly, "You're right, alas, I was too hasty!"

As they were talking, the innkeeper suddenly came out of the house again and said to the courtyard in an annoyed tone, "It's almost midnight! I'm closing up shop! Go back to where you came from, and don't wander around my courtyard!"

Du Chongshan quickly stood up and politely cupped his hands, saying, "We weren't just wandering around. Would you mind sitting here for a bit? My brother here is quite drunk and we'd like him to sleep at the inn after someone checks out tomorrow. I wonder if the innkeeper could do us that?"

"as you like!"

The shopkeeper rolled her eyes as she spoke casually. Carrying a jar of "Ten-Day Intoxication" in her hand, she walked to the courtyard gate, then opened the jar and began to pour the wine out of the courtyard.

While splashing water, she kept saying, "Hurry up! Hurry up! We're closing!"

Seeing the shopkeeper's gesture, Du Chongshan assumed it was directed at him and stood awkwardly in place, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Didn't we just agree that it was "whatever you want"? Why are you kicking me out now?
Du Chongshan didn't necessarily want to stay here, but Wang Shanren was still drunk, lying on the table unconscious. He had promised to take care of Wang Shanren, so he couldn't go back on his word and leave.
Just as he was about to plead again, Zhu Ye suddenly grabbed his arm and whispered to stop him, "Don't speak. The shopkeeper isn't talking to us."

Upon hearing this, Du Chongshan felt a chill run down his spine. He looked around frantically and found that in the courtyard of the inn, besides himself and Wang Shanren who was fast asleep, there were only Zhu Ye and two others!
If I'm not talking to them, then who am I talking to?!
Thinking of this, he suddenly lowered his head and stared intently at the compass on the table of Zhu Ye and the other two.

The compass needle was shaking violently—

It doesn't sway left and right, but rather spins randomly up, down, left, and right, just like...

It was as if they were surrounded by invisible "ghosts"!
"Brother Zhu, this..."

Du Chongshan gulped down a mouthful of saliva, feeling his throat was extremely dry. The night wind was also frighteningly cold, making him feel as if all the heat in his body was dissipating.

He barely managed to suppress the trembling in his lower body and save face, but he still looked at Zhu Ye with some panic.

Zhu Ye closed her folding fan, tapped Du Chongshan reassuringly, and said, "It's alright. Miss Hu once told us that as long as we don't meddle in other people's business and aren't too curious, nothing will happen."

It's not just Du Chongshan.

Shi Yizhi had served in the military with his father and brothers in his early years and had seen many dead people, so he was brave and didn't think much of it. But Jiang Wanli was different. His face was pale, his legs were trembling, his teeth were chattering, and his whole body was shaking.

Shi Yizhi was clearly the youngest of them all, but he was the bravest. While pouring Jiang Wanli a bowl of hot tea, he comforted him, saying, "Brother Jiang, don't be afraid. Think of it this way: according to the reincarnation system here, when a person dies and becomes a ghost, it's just a change of life. If you have no karmic connection with a ghost, what is there to fear? A ghost wouldn't kill you for no reason, would it? If you died and became a ghost, wouldn't the ghost that killed you feel embarrassed to see you? So, they're not interested in you at all. Don't worry!"

Although what Shi Yizhi said was all fallacies, it did sound rather interesting.

Yes, if a ghost harms a person for no reason, and that person becomes a new ghost, how awkward would it be if the two ghosts met?
We'll end up tearing each other apart and fighting—you little brat scared me to death!
So after hearing Shi Yizhi's words of comfort, Jiang Wanli shakily picked up the teacup and drank a sip of hot tea. He finally felt a little warmer and his body stopped trembling.

Just as I felt a little relieved, I suddenly heard a sharp laugh beside me:

"Hahahaha……"

"Who said we're not interested..."

"We're most interested in outsiders, hehehehehe..."

Jiang Wanli: Σ(°△°|||)︴

(End of this chapter)