Corpse Activity Is a Normal Phenomenon

When the two returned to their room, they happened to run into the two traveling merchants. The merchants, who had been arrogant and overbearing just yesterday, were uncharacteristically friendly today and even invited them in to sit for a while. Lu Yang did not wish to have much contact with them and bluntly refused. Undeterred by the rejection, the merchants closed their door. The clang of a gong sounded once more as the nightwatchman called out, "The Hai hour has arrived!" *Tap, tap, tap.* The rhythmic footsteps echoed down the corridor once again as the black-eyed waiter drifted through the hallway. The waiter tapped lightly on the opposite door. "Dear guests, are you in? Please open the door." Just as the two assumed it would be like the previous night—with the merchants stubbornly refusing to open up and the waiter's knocking growing increasingly deafening— *Creak—* The door across the hall opened. One of the merchants was alarmed by his partner's actions. "What... what are you doing?! Why are you opening the door?!" "Shut it quickly! Shut the door!" "If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!" "Why won't the door close?!" There were clearly two merchants, yet from start to finish, only one of them spoke. The other did not make a single sound, which was thoroughly eerie. "Y-you, stay away! Argh—!" With a heart-wrenching shriek from across the hall, all went silent. "What happened? Traveling merchants aren't stupid. Why would he open the door on his own?" A chill crept into Meng Jingzhou's heart. Lu Yang pondered for a moment, and a possibility crossed his mind. "Do you remember the person we saw killed by the government runners this morning? He returned from the dead looking no different from a living person." "The rules state that [corpse activity is a normal phenomenon], but they never said corpses come back to life!" "Was the person who revived this morning really still himself?" Meng Jingzhou's eyes widened. "Are you saying... one of the merchants had already died, but his partner didn't realize it?" Lu Yang nodded. "Yes, exactly that!" Meng Jingzhou felt his scalp tingle. Seeing the bustling pedestrians on the street today, he had assumed not many people had fallen victim. Now it seemed there were likely many walking corpses out on the streets during the day! A violent pounding sounded once again, and this time, it was Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's door. "Help! Save me, quickly! The waiter is going to kill me!" "Open up! Hurry and open the door!" "I beg you, have mercy and save me! Gold, spirit stones, the locations of ancient ruin grotto-heavens—I can give you all of it!" "Don't kill me—!" Immediately following was the dull thud of an axe hacking into flesh and biting into bone, accompanied by the merchant's blood-curdling screams. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged a glance, both resolving not to open the door. The commotion across the hall had clearly died down just moments ago, yet now someone was crying for help. No matter how one looked at it, something was wrong; it was utterly bizarre and uncanny. Furthermore, Lu Yang had learned from the Immortal Fairy that the two merchants were far from virtuous individuals, so there was no need to save them. The merchant's voice vanished, replaced once more by the waiter's gentle knocking. "Dear guests, are you in? Please open the door." "Dear guests, are you in? Please open the door!" "I told you two to open the door!" "Open the damn door for me!" Just like yesterday, the banging grew louder and louder until it could be heard throughout the entire inn. Whether due to the door's solid construction or the restrictions of the rules, the waiter failed to batter his way in. Lu Yang heard the waiter head upstairs, presumably returning straight to the Heaven-rank room. The monster outside the window did not appear again, and the rest of the night passed peacefully. The next morning, when they left the inn at the Si hour, Lu Yang noticed the door across the hall had turned from brown to black. The two traveling merchants walked out of the room chatting and laughing, greeting Lu Yang with smiles. [Rule 16: After entering a black door, do not speak, and do not eat anything inside.] Lu Yang's gaze sharpened. The two merchants no longer needed to follow the ordinary rules. Meng Jingzhou could not help but ask, "Which of you was calling for help last night?" The two merchants looked completely baffled, their expressions seemingly genuine. "Calling for help? Who was calling for help?" Uncertain of the merchants' true state, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were unwilling to say more and hurried away. During the day, the two shadowed the government runners from a distance and discovered that the runners ate only one meal a day, which had to consist of meat buns. Meng Jingzhou had managed to steal a meat bun earlier. Upon breaking it open, he found that aside from meat, there appeared to be fingernails and hair inside. After eating, the runners would walk the streets, herding the crowds like ducks. Any unfortunate soul who carelessly turned their head was instantly and brutally killed, only to revive moments later. "Did you notice? The runners have walked all over town, but they never go anywhere near the old schoolhouse!" Lu Yang spread out a map he had drawn while exploring the town yesterday. Marked upon it were the cart crash site, the inn, the schoolhouse, the tailor shop, the pharmacy, and the magistrate's office. The map's artistic quality was hard to praise, but the good news was that its creator could understand it. "It seems the rules they follow aren't the same, and they're not a unified bloc!" Meng Jingzhou smiled. This was good news; it all depended on how they could exploit it. While walking along the street, the two noticed silhouettes flickering inside the thatched cottages through the paper windows. The rules required that [before the Xu hour, one must not return to the thatched cottages or the inn]. What kind of things were those figures inside the cottages? "It seems there are still many rules in this town that we don't know about." Different roles had to abide by different rules. Lu Yang could only feel that this ancient Body Integration cultivator had truly been bored out of his mind. "Fairy, can you see what's happening outside? How is my master's fight going?" The Immortal Fairy marveled with clicking tongue. "Your master's comprehension of the sword dao is quite profound. Even fighting one against four, he isn't falling behind in the slightest." Lu Yang nodded; that put his mind at ease. When the two returned to the inn, Lu Yang wrote a line on a slip of paper and handed it to the innkeeper: *Are you from the outside?* Watching from the side, Meng Jingzhou understood Lu Yang's line of thought. The rules stated that locals could not disclose matters regarding the town to outsiders, yet the innkeeper had been able to do so, which meant he was not a local. The innkeeper had not expected Lu Yang to ask this, but he wrote down a single word: *Yes.* Lu Yang wrote: *Mortal or cultivator?* The innkeeper wrote: *Ninth layer of Qi Refinement.* Lu Yang wrote: *How did you become the innkeeper?* The innkeeper wrote: *I cannot say.* Lu Yang wrote: *Do you have to follow different rules from ours? What are the specific rules?* The innkeeper wrote: *I follow the [Buyi Town Inn Rules]. I cannot tell you the specific rules.* Lu Yang wrote again: *Do you want to leave?* The innkeeper's right hand trembled slightly: *Yes.* Lu Yang took out his identity jade pendant. *The two of us are disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect. We strayed into this place by accident and wish to leave as well.* Learning they were Dao Seeking Sect disciples, the innkeeper grew even more agitated and wrote with a trembling hand: *What do you need?* Lu Yang wrote: *Take off your white clothes.* Seeing Lu Yang's request, the innkeeper froze for a moment, completely unprepared for such a demand. The rules he followed stipulated that [within the bounds of the rules, fulfill guests' requests as much as possible, except those violating ethics and moral principles], but made no mention that he could not take off his clothes. The innkeeper removed the white robe and handed it to Lu Yang. Lu Yang put away the clothing and returned to the room with Meng Jingzhou. "They've been knocking on our door for two days. Today, it's our turn!" Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou sneered coldly.