Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 185 Guest Rooms. (First Update!)

The lobby is rectangular, and the back window seems to open to a central courtyard with artificial hills, flowers and trees, and flowing water. A osmanthus tree is in full bloom, with delicate orange-red petals entwined among its branches and leaves, and its fragrance is rich when the wind blows.

There were seven or eight tables in the lobby facing the main entrance, with four benches around each table. A wooden staircase was set up against the wall on the left. Behind the staircase was a hidden door leading to the atrium. On the right was a counter shaped like the Chinese character "乚".

Behind the waist-high counter stood a slender figure. Her duck-egg blue embroidered with lilac and Terminalia chebula revealed a hint of snow. Her light and soft emerald green outer garment outlined her dramatic curves. Her face, free of makeup, was adorned with star-like eyes and bright red lips. Two wooden hairpins were inserted diagonally into her sloping bun. Her entire appearance was simple, yet she exuded an indescribable graceful charm.

At this moment, he was holding an abacus that was half-finished, staring intently at everyone.

After a brief standoff, Shi Shaoshan took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said to the graceful woman behind the counter, "We'd like to stay at the hotel!"

Upon hearing this, the woman's expression instantly brightened with a smile, and her tone became warmer. She immediately called out towards the courtyard, "Master, someone is checking in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a burly figure pushed open the hidden door and strode over. This figure was wearing an indigo robe, with thick limbs and bulging muscles, but his head and above were tightly wrapped in black cloth, so his appearance could not be seen.

Although his entire head was wrapped in black cloth, he moved freely, as if he could see clearly without needing to see. After walking up to the group, he gestured for them to leave, and at the same time, a hoarse voice came from under the black cloth: "Come with me."

Without waiting for anyone's reaction, the burly man with his head wrapped in black cloth walked directly towards the stairs.

The group of cultivators looked solemn. Seeing Shi Shaoshan take the lead, they followed one after another.

Crunch... crunch... crunch...

The wooden planks of the stairs are old and worn. Although they are cleaned very thoroughly, they still make a series of noises when stepped on.

A moment later, the group followed the burly man to the second floor. The layout here was similar to other inns, with a corridor in the middle and rooms on both sides.

At the entrance of each room hangs a gas lamp for lighting.

Perhaps because no sunlight entered, the entire corridor was quiet and gloomy. The dim lamps only slightly illuminated a corner in front of the doors, and most of the area was still in a dim light, where one could barely make out the outlines of things.

click, click, click...

In the dim, deathly silence, the monotonous sound of footsteps echoed.

Zheng Que walked behind Nian Nu, one hand resting on the Soul-Nourishing Bag, his muscles tense. He was ready to release Qing Li and Ku Lan as well if anything went wrong.

At this moment, the burly man with a black cloth wrapped around his head led the group to the door of a house, pushed the door open, and turned to the group, saying, "This is it."

"Hurry up and go inside!"

"Don't run around."

Upon hearing this, Shi Shaoshan went inside first.

Seeing this, Yuan Zhi and the other cultivators immediately went inside.

Zheng Que deliberately lagged behind the crowd, and only after seeing that those who went in first were all fine did he step over the threshold.

He had just entered the room when he heard a loud "bang" behind him. It was the burly man with a black cloth wrapped around his head who slammed the door shut.

The room looked much larger than it appeared from the outside; despite so many cultivators entering, it didn't feel crowded at all.

The group looked around, quickly surveying the entire room. The furnishings were very simple, with large communal sleeping platforms everywhere. A half-open window was located on the wall facing the door, allowing daylight to shine onto the mulberry paper and illuminating the room brightly. This contrasted sharply with the dark and cramped corridor, giving the room a sense of openness and spaciousness.

A row of kang (heated brick beds) was built under the window, covered with some quilts and straw pillows. Apart from that, there was nothing else. It was simple but clean, and a fresh mist floated in the air, as if it had just been swept.

However, as soon as they entered, someone immediately noticed something was wrong.

Where is my ghost servant?

A monk dressed in a grey-white robe and sporting a goatee exclaimed in surprise. At the same moment, Zheng Que also noticed that Nian Nu, who had been walking ahead of him, had disappeared without a trace.

The same thing happened to the other cultivators who summoned ghost servants to their side; all the ghost servants they brought in vanished into thin air!
At this moment, Shi Shaoshan, who had already experienced the Forget-Worry Inn once, calmly said, "Fellow Daoists, there is no need to panic!"

"These are the rules for this room: no ghosts or spirits are allowed to enter."

"For us living people, this is the safest place in this inn!"

Upon hearing this, all the cultivators breathed a sigh of relief. The cultivator with the goatee immediately asked, "Where are our ghost servants now?"

"What will happen if we leave this room now?"

Just as Shi Shaoshan was about to answer, a middle-aged female cultivator with a snake-shaped bun and wearing an apricot-yellow dress spoke up calmly: "I have also been to the Forget-Worry Inn, and Fellow Daoist Shi is right."

"The room we are in now is the safest place in this inn."

"But this safety is only temporary."

"As for our ghost servants, they will be taken to other rooms in the inn by the innkeeper who led the way earlier."

"If you want to find your ghost servant, you can only go out and search room by room."

"If you successfully find your ghost servant, you can stay in the ghost servant's house. Although it's not as safe as this guest room, it's still better than other places in the inn."

"However, when searching for a ghost servant, if you go to the wrong room, it's basically a death sentence!"

"Also, we can go out now."

"But if you're unlucky and encounter other ghosts outside, the odds are against you."

"The best option now is to stay here and wait for my stay to end!"

After listening to Shi Shaoshan and the female cultivator in the apricot-yellow dress explain, the group of cultivators basically understood the situation and pondered for a moment.

The Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivator in the maroon cloak frowned and said, "In that case, let's try to stay here for the rest of the time."

"However, we left eight fellow practitioners outside to guard the tax collection."

"What should we do with those eight fellow practitioners now?"

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment; no one spoke.

This guest room is the safest place in the Forget-Worry Inn, but putting aside the risks of going out to inform those eight people now, what will happen to the four cartloads of taxes if everyone moves in?
The taxes collected in the carriages must be guarded!

Therefore, it is clear that as long as they ignore the fate of the eight people guarding the taxes outside, they can continue to be safe!
After a deathly silence, Zheng Que glanced at the people in the room. There were twelve cultivators in total who had entered the inn, and they were all in this guest room.

The ghost servants that the twelve people brought with them all vanished without a trace.

For some reason, although Shi Shaoshan and the female cultivator in the apricot-yellow dress, both of whom had experienced the Forget-Worry Inn before, were also staying here, Zheng Que felt uneasy staying in this guest room.

After a moment's hesitation, he immediately said, "I need to go out and find my ghost servant."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him. No one stopped him, but no one intended to go out with him either.

So Zheng Que took a deep breath, walked to the door, pushed it open, and walked out of the room.

(End of this chapter)