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Chapter 404 Hide and Seek (A long chapter of 8000 words, thanks to BJ Hippo God for the generous reward)
And like his companions who were turned into photographs, even though they all looked like this, he was still alive.

Zhou You looked at him, his smile unchanged.

"Brothers, you may have misunderstood something. There are places in this city where you can cast spells, and places where you can't. In places where you can, there are no restrictions, but in places where you can't, well, this is the consequence."

Yu Sanzhi's expression turned cold.

—Is this guy deliberately saying this to create suspense, or is it yet another scam?

However, at this moment, Zhou You slowly stood up and then slowly stretched.

"I've been enjoying this tea for a while now, and if I don't leave soon, the shopkeeper will probably kick me out. Well then, farewell, brother, I'll take my leave now."

Yu Sanzhi was taken aback, then immediately called out.

"Attack together! Don't use any magic, but we absolutely cannot let him escape!"

However, it was too late by then.

Zhou You greeted the two men and walked into the teahouse, disappearing around the corner.

But those people did not stop.

Firstly, there is someone who is the only way to break the deadlock. If they are not captured, all of them will be trapped and die in this city.

Secondly, they could clearly see that this guy walked past the tea stall safely—as long as they followed him, they would at least be safe!

However, the leader had only taken a few steps when he was stopped by a blurry figure.

His voice was muffled and unclear; only a few complete sentences could be vaguely discerned.

"The previous customer said that his tea bill would be put on the tab first, and then you 'friends' would pay for it."

—When did I become this guy's friend?

Before he could even react, the figure's hand lightly brushed across his neck and ripped off the enormous head.

Next, turn it upside down on the table.

A brand new teacup was thus completed.

Everyone froze in place, no one daring to take another step forward.

But even though they stopped, the city behind them began to stir again, and the overwhelming buildings started to approach once more—at this moment, they could only make one decision.

That means running!

But the question is, where can we run to?

However, there are always clever people, and someone immediately shouted.

"That guy only started fighting after he said he'd pay. Now that someone's already paid, it should be fine to go that way!"

Upon hearing this, the rest of the people immediately swarmed into the teahouse.

However, without anyone noticing, the remaining three fingers had already been placed at the very end.

Unlike this group, he had met Zhou You several times and knew exactly what kind of person he was.

—Would he leave such a huge flaw? How could that be?

He watched as the people in front of him filed into the back room, and then...
Suddenly, he screamed in agony.

Inside that house, things had changed beyond recognition at some point.

The tea cabinet became a kitchen table, the mud bricks used for boiling water became a stove, and the large pot was filled with boiling oil. The small room was filled with aroma, just like a food stall along the street.

The first few people who rushed in seemed to be frozen in place, their figures suddenly stopping. Then, a giant hand, like a canopy, reached down from the ceiling and casually began to manipulate them.

Their bodies shrank smaller and smaller as they were kneaded, becoming roughly dwarf-like figures. Then, the giant hand threw them into a nearby copper basin, where they were covered in powder and chaff.
He threw it into the oil pan.

A bloodcurdling scream finally rang out, but it was too late for anyone to save them.

Looking up again, the teahouse had changed its signboard; it now advertised fried fish noodles.

But just as everyone stopped and stood still, Yu Sanzhi took the lead and rushed forward.

"Don't just stand there! The same thing happened at that photo studio. These things stop for a while after killing a few people. Use that time to get out of here!"

If you were to travel here, you would surely be deeply moved.

The senior from the White Gate spent over a decade and entered the city several times before finally figuring out its basic rules, while Yu Sanzhi found the first flaw after only a few hours.
It can only be said that he truly deserves to be the leader of the Northern underworld; his insight is indeed remarkable.

But.
—With this level of insight alone, I'm not qualified to survive in this extraordinary chaos.

Leaving that twisted alley, you find yourself on another commercial street.

No, it should be said this way.

Every street in this city is a commercial street, only the shops inside vary in size and type.

When they reached this street, Zhou You and his companions were still nowhere to be seen. Although the black sign was still pointing in the direction, there were no more alleys to detour through.

Fly over?
This is unlikely for ordinary people, but they are cultivators after all. With the help of magic weapons and techniques, it is unlikely that they can actually fly in the sky, but they can easily jump three or four meters and scale walls.

pity.

This method was devised by clever people during the first period of urban shrinkage.

—And the only fate for these guys was a pile of shrunken, twitching rotten flesh in the corner.

Everyone turned their heads and looked at Yu Sanzhi with pleading eyes.

Yu Sanzhi did not respond, but squinted and carefully examined the shop.

"I recognize a few of these places: Li Ji Fang Xiang Guan, Fengtian Restaurant, Changyuan Inn, Ningwen Wonton Shop, and Xin Ji Tanghulu. It seems this evil spirit has conjured up all the shops it knows, from all corners of the country. Brothers, where do you think we should go?"

—Ask us?

The remaining people looked at each other, but under Yu Sanzhi's accumulated power, they still pushed out a seemingly cunning old man.

"Chief, we shouldn't go into the places that look strange or are likely to be bloody. On the other hand, the tea stalls are quiet and peaceful. As long as we don't buy anything, it seems like there won't be any problem going in. If you really want to tell me what to do, how about we go through the candied hawthorn side?"

Yu Sanzhi nodded as if in complete agreement, then pointed to a few people.

"Black Wind Taoist, Snake-Headed Scholar, Blood Butcher, you guys go and investigate."

When it came to their own lives, those people were absolutely unwilling—but Yu Sanzhi's response was quite simple.

"If you don't want to go in sober, then we'll cripple you before throwing you in—after all, as long as someone dies, we can still get through—so think it over carefully. If you go in on your own, you might have a chance of safety, but if you're crippled..."

Before the words were finished, the meaning was clear. The three men looked at the malicious gazes around them, and then thought about what Yu Sanzhi had planted in each of their bodies before they set off. In the end, they could only grit their teeth and walk forward with a death-defying spirit.

This time, however, they seemed to have finally struck it lucky. As the three of them walked into the middle of the shop, nothing went wrong, and not even the blurry figure appeared.

Did I guess correctly?
The group breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed—but just then, a startled cry came from behind them.

Watch your step!

Underfoot?
The snake-headed scholar reacted the fastest, immediately lowering his head.

The ground seemed to melt, gradually softening, dissolving, and then turning into little by little, orange-yellow, crystalline liquid.

In just one second, he recognized what it was.

Syrup, used to make candied hawthorn skewers, and it has to be boiling hot!

The other two also realized the danger at the same time. Black Wind Taoist started to cast a spell, and black clouds rolled, about to drag him into the air. Blood Butcher and Snake Head Scholar used their lightness techniques—given three or four seconds, they could easily escape this hellish place.

However, he was unable to move at all.

The syrup seemed to come alive, quickly climbing up the legs of the group and spreading rapidly upwards!
However, among these three, one of them was decisive.

Black Wind Taoist commanded the clouds and mist, and without the slightest hesitation, he immediately cut off his two legs. As blood splattered, his remaining body was already airborne and about to fly out of the door!

Otherwise.

Right before his eyes, from the workshop, two bees the size of wild boars suddenly flew out—their hindquarters resembled bees, but their heads were the heads of a grinning human face—and blocked Black Wind Taoist in mid-air, then threw him back into the boiling syrup.

Within seconds, the figures of the three were completely swallowed up.

Soon, several lifelike sugar figurines appeared on the gourd strings outside the door, their appearances naturally identical to those of the three people.

The others didn't even give them the courage to end things, and took advantage of the gap in the shop's appearance to hurriedly cross the street.

On the next road, they saw those damned people again.

Looking at the many eyes filled with terror, fear, and even rage that seemed to want to burn him to ashes, Zhou You suddenly smiled.

"Everyone, it's only been a short time, how come so many people are gone? Is it because the scenery here is so beautiful that you're planning to settle down here?"

No one answered; they were all holding their breath, staring intently at him.

Meanwhile, someone was completely unaware and even took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire.

"Don't look at me like that. You won't leave just because you're looking at me—after all, I didn't invite you in. Don't you know who brought you to this dangerous place?"

"Fuck you!"

Someone in the crowd immediately wanted to teach this guy a lesson—but then he remembered what had happened to the previous person and forcibly suppressed the spell he had prepared.

While they were at it, Zhou You had already led Han Lu and Feng Qianlin into a sewer shop behind them, and before leaving, he didn't forget to say something.

"Oh, right, unlike before, this street is attackable. You could have easily captured me if you had attacked earlier. But it's too late to say that now. Everyone, continue enjoying yourselves. I'll be going now—goodbye, hehe."

Several arrows, trailing flames, suddenly climbed onto the shop door—but by then the figure had vanished into the darkness, and in the blink of an eye, the bricks and stones transformed into another shop.

However, unlike the others who were furious, Yu Sanzhi's appearance became increasingly indifferent.

He glanced at everyone again, and then asked them questions.

"Cuiyuxuan, Zhangji Clothing Shop, Fenglaike Restaurant, Sanlidian Butcher Shop—there are only four this time. Which one should we choose?"

This time, no one dared to speak up or offer any opinions.

Finally, it was Madam Li who spoke up.

"Judging from what we just saw, danger here isn't assessed by name. So why don't we follow the path similar to this person's and see if we can find a way out?"

"For example?"

"Sanlidian Butcher Shop".

Yu Sanzhi nodded silently, then pointed out the three people again.

"Mountain Leopard, Iron-Armed Ape, Monk Ningfa, you guys go."

This time, without Yu Sanzhi saying anything, these people walked forward with a resolute attitude.

Of course, the others also understood that if things really went this way, it would be their turn sooner or later.

But that's just how humans are; unless a major disaster is imminent, everyone tends to hold onto a sense of complacency.

—What if I'm at the back of the line? What if I catch that thief at the next intersection? What if…
There are countless "what ifs" in this world, surely I won't be the unluckiest one?

Not to mention they are all people of evil paths; they would rather their fellow practitioners die than their own!

Under the pressure of these gazes, the three men slowly made their way into the shop.

—And this time they came back faster than any of them had imagined.

The moment someone stepped into the shop, suddenly, a person's arm was completely severed off, the cut clean and smooth, without a trace of blood. But before the person could even cry out, their left foot was also severed from their body.

The second person was the same as him; in the blink of an eye, half of his body was chopped off—but the third person was different.

This isn't a slice, it's a piece.

Before long, three living heads were placed at the front of the chopping board, silently wailing to everyone.

It's just like the pig's head used as a signboard in an ordinary butcher shop.

This time, finally someone vomited.

But Yu Sanzhi maintained the same expression. He coldly swept his gaze around and then uttered even more indifferent words.

"Don't just stand there. We just finished dealing with the person, and the shop is about to be relocated. Let's hurry up and continue."

After saying that, he led the way inside, followed by Madam Li.

Suddenly, everyone else thought of something someone had said before.

"Don't you know who led you to this desperate situation?"

If I had known this, why did I do it in the first place?

　Bonus chapter for paying off debts! Also, thank you to reader 160719153325026 for the generous donation. Your name is too long to include in the title, so I'll put it in the author's notes. There will be another bonus chapter tomorrow for paying off debts.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)