The SSSSSSSS-level Mad Dragon is released from prison!

The dilapidated truck bumped along the potholed dirt road, and with each jolt, the three hearts inside the truck clenched.

The darkness before dawn is the deepest.

The driver's hands were shaking violently, and his voice was trembling with tears.

"Miss, the border of Henan Province is just ahead. I dare not go any further."

"That's a lawless ghost market; very few people who go in ever come out unscathed."

Xiao Ruoye lifted a corner of the curtain and looked outside.

On the distant horizon, a few pale lanterns hung precariously, swaying precariously in the eerie wind.

A strange smell, a mixture of paper money and sulfur, filled the air.

"parking."

Xiao Ruoye's voice wasn't loud, but it made the driver feel like he'd been granted a pardon, and he slammed on the brakes.

She gave the driver a wad of cash and told him to get lost.

The driver scrambled away, not even daring to take the car.

Junyao helped the unconscious Shen Suxin out of the car, her face turning pale as she looked at the few white lanterns.

"Wakaba-neechan, this place... is scary."

Xiao Ruoye remained silent.

She carefully lifted Jiang Chen out of the car, wrapped him tightly in a huge black cloth, and carried him on her back.

"Let's go, find a place to stay, and figure out a solution when it gets light."

The three of them stumbled and trudged into that eerie area.

The doors of all the shops on both sides of the street were tightly shut, except for one inn with its lights still on.

The signboard bore three crooked, blood-stained characters.

Dragon Gate Inn.

Xiao Ruoye pushed open the creaking wooden door.

A wave of heat, a mixture of cheap liquor, sweat, and blood, hit me.

A dozen or so men sat in the inn, each with fierce eyes and bulging temples.

Someone was wiping a knife with a rag, while someone else was shaking dice with their finger bones.

The appearance of the three women caused the air in the inn to freeze for a moment.

All the gazes were like hooked knives, scraping against them.

A scantily clad woman with a seductive figure swayed over, waving a red handkerchief in her hand.

"Oh, gentlemen, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

The woman had a smile on her face, but her peach blossom eyes didn't look at the three women. Instead, she stared intently at the bulging package on Xiao Ruoye's back.

Her nose twitched slightly as she caught a faint, yet incredibly pure, exotic fragrance emanating from the package.

That's the smell of rare and precious herbs, or the smell of a severely injured expert whose vital energy is depleted.

"Checking in at a hotel."

Xiao Ruoye's voice was cold.

"Alright!" The proprietress smiled even more brightly. "There are three top-class rooms; hot water will be prepared for you right away!"

She led the three of them upstairs, the gazes of the desperados behind them growing increasingly brazen.

"Boss, these three girls are pretty good, especially the one carrying something, she's got some nerve."

"That little one is also very pretty; look at her tiny waist."

"What's that on your back? Gold and silver treasures?"

"Screw everything, we're in for a treat tonight!"

The murmurs were neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the three of them to hear.

Junyao's face turned red with anger, and the Gu King within her began to stir.

Xiao Ruoye pressed down on her shoulder and shook her head at her.

Upon arriving at the room, the landlady warmly served three cups of hot tea.

"My three sisters must be tired from their journey. Have some hot tea to warm yourselves up. The food will be ready soon."

She put down her teacup, swayed her hips, and walked away.

Xiao Ruoye picked up her teacup, about to drink.

Shen Suxin moved her hand slightly, tapping her fingertips lightly on the table twice.

Xiao Ruoye paused.

Shen Suxin leaned against Jun Yao, her face pale and her voice weak.

"Sister Ruoye, I...I'm so tired, I want to rest for a while."

As she spoke, her eyelids drooped, as if she might fall asleep at any moment.

Xiao Ruoye immediately understood and put down her teacup.

"Okay, you should rest first."

She deliberately pretended to be exhausted, leaning on the table to stand up, her body swaying slightly.

Junyao also yawned and rubbed her eyes.

I'm sleepy too.

None of the three women touched the tea. They each returned to their rooms, and soon, the sound of even breathing filled the rooms.

Late at night.

The ghost market was eerily quiet; not even a dog barked.

A dark figure moved stealthily across the floor of the inn's corridor.

It's the boss's wife, Hong Niangzi.

Behind her followed the dozen or so burly men from the inn.

Hong Niangzi walked to Xiao Ruoye's door, took out a thin bamboo tube from her bosom, poked a hole in the window paper, and gently blew inside.

A wisp of pale purple smoke drifted in silently.

After doing all that, she used the same method to deal with the other two rooms.

She waited quietly at the door for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

After confirming that there was no movement inside, a cruel smile appeared on her face.

She made a gesture to the person behind her.

A burly man stepped forward and kicked the door open.

The door slammed against the wall with a loud bang.

Red Maiden, carrying a sharp dagger, was the first to rush in.

"Tie those three girls up, and hurry up!"

She grinned maliciously, her gaze fixed directly on the bed.

On the bed, the blankets were bulging, and there was indeed a human figure lying there.

But the next second, her smile froze on her face.

There's no one in the bed.

There was only a straw doll with a yellow paper pasted on it, on which was drawn a strange smiling face.

"Oh no! We've fallen for their trap!"

Hong Niangzi's heart skipped a beat, and she turned to run away.

late.

The door slammed shut by itself.

Three figures had appeared in the room at some unknown time.

Shen Suxin leaned against the table, toying with a few black pills in her hand.

Junyao sat on the windowsill, swinging her legs, the bells on her ankles emitting a faint light in the darkness.

Xiao Ruoye appeared behind Hong Niangzi at some point.

The sharp, cold blade of a broken knife was pressed against the back of Hong Niangzi's neck.

"Tell me, what's in the tea?" Xiao Ruoye's voice was devoid of warmth.

The dozen or so burly men that Hong Niangzi brought were now lying sprawled on the ground, foaming at the mouth and unconscious.

They inhaled the "first incense" that Shen Suxin had arranged in advance in the room.

Hong Niangzi's body stiffened, but her face showed no sign of panic.

She even laughed, laughing so hard she was shaking uncontrollably.

"Little sister, you can't hold that knife very well."

"I advise you to release me now, otherwise..."

"What else can we do?"

"Otherwise, none of you three will leave this inn today."

The smile on Hong Niangzi's face vanished instantly, replaced by an extreme ruthlessness.

She suddenly yanked her collar.

With a tearing sound.

Instead of snow-white skin, her chest was adorned with a grotesque, lifelike tattoo of a ghost's head.

The eyes of that ghost head were marked with two blood-red cinnabar dots.

Red Lady faced the doorway and let out a sharp, long howl.

The whistling sound was not like a human voice at all, but more like the cry of some kind of night owl, piercing the night sky of the ghost market.