I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Tristan immediately became alert.

"Can't you sleep in your own room?"

"We'll sleep together so we can look after each other if anything happens at night."

Lu Ban spoke with righteous indignation.

The blanket had already been placed beside Tristana's bed.

"Besides, don't you find it strange that they invited us to the wedding but wouldn't let us into the house? The Hai family's mansion is so spacious, there must be guest rooms, right? This is too much!"

Lu Ban spoke as if she were complaining that her longtime friend hadn't invited her to their wedding right away, her tone carrying the air of a resentful woman confined to her chambers.

"So that's true..."

Trist stroked his chin.

"No, then you don't need to sleep in the same bed as me, do you?"

He reacted.

"What if a female ghost climbs onto your bed while you're sleeping, and you can't resist?"

Lu Ban spread out the quilt and prepared to take off his clothes.

"???"

Tristana leaned against the corner of the wall.

Why are you taking off your clothes?

He instinctively reached for the gun under the pillow.

"Are you sleeping in your coat? It's okay, don't worry, this bed is big enough. Two people can squeeze in and sleep together all night without any problem."

Lu Ban explained in a serious tone.

"Something's wrong with you."

Drizzt firmly refused.

“…Okay, then I’ll sleep on the bench outside.”

Lu Ban picked up the blanket and spread it on the chair.

Trist saw Lu Ban put the crowbar aside and shrink into the blanket.

After waiting for a while and seeing that Lu Ban seemed to have fallen asleep, Trist dared to lie down.

Perhaps it was the overnight journey, or perhaps the terrifying events he had experienced had drained his energy, but Trist quickly became drowsy and was about to fall asleep.

Just as his consciousness was fading, Drizzt felt a hand suddenly grab his blanket.

He immediately opened his eyes and grabbed the revolver from under his pillow.

Before the gun could even turn, he saw Lu Ban shaking himself.

"……What's wrong?"

Tristana felt utterly helpless.

"I just thought of a question."

Lu Ban spoke very seriously.

"We came to Dry Water Town from the fog. Without those experiences, we might have been delayed even longer, or we might not have arrived until morning. Why did the Hai family arrange for someone to receive us in the middle of the night?"

"..."

Drizzt, who had been feeling a bit sleepy, immediately woke up.

"You mean, they know we've arrived?"

Lu Ban nodded, and then said.

"When we arrived at Kushui Town, we only saw two militiamen. We didn't encounter anyone else along the way. And those two men were on night watch and didn't leave to report, so no one should have informed the Hai family that we had arrived."

In reality, Lu Ban and Cui Shi had just arrived here and hadn't taken more than a few steps when they encountered the Hai family's servants.

“He can’t possibly stay up all night just to wait at the gate to greet guests, so I think he must have known we were coming and calculated the time.”

Lu Ban shared his guess.

"But how did they know...? No one was watching us... Wait, you mean, those monsters?"

Trist felt a chill run down his back.

Those figures lingering in the mist, without heartbeats, like people with bulging eyes, were the only ones who witnessed Lu Ban and Trist emerging from the fog.

The emaciated villagers also saw the carriage.

If these things were monitoring the two of them and informing the Hai family of their arrival...

"This wedding doesn't seem to be going well..."

Trist wasn't unfamiliar with erosion-level missions; these missions always had many unpredictable twists and turns. He even suspected that the bride and groom he would see at the wedding tomorrow might be those creatures with bulging eyes, resembling both fish and humans.

"I'm going to sleep now."

As Lu Ban spoke, he shrank back under the covers.

"??"

Trist looked at Lu Ban in disbelief.

This person just blurted out something like that, and then lay back down on his own.

What's he trying to achieve by making himself unable to sleep?

Trist put down his gun and lay back down.

He tossed and turned, his mind replaying the strange-looking people he had seen in the fog, and the terrifying fish-headed stone statue. By the time he finally felt sleepy and was about to close his eyes, it was already dawn.

Trist heard a sound in his ear.

Ding ding dong dong—

Ding ding ding ding—

very noisy……

Drizzt opened his eyes, somewhat dazed, unsure how long he had slept.

He saw Lu Ban sitting at the table, which had several bowls on it, seemingly for breakfast.

"You're awake? Breakfast is served free here, the seafood porridge is quite delicious!"

Lu Ban said excitedly.

"...You got up so early just to get a free breakfast?"

Drizzt yawned and got up.

He saw a large bowl of porridge on the table, filled with various kinds of fish and shrimp, as well as fried fish, steamed crabs, and other delicacies.

Taking the bowl, Trist took a bite in a half-dreaming state. The mild porridge, with its sweet seafood flavor, soothed him slightly, and his mind gradually returned to normal.

He looked at Lu Ban.

This person is so energetic. Did he sleep soundly last night without any precautions?

No, wait a minute.

Trist seemed to understand something.

"You talked to me in the middle of the night last night just to keep me awake and make me stay up all night for you?"

He blurted it out.

"How could that be? Oh, right, I asked around when I went downstairs to get breakfast, and we probably won't be able to attend the wedding today."

Lu Ban answered matter-of-factly, adding a sentence.

"what happened?"

Trist suddenly stopped eating his seafood porridge.

Has something unexpected happened?

Was the woman in the red wedding dress I met last night the bride?

This town feels increasingly dangerous!!!

Seeing the solemn expression on Tristana's face, Lu Ban smiled, picked up a crab, and skillfully disassembled it.

"Because they said the wedding is the day after tomorrow."

"what?"

Trist stopped what he was doing.

"The wedding is the day after tomorrow. We actually arrived early. Perhaps if we had followed the usual route, even if we were trapped by the fog, as long as we had stayed patiently in place until the fog cleared at dawn, we would have been able to reach Drywater Town."

With a snap, Lu Ban pried open the crab's shell.

Chapter 069 Are you a devil?

During the day, the layout of the dry town is no different from other small towns.

Lu Ban, dressed in a windbreaker that looked out of place with his surroundings, came to the first floor of the inn and laid out the coins in his hand.

"Boss, two ounces of hot liquor and a bowl of fennel beans."

He said it casually.

The boss, who had been indifferent last night, now had a smile on his face and answered Lu Ban.

"There are no beans, only wine and dried anchovies to go with the wine, is that alright?"

"Row."

Lu Ban handed the coins in his hand to the shopkeeper. These were local coins, which he had collected that morning when he went to town to inquire about things while getting his breakfast.

No one was harmed during the entire process.

On the table was a pot of wine and a stack of dried fish. Lu Ban noticed that the shopkeeper's cat was rubbing against his trouser leg. He picked up a dried fish, placed it in front of the cat, and let it sniff it. The cat was very excited and let out a meow.