You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?
Chapter 505 505: 65, Bixia Inn_2

The straw raincoat-clad woman led the boy up to the second floor of the inn and into a room, whereupon she immediately closed the door.

Upon entering the room, the straw raincoat-clad woman didn't bother to remove her damp garment and hat, but after a quick scan of the surroundings, she set down her hat and whispered to the boy, "Disciple, we might be in big trouble."

"Oh?" The boy blinked, "Master, how did you figure that out?"

"This is definitely a den of thieves."

Speaking in a low voice, the straw raincoat-clad woman said, "That innkeeper's martial arts are unfathomably deep; she just tacitly acknowledged that we have fled here, and it seems the other guests are in a similar predicament, likely hunted by Jianghu or the imperial soldiers... such outlaws."

The corner of the boy's mouth twitched slightly.

"But don't worry." The straw raincoat-clad woman said, "Aside from the innkeeper's high level of martial arts, the others don't seem to bear any traces of martial training; your master can still protect you."

"..."

Feigning an air of world-weariness, the boy sighed, "Master, your insight is truly remarkable."

"But of course, your master is a second-tier expert in Jianghu."

The straw raincoat-clad woman proudly declared, "Unless it's a legendary martial cultivator who has ascended by martial prowess, even against a first-tier expert, I can easily take you away. But such powerful martial cultivators are comparable to great cultivators; how could they possibly hide in such a shabby place?"

"Master speaks the truth."

The boy nodded in admiration.

Privately, he mused, If I can take a mortal like you as a master, what can't be possible...

...

Inside the inn's main hall.

After the beautiful innkeeper descended the stairs, a rag-clad monk immediately furrowed his brow and spoke, "Nine Yin Lady, your realm is the highest, not only at the perfect level of a great cultivator but also you've cultivated the Nine Nether Dharma Eye. That woman... did you see anything unusual about her?"

"I couldn't make anything out either."

The beautiful woman shook her head and said, "She looks just like a mortal, but since she managed to find this place, she must have been directed by a member within Eternal Night Mountain. And the fact that she passed through the barrier set by my master, she must be a great cultivator."

"It seems... she's very good at concealing her aura?"

Frowning, the rag-clad monk replied, "That woman has disguised herself indistinguishably from a mortal, riding here through the rain without displaying the slightest bit of mana or supernatural ability. Such caution suggests that she's not merely fleeing from the Qingtian Bureau or the Heaven Patrol Alliance. Perhaps, her pursuers are... the Heavenly Punishment Department?"

As soon as the name "Heavenly Punishment Department" was mentioned, everyone's faces in the hall changed.

The Qingtian Bureau hunted cultivators who violated the law, and most great cultivators could survive if they kept a low profile.

The pursuit of the Heaven Patrol Alliance was more troublesome, but as long as one stayed low-key, they weren't so easy to track down.

However, the cultivators hunted by the Heavenly Punishment Department were truly sinful cultivators who had committed dire transgressions!

Their pursuit was relentless until death.

Most great cultivators would undoubtedly die, and even ordinary saints had to tread carefully, only those skilled in concealment, even the legendary saints with heaven-defying powers, could live in peace.

"No need to worry."

The Nine Yin Lady took a deep breath and said, "After all, this isn't Jingzhou, where the Eye of Heaven is not apparent, and we have the barrier treasures from my master. As long as the Heavenly Punishment Department isn't directly pursuing her here, they won't be able to find us, and besides, the Heavenly Punishment Department might not bother with cultivators with petty sins like us."

Everyone felt a bit relieved.

"However..."

One of the Taoist-robed elders spoke up, "The Envoy from Eternal Night Mountain will arrive soon; should we let that woman meet the Envoy too?"

Nine Yin Lady pondered for a moment and then said, "Since she came to Tianxia Building to escape, she naturally is fleeing from the pursuit of the Xiahong family and has the potential to become a member of Eternal Night Mountain. We should let her meet the Envoy."

"I agree."

An old scholar with white hair and beard slowly nodded, "Even the Nine Yin Lady can't see through her; perhaps she's also at the perfect level of a great cultivator. Such a strong individual whose background we are unaware of is indeed a risk. After we meet the Envoy, we shall report her affairs to the Envoy."

"Scholar Ghost speaks sensibly."

"The Envoy of Eternal Night Mountain is all at the peak of great cultivators, and they aren't ordinary peak great cultivators."

"It's said that only the distinguished figures among the sixth layer of Tianxia Building could become an Envoy?"

"The sixth layer... I'm only at the fourth layer."

"After all, it is Eternal Night Mountain, where strong individuals are as common as clouds. Even for us Great Cultivators, if we were lucky enough to enter the mountain, we would just be ordinary members at best. Only when one becomes an upper emissary does one acquire a certain status, and the real big shots are the Peak Masters of Eternal Night Mountain."

"It is said that the Master of Empress of Nine Yin is one of the Peak Masters of Eternal Night Mountain? If Empress of Nine Yin can gather the embryonic form of the Dao, she also has the chance to become an upper emissary, right?"

The Great Cultivators in the hall sighed and struck up a conversation.

At this moment, barriers were already set up inside the hall to prevent prying eyes; however, they did not know... A gaze that penetrated all obstacles was quietly observing them.

...

In a room on the second floor of the inn.

"Apprentice, what are you thinking about?"

The straw raincoat and bamboo hat were already set aside. A young woman, clearly not yet twenty, sat at a table, took out a piece of dry bread from her parcel, broke it in half, and handed one piece to the boy, "Hungry? Eat something."

The boy looked disdainfully at the dry bread, which had swollen from rainwater, and waved his hand, "I'm not hungry. Master, you eat."

"What's the matter, too good for it?" The young woman took a bite of the bread and said, "It's not that your master is stingy, but we have to be cautious when wandering the Jianghu. We can't just eat any food from the inn."

"We simply don't have any silver left..." the boy muttered.

The young woman's pretty face flushed as she couldn't help but tousle the boy's head, "You seem to know a lot. Why do you like acting so mature at such a young age?"

"But indeed, Master is out of money." She suddenly looked at the boy's wrist with hopeful eyes and said, "Those two gold bracelets on your wrist look rather valuable. How about we pawn one of them? When your master makes big money, I'll help you redeem it back."

At this moment, beneath the boy's sleeve, two pale gold ring bracelets could be seen on his wrist.

The boy gave her a silent glance and withdrew his hand into his sleeve, saying, "They are family heirlooms; I would rather die than pawn them."

The young woman sounded a bit disappointed and muttered quietly to herself while nibbling on the bread, "Ah, why is your master's fate so miserable? A second-rate expert, yet so impoverished, can't even afford a hot meal."

The boy cheerily said, "I see that Master's face shows impending hardships, and the presiding gods are isolated. Perhaps you're not only destined to be impoverished for life but also to be lonely."

"Spit, spit, spit, don't talk nonsense." The young woman spat out in annoyance, "Where did you hear such things? What does a child know about reading faces?"

"An old Taoist who tells fortunes taught me, and it's really accurate," the boy declared earnestly.

"Better stop listening to those Jianghu charlatans spouting nonsense."

The young woman snorted and then said with a worried expression, "But that landlady didn't mention the room charge. Could she have forgotten? Mm... let's sneak out early tomorrow morning..."

"I'm sleepy," the boy yawned, then jumped off the chair and climbed onto the bed, "Master, I'm going to sleep first."

"You go to sleep. Do you want Master to hold you?" the young woman asked caringly.

"No, the private school teacher said that men and women should not touch hands," the boy replied, turning his back on the young woman and closing his eyes to sleep.

"You little rascal; even your master has to sleep on the bed," the young woman hummed.

Before long, though, she felt drowsy, as if overwhelmed by sleepiness. Walking hazily to the bed, she collapsed on it and fell into a deep sleep.

The boy turned over and sat up, glanced at the young woman, then gently flicked his wrist. The pair of gold rings on his wrist suddenly expanded on their own and floated up into the air.

These rings emitted a faint, hazy glow, swirling around the woman for a few moments, then flew back to the boy.

"Are you sure she's the one you've chosen?" the boy quietly asked.

The pair of rings flipped in the air, as if nodding.

"Alright, after three years, we finally found someone you've chosen." The boy continued, "So we just need to help her overcome her fate, right?"

The rings flipped once more.

"Understood."

The boy narrowed his eyes, observing the deeply sleeping young woman, and shook his head, "You sure know how to choose. This woman carries the Xiahong bloodline, and it's quite pure, at least from five or four generations ago.

"By rights... even without Heaven and Earth Treasures, she would have a significant chance of awakening on her own. Her luck is so poor, she hasn't awakened at this age?

"And with such a pure bloodline, yet stranded outside, she must be the descendant of some deceased prince. It's probably not the Sixteenth Prince, so it's... the earlier deceased Ninth Prince?

"Tsk, the forces seeking vengeance on the remnants of Prince Lin Mansion for the death of the Ninth Prince are indeed numerous, and the prince's death was also quite mysterious...

"This is truly troublesome..."

The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!