Chapter 131

Chapter 131: The Popular Immortal Maiden Ye
The young woman who had spoken had delicate brows and clear features. When Yu Zhao came closer, her eyes were full of wariness, but as soon as Yu Zhao mentioned Ye Cong Xin, the frost in her eyes melted at once and a smile spread across her face.

Yu Zhao nodded: “If the Immortal Maiden Ye you spoke of is named Ye Cong Xin, then yes, I do know her.”

“That is her!” The young woman was overjoyed.

“I have met Immortal Maiden Ye a few times. It has been a long time since I last saw her. I heard you say just now that she used to stay at this inn?”

“Yes. You came late and just missed her. She left about half a month ago.” The young woman sighed regretfully. “I am even more unlucky. I only saw Immortal Maiden Ye once, then got delayed by other matters. When I wanted to see her again, she was already gone.”

A trace of doubt flashed through Yu Zhao’s eyes.

This female cultivator in front of her was highly guarded toward strangers. Why was she so especially fond of Ye Cong Xin, whom she had only met once?

Also, after Ye Cong Xin left, strange incidents began to happen at this inn again and again. Could that really be just a coincidence?

Yu Zhao changed her mind in an instant. Today, she was going to stay at this inn no matter what.

She called Ji Han Zhou over and told him her decision. Ji Han Zhou agreed without even thinking about it.

After going through so much with Yu Zhao, Ji Han Zhou held onto one belief.

[Whatever Senior Sister Yu decides to do, she must have her own reasons.]
He only needed to obey unconditionally, talk less, learn more. In any case, Senior Sister Yu would not treat him badly.

The onlookers, their curiosity satisfied, were just about to disperse when they saw a young man and woman squeeze out of the crowd and walk toward the inn.

Their steps immediately stopped.

The inn’s shopkeeper was sitting on the threshold. When he felt a shadow fall across him, he weakly raised his head and glanced at Ji Han Zhou and Yu Zhao, then quickly lowered it again to shake his head and sigh.

Another pair of hotheaded youngsters here just to gawk.

“Shopkeeper, give us two top-grade rooms.”

The shopkeeper’s sigh cut off halfway. He suddenly choked on his own saliva and started coughing violently.

But even as he coughed, he still struggled to reach out and grab Ji Han Zhou’s sleeve: “Cough, cough cough, Customer, cough, please…”

Ji Han Zhou frowned deeply and really wanted to fling the shopkeeper’s hand off.

The shopkeeper, however, held on for dear life as if afraid Ji Han Zhou would run away. His eyes were watering from the coughing, but he still refused to let go.

Seeing Ji Han Zhou’s eyes roll almost to the ceiling, Yu Zhao stepped in to smooth things over.

“Shopkeeper, we are here to stay at the inn. We are not going to run. But should you be giving us a discount?”

The shopkeeper finally caught his breath and hurriedly nodded: “Discount, discount, of course there will be a discount!”

He had finally managed to attract two people who were not afraid of death. How could he let them get away again? Never mind a discount, he would be willing to pay spirit stones just to make them stay.

Under the warm, eager gazes of the crowd, the shopkeeper and the waiter fawningly led Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou into the inn.

“Honored customers, all our top-grade rooms are empty. You can choose whichever you like. Stay wherever you want.”

The shopkeeper bent slightly at the waist, his voice so flattering it was almost dripping with sweetness.

“Shopkeeper, tell us first which rooms the customers who died were staying in,” Yu Zhao said.

The shopkeeper’s expression immediately turned bitter.

Even so, he could understand why Yu Zhao asked. After all, who would want to stay in a room where someone had died?

“Honored customers, actually you do not need to worry. Those unfortunate customers all stayed in the low-grade and mid-grade rooms. We have sealed those doors, and until a Buddhist Cultivator comes to transcend the dead, they will not be opened again.”

As he spoke, the shopkeeper led Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou to walk past those rooms.

Sure enough, just as he had said, those rooms were on the first and second floors, and there were special seals pasted on each door.

Yu Zhao deliberately studied where the rooms were located and found that besides two customer rooms that were in the same position on the floor above and below, there was no special connection between the others.

So, most likely, the problem was not with the inn itself, but with the people.

“Shopkeeper, I heard Immortal Maiden Ye was staying at your inn half a month ago. Do you remember her?”

“You know Immortal Maiden Ye too, Customer?” Instead of being alarmed, the shopkeeper was delighted. “Of course I remember her, of course! I have been in business for so many years, and I have never seen a female cultivator more popular than Immortal Maiden Ye! She stayed here for a few months, and our inn’s business boomed. Every day, all the rooms were fully booked.”

After he finished, the shopkeeper seemed to realize something. His face changed. “Could it be that someone was jealous of the inn’s business and deliberately cursed people to death? That is too vicious!”

Yu Zhao focused on what he had just said.

So Ye Cong Xin had stayed at this inn for a few months. That also meant that Lan Zi Yu and Su Ming had stayed in Black Armor City for a few months.

What had they been doing here?

Thinking of how Marsh Forest lay just outside Black Armor City, Yu Zhao’s gaze turned cold.

It had better not be what she was thinking.

If it was, she really wanted to dig out Lan Zi Yu and the others’ brains to see what exactly they were thinking.

“Who is this Immortal Maiden Ye? Is she very beautiful?”

Seeing Yu Zhao deep in thought, Ji Han Zhou took the initiative to continue asking questions.

“Well now, how should I put it?” The shopkeeper said, “Immortal Maiden Ye is not the kind of beauty who can topple a nation, but you just cannot help liking her. Once you see her, all your worries disappear.”

As soon as he brought up Ye Cong Xin, the shopkeeper’s mood improved greatly. He excitedly described to Ji Han Zhou how likable Ye Cong Xin was and how everyone adored her.

Ji Han Zhou raised his brows in surprise: “There is actually such a person in the Cultivation World?”

“I did not believe it before either, but after I saw her with my own eyes, I had no choice but to believe it.”

Compared to the customers who had showered the inn with gifts and flattery while Immortal Maiden Ye was here, the shopkeeper felt he was already being very restrained. But in Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou’s eyes, his attitude toward Ye Cong Xin could only be described as fanatical.

“Shopkeeper, let me ask one more thing. Those customers who died, did they interact with Ye Cong Xin more often?”

The moment she said this, both the shopkeeper and the waiter beside him looked very unhappy.

The shopkeeper’s earlier friendliness vanished. “What do you mean by that? Are you suspecting that this has something to do with Immortal Maiden Ye? I am telling you, that is absolutely impossible. Those people were perfectly fine when Immortal Maiden Ye left, and there was no grudge between them. Immortal Maiden Ye would never harm them.”

After speaking, he sized Yu Zhao up from head to toe, his tone aggressive: “Are you here to stay at the inn, or are you here to stir up trouble?”

Yu Zhao was not angry at all. She smiled lightly: “Of course I am here to stay. I only asked because I was curious. If I offended you, I apologize. For now, please help us complete the check-in.”

Half convinced and half doubtful, the shopkeeper led Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou to the top-grade rooms. His attitude was far less enthusiastic than when they had first entered.

After he left, Ji Han Zhou came to Yu Zhao’s room and said firmly: “That Ye Cong Xin definitely has a problem!”

Yu Zhao looked at him with a half-smile: “How did you see that?”

“To make a greedy, profit-seeking shopkeeper, who has no relation to her, defend her even at the risk of offending his customers… if that is not strange, what is?”

Yes, it was very strange.

It was just that people caught up in the middle of things were often the last to see clearly, and how many people could truly see through the situation from inside the game?