Chapter 258: Wilderness Inn, Midnight Trade

“A roadside inn in the wilderness?” Chu Danqing stared at the dilapidated inn, its entrance hung with red lanterns—signaling a prosperous opening.

Yet inside, not a single guest could be seen.

Night was falling; they would reach Meilong Town by tomorrow, but the journey had been unnaturally quiet—no quests triggered.

Chu Danqing had considered pushing through the dark, but then thought: rushing like this would only exhaust them, even if they arrived.

“Why not stay the night? We’ll set off tomorrow.” Chu Danqing asked Yang Qianyuan.

Yang Qianyuan replied bluntly: “Brother Chu, you know this is the wilderness. Anyone running an inn here can’t be good. I suspect it might be a black inn.”

“I know that,” Chu Danqing nodded. “But they should be the ones afraid—not us.”

If they ran an honest business and didn’t reveal any suspicious signs, then nothing would happen.

Chu Danqing wouldn’t act on mere suspicion or baseless guesses.

So this was baiting them—if they took the hook, they’d have no right to complain.

With that, Chu Danqing strode boldly into the inn.

The shopkeeper was a woman dressed in flashy finery, her features strikingly beautiful.

On the counter lay a Spirit-Flame Black Fox—clearly her spirit beast.

Seeing them enter, the shopkeeper swayed her hips forward, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness.

“Welcome, sirs! Are you here to eat or to lodge?” she hurriedly asked.

Chu Danqing scanned the inn’s layout, then ignored her question: “With this place so rundown, you can’t even afford a serving boy?”

“Oh, sir, don’t say that,” the shopkeeper quickly replied. “It’s just that lazy donkey—urinates and defecates too much. The boy just went to the latrine.”

Da Bao sensed the lie. Following the rule: liar = bad, he raised his hand to slap her.

Chu Danqing shot him a glance—he stopped mid-swing and scratched his head instead.

If he’d swung, the Spirit-Flame Black Fox wouldn’t have had time to intervene—the shopkeeper’s head would’ve spun three hundred sixty degrees.

“Bring us a full table of fine dishes—plenty of portions, no shortchanging,” Chu Danqing tossed down a silver ingot. “Two adjoining upper rooms. Mattresses and bedding must be freshly aired—no stale, musty stuff.”

The shopkeeper snatched the ingot, weighed it in her hand, and grinned like a blooming chrysanthemum.

“Rest assured, sirs, we attend to every detail.” She slipped the silver into her pouch and swayed toward the kitchen.

Soon after, a dashing serving boy appeared, pouring tea and water.

“You’re too good-looking to be a serving boy,” Chu Danqing teased.

His face was clean and handsome—he could’ve lived off looks alone, yet chose to rely on skill. Unusual indeed.

Whether that skill was serving or swindling remained to be seen.

“Skill earns a living—no waste,” the boy replied, unfazed—he’d heard this before.

Not long after, the food arrived. The boy didn’t linger, heading straight to the back of the inn.

The entire inn was now empty—save for Chu Danqing and his group.

Da Bao sniffed, then immediately grabbed a dish and began shoveling food into his mouth.

This meant the food was safe.

Seeing him eat, the others picked up their chopsticks.

Not just Da Bao—Chenming Spider Feidi had also scanned it and confirmed no poison.

Chu Danqing felt disappointed. The odds of them being a black inn had risen significantly.

If they were truly a black inn, skipping poison in the food was a blunder.

Full and satisfied, Chu Danqing called the serving boy to clear the table and lead them upstairs to their rooms.

Throughout the entire process, nothing seemed amiss—the boy’s demeanor was flawless, and his good looks didn’t breed arrogance.

“That serving boy and the inn are both suspicious.”

After settling in, Yang Qianyuan spoke immediately.

“Yes. His appearance, skin, demeanor—even his voice—none of it fits a serving boy.” Chu Danqing agreed.

He clearly wasn’t used to the physical labor or shouting of the trade.

What? No customers? Then why open an inn at all?

“The inn’s been recently renovated—only recently. These people aren’t genuine shopkeeper or boy—they’re after something else,” Yang Qianyuan continued. “But we don’t yet know what.”

Da Bao and Da Bai’s senses were sharp, but they weren’t specialized in perception, so they missed finer details.

Well, mainly because their intelligence was lacking.

Chu Danqing had noticed something too—but not as precisely as Yang Qianyuan.

The perception boost from Chenming Spider Feidi had made Yang Qianyuan’s perception extraordinarily strong.

Chu Danqing was certain Yang Qianyuan’s Purple Mansion wasn’t ordinary—it was a special one.

And very likely one that enhanced perception or heavenly fate.

Though Yang Qianyuan’s base perception stat was lower than Chu Danqing’s, his passive bonuses and effects made him far superior.

Perception, heavenly fate, detection—these were his natural strengths.

“How recent is ‘recent’?” Chu Danqing asked.

“Hard to say. I’d guess about a month,” Yang Qianyuan replied.

“Possibly a transit point,” Chu Danqing offered his theory.

Legitimate business couldn’t sustain them—nor could a black inn expect customers daily.

More likely, they were involved in some other operation.

“Rest for now. See what happens at midnight.”

“If we sleep through till dawn, we’ll leave as planned tomorrow,” Chu Danqing said—he wouldn’t act without evidence.

What if he killed the wrong people?

Yang Qianyuan agreed with Chu Danqing’s plan, nodded, and returned to his room to rest.

Chu Danqing didn’t sleep—he quietly cultivated and studied.

Replacing sleep with cultivation was his habit—only when truly exhausted or needing rest did he sleep.

For example, after leaving the cultivation chamber, he always slept.

Otherwise, it was unnecessary.

Around three in the morning, Chu Danqing clearly heard the inn’s front door open.

The sound was quiet—but his high perception made it unmistakable.

Not just him—Da Bao had also woken from sleep.

Da Bao was no longer the same as fifteen days ago. Through cultivation materials from Xuan Yuan Temple and Yunyun White Peony as primary ingredients, his power had surged.

His five core stats had been pushed to the 1st-tier limit of 30, and his bloodline concentration reached 3%, triggering an upgrade to his Blood Cavern Blood Beast talent.

His skills had also reached level 30.

[Bloodline]

[Ancient Afterglow (Bloodline Concentration: 3%)]

[Effect 1: +3 to all five core stats]

[. ]

——

[Talent]

[. ]

[Blood Cavern Blood Beast]

[Effect 1: . ]

[Effect 2: All Blood Rage skill effects increased by 13%]

[Effect 3: Recovery efficiency +13% when severely wounded or near death]

[Effect 4: Effectiveness of Rampage and Fearless states increased by 13%]

[Effect 5: Perception efficiency increased by 13%]

——

[Skills]

[Rending Claws (Active) LV.30: Upon activation, attacks deal an additional 30 Rending damage and apply Bleeding. Consumes 30 Blood Rage per minute while active]

[Bloodthirsty Pursuit (Passive) LV.30: When damaging enemies with Bleeding, gain life drain and add an extra 30 Bleeding damage]

——

Originally, Rending Claws and Bloodthirsty Pursuit reached LV.MAX at level 30—meaning fully maxed.

But when bloodline concentration rose to 2%, their levels reverted to numerical values.

This proved bloodline advancement could raise the cap of these skills.

Unfortunately, resources for further bloodline growth were insufficient. Chu Danqing prioritized stats, then skills, then bloodline—so after maxing stats and skills, only enough remained to raise bloodline by 2%.

But it didn’t matter—he was confident he could raise Da Bao’s bloodline to 10% within this trial world.

As for Da Gu, his power was sufficient for now, not lagging, and his resource needs were unusual.

Chu Danqing chose to prioritize Da Bao’s growth first.

Pluck the flower while it blooms—don’t wait till none remains.

If resources suited Da Bao, use them—why hoard them?

“Little Chu, woman, trembling, voice,” Da Bao listened carefully, then reported to Chu Danqing.

Chu Danqing narrowed his eyes—he understood Da Bao meant not the innkeeper, but someone else entirely.

"Let's go take a look." Chu Danqing’s expression remained unchanged as he silently opened the door.

Stepping out, he bumped into Yang Qianyuan, who was also opening his door; the two exchanged glances and instantly understood each other’s intent.

Yang Qianyuan had also sensed the anomaly and came to summon Chu Danqing for help.

His own strength was mediocre, and the Omen Spider was a Celestial Mechanism beast, ill-suited for combat—he couldn’t possibly go alone and risk death.

Yang Qianyuan was not the type to charge headlong into battle despite knowing he was outmatched; instead, he sought other solutions.

Before meeting Chu Danqing, his methods had mostly avoided violence.

He couldn’t fight even if he wanted to.

The two crept quietly downstairs and found a concealed spot with a clear view.

There, in the center of the inn’s main hall, lay a sack, from which a woman’s head protruded—her mouth gagged and face covered.

The shopkeeper was conversing with several men.

From their expressions and words, it was clear these men were acquainted.

"Human trafficking? Doesn’t seem like it," Chu Danqing thought it more likely to be an abduction.

But this raised another issue: the woman’s skin condition suggested she was no noblewoman.

"Who are you? Come out!" A man with a howling white wolf suddenly tensed, his gaze locking onto the two.

(End of Chapter)