Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

The two woke up to a dimly lit dawn, still some time away from the hour of Si.

“I was scared to death yesterday!” Meng Jingzhou, recalling the experiences of the previous night, was still frightened.

Lu Yang was more composed: “First, get familiar with the rules. Knowing the rules means there’s nothing to fear.”

Meng Jingzhou nodded.

They reviewed the twenty-one rules to ensure there were no discrepancies in their memory before feeling reassured.

“What time is it now?”

At that moment, the sound of a gong came from outside, and the night watchman called out as he struck it: “The hour of Si has come.”

They hurried downstairs.

On the first floor, two merchants were angrily confronting the innkeeper: “We left our horses in the backyard stable yesterday. Why is there only a saddle left today?”

Since there had been no sound of the horses neighing, it meant the horses had no chance to resist. It was indeed a terrifying creature.

Ignoring the merchants, the two rushed out of the inn.

Everlasting Fairy reminded them: “Those two merchants have a heavy aura of death about them, entangled with vengeful spirits. They are not simple travelers.”

Lu Yang nodded, indicating he understood.

The streets were filled with the aroma of food as restaurants opened, steaming dishes tempting one’s appetite. However, eerily, the restaurants were empty of people. One of the steamers had a sign that read “Meat Buns.”

The townspeople, dressed in coarse brown hemp, seemed accustomed to this scene. They took their breakfast and sat down to eat, avoiding the meat buns.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou also did as the locals, enjoying three pancakes and a bowl of soy milk.

Lu Yang noticed people ate quickly, some even eating while walking, seemingly in a rush.

A commotion arose from one side of the street, and a group of people hurriedly fled. Those who were eating also abandoned their meals and ran.

“Let’s run too!” Lu Yang grabbed a pancake and fled.

They ran to the opposite end of the street and looked back to see what had happened.

A group of people dressed in black, about a dozen, with knives at their waists, approached.

“Hey you, stop!” One of the black-clad people shouted at someone trying to escape. The person instinctively turned their head, and their head spun a full three hundred and sixty degrees, hanging limp.

The man in black laughed heartily, sat down at the entrance of the restaurant, lifted the lid of the steamer, and started eating a meat bun, grease dripping from his mouth.

The dead person lifted their head, twisted it back into place, and left the scene as if forgetting what had just happened.

“They’re the government’s enforcers. The rules say we can’t eat meat buns, but the enforcers can, indicating they have to follow different rules than us,” Lu Yang analyzed quietly.

“There are many breakfast options, but all the enforcers chose meat buns, indicating they can only eat meat buns.”

“And the rules also mentioned not turning heads, it seems turning your head could twist it off!”

The two exchanged glances and decided to leave, staying as far away from the enforcers as possible.

“At the very start, human nature is good. Nature is similar, but habits make us different…” Passing by the private school, they heard the clear sound of reading, the mature voices of a group of adults reciting the “Three Character Classic.” (TL Note: The work is one of the Chinese classic texts. It was probably written in the 13th century and is mainly attributed to Wang Yinglin. It is not one of the traditional six Confucian classics, but rather the embodiment of Confucianism suitable for teaching young children. Until the latter part of the 1800s, it served as a child’s first formal education at home. The text is written in triplets of characters for easy memorization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Character_Classic)

However, Lu Yang remembered the rule that stated 【Rule 8: The private school has been abandoned for many years. There are no teachers, only barking dogs can be heard from the school, no voices of people reading.】

This was definitely not right.

The two quickly left, only to be blocked by a person wearing gray clothes: “You two look unfamiliar. Could it be that you’ve come from somewhere else?”

【Rule 9: Those wearing gray clothes are private school teachers. Ignore whatever they say.】

【Rule 10: Do not make eye contact with the private school teachers. If you do, you will turn into a black dog】

The two quickly reacted, bowing their heads and walking forward, avoiding eye contact with the private school teacher and not listening to anything he said.

The private school teacher, persistent, said beside them: “I see you two are well-dressed, likely possessing some cultivation. Could it be you also believe in the rules written on that piece of paper?”

“Not all rules on the paper are true; some are meant to mislead.”

“In fact, the person who set these rules here meant no harm. He only wished to protect himself, hence resorting to such measures. He knew of your arrival and specifically asked me to help you.”

“I have a way to leave this town, but the price is that you will lose your memories of this town.”

“Just recite the Three Character Classic in the private school for three days, and you can leave the town! I am not deceiving you. You can hear the voices in the private school; someone has already left the town with my help yesterday.”

The private school teacher suddenly ran in front of them, bending down to make eye contact with Lu Yang.

Lu Yang closed his eyes and walked forward. Before closing his eyes, he saw the teacher’s face was missing skin on the lower half, exposing red muscles, which was very unsettling.

Seeing that the two were ignoring him and kept their heads down, the private school teacher had no choice but to give up, shouting from behind them: “This is your only chance to leave the town. You’ll regret not accepting my help.”

Everlasting Fairy spoke in the spiritual space, “Lu Yang, don’t believe his words; only part of what he said is true.”

“A part?” Lu Yang was somewhat surprised; he had assumed everything the teacher said was false.

“He indeed has a way to let people leave the town, but not as ‘humans.’ Instead, as ‘black dogs.’ I saw him releasing several black dogs last night.”

“Before he met you, someone made eye contact with him. After doing so, the person suffered from severe headaches, bloodshot eyes, and black fur started growing on their arms before they walked into the private school.”

Lu Yang felt a chill down his spine; the private school teacher’s abilities were tricky and not easy to deal with.

“Let’s go to the tailor’s shop.” Lu Yang had some ideas that needed verification.

The two visited every tailor’s shop in Commoner Town, finding none that sold black, white, or grey clothes, nor did they have the corresponding fabrics.

While wandering around the town, they noticed a question: “Where is the ancestral hall?”

The rules stated that the ancestral hall was safe, yet also mentioned it housed monsters. Such contradictory statements meant this place was surely no simple matter.

However, they didn’t find the ancestral hall’s location after circling the town. As evening approached, nearing the hour of Hai, they had to return to the inn.

“Dear guests, you’ve returned safely. Our inn is very secure; you don’t need to be so nervous. I will ensure your safety.” At the inn’s entrance, the smiling waiter greeted them. The waiter had no whites in his eyes, only pure black pupils, as if he could see what ordinary people couldn’t.

Their skin crawled at the sound of this voice; it was unmistakably the voice from the hallway knocking last night!

It was him last night!

“Waiter, it’s not yet time. Go back to your room!” The innkeeper shooed away the waiter.

The waiter stared down the innkeeper for a long while before reluctantly leaving.

Lu Yang noticed the waiter headed towards the third floor, where the rooms marked with “heaven” were located.

(End of the chapter)