Ning Zhou casually grabbed it, muttering as he walked, “Even if I hold onto it, it's useless. Once we enter a demon realm like this, we'll probably still get teleported to different places anyway.”
Song Yao said, “No, this folding fan is a spiritual artifact. It won't be affected by the demon realm.”
Ning Zhou's eyes lit up. “Wow, where did you get such a good thing?”
Song Yao replied, “I don't know. Pavilion Master Huai insisted on giving it to me.”
Ning Zhou exclaimed, “Pavilion Master Huai? Who is Pavilion Master Huai...?”
Before he could finish, Cheng Yue interrupted from behind, “We're here. Stop chatting.”
A blinding white light suddenly erupted around them, and an invisible force tightly wrapped around the three of them. The next instant, the world spun. By the time they stepped onto solid ground again, the bustling noise of a crowd filled their ears.
It was even colder inside than it was outside.
Song Yao frowned and opened her eyes, squinting as she looked around.
It seemed to be a bustling tavern, packed with customers clinking glasses and talking merrily.
A waiter, with a plain cloth draped over his shoulder, moved deftly between the tables, serving food and wine.
Ning Zhou and Song Yao exchanged a glance. He lowered his voice and asked, “Where's Cheng Yue?”
Song Yao turned her head to look. She was only holding the dangling sword tassel in her fingers; Cheng Yue was nowhere to be seen behind her.
She had clearly used her spiritual energy to pull them together, intending to keep them in one place. How had they still been separated?
Cheng Yue was full of surprises and didn't require much worrying, so Song Yao didn't think too much of it. She tucked the sword tassel into her spatial pouch and said, “I don't know. We'll look for her later.”
“Alright.”
Ning Zhou looked around, scanning their surroundings. The more he looked, the more puzzled he became. “How strange. Is this really a demon realm? Why does it look even livelier than our Sichun City...?”
He lowered his voice, sounding horrified. “Could they all be demons disguised in human form?”
Song Yao shook her head. “They're all living people.”
“Living people?!”
Ning Zhou's eyes widened. “Living people trapped in a demon realm can still eat, drink, and chat like this?”
Not only that, but every table looked like it was laid out with an imperial feast. Bowls and dishes were piled high, and jars of fine wine were scattered haphazardly by their feet.
It was nothing short of extravagant.
Song Yao didn't reply. A nearby waiter noticed them and warmly approached to greet them, “Would you two like to sit in the main hall or a private room?”
Keeping his guard up, Ning Zhou asked, “With the tavern being this lively, is there some sort of festival going on today?”
The waiter laughed and shook his head. “What special festival? It's just a regular mealtime, so naturally there are many customers. If it were empty and quiet, how would our tavern survive?”
That actually made some sense.
But he remembered that the Frost City area wasn't particularly wealthy. Could a tavern really do such roaring business here?
Ning Zhou wanted to pry further, but the waiter's face suddenly fell, and he glared at him gloomily. “You two aren't here to cause trouble, are you? Our shop is very busy. We don't have time to chat with you.”
Ning Zhou was temporarily at a loss for words. He glanced at Song Yao, who was yawning and looking sleepy beside him, and realized she wouldn't be of any help. He could only brace himself and say, “How could that be? That's not what we meant at all. I was just curious. In that case, we won't disturb you. We'll come back another day.”
With that, he grabbed Song Yao, preparing to leave.
“Wait.”
But the waiter stepped sideways to block their path, his tone darkening. “You two have wasted so much of my time. How can you just leave like that?”
Ning Zhou was stunned. “I only said two sentences in total. How is that wasting your time?”
The waiter snorted coldly and gestured toward the back room.
Several burly men immediately marched out carrying clubs, all looking hostile. “Don't blame us for being rough. It's just that there have been too many people trying to steal our business and cause trouble lately...”
The surrounding noise quieted down slightly, and several glances drifted their way, some intentional and some casual.
Ning Zhou wasn't afraid at all. He immediately rolled up his sleeves to fight them, but his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Song Yao said lazily, “Since we're already here, let's grab a bite before we go.”
Saying so, she turned on her own and sat down at an empty table in the corner.
Ning Zhou: “...”
This was clearly a shady establishment, yet she actually dared to sit down and eat.
Helpless, he hurriedly rushed over and sat down too.
Seeing this, the waiter's face instantly broke into a smile again. With a wave of his hand, the burly men immediately retreated.
He quickly brought over a menu and handed it to the table, saying attentively, “This young lady is indeed sensible. Please take a look at what you'd like to eat, and I'll give you a discount.”
The prices on the first page of the menu were relatively normal, only slightly higher than other places.
But turning to the pages after that was truly jaw-dropping.
Delicacies from land and sea, imperial feasts—they had it all. There were even dishes made from rare spiritual plants that were hard to find on the market outside, all priced astronomically.
Ning Zhou clutched his money pouch, his heart bleeding.
No one had told him that entering a demon realm would cost him money.
Wait, no.
Given his current financial situation, ordering just one dish would bankrupt him.
At this moment, the waiter was very considerate, smiling as he flipped back to the first page. “We only serve the dishes in the back when customers occasionally request them. You two can just order from the front pages.”
Ning Zhou was slightly surprised. Fearing that the waiter would change his mind, he immediately ordered a few cheap dishes at random. “Just these. Thank you.”
Seeing the menu being pulled away, Song Yao hastily snatched it back and flipped to the last page. “Wait, wait, wait. Add a jar of Ten-Thousand-Mile Intoxication.”
Ning Zhou pressed down on her hand in shock. “It's expensive! Extremely expensive! Twenty thousand spirit stones! Did you even look at the price?”
Song Yao pushed his hand back down. “I have money.”
Ning Zhou was even more shocked. “Didn't we enter the sect together? How do you have money?”
Song Yao said, “I stole it.”
Ning Zhou asked, “Where did you even find such an opportunity?!”
Song Yao replied, “I'll bring you along next time.”
Ning Zhou said, “I can't do that! I'm not that kind of person.”
The waiter: “...”
Unable to get a word in, he could only politely take the menu away. “Then I will have these served to you. Please wait a moment.”
Before long, the dishes were served.
Outside, the sky gradually darkened. Even after finishing their meals, the guests in the hall showed no intention of leaving, continuing to chat warmly.
Ning Zhou didn't dare pick up his chopsticks. He whispered, “Do you think they poisoned the food?”
Song Yao drank some warm wine, her body warming up slightly. “There's no poison in the food, don't worry.”
Ning Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and scooped himself a large bowl of rice. Just as he took a bite, he heard Song Yao add, “The air is already poisoned. There's no need for them to go to all that trouble.”
Ning Zhou: “Cough, cough!”
He almost choked on the rice, nearly snorting it out of his nose. Terrified, he asked, “The air is poisoned?”
Song Yao replied, “It's demon toxin, the same one your master was afflicted with. Over time, it makes you go mad and fall into illusions.”
Ning Zhou sprang to his feet. “Then shouldn't we hurry up and leave?!”
Song Yao pulled him back down. “Leave to where? This demon toxin is everywhere in the demon realm.”
Ning Zhou: “...”
He fell silent for a moment, then sat back down dejectedly and took two huge bites of rice. “I heard that we body cultivators are the most susceptible to poison. If I start hallucinating first, you should just run on your own. Don't worry about me. You're too small; you won't be able to drag me along...”
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