"These two people... who exactly has the problem?"
Zhou Yingting returned to his original position, watching the two still inquiring about their respective news, and fell into thought.
Earlier, in the hotel, Zhou Yingting hadn’t really noticed much.
It was only after coming out that Zhou Yingting felt something was off, and then discovered that the other person cast no shadow.
The moment he became aware of this, Zhou Yingting nearly drew his sword to cut the other person down.
However, at the last moment, Zhou Yingting calmed down and refrained from taking action.
Since the other person had no shadow, Zhou Yingting couldn’t be sure if there was really an issue with them, and it would be unfortunate if he killed the wrong person.
Zhou Yingting stared fixedly at the two, but no matter how he observed, he couldn’t determine who among them had the problem.
After a while, the two women returned to Zhou Yingting’s side, each shaking their head, indicating they hadn’t obtained any useful information.
Seeing this, Zhou Yingting remained silent for a moment, then headed towards a small shop nearby.
The two women, puzzled, quickly followed him.
"This, this... and these, how much will they cost?"
The layout of the small shop resembled a convenience store, and there was oden cooking on the counter, steaming continuously.
Upon entering, Zhou Yingting began ordering food, which left the two women momentarily stunned, not quite understanding his actions. Updates are released by novel-fire.net
Can you eat what’s here? Does Zhou Yingting have money?
"Hmm, that will be 12 Blood Gold."
The shopkeeper calculated and then gave Zhou Yingting a total.
Zhou Yingting smiled at the words, took out the Blood Gold he carried with him, paid, and then said, "Could you please pack it up? I’ll eat over there."
He pointed to a spot nearby as he spoke.
There were tables and chairs inside, clearly meant for people to eat inside the shop.
The shopkeeper gestured that it was no problem, then started preparing the oden for Zhou Yingting, who led the two women to a chair and sat down.
Seeing the inquisitive looks on their faces, Zhou Yingting made a hush gesture.
The shopkeeper worked quickly; soon, the food was brought over. Just as the shopkeeper was about to leave, Zhou Yingting called out.
"Hey, by the way, could I ask you something?"
The shopkeeper halted and turned back, puzzled, "What do you want to know?"
"The thing is, I’m just traveling here and haven’t found a place to stay yet. My money was stolen on the way, and I don’t have much left, so I was wondering if there’s a place where lodging is relatively cheap?"
Zhou Yingting said, looking a bit embarrassed.
The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, then saw how Zhou Yingting had only ordered one portion of oden for the three of them, making him mostly believe the story.
"Well, actually, places around here are pretty expensive. For cheaper options, you can head down this street, and in a small alley, you’ll find some inexpensive inns."
The shopkeeper pointed out the route to Zhou Yingting.
"And the hygiene and condition of those places? These two friends of mine are a bit particular about such things."
Zhou Yingting said, indicating Lin Yuxin and the other woman.
The shopkeeper frowned, "For inns like those, conditions are definitely not great."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yingting frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then asked, "What about Apartment No. 9? I heard it’s decent, relatively cheap, and the place isn’t bad, but no one seems to recommend it, and I don’t know why.
The shopkeeper’s face changed instantly, shaking his head repeatedly, "No, you must never go there, absolutely not!"
Song Qianqian cunningly pressed for an answer, "We’re short on money, and that seems to be the only place that fits our requirements."
Seeing their sincerity, the shopkeeper hesitated before saying, "Because Apartment No. 9 is haunted!"
Zhou Yingting showed panic on his face, "No way, don’t talk nonsense. I saw Apartment No. 9; it looked fine. How could it be haunted?"
"Exactly, it looks like a nice place, how could it be haunted?"
All three expressed skepticism, making the shopkeeper look very serious.
"I’m not lying to you. Lots of people have died in Apartment No. 9, which is why its rent is so cheap! They’ve even invited a master to deal with it, but he couldn’t handle it and had to run away."
Hearing this, Zhou Yingting shuddered.
Why hadn’t he heard of this earlier, but now the information appeared?
Could it be that these two women really knew something, and had withheld information from him?
Or is it because he spent money that he learned more secrets?
"A master, what kind of master was he, really that powerful?"
At this point, Zhou Yingting looked extremely curious, a face full of thirst for knowledge.
The shopkeeper, seeing this, didn’t doubt them, "I heard that after the master returned, he died, and reportedly died horribly, even killed his own disciple too."
The shopkeeper sighed after recounting this.
"Why would such a cursed place be rented out then?"
Zhou Yingting added a touch of fear in his voice.
"They need money, I guess. Locals definitely wouldn’t stay there, so they rent it out to trick outsiders, as the master said it’s safe during the day, which gives the owner the courage."
The shopkeeper shook his head repeatedly.
Zhou Yingting noted this information secretly, regretting that the master had died, as he might have been of help.
"Remember, don’t go to that place, or there will be trouble."
Seeing more customers arriving, the shopkeeper warned once more, then quickly turned away to serve others.
Zhou Yingting sat there pondering, considering the information just received.
"However, even though the master is dead, perhaps he left something behind, who knows."
"And maybe, by spending money, I can find out where the master used to live."
Zhou Yingting started pondering over this alone.
After thinking for a bit, he picked up the oden and stood to leave, with no intention of eating it.
To find out where the master used to live, he definitely can’t take these two women along.
But earlier, they had agreed to act together, making it hard to shake them off.
Zhou Yingting frowned, contemplating how to ditch these two and investigate the master’s place solo.
"Why didn’t anyone mention the master when we inquired around before?"
As they exited the door, Lin Yuxin asked first, seemingly clueless about the matter.