The door of this shop closed incredibly suddenly, the sound was quite abrupt on the street.
Xiang Beifei was staring intently at this shop with the word "liquor" written on the door, approaching silently, and peering inside through the half-open door.
It was pitch black inside, as if shrouded in a layer of black fog, there was no light, and it was impossible to see the situation inside.
Not only that, the darkness inside seemed to be able to swallow a person’s perception, and Xiang Beifei still couldn’t determine what was inside.
He looked at the other shops on both sides of the street; these shops were all fine, their doors open, as if welcoming customers, but this particular shop’s door was half-closed, looking out of place.
Does this shop have something unspeakable?
He stood at the door watching for a while, pondering whether he should go in, but it seemed inappropriate to enter rashly through the door.
Turning his head for a glance, he saw a window not far from the door was open, and he decided to sneak in through the window, hoping to catch the other party off guard.
Xiang Beifei silently moved to the side of the window, this window could accommodate a person in and out and was quite wide.
He leaped, floating in mid-air like a feather, then dove into the window with an exceptionally light posture.
Xiang Beifei heightened his vigilance, his attention tightly wound, ready at any moment to respond to a sudden attack.
However, what he did not expect was, just as he entered the room, a faint light suddenly appeared inside.
It was as if some presence inside the room knew he was coming, illuminating the light to welcome him as he stepped in here.
Xiang Beifei paused slightly in surprise.
He originally thought exploring in the dark would give him an advantage, but the sudden light inside disrupted his plans, all his movements laid bare as though clearly observed by a mysterious presence in the darkness.
However, he quickly calmed down, examining the situation before him.
It looked like an old inn, with a dozen square tables neatly arranged. Each table had a bamboo tube on it, filled with chopsticks. The dining stools were neatly placed upside down on the tabletops, as if tidied up after closing, the floor spotless and very clean.
The table closest to Xiang Beifei had an oil lamp on it, placed beside the chopstick holder, emitting a faint, flickering glow. When he first entered, this lamp lit up, reflecting his figure.
This table was different from the others because the stools on other tables were placed on top, but the stool at this table had somehow been placed back on the ground, like it was ready to reopen.
He stood by the table, taking in the view of the room illuminated by the oil lamp. To the left was the counter, with a black abacus and a ledger quietly positioned on it.
Behind the counter were rows of cabinets, each with a jar of liquor, the mouth of the jars covered with red cloth tightly fastened with strings, also sealed with wax around the edges.
Each of these jars had a piece of paper stuck on them, inscribed with the character for "liquor".
The whole inn exuded a rich fragrance, the scent of osmanthus wine; there was no mistaking it for Xiang Beifei, who was familiar with this wine.
The wine’s aroma was deeply inspiring, enough to drift across miles.
However, outside earlier, he didn’t notice such a strong aroma—the osmanthus wine scent seemed confined to this inn.
This only deepened his curiosity.
The entire inn had an inexplicable sense of oppression, clearly a place meant for business, yet ironically appeared unwelcoming, filled with dead air.
With the aid of the oil lamp on the table, he began to step forward, wanting to see what was truly inside this inn.
Yet, to avoid making too much noise, even while walking, he was actually floating using spiritual power.
However, he had just taken a step when suddenly, another distinct sound arose from within the shop.
This sound came from the second floor of the shop, like something was moving across the floor, the steps slow and deliberate.
And this sound came from directly above Xiang Beifei’s head!
Xiang Beifei frowned, halting his advance.
However, the footsteps also stopped.
The sound was just two meters above his head, separated by a thin wooden floor.
Yet despite this thin floor, Xiang Beifei couldn’t discern what was walking above; his orifice perception couldn’t penetrate it.
Xiang Beifei wondered internally if it was the entity he had seen before with the system interface.
He pondered, this place was too peculiar; no matter what, he wanted to understand it.
Then, he resumed moving forward.
But as he moved, the footsteps also started moving, mirroring his direction.
Two steps of distance!
The footsteps above also moved step by step, two steps...
Xiang Beifei made no sound with his steps, yet the footsteps above were not concealed at all.
Moreover, as Xiang Beifei moved inside the inn, it seemed even the lighting indoors began to change.
Only then did he notice the oil lamp on the original table he entered had gone out, but the lamp on the table closest to him suddenly flickered to life.
Furthermore, the stool inverted on this table also began to quietly roll over, autonomously returning to the ground as if an unseen server was moving the stool from the table top, arranging it neatly, preparing to welcome Xiang Beifei.