After Being Struck By The Love Gu, I Reached A Happy Ending With My Frail Best Friend - Chapter 5

It was the height of winter, and the cold wind cut across the face like a knife. Ordinary people might possess martial skill, but unless their internal force had become spiritual energy, they could not ward off the cold.

Thus, although the inn’s main hall was packed with people, very few were willing to sit facing north.

Shen Fangzhou was the only one seated beside the window.

Yet when a familiar melody drifted from behind her, she suddenly realized that someone else was sitting in the corner where the two walls met, in a place faintly exposed to the wind.

Inns run by ordinary people always tried to save wherever they could, especially here in Two Realms Mountain, where food and clothing were scarce.

The owner had lit only three dim lamps.

One hung beside the window, drawing in guests like a beacon.

One stood near the counter to illuminate anyone who approached.

The last hung in the center of the hall.

The smell of kerosene drifted through the air, while the flames cast a murky yellow light. From outside came the faint howl of the northern wind.

It had to be said that the white-robed stranger had chosen an excellent seat.

Even Shen Fangzhou, whose senses were far sharper than an ordinary person’s, could not make out her face when she narrowed her eyes and looked over.

A broad white robe concealed the person completely, while a hat brim three fingers wide hid her indistinct brows and eyes.

The white-robed stranger did not seem surprised by Shen Fangzhou’s question.

“You are from Shu, aren’t you?”

The voice was clear yet deep.

It belonged to neither Xie Guiwan nor Bian Yingxue.

Shen Fangzhou relaxed slightly, though her doubts did not completely disappear. She simply answered openly,

“Yes. My home is Little Golden Mountain, where the Sword Pavilion stands in Shu. Not many people know this song. Where are you from?”

“I’ve forgotten.”

“Forgotten?”

The white-robed stranger smiled.

“I simply forgot.”

Shen Fangzhou thought for a moment before nodding.

“Very well! The world is vast, and any place can become one’s home. Since you are a free wanderer, and a chance meeting makes us friends, would you care to share a drink with me?”

The white-robed stranger raised her cup with a smile.

After taking a small sip, she asked with interest,

“You are from Huizhou City. Tomorrow, are you going to gather herbs in Two Realms Mountain, or seek treasure in the demon realm?”

“The demon realm has more medicinal herbs, and they are older as well. Since I’ve already come out here, how could I return empty-handed?” Shen Fangzhou casually made up a story. “I’m only an ordinary mortal, so naturally I’m heading toward the demon realm to earn a few gold zhu and silver hao to support my family.”

“Support your family?”

Shen Fangzhou sighed.

“Yes. I have a useless master at home. She’s already over fifty, yet she has never even held the hand of the person she loves. Every day, she urges me to go out and earn money so she can become rich and marry her.”

The white-robed stranger laughed aloud.

But the next moment, her smile vanished.

The inn’s doors burst open with a deafening bang.

A freezing wind howled inside like the wailing of a malicious ghost.

Silence fell all around.

For a long while, no one entered.

Only the green-rusted bronze rings on the doors shook violently in the wind, striking the wood with a chilling crash.

The gale swept straight into the hall.

A young boy seated closest to the entrance shivered first.

“Grandmother, I’m cold.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

The innkeeper hurried out to shut the doors.

Grabbing the bronze rings with both hands, he began pulling them inward.

“Please excuse this, everyone. These doors are usually windproof. Perhaps they’ve grown old and become a little—”

“Don’t close them.”

A hoarse voice came from outside, like a zither string forcibly snapped in half.

The smell of blood silently seeped into the inn.

Shen Fangzhou calmly set down her wine cup, while her right hand soundlessly moved toward the Longming Sword.

A person covered in blood stepped through the doorway.

She was truly drenched in blood.

Every inch of her body was smeared with terrifying, nearly black blood.

The newcomer was only a woman in her twenties.

Her left hand leaned upon a broken sword, and every step she took seemed to pull at countless shattered bones and torn tendons.

Her movements were painfully slow.

The innkeeper’s scream died in his throat.

He trembled as he stammered,

“G-Guest, w-we’re only running a small business here. All our rooms are full tonight. Y-You should find somewhere else!”

The woman said,

“I’ll remain in the main hall. I only want a pot of wine.”

The innkeeper gritted his teeth.

There were far too many feuds, pursuits, and robberies within Two Realms Mountain. One glance was enough to tell that this woman had taken many lives.

Worse still, if she had become entangled in some conflict between the demons and those cultivators, ten lives would not be enough for him to die.

The woman spoke again.

“I’ll stay only half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”

The innkeeper still shook his head desperately.

“The main hall is full too!”

The woman paused.

The others who had been talking also fell silent, saying nothing.

Only the little girl from earlier spoke without inhibition.

“Grandmother, aren’t there still three empty tables?”

Cold sweat immediately broke out across the innkeeper’s face.

Fortunately, the woman seemed to understand.

Her blood-smeared eyes dimmed, and she began to step backward.

Just as the innkeeper sighed in relief—

“Fellow traveler, wait.”

Shen Fangzhou’s voice was neither loud nor soft.

In an instant, everyone remaining in the inn turned toward her.

“I happen to have a pot of wine left.”

The innkeeper’s expression became miserable.

“Guest? Guest, she may have pursuers right behind her! Why would you invite her inside?”

“If anything happens, I’ll take full responsibility,” Shen Fangzhou said with a smile. “You do not need to return the ten gold zhu I gave you.”

Those ten gold zhu, which had served as a deposit, were enough to open two more relay inns.

Sure enough, the innkeeper stopped speaking.

The system, however, became anxious.

“Zhouzhou, what are you doing? Why drag yourself into something that has nothing to do with you?”

“I simply can’t stand watching this.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

The system gave an aggrieved huff and went silent.

Shen Fangzhou looked up and called to the woman several more times.

Only after a long while did the woman slowly feel her way to the seat opposite Shen Fangzhou.

Her voice was hoarse.

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need. But where did you get injuries like these?”

Shen Fangzhou handed her a handkerchief.

At the same time, the spiritual power she had not used until now slowly spread outward, shielding the woman from the cold wind beside the window.

Tang Xing spoke slowly, forcing out each word one at a time.

“I am a mortal.”

Before the innkeeper could release a long sigh of relief, her next sentence made everyone’s hearts leap back into their throats.

“These wounds were inflicted by demons.”

“You were only gathering herbs. Surely that would not be enough for them to hunt you down?” Shen Fangzhou frowned, though a suspicion had already formed in her heart.

Tang Xing paused.

What she said next nearly silenced the entire inn.

“I stole the antidote to Buzhanyi. I’m returning to Huizhou City to save people.”

Buzhanyi.

It was a poison created by the demon race and regarded as the deadliest poison beneath heaven.

The slightest touch crippled.

A trace of contact killed.

Countless cultivators in Huizhou City had fallen to it, and the Immortal Alliance’s Medical Hall had yet to discover a cure.

Yet this woman had stolen its antidote.

And she intended to return and save people with it.

The cultivators of the Immortal Alliance protected all of Huizhou City. The rumors that Demon Lord Zhou Han had massacred twenty-seven cities still echoed in everyone’s ears.

In other words, by stealing the antidote and saving the cultivators, this woman was also saving them.

The inn fell silent.

Several onlookers who had frowned earlier now showed traces of shame.

Ning Ruyue, who had been watching from upstairs for some time, let out a mocking laugh that broke the silence.

She came downstairs without hesitation and casually placed her own pot of warm wine on Shen Fangzhou’s table.

Without saying a word, she turned and walked away.

Even the system was confused.

“Wait, Zhouzhou. How did you know she was covered in wounds because she was trying to save people?”

“I didn’t.”

Shen Fangzhou spoke lazily.

“But now that you mention it, I remember the book once mentioned a blood-covered person who died outside Huizhou City while carrying a bottle of Buzhanyi antidote.”

She thought this could be considered an unexpected gain.

Later, the Medical Hall would use that very bottle to develop a method of detoxification.

Now that Tang Xing had warm wine and a place to rest, she no longer needed to die.

Shen Fangzhou had barely begun to feel emotional when her thoughts were interrupted.

The innkeeper approached with a lamp in hand, his face stern.

“Half a cup of tea’s time is over.”

Both Shen Fangzhou and Tang Xing froze.

Before Tang Xing could say anything, the other guests shouted first.

“Didn’t that green-robed guest already pay you ten gold zhu?”

The innkeeper snorted coldly.

“Ten gold zhu was the price for half a cup of tea.”

A blade-like chill suddenly flashed in Shen Fangzhou’s eyes.

Slowly, very slowly, she raised her head.

“Ten gold zhu for half a cup of tea?”

The innkeeper narrowed his tiny, ratlike eyes and straightened his back.

“Ten gold zhu for half a cup of tea!”

He had already concluded that the person before him was a cultivator.

According to the Immortal Alliance’s rules, cultivators were forbidden from attacking mortals.

The air seemed to freeze.

The mortal martial artists who often traveled this route did not dare speak.

Anyone capable of running an inn in a place like this possessed martial skill that was likely surpassed only by immortals.

Shen Fangzhou merely caught the sleeve of Tang Xing, who had silently risen to leave.

She lowered her head in thought, as though considering a solution.

The innkeeper did not rush her, seemingly certain that she had even more gold zhu.

Shen Fangzhou did not move.

But the white-robed stranger did.

“Ten gold zhu for half a cup of tea,” she murmured to herself. “Innkeeper, calculate something for me. How many gold zhu would one night cost?”

The innkeeper’s eyes lit up.

“For an entire night, I can offer this guest a discount. Forty gold zhu—no, one hundred gold zhu will be enough!”

The white-robed stranger nodded leisurely.

“Very well. I’ll pay.”

Upstairs, Ning Ruyue’s brows twisted together.

She casually called out,

“Hey, you in white. With that kind of money, wouldn’t it be better to beat the innkeeper instead?”

Cheng Che frowned and was just about to tell Ning Ruyue not to speak nonsense when a metallic clink sounded.

A single copper coin spun through the air and struck the innkeeper.

The innkeeper stared blankly.

“Guest, didn’t you say—”

Another copper coin struck him.

No one saw where the coins came from.

As they spoke, several more flew through the air with a rapid series of clinks.

Each coin carried tremendous force.

They struck the innkeeper hard enough to make him howl in pain, almost like concealed weapons.

Something unseen seemed to pin him firmly in place, leaving him unable to move even half a step.

“One hundred copper coins make one silver hao.”

“One hundred silver hao make one gold zhu.”

The white-robed stranger calmly drank the final drop of wine in her cup before laughing softly.

“That comes to one million copper coins in total. Take your time counting them.”

Shen Fangzhou blinked at the stunned Tang Xing, signaling for her to sit back down.

As for the identity of the white-robed stranger—

No wonder Sect Master Xie had agreed so readily that night.

Shen Fangzhou idly began planning the route for the coming days, wondering when Sect Master Xie would finally be willing to return to the city.

She casually pulled aside the wooden curtain.

But with that single glance, Shen Fangzhou froze.

The great river outside—

The river that had already frozen solid—

had somehow begun flowing again.

Ice three zhang thick had completely melted.

The river surged eastward joyfully like spring water.

The fierce winter wind continued tossing the wine banner outside the entrance up and down, producing echoes like roars from an empty valley.

Then, from nowhere, the pounding of hooves rose above the countless howling winds.

Just as the river was about to freeze once more, Shen Fangzhou shot outside like an arrow released from its bowstring.

When she turned, the Longming Sword had already swept out a brilliant arc.

The sword qi arrived before its wielder.

Dragon-like sword qi slammed toward the river.

The next instant, it struck the head of a horse that had appeared from thin air.

With a crack, the sword qi shattered sideways, blasting ice fragments in every direction.

Shen Fangzhou gripped her sword and stood in place with a grave expression.

A monstrous horse with five legs and five hooves climbed onto the riverbank.

The horse gave a cold laugh and spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Mortal, hand over the antidote to Buzhanyi!”

The demon general Five-Legged Horse.

Early Golden Core realm.