Chapter 413: Credentials

Seeing this, Cao Gaoshan glanced back at the carriage, and seeing that Li Musheng had nothing to say, returned his gaze ahead and continued to drive the carriage toward the town.

Very quickly, the carriage passed through the sound of camel bells growing clearer as the animals' heads swayed, and the blood in the air grew stronger as well.

From the corner of his eye, Cao Gaoshan scanned the winding ditches and gullies running alongside the dirt road. Beneath the dark sand of those gullies lay bones beyond counting, the earth stained dark where dried blood had soaked deep into it, the color entirely different from the surrounding sand.

Not far from where the camels stood, a dozen or so bodies lay scattered, relatively fresh but shriveled and dry.

Cao Gaoshan gave a quiet shake of his head and continued to drive forward.

The wheels rolled up a cloud of dust, and the approaching town was silent as a grave, as though it were an abandoned ghost town.

Before long, the carriage passed through the open wooden gates and rolled slowly into the town. The streets were completely empty, the earthen houses and wooden buildings on either side with doors and windows shut. The entire road was disheveled and unkempt, with only the sound of their carriage wheels and horse hooves breaking the quiet.

"Where are you from? And whose roads do you travel under?"

At that moment, a sharp, thin voice cut through without warning.

As the words rang out, a figure no taller than a small child appeared without any sound on a section of earthen wall not far from the carriage.

Cao Gaoshan looked up. The figure was dressed in red and wore two horn-shaped twists of hair on its head, every aspect of its appearance mimicking that of a child, but the face that looked back at them was unusually withered and ugly.

"We have come from Great Xuan, passing through this place. We are hoping to rest here for a night."

Cao Gaoshan gave a light clasp of hands toward the figure. Not knowing whether the person was friend or foe, he had no desire to start trouble, and answered the question honestly.

But the figure on the wall darkened in expression, swept the carriage with a look, and let an undisguised killing intent show in its eyes. With a cold laugh it said, "This is not a place that anyone can simply walk into. If you have no credentials, then the only path for you is death."

With those words, the small figure suddenly lunged, laughing harshly and driving straight at Cao Gaoshan.

Seeing this, Cao Gaoshan's eyes narrowed. Without a word, a forceful and domineering martial pressure rose around him, and he raised a hand and brought it down in a blade-like strike.

A keen edge of sword light tore through the air and cut into the small figure's body. The moment it made contact, the figure was split cleanly in two, then bone and flesh dissolved, swept away by the edge of the blade wind, and scattered in an instant.

From multiple hidden vantage points around them, eyes that had been watching all went still, then low, sharp exclamations broke from several directions at once, "A Heaven-Human expert."

What followed was the scatter of birds and beasts, every observer fading away in silence to carry the word elsewhere.

Cao Gaoshan withdrew his hand and swept the surroundings with a look. He had been aware of the eyes watching from the shadows all along.

That was precisely why he had shown his true martial cultivation on the first move. The small figure had tried to kill them the moment it set eyes on them, which was proof enough that this town was no safe place.

Making his strength known to deter any further harassment was the most direct and effective approach.

"Your Highness, the hour is getting late. For tonight, we should find an inn to stay at, and then I will go and look for someone to guide us through the town."

Cao Gaoshan glanced back toward the carriage. Li Musheng gave a nod, unconcerned with these minor matters.

Inside the carriage, the large black cat was sprawled in its usual lazy fashion, its cat eyes half open and glazed, occasionally yawning. For some reason it seemed unable to muster interest in anything, and had not even poked its head out to watch when Cao Gaoshan had just been in a fight.

The town remained silent. With most of the watching eyes now gone, Cao Gaoshan drove the carriage to the only inn in the town and brought it to a stop.

The inn before them was not small. Its outer walls were rammed earth, lanterns hanging high with their tassels swaying, and the heavy wooden gate stood open, though inside it was extremely quiet.

Li Musheng and the others stepped down from the carriage and walked straight in.

Behind the counter of the inn's main hall, there was only a young girl lying on her back in a bamboo chair, an account book covering her face as she slept deeply.

Cao Gaoshan looked around and noticed nothing unusual, then stepped forward and knocked on the counter, calling out, "Miss, four upper rooms, please."

But the young girl appeared not to hear him at all, and showed no sign of responding. She simply turned over and went on sleeping soundly.

At the sight, Cao Gaoshan's brow creased, while the large black cat, which had been listless the entire journey, suddenly perked up with new energy, jumped onto the counter, and prepared to give the girl who did not know what was good for her a good swipe.

The large black cat clearly had the habit of going for the easiest target available. It had been feeling heavy-headed and lethargic this whole journey, and this young girl, from the looks of her, did not have much ability. She would do perfectly for a bit of exercise.

Li Musheng stood back with folded arms, and Cao Gaoshan made no move to stop the cat either. Anyone who could run an inn in this town was not going to be simple, and there was no need to worry about the large black cat hurting an innocent party.

As expected, the large black cat's leap and its outstretched swipe at the young girl did not connect.

With a startled shout, the young girl launched from the bamboo chair in a single bound, a series of flickering afterimages appearing as she moved, and in the blink of an eye she was on the other side of the inn's main hall.

The large black cat's eyes went intensely green. It turned to look at the young girl across the hall, and was visibly annoyed. This soft target had apparently turned out to be less soft than expected.

The young girl was equally furious, sweeping her gaze over Li Musheng and the others before snapping, "What kind of people are you? If I did not respond to you it was because I was not going to let you stay here, so why rather than leaving did you send a big cat to scratch at me?"

At those words, Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran exchanged a glance. Sensing no killing intent from the young girl, they asked with puzzled expressions, "Young girl, your inn appears to have no other guests. Why won't you let us stay?"

Shen Anran gave a slight nod as well and said to the young girl, "There is no need to worry. We have no ill intentions. We are only passing through and need a night at this inn. We will be gone by morning."

The young girl crossed her arms, her brows angled in opposition, and shook her head firmly, "No. It is the rules of this town. You have no credentials behind you, and I cannot have you staying in my inn."

At those words, Li Musheng took a mild interest. He beckoned to the large black cat, which had been quietly gathering itself for a surprise attack on the young girl, and said, "Your little town may be a run-down place, but the rules seem fairly extensive. Why don't you tell us what sort of credentials would let someone stay in your inn?"

Seeing this, the large black cat, which had already crept stealthily to the young girl's side, had no choice but to stop. Its round green eyes fixed on the young girl, and if she could not give a satisfactory answer, its claws were going to make their point one way or another.

The young girl glanced sideways at the large black cat without appearing to take it seriously at all, then let her gaze skip straight past Li Musheng and focus on Cao Gaoshan.

Sensing the young girl's attention, Cao Gaoshan looked at Li Musheng, cleared his throat, and said, "I am a Heaven-Human expert..."

But before he could even finish, the young girl gave a cold snort and shook her head, "A Heaven-Human expert does not get to break the rules."