Stranger Danger

“Thank you, miss.”

The leader thanked the woman and led his group to the table.

“It’s nothing. On the road, accommodating others is the same as accommodating oneself,” the woman responded with a gentle smile before picking up her bamboo staff and rising from her seat.

“One more thing. You should not eat the food in this place.”

“Huh?” The leader frowned in confusion and wanted to ask exactly what she meant by that. However, he was too late. The blind woman was already walking away.

“Miss. If you don’t mind sharing a table, then why don’t you sit with us?” Feng Qingyou greeted the blind woman when she was passing by their table. “We have an empty seat.”

“I see no reason to turn down such a kind offer. Thank you,” the blind woman thanked her before taking a seat.

“You’re welcome. It’s no trouble at all.” Feng Qingyou smiled. “My name is Feng Qingyou, and my friend here is Joyless Ye. What is your name?”

“My name is Wen Anran. Nice to meet you, Miss Feng, warrior Ye,” Wen Anran replied smilingly.

“Well met, Miss Wen.” Ye Qing gave her a nod before offering, “We are drinking a wine called Jade Sun Spring. It’s quite cold tonight, so why don’t you drink some and warm yourself?”

“Thank you very much for your offer. I shall humbly accept it,” Wen Anran replied thankfully. The trio stopped talking and began drinking among themselves.

Back at the other table, the leader glanced at the guy who was still hanging around the old man’s table and called out with a displeased voice, “What are you doing, Mingfei? We already have a table, so get over here already.”

The man named Gu Mingfei let out an unhappy grunt and side-eyed the old man. “Count yourself lucky, old man. Pray that this is the last time we meet, or you will rue the day you crossed me.”

After Gu Mingfei went back to his group, he asked, “Senior brother, senior sister, Feifei, Tan Tao, what do you want to eat? The food offered by this inn seems pretty nice.”

The leader of the group was named Leng Tianjue, and he was the one Gu Mingfei addressed as senior brother. Leng Tianjue looked at the frigid woman and asked, “What do you want to eat, Qingmei?”

Cang Qingmei, the frigid woman responded uncaringly, “Don’t mind me. Just order what you want.”

“Se… Senior sister… those people are still looking at us for some reason…” whispered the other woman. Her name was Fei Fei, and she shuffled closer to Cang Qingmei while sneaking glances at the people around him.

It was as she said. The guests inside the inn were still staring wordlessly at them.

Cang Qingmei gave her a consoling pat and said seriously, “I know. Something’s off about this place. Don’t let your guard down, all of you.”

“We have senior brother Tianjue with us. What’s there to be afraid of?” The man named Tan Tao scoffed and paid Leng Tianjue a compliment.

“He’s right. With senior brother Tianjue and senior sister Mei[1] with us, no harm can possibly befall us. Just relax, Fei Fei,” Gu Mingfei echoed in agreement.

“Qingmei is right. On the road, we should never let down our guard,” Leng Tianjue said seriously.

That was what he said, but his brows subconsciously furrowed with smugness. It was clear he enjoyed flattery very much.

“We will remember, senior brother,” Gu Mingfei and Tan Tao replied obediently.

“Alright. Let’s order some food,” Leng Tianjue declared.

Gu Mingfei turned around and yelled in the counter’s direction, “Where are the waiters? Get us your best food already!”

“What would you like to eat, dear customers?” A raspy voice came from behind the counter.

“You’re asking me? If I say I want to eat a dragon liver or a phoenix marrow, can you serve them?” Gu Mingfei scoffed.

To his surprise, the person behind the counter replied, “We can, customer. Just tell us what you want, and it will be served.”

“Hahaha… okay then! I want a plate of dragon liver and phoenix marrow! If you can’t serve them, then I’ll dismantle your shitty inn!” Gu Mingfei barked out a savage laugh.

“Enough. You can fool around another time,” Leng Tianjue rebuked Gu Mingfei before declaring, “Please serve us your signature dishes and two jars of hot wine, thank you.”

“Very well. Please wait a moment,” the person behind the counter said.

The person’s voice was still reverberating throughout the unnaturally silent dining hall when a person completely covered from head to toe in black robes appeared at the kitchen entrance with a tray. It was impossible to tell even their gender. They appeared in front of the group in the blink of an eye.

“Your food and drink are here, customers.”

The group nearly jumped out of their seats. They hadn’t noticed the person until they spoke up.

“Give us a warning, man!” Gu Mingfei yelled. He wanted to complain some more, but his attention was quickly drawn by the food and drinks.

The dishes appeared to be quite impressive. Just the sight and smell alone were enough to make his stomach growl.

The two jars of steaming wine were also giving off a unique, refreshing scent that blended perfectly with the food. It aroused their appetite even more than it already was.

Tan Tao grabbed one of the wine jars and poured everyone a cup of wine. Then, he quickly grabbed his own cup and drained it in one gulp.

As soon as the liquid entered his lips, a boiling heat immediately spread throughout his mouth like he had swallowed a red hot stone. He immediately felt as if he was on fire, his blood boiling inside his veins.

But at the same time, a cool, refreshing sensation was sliding down his throat, his abdomen, and his guts. It wasn’t long before it spread to every part of his body.

The blend between ice and fire, cold and heat surged all the way to his head and made him feel like he was about to float into the air. The cold and fatigue he had accumulated throughout his journey was wiped clean just like that, and his spirit felt better than ever before.

“What an amazing wine!” Tan Tao cried out with a look of ecstasy on his face. “What is the name of this wine? Why have I never—”

Tan Tao was going to ask the owner what the name of the wine was, but when he turned around, the black-robed person was nowhere to be found.

“How did he disappear so quickly?” Tan Tao complained.

Leng Tianjue rebuked him again, “I just told you to be careful, Tan Tao. This recklessness is unbecoming of you.”

The young man was displeased with the fact that Tan Tao had drunk the wine before they checked the food for poison. Only a complete newbie to the jianghu would do something so rash.

“It’ll be fine. I seriously doubt they’ll try to put something in our food and wine.” Tan Tao waved his concerns away before urging, “Anyway, you really should try out this wine before it gets cold. I promise you it’ll one of the best wines you’ve ever had.”

“This dish is pretty good too! It’s on par with the signature dishes of the strange cooks!”

While Tan Tao was drinking, Gu Mingfei was busy tasting the food. His eyes lit up when he took his first, second, third, and many more bites. “Mm! This food is truly heavenly! And if I drink a bit of wine then… heavens! This truly is out of the world!”

“Senior brother, senior sister, Fei Fei, what are you all waiting for? You know that the flavor will decrease if it turns cold, right?”

“Is it really that delicious?” Fei Fei swallowed.

“You’ll know if you try, don’t you?” Gu Mingfei said while shoving more food and wine into his mouth. He looked like he was having the time of his life.

It looked like Tan Tao and Gu Mingfei were fine, and neither Leng Tianjue nor Cang Qingmei were able to find anything wrong with their meal after testing it with their poison testing methods. So, they started eating as well.

Once they took the first bite, they couldn’t stop. For a time, the group of five engorged themselves in the delicious food and wine in utter silence because they were unwilling to waste even a second.

They did not notice that the corners of the lips of the guests staring at them were turning up little by little. Even stranger was the fact that everyone’s smile was exactly identical. It was as if the smile had been copy and pasted on everyone’s face. It was eerie to say the least.

“Brr… hey, is it just me, or is it getting colder around here?”

Somewhere during the meal, Gu Mingfei suddenly felt a little cold and attempted to rub some warmth back into his arm.

“Same here,” Tan Tao replied, though he did not look up from his bowl. He was still busy attacking the food on the table.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Gu Mingfei felt something touching his leg. He looked down.

1. Normally it should be senior sister Cang because Cang is the surname, but it looks like they’re close enough that he can address her by one half of her first name. ☜

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