Chapter 55: Rules
When the countdown ended, Fang Ping’an felt a familiar sensation of being struck by a stick on the back of his head, and everything went black.
When he opened his eyes again, the scenery had changed. He looked around and saw what seemed to be an ancient city surrounded by wooden houses and tall buildings. There was also a tavern nearby, with two red lanterns hanging at the entrance.
The sky was dim, indicating that it was probably evening. However, strangely, there was not a single pedestrian on the street. It felt like a ghost town, sending shivers down one’s spine in the cold wind.
Fortunately, there were still two “humanoid” reincarnators by his side, a man and a woman.
The man had a sturdy build and was wearing what looked like tiger animal fur. His chest was bare, revealing a bronze-colored chest and abdominal muscles. He had a thick beard, and there was a scar from under his eyes to his nose, giving him a fierce and intimidating look.
His displayed cultivation level was at the “Late Qi Cultivation” stage.
“Kid! You’ve been staring at me for a while. Do you see anything special?”
The bearded man glared at Fang Ping’an, a little annoyed.
“Hmph, you’re so unreasonable. What’s the problem with someone looking at you for a bit?”
The woman next to him put her hands on her hips and spoke up in defense.
Fang Ping’an looked over and saw that the woman was tall and well-proportioned. She was wearing a sky-blue silk gown that gave her a graceful and ethereal appearance. She had fair skin, a melon seed face, and could be considered pretty, although slightly inferior to Chunji and the others.
Her cultivation level was also at the “Late Qi Cultivation” stage.
“You don’t have to be afraid, little brother. I’ll protect you,” the woman said confidently, looking up at Fang Ping’an.
Fang Ping’an walked over to her side and thanked her, “Oh, I’ve encountered a kind-hearted person. I’m Fang Yuan… Your ladyship is so beautiful, may I know your name?””My name is Tang Xiangling, you can call me Sister Ling.”
“Little Sister Ling.”
“No, it’s Sister Ling…”
“Little Ling…”
The two of them interacted friendly, leaving the bearded man awkwardly standing in place.
“My name is Yu Rong,” he suddenly interrupted after a while, refreshing his own existence.
Fang Pingan and Tang Xiangling turned to look at him, their four eyes making him uncomfortable and the atmosphere momentarily silent.
At this moment, a familiar voice echoed in the minds of the three.
[Task release: Endless Rules]
[Task summary: In the Divine Rule Continent, there has been peace and prosperity for thousands of years. People live in harmony, abide by the rules, no crime, no killers. However, in the city of Extreme Night, for the first time in thousands of years, a murder has occurred, breaking the tranquility of the continent. Underneath the continent, dark tides are surging, a great change is happening at this moment, for the people, whether it is good or bad.]
[Task type: Team task]
[Task objective: Kill the killer who targeted the Lord of the City (each person must inflict damage)]
[Task reward: Black box (allocated by damage), 5 cultivation points, 2 martial arts points, 500 reincarnation points]
[Task time: Ten days]
[Task failure: Deduct 40 years of lifespan]
Fang Pingan carefully looked at this mission and realized that the objective was to kill the killer. It felt like there was an investigative aspect to it, after all, in order to complete this mission, they had to first find the killer.
The reward for this mission was also exceptionally generous, and it was a team task.
This made him feel that this matter was not simple, and that he needed to proceed with caution.
After all, the main purpose of his mission in this world was to find a way to improve his strength and power without relying on the Hall of Reincarnation, or to see if such a method even existed.
The mission was secondary.
After Fang Pingan finished reading, he noticed that Tang Xiangling and Yu Rong were both silent, probably still contemplating.
At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded around them.
“It’s almost the hour of the Dog, aren’t you going home?”
The three immediately turned their heads to look, and the one speaking was a young boy, around ten years old, dressed as a waiter, standing at the doorway of the restaurant and cautiously observing them.
Fang Pingan frowned, wondering when he had stood there.”Three cultivators, and not a single one of them noticed. Something seems off.”
“Is it very late at Xushí? Why must we go home?”
Fang Ping’an asked, wanting to know if there were any restrictions, similar to Tianyuan Village where the world changed completely at night and danger lurked everywhere.
Xushí was around 7 o’clock in the evening, just when it got dark.
“Because from Xushí to Maoshí, you have to stay indoors, otherwise your body will rot and you’ll die. That’s the rule.”
The little boy said softly, warning them.
The three exchanged glances. They didn’t necessarily disbelieve such strange rules; they were just somewhat puzzled. They were used to encountering all sorts of weird worlds in their endless missions.
“Who are you people, after all?”
Seeing that they were clueless about this rule, the little boy knew they weren’t from the city. Otherwise, they would be familiar with all the rules.
Tang Xiangling stepped forward and smiled, “Little brother, we’re from outside passing through this place. We wanted to stay at your inn for a few days. As for who we are, you’ll find out later.”
The little boy stared at them for a few seconds and said, “Staying at the inn is certainly possible. Just come in quickly.”
He turned around and opened the door of the inn. After Fang Ping’an and the others entered one by one, the little boy closed the door behind them.
Inside the inn, Fang Ping’an looked around, observing the noisy scene in the lobby where many people were drinking and chatting. The sound of arm-wrestling competitions filled the air, and the aroma of alcohol wafted everywhere.
“Why are there so many people?”
Fang Ping’an asked the little boy who was leading them.
The little boy, leading them to the counter, heard the question and answered, “They are also staying here. Most of them don’t want to be at home. They have some silver coins and come here to eat, drink, and have fun, spending the night. They’re just a group of lazy drunkards who may unintentionally break the rules and die one day.”
As they spoke, they had already reached the counter. The innkeeper asked how many rooms they wanted and what type.
Tang Xiangling waved her hand confidently, requesting three of the best rooms, and she even took out a considerable amount of silver coins from her pocket.
This made Fang Ping’an quite curious about where she got the money.
Perhaps sensing Fang Ping’an’s gaze, Tang Xiangling leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “I just stole the money. I don’t want to stay in the lobby.”
After saying that, she even made a gesture for him to keep quiet and smiled.Fang Ping’an didn’t expect her to have this skill, not bad.
Since it’s from the Dog Hour to the Rabbit Hour, which is from 7 PM to 7 AM, they couldn’t go out. They decided to investigate the murderer of the city lord at dawn tomorrow.
Rest upstairs tonight and stay alert for potential dangers.
After they left, the little boy stood behind the counter, staring at the figures of the three people going upstairs. There was a gleam in his eyes, and it was unclear what he was thinking. It took him a while before he went to greet the customers.
The next day, as soon as it dawned.
Knock, knock, knock.
Fang Ping’an sat cross-legged on the bed, refreshing himself with closed eyes. Suddenly, there was a knocking sound at the door, and he opened his eyes, looking towards the entrance.
“Please come in.”
With a creak, the door was opened, and the person who came in was the little boy from the previous night.
After coming in, he bowed respectfully and said, “Guest, it’s time for Chen now. According to the rules, everyone in the city must go to the lord’s mansion to worship the ancestral gods at this time, or else the consequence will be death.”
Once again, it’s about the rules. Fang Ping’an frowned after hearing it.
He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of world this is. Why are there so many rules? Will you really die if you violate them?
