The King of Black Fog

"In five minutes, I'll extinguish the fireplace on the first floor!"

The group began to gather their things and left the first floor one by one, heading to the bedrooms on the second floor.

Li Changzhou saw Della directing the tavern maid to collect the canteens of the deceased warriors. Tomorrow, they might just see them on the fireplace mantle.

If these people had come on horseback, horse meat would also appear on the plates.

Li Changzhou counted the time in his mind, glancing at the lone traveler out of the corner of his eye, who moved methodically and only approached the staircase at the four-minute mark.

He led his men to follow behind.

The second floor was a long corridor, with rooms on both sides, completely enveloped in darkness. The lamps in the hands of the tenants looked like candlelights floating on the Black Sea, with only tiny flames visible and no shadows in sight.

As they were about to step out of the staircase onto the corridor.

"Cough... cough..." The lone traveler lightly coughed as if ill.

Li Changzhou slightly lifted his eyelids, then quietly lowered them.

The Shadow Team had booked three rooms. Andy and Stonefist, who had previously led horses for Li Changzhou, deftly brought over the bedding and oil lamps from the other two rooms.

Seven people squeezed into one room.

Let's not even mention sleeping seven people; when two people lay in bed, if one turned over, the other had to turn as well, and that was even with Tali present.

If Tali were replaced by a male, both would have to sleep on their sides.

The old man lowered his voice and arranged, "The boss and Tali will sleep on the bed. I, Andy, and Bai Zi will sleep on the floor. Stonefist and Yeet, you stay on guard for the first half of the night. Don't open the door for any noise outside. If there's a problem, yell for us immediately."

Tali looked shyly at Li Changzhou.

"You go ahead and sleep," Li Changzhou said to her.

"...Okay."

No one took off their clothes; they just pulled the quilt over themselves, and the old man's snoring was the first to echo, shaking the ceiling.

"Sigh," said Andy, lying next to the old man, with his hands behind his head, letting out a near-despairing sigh.

Tali on the bed also tossed and turned.

But soon, fatigue overcame the noise, and everyone lying down fell asleep.

After waiting for another half hour, Li Changzhou got up and whispered to Stonefist and Yeet, "I'm going out for a while."

Stonefist instinctively stood up.

"Stay here, I'll be back soon!" Li Changzhou ordered.

Having booked three rooms, there were three oil lamps in the room. He took one, gently opened the door, and melted into the pitch-black night.

After the captain left, Stonefist and Yeet simultaneously became tense, their hands gripping the weapons on their knees tightly.

The corridor was pitch black. To confirm how dark it was, Li Changzhou raised his hand to test it—unless his hand was within five centimeters of the oil lamp, you really couldn't see your fingers in front of you.

When Della tossed the key onto the lone traveler's table, he memorized the other person's door plate number. Now, holding the oil lamp up, he checked the rooms one by one.

In the thick darkness, he inspected the blurry silhouettes of the doors, like the Death God selecting its victims.

Squeak~~

The sound of something heavy pressing on the staircase!

A substance darker than the darkness surged up, wrapping tightly around Li Changzhou and the oil lamp, completely blending into the night.

In the pitch black, the black substance parted slightly, revealing Li Changzhou's dark right eye pupil, which stared emotionlessly at the staircase.

The fireplace on the first floor had long been extinguished. Looking from the staircase, it resembled a black deep sea.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Step by step, someone was coming up.

Only the sound of footsteps growing closer could be heard, yet nothing was visible in the field of vision.

Squeak~, the approaching footsteps finally disappeared, completing all the stairs; the person had already reached the second-floor corridor!

Li Changzhou remained still, envisaging the "Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Eye." After two attempts, calamity clouds began to churn in his mind, and purple lightning surged like a Flood Dragon within them.

Boom!

Thunder and lightning raged, and the purple Flood Dragon shot out of the calamity clouds, striking his right eye.

A barely noticeable flash of purple light passed over his right eye, almost like an illusion.

Li Changzhou's breath caught!

A pair of eyes was pressed tightly against his right eye!