[ON HOLD] Defy the Heavens: The Journey of Miss Black Belly

4 I Where Danger Lurks

The night was not very dark; there was a full moon, hidden from time to time by passing clouds. However, the brightness from the moonlight was more than enough to safely guide Wang Xiren through the dark forest road.

On the forest route one can hear a horse galloping and then gradually come to a halt in front of a modest sized Cedar Lodge that appeared from behind the veil of dense fog.

Wang Xiren had been riding towards the eastern route on the forest path for the past 4 hours non-stop and she was certain by now that no one was trailing behind her. Yet, Wang Xiren's heart was still beating over 130 beats per minute. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel a tad nervous. It was the first time she had ever been out all alone by herself. She felt liberated but at the same time lost.

After taking a few deep breaths, Wang Xiren felt slightly better. But her energy was drained and her body was starting to ache from the long ride...

Fortunately, she was elated to find an inn by chance. Wang Xiren felt rather fortunate. Tonight, she will have a warm bed to sleep on and did not have to worry about finding food! She dismounted from her stallion, tied it to a tree next to a wooden water barrel, and patted its head before making her way into the inn.

Inside the inn, the interior looked like any normal country lodge. Although it was late in the night, there were still a few people dinning inside—which were all men. The bottom floor where filled with long wooden dining tables and upstairs there where private rooms for rent. As soon as Wang Xiren walked in, she was promptly greeted by a smiling old man in his sixties wearing a cotton dark moss green hanfu. The old man looked friendly on the exterior, but Wang Xiren instantly disliked him. His smiling face rubbed her the wrong way, making her skin itchy.

Despite being brought up as an over-protected miss in the Marquis household, Wang Xiren had good intuition about people. And right now, her intuition told her that this greasy old man was definitely not a trustworthy person.

"Young man, what brings you here tonight?", the old innkeeper asked.

"I am a traveling scholar and happen to pass this way by chance. Do you have any rooms? I only need it for a night."

"Oh yes, sure, sure! You are a very lucky young man. We happen to have one room available." The old innkeeper turned away and went to grab a key from inside a drawer. "It will be 5 silver coins for one night stay. Of course, the fee includes dinner and a breakfast during the duration of your stay," the old man smiled and extended his hand for the money.

So expensive! What a sly old fox!

Wang Xiren wanted to complain, but she nevertheless complied and forked out the money and handed it to the old innkeeper without complaint.

The old innkeeper eyes brighten the sight of money and promptly handed over the room key to Wang Xiren. Then, the old innkeeper called over a pretty-looking young waitress to show Xiren over to seat at a table and served her fragrant tea. 

The aroma of the tea brought a feeling of calmness and her prior tenseness that she felt before slowly dissipated. Xiren's eyelids felt slightly heavy, so she closed her eyes and almost dozed off. However, Xiren suddenly felt a burning sensation and her head started to throb. The pain was acute and searing but it rapidly went away within seconds. Yet, those painful seconds were enough to bring Xiren's self-awareness back to her. Her head cleared up from the daze and she thoughtfully looked around her surroundings once more. This time around, the eeriness that she felt when she stepped into the inn before was made clearer to her now.

When Xiren looked at the people inside the inn, she could vaguely see a semi-transparent black aura hovering over the staff members of the inn; whereas, the guest all looked lifeless and ill as if they are sufferers of sleep deprivation.

"What the heck is going on?"

At first glance, Xiren's thought her eyes were deceiving her due to the fatigue. But after a closer inspection, she was certain that what she saw wasn't an illusion. Something was gravely amiss with the inn and the people in it.

Wang Xiren shook her head, grimaced and her complexion slightly paled—all the while maintaining a cool disposition despite the fear that she truly felt inside. Her intuition was telling her to run for it, but her rationality and body wouldn't budge.

She was conflicted. Although Xiren did not want to stay here any longer, she knew that it wasn't smart to be roaming in the wood at this time of night. Furthermore, she knew that she would not be able to leave without alerting the staff.

After much thought, Wang Xiren slowly got up from the table and made her way upstairs to her room while ignoring feeling of being watched.

Once she got in she quickly locked the doors and took out the small dagger from her bag, then she let out a sigh of breath that she had been holding in. She unsheathed the dagger from its elegant case and clutched it tightly to her chest as she laid on the bed.

Immediately, Xiren body was taken over by an extreme exhaustion and her entire person became completely drained, feeling tired and powerless. Despite her cautious nature and better judgement, Wang Xiran's fatigue eventually won and she drifted off into slumber unaware of the impending danger that neared her.