The innkeeper was still unconvinced.
At this moment, Liang Ping, who had been silent beside them, like a background prop, suddenly spoke to the innkeeper, "If we had no intention of genuinely trading with you from the beginning, we wouldn't have agreed to sign a written agreement with you or bothered to think up those terms."
"Given your past record, it's already a great opportunity that someone is willing to give you a chance."
"It's you who has truly disappointed us."
Only then did the innkeeper chuckle hoarsely.
He said, "Alright, stop wasting your efforts. I admit, regardless of whether you were genuine in your transaction, I, myself, never trusted you. I don't believe your words."
"And I don't believe you can leave this place."
Ye Tiancheng and the others did not respond to this statement.
It was understandable that these people harbored such doubts towards them. From what they could see, most of those who had been tricked into coming here were ordinary people. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so easy to capture. They likely didn't even know that true cultivators existed in the world.
Perhaps the outside world hadn't changed when they were lured in.
Therefore, it was normal for them to question Ye Tiancheng and their abilities.
However, at this moment, Ye Tiancheng and the others had no desire to explain, let alone prove that they possessed such capabilities.
The innkeeper continued, "Moreover, why the insistence on leaving Xiao Jing City? What's so bad about staying here?"
The little fox leaned closer, looking at the innkeeper with a hint of curiosity.
He said, "What's so good about staying in such a ghost town? You yourself called it a ghost town, so why do you think staying here is good?"
The innkeeper glanced at the little fox and replied, "A ghost town has its own advantages. By staying in Xiao Jing City, everyone becomes ageless and immortal, free from the torment of illness. As long as you abide by the rules, it's easy to live here."
"There aren't as many regulations and restrictions as in the outside world..."
Before he could finish, the little fox interrupted him with a scoff.
The little fox retorted, "Doesn't this so-called Xiao Jing City have enough regulations and restrictions?"
In the outside world, many law-abiding citizens might not understand many laws in their lifetime, but they might not break the law even a few times.
However, in this ghost town, breaking the rules could happen in an instant with just a slight misstep.
And once the rules were broken, who knew if it would be a fatal matter?
The innkeeper was momentarily silenced by the little fox's retort. After a brief sulk, he countered with a lack of confidence, "What do you know?"
The little fox let out a scoff and said, "What do I know?"
"Fine," the little fox nodded and then said to the innkeeper, "Even setting aside the rules and regulations, you say that by staying here, one can become ageless and immortal. Whether you truly become ageless, let's not discuss for now."
"But about this immortality, hmm? Are you sure?"
Nie Chongyang rested his chin on his hand and said jokingly, "Could it be that if we chop off his head here, he'll come back to life?"
He even showed an eager expression.
The innkeeper, unaware of Nie Chongyang's original profession, was genuinely startled by him and showed a look of extreme panic, quickly changing his words, "Ageless! It's ageless! I misspoke!"
"People who stay here will never age! We don't die of old age. As long as we don't break the rules, encounter accidents, and die, theoretically, we can live forever in Xiao Jing City. In a sense, isn't that immortality?!"
Ye Tiancheng raised an eyebrow and said, "I don't agree. Unless there's an ancient ghost who has lived for a hundred years among you to personally prove it, you're actually believing such nonsense."
"Ageless and immortal? You haven't fallen for some superstitious beliefs, have you?"
"In this world, no life can be ageless and immortal. Even the longest-lived immortal races eventually reach the end of their lifespan. Immortality is not easily achieved and requires immense sacrifice."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, especially if you're an ordinary human. If you truly become ageless and immortal, then it's hard to say whether you're still an ordinary human."
The innkeeper seemed to have gone a bit mad.
He repeatedly muttered something about how they didn't understand, that immortality was real, and that eternal life was possible here, speaking in a rambling, nonsensical manner.
Nie Chongyang sighed and whispered to Ye Tiancheng.
He said, "Looking at him, he's not just been fooled stupidly."
Ye Tiancheng replied, "It's said that hateful people have their pitiable aspects, but his level of hatefulness has already made it impossible to feel pity for him."
The two exchanged a few hushed words. However, the innkeeper was still in their custody, and it was getting dark. The events of the previous night might repeat themselves soon, so they shouldn't delay any further. Thus, they quickly dropped the topic.
Ye Tiancheng said to the innkeeper, "Alright, I don't care what kind of nonsensical things you believe. It has nothing to do with us anyway. Just tell us what you're supposed to tell us. Speak plainly, why did you deliberately try to curry favor and bring us poisoned food?"
"What exactly were you planning to do by trying to drug us?"
The innkeeper, interrupted from his rambling, regained a bit of his senses. After hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, his expression was still hesitant, but then he felt a chill at his neck.
This was the first time a knife had been held to his throat since he had confronted Ye Tiancheng and the others.
Having been in conflict with Ye Tiancheng and the others for so long, the innkeeper had never seen them act seriously. He had assumed they were just naive newcomers who were afraid to truly harm anyone. Now, he dared not continue thinking that way.
The little fox, assisting Ye Tiancheng, threatened the innkeeper, "Confess and be lenient, resist and be severe."
Despite the little fox's appearance, voice, and tone lacking any threatening quality, and his overall harmless demeanor, the innkeeper was extremely frightened of him at this moment.
The innkeeper no longer dared to judge these people by their outward appearance.
With a knife at his throat, he had no choice but to speak.
However, before the innkeeper could truly open his mouth, he heard Ye Tiancheng add one more sentence.
"We've heard enough lies, we're tired of them. Do you understand what I mean?"
The innkeeper understood perfectly and feared that the blade might not be so forgiving.
He had no choice but to say, "Alright, I'll confess."
At this point, the innkeeper finally revealed some new information to the four of them.
Nie Chongyang couldn't help but complain about the innkeeper, saying he was like toothpaste, squeezing out a little at a time, dragging things out and being troublesome.
Having wasted so much time and been tricked several times by this innkeeper, Ye Tiancheng and the others found it difficult to show him any goodwill.
The innkeeper told Ye Tiancheng and the others that he had his reasons for plotting against them.
It was simply that he hadn't told the whole truth about Lin Yanqin's special incident. For some reason, he had deliberately concealed information from Ye Tiancheng and the others, even intending to use them as cannon fodder.
He just hadn't expected Ye Tiancheng and the others to be so vigilant and difficult to deal with.
It seemed he was the one who would fall into his own trap.
The innkeeper stated that it was impossible to safely navigate these cyclical special memory events without bloodshed. Therefore, every time the cycle began, he had to trick some people into coming and use their lives to fill the void, thereby ensuring his own safety.
For any place with such special events, if there was an owner, that owner would certainly not easily reveal this fact.
Otherwise, how could they lure others in and then sacrifice them?
The innkeeper was no different.
However, as time passed in Xiao Jing City, the number of humans who could survive was limited. Humans were the most effective in mitigating crises, while non-humans were less effective, harder to trick, and more difficult to deal with. They rarely set their sights on non-humans.
Most of the surviving humans would prioritize turning their blades against their former kin.
This was a brutal choice, but it was a choice they made for survival.
Ye Tiancheng and the others listened with a sense of unease, their expressions growing unhappy. However, at this point, nothing could be undone, and nothing could be prevented.
Moreover, with no new people entering, there were only the four of them.
Rather than worrying about those who might not be worth saving, it was better to worry about their own companions.
In summary, due to the constant turning of knives against their own kind, the number of humans in Xiao Jing City was limited. As time went on, the number of their own kind that could be harmed would inevitably decrease.
Furthermore, there was another problem: those who gradually survived in Xiao Jing City were all tough individuals, none of whom were easy to deal with. Having been in and out of this place for a long time, everyone had some inkling of the issues, and they were even more reluctant to go to such places.
In fact, it was rare for people like the innkeeper to claim a location where cyclical events occurred as their territory.
Everyone knew that there weren't enough lives to fill the void. If this continued, eventually, they themselves would have to be sacrificed. It wasn't out of kindness, but ultimately out of self-interest.
However, those like the innkeeper who chose to act this way had their reasons.
Claiming territory was not easy. Places that no one wanted were naturally easier to seize. The location of the innkeeper's dark inn was such a place.
It just so happened that he discovered that Lin Yanqin's special incident was not as dangerous, and he was good at putting on an act. Moreover, Lin Yanqin was there. Lin Yanqin only triggered the cyclical event the day after checking into the inn.
He would secretly, without attracting attention, use the discovery of a rare "resource" as an excuse to win people over, asking them to cooperate with him and provide some protection. In reality, he had already targeted them and intended to use them as cannon fodder.
As for the "resource" he used to lure others, it was none other than Lin Yanqin, who was so beautiful she didn't seem human.
Non-humans like Lin Yanqin, who were not very dangerous and closely resembled humans, were extremely rare. Even if someone saw Lin Yanqin and had some doubts, they would truly believe she was human after realizing how much she resembled one.
As long as the person was lustful enough, they would fall for it.
The innkeeper also knew how to size up people and judge their weaknesses. He had a good idea of how effective Lin Yanqin was as bait and to whom she would be effective, so he had never failed.
This time, however, Ye Tiancheng and his group had stumbled upon them themselves.