Joe Di clutched two crumpled coins as he walked toward the East District.
Just as Yvette Fei had said, the moment Joe Di entered the East District, he immediately sensed its dilapidation. He purposely sought out an inn that looked particularly rundown from the outside, planning to stay just one night before moving on.
At dawn, he would leave Dai City for the Lethe Mountains, heading to the Lethe Temple. Beneath Lethe Temple lay what he needed; he intended to recover there while collecting the Lethe Bridge.
The inn’s name was distinctive—Route Inn.
Just as Joe Di reached the inn’s entrance, someone rushed in. If not for Joe Di’s quick reflexes, that person would have collided with him directly.
“Sorry about that.” The person who dashed in was a woman who appeared to be middle-aged. She apologized hurriedly to Joe Di before striding over to the inn’s front desk.
Her hair looked dry and carelessly tied in a knot. Dust was obvious on her face, and the edge of her clothes bore dried bloodstains. A curved blade was strapped to her back.
But Joe Di could tell she was disguised. She wasn’t actually that old—in fact, she was still quite young.
“I’d like to book a single room for the night.” The woman produced an identification card and handed it to the receptionist.
Joe Di glanced at it; it wasn’t a standard ID card.
"Three hundred seventy, deposit five hundred," the clerk said in a monotone.
"Here." The woman handed over several bills, and the clerk quickly processed her check-in.
As she picked up her room card, she seemed to remember something and turned to size up Joe Di.
Joe Di’s clothes looked somewhat old-fashioned, and his body was covered in dried bloodstains. The wounds on his face and arms hadn’t fully healed yet.
Actually, Joe Di’s attire wasn’t all that unusual. Back when fiend beasts rampaged across Earth, many martial artists preferred retro clothing.
Joe Di had lost interest in checking in. He was certain Yvette Fei knew he couldn’t get a room for just a hundred bucks, which was why she didn’t say more. He turned to leave.
This inn was obviously one of the worse ones. Even so, a standard room cost three hundred seventy, and a five hundred deposit was required. All Joe Di had were two crumpled bills—and no identification.
With a sigh, Joe Di turned to leave. He decided to leave Dai City; if he couldn’t get a ride, he would simply walk the whole way.
Time was the one thing he didn’t lack. However long the journey took, it made no difference to him.
"Wait a moment..." To Joe Di’s surprise, just as he was about to leave, the middle-aged woman who had checked in called out to him.
Joe Di turned to look at the woman, puzzled. "Are you looking for me?"
"I almost bumped into you earlier, I’m really sorry." The woman apologized again.
Joe Di knew she hadn’t come just to apologize; she’d already done that before.
"It’s nothing. You didn’t actually hit me." Joe Di shook his head.
The woman smiled, revealing a set of white teeth that didn’t match her disguised appearance. "I saw you trying to check in earlier. Why didn’t you stay?"
"I realized I’d lost my ID, and I don’t have enough money, so I can’t stay here," Joe Di replied honestly.
"Where are you heading then?" the woman asked in surprise.
Joe Di hesitated before asking, "I want to go to Luojin City in Southern River Province. Do you know if there’s a place to catch a ride? How much does it cost?"
The woman sighed. "Luojin is quite far from here. If you don’t even have enough for a room, you definitely can’t afford the trip. The train costs several thousand, and you’ll need an ID too."
"That expensive?" Joe Di thought to himself. Back when he was on Earth, a regular seat from Luojin to Dai City on the high-speed rail only cost a few hundred.
The woman added, "That’s actually the cheapest option. There are many fierce beasts along the way, and the trains need special guards for protection."
Joe Di frowned slightly. He really couldn’t understand why so many powerful wild beasts—and even fiend beasts—had suddenly appeared on Earth.
"It’s very dangerous to leave Dai City right now. At night, it’s nearly impossible to survive outside the city. If you don’t mind, you can share a room with me. I’ll switch to a larger suite." The woman’s offer surprised Joe Di.
He didn’t know this woman at all, so why would she invite him to share a room?
While Joe Di was still hesitating, the woman had already changed to a larger suite at the front desk. The deposit was now a thousand, and the nightly rate had risen to seven hundred thirty.
"Let’s go, we’ll head up together." The woman waved the room card at Joe Di with a smile. The receptionist acted as if nothing unusual had happened, as if this sort of thing was perfectly ordinary.
Joe Di hesitated briefly, then nodded. "Thank you."
Staying in the inn was definitely safer than being outside. At least he could focus entirely on purging the Nirvana Poison Dao Mark from his body, without needing to worry about anything else.
...
The suite the woman booked wasn’t very large, but it did have two separate rooms.
As soon as Joe Di followed the woman into the room, she locked the door and said, "My name is Nora Xiu. What about you?"
"I’m Joe Di," he replied casually.
Nora Xiu clearly hadn’t heard of his name. She continued, "Brother Di, were your injuries from the Dahuan Bend fiend beast zone? I heard a fiend beast appeared there recently—strong enough to kill even Xuan-level martial artists. If you go there again, be careful."
"I know. But we’re strangers—why are you helping me?" This was what Joe Di really wanted to ask. He didn’t believe people were that hospitable these days. Was it normal to invite a random man to share a room?
Nora Xiu bowed to Joe Di before explaining, "Earlier, I rushed into the Route Inn because I saw someone in Dai City I was afraid of. Afterward, I realized that at the speed I was moving, an ordinary person couldn’t have dodged me. Even a peak Huang-level expert wouldn’t have avoided my charge. Yet you dodged easily, which means you must be at least Xuan-level..."
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After saying this, Nora Xiu realized something was off. If Joe Di really was as strong as she thought—a Xuan-level expert—why would he be so down-and-out that he couldn’t even afford a room?
Joe Di finally understood why Nora Xiu wanted to help him. First, Nora Xiu herself was disguised; with her age and average appearance, a true expert like him wouldn’t be interested in her. Second, she suspected he was Xuan-level and wanted to ask him for martial arts advice.
Joe Di could only say, "I’m not a Xuan-level martial artist."
Nora Xiu realized it too. If Joe Di were Xuan-level, he wouldn’t be this poor. Maybe he’d dodged her simply because of his quick reflexes—perhaps it was just a natural talent.
Seeing the misunderstanding, Joe Di smiled and stood up. "Looks like you misjudged me. In that case..."
Before Joe Di could finish, Nora Xiu quickly said, "Brother Di, it’s dangerous to go out now. Since the room is already booked, just stay here tonight. Tomorrow you can decide what to do."
"Thank you." Joe Di nodded, no longer refusing.
Since Joe Di wasn’t a Xuan-level martial artist, Nora Xiu’s interest faded. She returned to her own room, locked the door, and made no further sound.
As for where Joe Di came from or where he was going, she didn’t care—it had nothing to do with her anymore.
Joe Di also returned to his room and focused all his energy on purging the Poison Dao Mark from his body. With no interruptions and no need for vigilance, once his own laws began circulating, he immediately sensed something different.
Previously, his laws and the Poison Dao Mark were merely in a standoff, but now his laws could slowly strip away the invading Poison Dao Mark. It really was a tiny difference with a huge impact. Just by letting down his guard a little, everything changed.
This made Joe Di grateful to Nora Xiu. If he could cultivate here for three days, he’d be able to use part of his divine sense again.
Joe Di didn’t even notice when eight hours had passed. He finally stripped away the first thread of poison mark from his body. There were thousands upon thousands of poison marks within him, but now that he’d removed the first, everything that followed would no longer be hopeless.
Crack! Even though his sea of consciousness was still fractured, Joe Di could feel it—his divine sense seeped out, and the world within a hundred meters became clear. Joe Di was overjoyed; what he thought would take three days was accomplished in just a few hours.
A gray-robed man leapt from the back of the inn to the third floor, then up to the fifth, heading straight for Joe Di’s room.
This was definitely an Earth-level expert. Joe Di frowned slightly; he didn’t know any such experts—why would someone come after him at night?
Joe Di quickly realized the visitor wasn’t after him, but after Nora Xiu.