The swordsman trembled, his hands shaking so violently that he dropped his sword. "Master Jia, I really... I really don't have the money. Please give me a few more days, and I'll repay you double."

As Proprietor Jia approached, his face was all smiles, but the swordsman was so terrified that his legs went weak, and he immediately knelt on the ground. "Master Jia, please give me a few more days. I was planning to finish this deal today and pay you back, but who knew..."

Proprietor Jia raised his hand and placed it on the man's shoulder, saying in a kind voice, "Don't worry about it. Just remember to be a rich man in your next life."

"Jia..." The man only managed to utter one word before the skin on his face seemed to have all the moisture sucked out of it, and in a short moment, he turned into a dried corpse, his skin tightly wrapped around his bones.

Proprietor Jia simply lifted his hand and tossed the corpse out the door.

The corpse shattered upon hitting the ground, scattering like fine sand sifted through a sieve, leaving only a humanoid imprint.

Before long, that imprint would also disappear without a trace under the Yin wind of the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn, and the swordsman would be completely erased from existence.

Proprietor Jia cupped his fist in a salute to us and then walked away muttering to himself.

I overheard him saying something like, "Came out too early," and "Next time, I should make them break more things."

Without making a sound, I closed the door and had Su Su set up a soundproof barrier before saying, "Ling, don't you think that guy surnamed Jia doesn't seem like a proprietor?"

"He gives me the feeling that he's just using the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn as a tool to make money."

As soon as I said that, I felt like my statement was wrong, so I quickly added, "How should I put it? I just feel like something's not quite right. I don't know how to explain it."

Ling said, "I know what you mean."

"I think Proprietor Jia isn't one of the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn's people, and what's more, he's desperately trying to hide something."

My eyes lit up. "What do you mean by that?"

Ling said, "The reason the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn can attract gods, ghosts, and heroes from all directions is that it's located in a no-man's-land."

"The people who come to the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn are all outstanding individuals."

"If the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn had always been in this state, how could it have attracted figures from both the righteous and the evil paths!"

Ling explained specifically, "It's not as if there aren't chaotic places where the evil sects gather in the martial world, where there are also no rules. However, the evil figures who enter those chaotic places can obtain benefits."

"Only benefits can make people take risks. What does this place have? Apart from unscrupulously exploiting the tenants, what benefits can the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn bring to them?"

"So, I'm sure that the rules of the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn must have been changed."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but frown. Ling was good at analyzing problems from subtle clues, and her words made me suspicious of the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn as well.

Ling continued, "Proprietor Jia extorted money from us and killed that swordsman. It can be said that he has both established his authority and profited from it."

"If he hadn't said anything, I might not have suspected him."

"However, the words he said before he left were superfluous."

Only then did I realize what had been bothering me all along.

The words Proprietor Jia said later were obviously meant for us to hear, and they were also a repeated emphasis on "Don't touch anything in the inn."

Ling said, "Proprietor Jia is afraid that we'll break something in the inn!"

Ling pointed to the table and said, "Let me give you an example!"

"For example, this table is an alarm mechanism. When we don't touch it, it's just like a decoration. But once we encounter danger, we'll definitely knock on this table as soon as possible to send a message to someone who can solve the problem."

"So, what the opponent is really afraid of isn't us, but this table."

"If they want to attack our courtyard, they will definitely kill the person responsible for the alarm as soon as possible, so that this table can never be activated."

Ling paused for a moment and said, "If I hide this table, and I myself disappear, or even commit suicide, what would be the result?"

I suddenly woke up. "The person who occupies our courtyard will not only have to be on guard against this table at all times, but also have to guard against others discovering the table."

"He also doesn't know what the consequences will be if the table is broken."

"That's right!" Ling said, "I suspect that the surname Jia's position as proprietor is illegitimate. That's why he deliberately puts on an act of being profit-seeking and unscrupulous, threatening the tenants to prevent them from easily touching the inn's facilities."

"That way, the alarm mechanism in the inn will never be triggered."

I subconsciously looked out the window. "You mean, the real owner of the Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren Inn is sleeping or in seclusion in the central area? If we get the mechanism, we can awaken the inn's owner?"

"Then we..."

I was originally going to say: Should we go directly to the center of the inn?

But the words stopped at my lips.