Chapter 1 Tavern, Back Courtyard, Bedroom

In Zheng Fan's room, people filled the space around the small round table.

It was morning, still some time before the tavern opened for the day.

Of course, when the master summoned everyone, business naturally had to take a backseat.

Even the wooden box containing the black stone was placed on the table; everyone was present.

"…so, that's roughly what happened."

Zheng Fan picked up his teacup and took a sip.

What came next really depended on what these "Demon Kings" wanted.

After all, even though these Demon Kings were now ordinary people, they couldn't be judged by the standards of ordinary people, despite having lost their powers.

The Blind North slightly raised his head, as if deep in thought.

Xue San, perched on a chair, glanced left at Liang Cheng and right at A'ming, not intending to say anything.

Fan Li sat rigidly, trying to give his two companions enough space, looking like he wasn't thinking either.

The stone was still just a stone.

This scene made Zheng Fan feel awkward, and to cover it up, he had to drink several more mouthfuls of tea.

Why wasn't anyone talking?

Last night, A'ming's words about not abandoning each other had warmed Zheng Fan's heart, but the silence now made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

In fact, Zheng Fan's idea was very simple. Even the Blind North had said before that this was an ordinary world, just set in ancient times.

But he had clearly seen a species that couldn't possibly exist in an ordinary world, so he instinctively felt he should tell everyone about it.

In the end, it was Feng Siniang who broke the awkward silence.

Feng Siniang first got up, picked up the teapot on the small table, refilled her master's tea, then sat down, facing Zheng Fan, with a serious and sincere expression.

"Master."

"Hmm?"

"The matter you just mentioned, we can put it aside for now. Before discussing that, we want to ask you a question."

"A question?"

"That is, you were unconscious before, but now you've woken up.

So, we want to know, which path do you intend to take next?"

"Which path?"

Zheng Fan was a little confused. How had this turned into a debate about paths again?

"One path is to live out your life in this world peacefully and steadily. We will protect you and ensure your life is stable.

You can marry, you can have children, and we will provide for your food, drink, and clothing.

If you choose this path, then the previous question is no longer a problem. Regardless of whether this world is a high-martial world or an ordinary world, it can ultimately provide an environment for ordinary people to survive."

"Then… what's the second path?"

Feng Siniang smiled.

Xue San smiled.

Fan Li also smiled憨厚憨厚ly.

The Blind North smiled too.

Everyone smiled.

"Master, the second path is…"

At this point, Feng Siniang suddenly pointed toward the front hall and continued,

"I don't know if you've noticed, but our tavern's signboard only has the words 'Tavern' on it; it doesn't have a prefix.

When we opened the tavern, we all discussed it, but decided to wait until you woke up before adding a prefix to the tavern's name."

"A prefix?"

"Yes, Master. For example, whether it's called Tongfu Tavern or Xinlongmen Tavern, it's all up to you."

Zheng Fan understood.

The first path was to live like a parasite, waiting for death.

The second path was to stir up trouble!

"Master, you can consider it carefully," Fan Li said at this time.

He was a kind man, and he believed that these two paths required careful consideration for Zheng Fan.

Besides, Zheng Fan had only been awake for less than two days.

However, Zheng Fan didn't think about it for long at all. There were only two paths, left or right, very clear, very distinct.

"The second one."

The answer was given quickly.

So decisively that everyone sitting around the small table was stunned.

Even the black stone in the wooden box trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly, as a sign of respect.

"Master, won't you reconsider…"

There was already obvious joy in Feng Siniang's words, but she was still forcibly suppressing her emotions to remind Zheng Fan.

Everyone else present, including the vampire A'ming and the zombie Liang Cheng, who were known for their "deadpan" faces, now had a different light in their eyes.

Xue San licked his lips.

Fan Li kneaded his knuckles, producing a series of cracks.

They were anticipating, they were eager, they were extremely eager!

But Zheng Fan smiled very confidently and said,

"It's the second path. To be honest, I've always loved this kind of exciting and terrifying stuff because it excites me and gives me pleasure. Unfortunately, in the previous world, I could only experience that kind of atmosphere through comics.

Moreover, in this world, besides you, I have no relatives, no ties. You could say I have nothing to worry about.

To put it bluntly, I'm someone who committed suicide. Every day I live in this world is a bonus for me. So why choose to live like a parasite? Why not find something interesting to do? Even if it ends badly, I'll just treat it as the end of a game. Since I'm the one inserting the coins, there's nothing to regret."

The smiles on everyone's faces deepened.

Feng Siniang stood up and looked at the North, who was sitting there staring blindly at the sky.

The North nodded, placed his hands on the table, and tapped lightly, as if the small round table in front of him was a piano.

However, he didn't get lost in his self-entertainment. Instead, he said,

"Xue San."

"Yes, sir."

Xue San clicked his tongue and put both feet on the chair, his small body swaying up and down, looking impatient.

"Tonight, go to the Tiger Head City County Office. Bring back all the official letters and documents that you think are valuable. Be quick. Move out at one in the morning, and bring the things back in half an hour. Before dawn, you have to put everything back where it was."

Xue San was small. Before becoming a Demon Head, he started out as a thief, a profession that really suited his size.

"Understood."

Xue San was very excited, and his swaying became more frequent.

"A'li."

Fan Li clenched his fists and responded with a full-bodied voice.

"Isn't the leader of that barbarian merchant caravan always admiring your strength? Tonight, go find him and say you've agreed to work for him. After infiltrating his caravan, go into the desert and see some of the local customs and whether there's a place suitable for us to settle down. Remember, the round trip should be within a month."

"I'll remember," Fan Li nodded vigorously.

In fact, arranging for Fan Li to go to the desert to check out the situation was also to arrange a backup plan for everyone. After all, compared to the Yan Kingdom, the more loosely organized desert was more convenient for everyone to settle down.

"The patrol captain's wife has been troubled by not having children. She once had her fortune told here. This afternoon, I'll go to her and give her some talisman water."

Immediately afterward,

The Blind North's invisible "gaze" fell on Feng Siniang and said,

"Siniang, you'll receive guests tonight."

"Alright, I'll spread the word later that I'll be personally receiving guests tonight, highest bidder wins."

The Blind North nodded. Although everyone had different personalities and different attributes, they were essentially the same. Even if they looked silly and simple, there was absolutely no one who was truly kind-hearted.

In addition, everyone had deepened their understanding of each other during the half-year that Zheng Fan was unconscious. When they really started to operate, their cooperation would naturally be smooth.

Feng Siniang was a flower, a delicate and mature flower, but she never received guests herself. She only managed the girls under her. In the past half-year, there were too many men in Tiger Head City who were interested in her.

Spreading the word, highest bidder wins, first eliminate the commoners, catch a big fish as a patron, and then extract some information about this world from the big fish's mouth.

Ordinary people only know how to live in a daze. If there are no major changes, they will probably live like this for the rest of their lives: working, paying taxes, performing labor, and facing birth, old age, sickness, and death.

Just like the tavern's people in the past half-year, because their level was too low and their range of activity was too small, the Blind North said he hadn't seen anything from a "high-martial" world.

Of course, it was also possible that they were instinctively rejecting those things, only wanting to wait peacefully for Zheng Fan to wake up.

The Blind North reached out and pointed at A'ming and Liang Cheng. Although everyone was ordinary now, they still retained a little bit of their characteristics. Liang Cheng could perform the "chest-breaking-stone" stunt.

"A'ming, Liang Cheng, you're responsible for helping Siniang. Don't let anything unexpected happen that results in losing both the lady and the army."

That joke wasn't funny because it was disrespectful.

But everyone was laughing.

Including Siniang,

While laughing, she gave Zheng Fan a shy wink.

They were a group of Demon Heads, a group of ruthless killers. Why would they care about these things?

Zheng Fan, on the other hand, was a little uneasy because of the final joke.

Clearly, it was because he hadn't been able to integrate into their atmosphere yet.

At the same time, Zheng Fan was also very shocked by the action that these people were showing at this moment.

In the half-year that he had been unconscious, these people had just been running a business, being honest and law-abiding, but that wasn't their true nature.

In the dark, there seemed to be a line connecting him to them.

They were waiting for him, waiting for him to wake up, waiting for him to… give orders.

Last night, A'ming's words to him echoed in Zheng Fan's mind again. He had asked A'ming, "Aren't you curious about this strange world?"

A'ming had said:

"It's meaningless before you wake up."

Finally, the Blind North sighed and said,

"If our strength could be restored, even if it was just a little bit, we would be much more at ease."

Everyone was silent again. Obviously, this was a sore spot for everyone.

"Well, there's no rush. We can always find a way. Let's eat first." Zheng Fan came out to ease the atmosphere like a "leader" at this time.

Everyone also gave him face and picked up their chopsticks to start eating and drinking.

A'ming silently ate a mouthful of blood curd and then silently spat it back into the bowl.

Feng Siniang looked at A'ming with some suspicion and asked,

"Did the cook not do a good job today?"

A'ming nodded and said,

"It's rotten."