Chapter 11: The Cursed Pendant

That day, the group arrived at Anle Post Station as dusk approached.

They had loaded too much cargo, which slowed the caravan’s pace. Otherwise, they would have arrived by noon.

The reasoning for so much cargo came from experience. Any more, and the cart would be even slower. Going uphill or downhill would become very dangerous.

As it was, they only needed to camp one night in the wild. They would reach the next station before dark the following day.

This station was a bit larger. There were a few extra buildings where officials’ families lived.

Everyone checked into the civilian inn. They agreed to set out the next morning.

They also invited the young lady to join them for a meal, clearly hoping to build goodwill. The meal was not cheap.

They asked what she wanted to eat. The innkeeper of Anle Station listed the dishes one by one. Ning Su nodded at any name she liked.

Fortunately, she only nodded twice, so it wasn’t too costly.

One dish was lamb. The other was sausage.

The inn’s food was far better than what they’d eaten in the wild. The higher price was justified. The gamey taste was much less, and the meat was tender and pleasant to eat. The seasoning was generous, salty enough, perhaps a bit strong.

At the table, the caravan asked the innkeeper about the area. First they inquired about the Xuanmen sects, whether any remarkable people or demons had been seen nearby.

The innkeeper glanced at Ning Su, then looked at the caravan leader, finding his question strange. He denied any such things.

He asked back, “It’s been years since anyone talked about demons. Why ask that now?”

The caravan leader deflected the question without explaining.

They then chatted about the local situation.

The innkeeper sighed repeatedly. “It’s all because of the Jianzhou Garrison Command. The fighting never stops…”

In short, this region was a border area, with occasional small skirmishes. Many tribes lived here, considered locals.

The Ming court had set up institutions called the Three Jianzhou Garrisons, with soldiers, grain, and authority. They normally suppressed other tribes in the region.

The court used locals to fight locals.

The post stations in this area survived, and the logistics on the border were secured, thanks in part to these garrisons.

But they were locals after all. They weren’t friendly to Ming merchants. They wouldn’t kill merchants, but they might intercept caravans for extra income.

After much thought, the caravan leader decided to change the route. Instead of taking the northern road toward Shenyang, which was inland, they would take the southern road toward Anshan near the coast.

It was a small, rough path.

Ning Su was no ordinary person. She didn’t understand the tangled officialdom, nor did she want to.

She didn’t comment on the change of route. Instead, she took out her travel permit and showed them the address.

“Baoding?” That was indeed along the way.

So Ning Su continued with the caravan.

Though they were curious why she carried someone else’s travel permit, no one asked.

Late at night, Ning Su went downstairs alone. She found the innkeeper still sweeping snow.

She took out a portrait of the blood-red phantom and showed it to him.

“You want to find this… thing?” The innkeeper held the scroll, examining it from different angles.

Ning Su nodded, nervously watching him analyze the picture.

Her gaze made his scalp tingle. Those golden eyes were too oppressive. Combined with the influence of her mana on ordinary people, the innkeeper felt flustered, unable to focus his thoughts for a long time.

“Over eight feet tall.” The innkeeper muttered to himself while gesturing with the portrait. Taller than him by two heads. “Red skin, sturdy build.”

He gestured again, a bit smaller than his own potbelly.

“I’ve seen many people with similar builds, but none with red skin. If the red skin is the key feature, then I haven’t seen him.” The innkeeper reached his conclusion.

Ning Su took back the scroll and gave a slight nod of thanks.

As she was about to leave, the innkeeper called her back. He wanted her to look at some things.

When running an inn, you sometimes get guests who can’t pay.

Looking troubled, the innkeeper led Ning Su to a room. He opened a cabinet and took out items inside.

There were calligraphy scrolls, jade pieces, all sorts of odd things.

They were items pawned to cover room and board.

If someone was freezing or starving and wanted to sleep or eat, the innkeeper usually wouldn’t refuse. He ran his business here and wanted to build goodwill. No need to offend desperate people.

Usually, those people would leave something as collateral. That was what she saw now.

Even if they could leave without leaving anything, most chose to pawn their last possessions.

The innkeeper was lucky. Most people he met were good.

Those people were also lucky to meet a good man.

Lately, the innkeeper had felt unwell. Besides low energy and weakness, occasional drowsiness or insomnia, he’d had far more nightmares in recent months.

He thought he might have picked up something unclean.

When he first saw Ning Su, he wondered if she was connected to the mystical arts. That was just a guess. But after seeing the strange thing she was looking for, he became more convinced she was no ordinary person.

So he wanted her to check if any of the pawned items were cursed.

There was. Yes, there was.

With her naked eye, she could see a pale blue jade pendant emitting black smoke. This smoke wasn’t the gray from burning wood. It was a deep black smoke rarely seen in daily life.

She reached out and touched it lightly with her fingertip, avoiding broad contact.

The moment she touched it, she frowned. The feeling from her fingertip was unpleasant, as if something sharp was pricking her.

She withdrew her finger.

She swept her gaze over the other pawned items, then pointed at the pale blue jade pendant.

“Thank you.” The innkeeper had his answer. He must have handled that thing recently.

As thanks for her help, he offered to give her one of the items. Ning Su shook her head and refused.

They parted ways. Ning Su returned to her room.

Night fell. She closed her eyes.

Dawn came. She opened them.

It had not been a peaceful night.

“Innkeeper?” The caravan rose early and looked for him, but couldn’t find him for a long time.

Ning Su knew where he lived. She led everyone to the door of his room.

They knocked for a while, but no one answered.

They went to check the front door. It was locked from the inside.

They checked the back door. It was ajar.

He must have gone somewhere.

They waited at the inn for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, but the innkeeper still didn’t show.

Unable to wait any longer, they decided to leave without saying goodbye.

Just then, someone knocked at the front door. Finding it locked, they circled to the back and entered through the back door.

“Innkeeper?!” The caravan leader stared at the grimy, shivering man. “Where have you been?”

The innkeeper couldn’t speak. His mouth was numb.

He went back to his room, put on more clothes, and quickly started a fire to warm himself.

Once he recovered some warmth, he began to explain.

Last night, he had disposed of the jade pendant and gone to sleep. In the middle of the night, he woke up freezing cold.

He found himself inexplicably in the countryside. He had walked over twenty li through the night, all the way back to Anle Post Station.

When asked why he hadn’t frozen to death walking all night, the innkeeper said he felt protected by a treasure. It was only lightly cold at first, not unbearable. But as he neared the station, the cold suddenly became overwhelming, nearly freezing him in place. He barely made it back to the inn.

The story sounded familiar, yet not completely familiar.

The caravan leader said nothing more. He quickly led the group, harnessed the carts, and fled.

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