Chapter 30: White Mist Inn – No Need to Clean Tomorrow Either

“What does an inn owner need to do?”

“It doesn’t seem like we need to do much,” Bai Yu said, looking at the content on the board. “Well, it’s not that there’s nothing to do. During the day when the doors are closed, we need to tidy up the rooms.”

“Just tidying up rooms to run an inn and make money? That sounds great,” Bai Xi said with a hint of excitement. Then, thinking of the situation in the new plane, she frowned slightly. “But are there actually people in that plane?”

“Since the Shell said there are people, then there should be. Even if the mist in that plane is very thick,” Bai Yu said. “Shall we open this inn?”

“Open it, definitely. It’s just tidying up during the day, it won’t be much trouble.” Bai Xi felt it was fine.

The classroom had explained the situation regarding the inn. Regarding opening it, both Bai Xi and Bai Yu felt it was a good idea, so they quickly confirmed the activation of the inn.

At the same time, an image of the inn appeared on the board in front of the three of them.

The inn’s opening hours were from six in the evening to six in the morning. Since it wasn’t time yet, the inn was completely empty, and the scene before them was naturally vacant.

Bai Yu looked outside. “The sky looks about right. Let’s go cook dinner.”

“We didn’t catch any fish today,” Bai Xi stood up. “By the way, I wonder how that wild boar in the Forest Plane is doing.”

“In case it’s not dead, it might be dangerous for us to go over. Better to wait a bit longer and wait until the boar is definitely dead before we go get it.” Bai Yu took Bai Miao’s hand, stepped down from the stool, and they walked out together to the kitchen next door.

“We’ve almost finished gathering the materials for the kitchen. We should be able to upgrade it in a couple of days,” Bai Xi said, plucking cabbage leaves and tossing them into the casserole pot. “Then we can have stir-fried cabbage. Always eating boiled vegetables is starting to taste worse and worse.”

There was oil in the kitchen, so they could stir-fry.

However, their only cooking tool right now was the casserole pot. They couldn’t stir-fry, only boil, so the oil was just a tiny bit added during boiling for flavor.

Although their current conditions were much better than before, people are never satisfied. When conditions allow, one always wants to improve. In the past, they only went ashore to buy vegetables every few days and never complained about the taste, but now they were starting to get picky.

Bai Yu also wanted better things and said, “The materials for the kitchen upgrade can all be found in the Forest Plane. Let’s go tomorrow and spend more time gathering everything needed so we can upgrade as soon as possible.”

The fire beneath the stove continued to burn, and the porridge in the casserole pot began to bubble.

In Plane 0325, Xu Rongrong blinked, yet she could still see the bright spot in her vision.

She suddenly stood up. “Are you all still there? Is anyone there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“I’m here too.”

“Do you see that bright spot in the distance?” Xu Rongrong asked. “A very bright spot. It can actually penetrate the thick mist?”

“Where… there really is one!”

“Is it a Spiritual Tool?”

“Regardless of what it is, that bright spot isn’t far from us. Are we going?” Xu Rongrong kept her eyes fixed on the distant light, not even daring to blink for fear that it might suddenly vanish.

“Let’s go. We’ve already ended up like this, we have nothing to fear.”

Xu Rongrong heard the sounds of movement around her as everyone stood up to pack their things.

The position of the bright spot was very clear. They didn’t even need to hold hands as they usually did; they just had to head toward the light.

However, because they were used to confirming their positions, they called out to each other after walking for a while to ensure everyone was heading in the same direction before continuing with firm steps.

The unknown thick mist made it impossible to tell directions or see the surroundings, making their pace exceptionally slow.

After an unknown amount of time, the group finally reached the direction of the bright spot.

“A building! There’s actually a house here!”

“How can a house remain safe and sound under this thick mist?”

“This must be a Spiritual Tool!”

“The door is here!”

[Welcome to the White Mist Inn. This inn is open from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. A room fee is required for stay.]

Hearing the voice, the group gathered at the main entrance.

Although the thick white mist still shrouded the area, the few people huddled together could finally see each other’s faces. At the same time, they could see the door in front of them and the plaque above that read “White Mist Inn.”

“It’s a Spiritual Tool! It’s definitely a Spiritual Tool!!!”

“Are we going in?”

“Of course we are.”

Xu Rongrong was the first to take something out of her bag. Holding the item, she called out, “Senior, this junior is willing to offer this item as the room fee. Please allow me to stay at the inn.”

As her voice fell, the item in her hand slowly disappeared, and the door in front of her swung open, welcoming her inside.

Once the door opened, the interior was fully revealed to them.

“There’s no white mist inside?”

Xu Rongrong stepped over the threshold. Upon confirming there was no thick mist in the house, her eyes couldn’t help but grow moist.

The door behind her slowly closed.

Soon the next person followed, holding an item and calling out to the door until it opened again.

This continued until the entire group had entered the inn.

“The inn has no white mist. None at all. I feel like my eyes have suddenly become clear.”

“How could someone open an inn in the middle of this thick mist?”

“It must be a powerful expert. This inn is definitely no ordinary inn, but a powerful expert’s Spiritual Tool.”

“There’s Spiritual Qi in the inn!”

“What?!”

Hearing her companion’s words, Xu Rongrong immediately began to circulate her energy. Discovering that she could indeed absorb Spiritual Qi, she immediately sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.

The others did the same. Before they even had time to inspect the inn’s condition, they sat down in the lobby.

Compared to being able to see, cultivation was far more urgent.

…

“Are these the guests? What are they doing?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Hmm… if they stay like that, does it mean we don’t have to clean the inn tomorrow?”

“Probably. They’re all staying in the common area and haven’t gone into the rooms.”

“But there’s nothing in the rooms anyway. No beds, no blankets.”

Bai Yu and Bai Xi looked at each other. Although this was their first time running an inn, they had a general idea of what an inn should have. If they stayed at an inn only to find it had nothing, they would definitely be very unhappy.

Thinking this, both of them felt a bit guilty.

When they snapped out of it, they noticed Bai Miao was holding her hand up nearby, pressing at something.

Yet there was nothing in front of her.

“Miao Miao, what are you pressing?”

“The board, the Shell’s board,” Bai Miao said. “It has… room fees on it, given to us.”

“Room fees? A board?” Bai Xi was confused.

Bai Miao turned around, took Bai Xi’s hand, spread it open, and poked the Shell in her palm. “This, poke it, and a board will appear.”

“There’s nothing?” Bai Xi looked at the space in front of her.

Bai Yu also opened her own hand and poked the Shell in her palm. Sure enough, she saw a board appear before her eyes. “Xiao Xi, try poking it yourself. It seems only the owner can make it appear.”

Bai Xi immediately reached out and poked her palm.

“It’s really there!”

The three of them stared at the boards in front of them for a long time. Once again, they failed to retrieve any meaning from the text and icons in their memories. They didn’t recognize the pictures, nor did they recognize the words.

However, it wasn’t that they recognized nothing at all. They at least knew the two characters for “Room Fee,” since they had just learned them not long ago.

“Forget it. Anyway, the room fees have been paid, and it didn’t take much effort on our part. Let’s just leave these things be. Maybe we can use them for upgrades later,” Bai Yu said. “It’s getting late. Let’s go sleep on the boat.”

“Let’s go, let’s go.” Bai Xi was also too lazy to fuss over it.

…

Xu Rongrong opened her eyes.

A night of cultivation had dissipated much of the weakness she had felt from being unable to cultivate in the thick fog. Even her cultivation level, which had not budged for a long time before entering the white fog, showed signs of an impending breakthrough.

“I’m about to break through.”

The person beside Xu Rongrong suddenly opened their eyes.

“I’m also close to a breakthrough.”

“Me too.”

“All of us are showing signs of an imminent breakthrough,” another person said, opening their eyes. “Do you all remember why we entered the white fog?”

“Rumor had it that the Spiritual Qi in the white fog is dense. As long as one cultivates here, they will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort, and ascension would be within reach.”

“No one in the cultivation world has ascended for a thousand years.”

“As long as I can stay here for a few more nights, I will definitely be able to break through.”

[Inn occupancy time is about to expire. Please leave before six o’clock.]

“What time is six o’clock?”

“Likely around sunrise.”

“Must we leave? Once we go, who knows when we can return.”

“Perhaps we don’t have to go far. We can just move around nearby.”

“But entering the inn requires paying a room fee. Do you have any extra items on hand?”

“Yes, I still have a few spiritual herbs.”

“I have some spiritual objects.”

Xu Rongrong looked at the text appearing inside the inn. “Perhaps the Senior requires spiritual objects to maintain this Spiritual Tool. We must find more spiritual objects to serve as room fees so that the inn can remain standing here.”

“The fog outside is extremely heavy. If we wander even a little too far, we will lose our way. It’s better to use our current abundance of Spiritual Qi to leave this fog zone.”

“If you want to leave, you can go by yourself.”

“Although the fog here is heavy, with the existence of the inn, we can continue to cultivate and seek breakthroughs. If we leave, I fear there will never be another chance to break through.”

“Indeed. Once we go far to find a way out of the fog, I’m afraid we’ll never find this inn again.”

“My lifespan is nearing its end. Even if I leave this place, I won’t have many days left to live.”

“Whether we stay or go, let’s leave the inn first, lest we provoke the Senior’s anger.”

…

“What do these people mean?”

“I can understand the words, but I don’t understand them when they’re put together. If they can leave that thick fog, why don’t they go?”

“Exactly. And what’s this about not having long to live if they leave, but living a few days longer if they stay? Can that thick fog make people live longer?”

“I don’t understand what ‘breakthrough’ means either.”

“Who is this ‘Senior’ they’re talking about?”

“The Shell!”

The three sisters squatted in front of the board that could display the inn’s footage, listening to those people talk. They voiced the doubts in their hearts one by one.

Clearly, they could understand the language spoken by the people of this Plane, but the meaning behind the words was baffling.

Fortunately, they were already used to the strange circumstances of the Planes.

Even a Flying Carpet could fly; these incomprehensible words were a minor matter.

So, after watching the clips of these people speaking, they didn’t take it to heart. After eating breakfast, they went to the Forest Plane to find materials to upgrade the kitchen.

They didn’t quite understand time comparisons, but numbers were easier for them to grasp. Moreover, there was a corresponding time display on the board, making it easier to determine the time.

At six o’clock in the evening, they brought their bowls to the classroom to watch the inn footage.

In the morning, that group of people had been talking about whether to stay or go, but now, not a single person was missing from the inn. They were all sitting cross-legged again, doing things the sisters couldn’t understand.

“We don’t have to do any cleaning tomorrow, either.”

“Mm.”