The inn had five courtyards, each with a distinct style of accommodation.
They were named Mountain Retreat, Cloud Field, Tea Aroma, Delicate Charm, and Rain Alley.
Su Yang and Tang Ziyun were staying in the Mountain Retreat, located on the left side of the inn, accessible through an antique-style corridor.
The courtyard was enclosed on three sides, with two floors in total. Their rooms were at the far right end of the first floor.
At night, the entire inn was illuminated by lanterns—dim but not pitch-black, casting a hazy glow over everything.
Su Yang and Tang Ziyun walked side by side into the Mountain Retreat courtyard.
Compared to the main courtyard at the entrance, this one was much smaller.
By now, it was late at night, and the dim lighting made it hard to discern much of the scenery.
Once inside the courtyard, there were no more signs, so Su Yang checked each room one by one.
From left to right, the rooms were numbered 9 to 1.
"Ziyun, over here," Su Yang called, waving at her.
Tang Ziyun responded and quickened her pace to catch up. The two stopped in front of Rooms 1 and 2 at the far end of the courtyard.
Each room was spaced about two to three meters apart.
Tang Ziyun reached her door and turned with a smile. "Su Yang, I’m heading in. Goodnight~"
Su Yang nodded. "Goodnight, get some rest."
"Will do."
They opened their respective doors and stepped inside.
The rooms were pitch-black upon entry, similar to standard hotels—lights only turned on after inserting the keycard into the slot by the door.
When Su Yang slid the card in and the lights flickered on, he froze in place.
Two seconds later, he muttered, "What the hell...?"
"This... what the...?"
The room was spacious but starkly minimalist and rustic, divided into a living area, a bathroom, and a bedroom.
But the living area... well, it looked like something straight out of a martial arts novel—a desolate temple hall.
The floor wasn’t even properly finished, just bare concrete. In the center stood an ancient-looking square wooden table—"ancient" being a generous term; "dilapidated" might’ve been more accurate.
A few equally worn-out wooden chairs surrounded it.
Further in, against the opposite wall, was a dark wooden stand holding ceramic vases, two plates of freshly cut fruit, two bottles of water, and a kettle.
But something about the stand felt off. If someone had placed an incense burner in the middle with three sticks of incense, Su Yang might’ve been tempted to bow in reverence...
He gaped at the stand for a long moment, feeling like he’d somehow time-traveled to ancient times.
The lighting in the room was also dim, as if the bulbs were decades old and on their last legs. A few cobwebs in the corners would’ve completed the aesthetic.
To the right of the living area was a pair of wooden-framed windows, with a potted plant on the floor and a small grove of trees outside.
There wasn’t a single sofa in sight, let alone a TV.
Su Yang thought, "What kind of godforsaken inn is this?!"
"Way too damn immersive."
"This isn’t a ‘Mountain Retreat’—it’s barely a step up from a ruined temple."
Grumbling, he walked to the bedroom on the left side of the living area and pushed the door open.
The bedroom was small but tidy. Against the far wall stood an extremely old-fashioned canopy bed—one that looked like it had been sitting there for decades.
The bed had four tall corner posts, surrounded by carved wooden railings, with a semicircular moon-gate canopy in the center.
Su Yang recognized it from martial arts novels—this was called a "moon-gate canopy bed."
Above the semicircular canopy hung a pale-yellow bed curtain, obscuring the interior.
This kind of bed was a love-it-or-hate-it design. Some adored it; others found it downright eerie.
"Damn it! What kind of room did that fat guy book?"
Just as he finished griping, a knock came at the door.
Su Yang turned and walked back to the entrance—he hadn’t closed the door when he came in.
Tang Ziyun stood outside, looking hesitant.
"Su... Su Yang, this room..."
Seeing her bewildered expression, Su Yang chuckled dryly. "Yeah, it’s a little too ‘ancient’ for comfort. That guy didn’t even check the photos when he booked it, huh?"
"What does your bed look like?" Tang Ziyun asked.
"Want to come in and see? Probably the same as yours."
She stepped inside and peered into the bedroom, then gave an awkward laugh. "I don’t think I can sleep in that. And with that curtain hanging over it... I’m afraid if I lift it, there’ll be someone lying there."
Su Yang grinned. "Doubtful. But yeah, this room is kinda creepy, especially the living area."
He walked over to the table and ran a hand over it. What he’d assumed was genuinely old turned out to be artificially distressed.
On closer inspection, the living area wasn’t so bad. The floor was clean, and despite the aged appearance of the furniture, there wasn’t a speck of dust.
Still, the whole place gave off the vibe of a long-abandoned, crumbling house.
"What should we do? Maybe we can cancel these two rooms and book different ones?" Tang Ziyun rubbed her hands nervously.
Su Yang thought for a moment. "The booking’s already confirmed—probably can’t cancel. Definitely leaving a bad review, though. Who does ‘ancient aesthetic’ like this?"
He glanced at her. "Or we could just book two new rooms and ditch these."
Tang Ziyun hesitated. "If we can’t get a refund, might as well tough it out for one night."
Su Yang sighed. "Guess we’ll have to."
They exchanged a look before Tang Ziyun forced a reluctant smile and turned to leave. At the doorway, she glanced back at him.
Su Yang waved. "Go on, get some sleep. If they’re renting these out, they’re safe enough. Just close your eyes and drift off."
"O-okay... goodnight then."
"Night."
Tang Ziyun lingered for a moment before finally disappearing down the hall.
Su Yang shook his head, shut the door, and muttered, "Make do, I guess."
Honestly, he didn’t mind too much. The initial shock of the hyper-immersive decor had worn off, and he wasn’t picky about beds—anywhere flat would do.
After a quick shower and freshening up, Su Yang returned to the bedroom.
He lifted the pale-yellow bed curtain and saw a neatly folded quilt inside—garishly patterned with at least seven or eight colors.
Beside it lay a firm, rectangular pillow.
Su Yang spread out the quilt, took off his pants, and climbed into bed.
The moment he lay down, his phone buzzed.
He opened it to see a message from Tang Ziyun:
"Su... Su Yang, I’m outside your door."
Su Yang sat up abruptly and looked toward the wooden window. Through the gaps in the frame, he could just make out a faint silhouette.
He couldn't be bothered to reply to the message. Pulling on his pants and shoes, he got up and walked to the window, pushing it open to look outside.
There stood Tang Ziyun, rubbing her hands together as she paced back and forth by the door.
"What are you doing?"
Hearing his voice, Tang Ziyun jumped in surprise and quickly turned her gaze toward the windowsill.
Only after seeing Su Yang's face did she muster the courage to stammer, "Su... Su Yang, can I stay in your room for the night?"
Su Yang: "Huh?"
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
