A Family of Hopeless Romantics, Except for the Evil Little Junior Brother

Chapter 44: Breaking the Rules

"Stay at the inn."

Li Xuanxiao fumbled in his pocket and took out some money.

At this moment, a few more cultivators entered the inn.

"Senior Brother, what's going on here? We can't use our spiritual power, and we can't leave. I've never encountered anything like this before."

"I don't know either. Let's find someone to ask."

The innkeeper had just given Li Xuanxiao the room key.

Among the three, Senior Brother Wen Qi walked over, cupped his hands in greeting.

"This brother, I am Wen Qi, a disciple of Qingmen Mountain. May I ask what is going on here?"

Qingmen Mountain?

Li Xuanxiao searched his mind but couldn't find the name of this sect.

It was probably just some obscure small sect.

Wen Qi, the highest in cultivation among the three, was only at the Qi Refining Fourth Level.

They probably didn't know that those at the Body Fusion Stage could set rules.

And they had no way of knowing.

Li Xuanxiao then explained the situation to the three.

They looked as though they had heard something unbelievable, all of them showing expressions of shock.

Li Xuanxiao reminded them again, "Be careful in everything here."

Wen Qi hurriedly said, "Thank you for informing us, fellow Daoist. Since we are all trapped here, we can look out for each other from now on."

Li Xuanxiao nodded, not rejecting the offer.

He didn't believe that more people would necessarily help, as this situation likely wouldn't allow for much power in numbers.

But seeing that these three were newcomers and fiery, young swordsmen, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to offer some help.

It was a basic principle for righteous cultivators to help each other.

There was no reason to ignore someone in danger, unless there were special circumstances.

Li Xuanxiao entered his room.

When staying at the inn, two candles were provided for free.

The candles had a wind guard, and there was a lamp covering the top.

Li Xuanxiao lit the candles.

He had no time to rest; instead, he began thinking quickly of a countermeasure.

The other rules were not urgent.

But Rule Five required new residents of the town to report to the government office within three days.

Yet Rule Six stated that anyone who entered the government office would lose their five senses permanently.

If he didn’t report to the government office, he would be violating Rule Five.

He might be erased on the spot.

Although he had forged a super-grade Golden Core, the gap between him and the Body Fusion Stage was too vast.

If he went to the government office, he would lose all five senses permanently: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

Just then, a familiar voice came from next door, and the voices sounded strangely familiar.

Zhang Tianxin: "My Pure Yang Body is going to be broken today!"

"There's nothing we can do. We came to this place, and we must fall in love."

"...Fate is like this, so I won’t hold back!"

"Please, ravish me."

Five seconds passed.

Zhang Tianxin: "What do you think is the meaning of life?"

Li Xuanxiao put his ear against the wall, confirming it was Zhang Tianxin on the other side, then knocked on the door.

After a while, Zhang Tianxin reluctantly opened the door.

When she saw it was Li Xuanxiao, she couldn't help but smile in delight.

No need for small talk.

The three of them sat around the candle in Li Xuanxiao's room.

According to Zhang Tianxin, after escaping from Asura Hall with Li Xuanxiao, she had planned to return to her sect.

But fearing revenge from the Empress Di Nü Feng, she hid herself away.

After hearing many people had gone missing in this place, she came to investigate, only to get trapped here.

Her companion, the female cultivator beside her, was a disciple of Xuantian Sword Sect, and she had come along too.

The two of them recalled the rules: they had to find a partner within seven days and get married.

And so...

Li Xuanxiao immediately noticed Zhang Tianxin's issue—too much theory and love for practice matches.

So when it came to real battle, she was useless.

Of course, now wasn't the time to talk about that.

"Have you two gone to report to the government office?"

"Mm."

Both Zhang Tianxin and Han Yao nodded.

Han Yao said, "That rule is just... too inhumane."

Zhang Tianxin said, "Many people in this town have already lost their five senses, but there are still many who haven’t. I think there must be a way to deal with it, but when I ask, they won't tell me."

Li Xuanxiao nodded, "Rule Eleven: residents of the town are not allowed to leak any information about the town, especially the rules. So we have to think of a way ourselves."

Han Yao sighed and said with some despair:

"Tomorrow is the last day. I don’t know how many people got trapped here and died. The graves in the town are countless. Only after some people figured out the rules did they finally survive."

The night passed in silence.

The next day, Li Xuanxiao, Zhang Tianxin, Han Yao, and Wen Qi all arrived at the government office.

Not only them, but more than ten others who had been trapped in the town arrived as well.

Along the way, they saw many people on the street.

These people were sitting on both sides of the street, waiting for death to come, hopeless.

They had been forcibly stripped of their five senses, unable to feel, touch, or hear anything. They could only let time pass by.

And in the whole town, the number of normal people could be counted on one hand.

Seeing this scene, the thought of becoming like them was more tormenting than death itself.

Everyone stood in front of the government office, exchanging glances.

No one dared to enter first.

As time ticked by, Zhang Tianxin finally couldn't hold herself back.

"I want to see what’s going on inside. I’ll go first."

Li Xuanxiao glanced at her.

From their previous interactions, he had already realized something.

Zhang Tianxin wasn’t bad, aside from her poor judgment.

Li Xuanxiao stopped her with a hand. He had already come up with a plan last night.

What he needed to think about now was how to convey his solution to the others.

Residents of the town were not allowed to leak information.

Now, they were technically residents, so even if they knew how to solve the problem, they couldn’t tell each other.

Otherwise, it would violate the rules.

A gentleman doesn’t save.

When seeing someone in distress, and the cost of helping them is small, one should naturally lend a hand.

But if the price of saving someone is too high—so high it costs one's life—then one doesn't have to help.

At that point, there’s no need for guilt. After all, one must love themselves first before they can love others.

Li Xuanxiao would not hesitate if he encountered such a situation.

But at this moment, he thought of a way that would not violate the rules.

It was not allowed to actively leak information...

Indeed, all the solutions were within the rules.

He walked up to the group.

Facing them, everyone looked at him in confusion.

Li Xuanxiao placed his sword finger on his forehead.

He deprived himself of his sense of touch, then inserted his sword finger into his eyes, followed by his ears, and then destroyed his sense of smell.

This scene shocked everyone present, and they instinctively took a step back, thinking that he had gone mad.

He hadn't even reported to the government office yet, so why had he deprived himself of his five senses first?

Li Xuanxiao remained silent and turned to walk toward the government office.

A voice rang out from deep within.

"Who goes there?"

Li Xuanxiao responded, "Li Xuanxiao, a new resident of Luoshui Town."

"Good."

Li Xuanxiao turned and left the government office.

As soon as he stepped out of the government office, everyone was shocked to discover

that Li Xuanxiao’s five senses had fully returned.

Since anyone who entered the government office would lose their five senses permanently,

it seemed that those who had already lost their five senses could enter the government office without losing them again.