YIN-YANG DEVOURER

The Happy Rock Village was right at the entrance of a small valley that would be like entrance/exit of the Desolate Mountain Range. Through it passed a small stream which supplied the small town with water.

The place certainly had a pretty view, but the poverty of the place and the constant attacks of bandits, were responsible for ruining the whole landscape.

"This place is definitely depressing..." Ruvan muttered as he strolled through the streets of the village atop Viridis.

"Ssss" Virids also issued a hiss expressing her support for Ruvan's opinion.

Viridis presence deterred any of the outlaws from causing trouble for Ruvan but unfortunately this also kept all the villagers away. Without the help of the villagers it took Ruvan almost twenty minutes to find the only tavern in the village.

"Walfred's Inn" A rather old wooden sign pointed towards what appeared to be a moderately sized two-story building. A group of people were chatting quietly outside the place.

"Excuse me, is this the inn?"

"Glup" "That's right sir! Would you like a table?"

"Yes please... Besides, I want you to give some food to my snake" Ruvan said while pointing towards Viridis.

"S-sure Sir" Said fifteen-year-old boy as he fearfully led Viridis straight to the tavern stable. This stable was exclusively for the spiritual beasts of the inn's customers.

"Very well... let's see what this place has" murmured Ruvan just before opening an old wooden door.

Upon entering the view of the tavern was not at all far from his expectations, that is to say everything was shit.

Inside the inn there were approximately eight to ten customers who were sitting at scattered wooden tables. Most of them were sitting in a solitary way but one or another group was also present.

'Great... Smells like humidity, urine and sex' murmured Ruvan when he felt the amalgam of smells that place had.

"Ahhh~" "Ahhhh~" A faint moaning sound followed by the wood creaking indicated to Ruvan that this place was also a kind of brothel for travelers.

A fat-looking middle-aged man was pouring a couple of beers in two poorly washed jars. Apparently he was the only person in charge of the place.

"What have you got to drink?"

"Just beer" The old man said without even bothering to take a look at Ruvan.

"Mmm I see... alright give me a full jar" Ruvan said as he dropped a Mid Grade Spiritual stone.

The Old Man's eyes widened like saucers at the sight of the huge stone on the counter. As if he were a cultivator, he quickly kept it under his counter while he dedicated the best of his smiles to Ruvan.

A smile that was missing a lot of teeth, by the way…

"Do you want anything else, sir? Maybe something to eat?" The Old Man asked in a hurry as he motioned to a small waiter to take the beer jars to one of the customer tables.

"No thanks... I just want some information" Ruvan said as he took a swig from his beer jar.

'This beer tastes the same as how it looks' cursed Ruvan internally.

"What does the young master want to know?" The old man asked quickly.

"Mmm tell me... What can you tell me about the Akataz Clan?" Ruvan asked with some curiosity as he took out his wine gourd to get rid of the unpleasant taste in his mouth.

The Old Man didn't say anything when he saw Ruvan's actions, after all he himself knew that his beer was a real shit compared to the beers of the Big Cities.

"The Akataz Clan!? Is the young master planning to go and visit those cursed people?"The Old Man asked in a soft, paranoid voice, as if talking about the people of the Akataz Clan was the biggest taboo possible.

"Mmm let's say I have a mission from them..." Ruvan said as he took out his identity badge as a disciple of the Hidden Flower Sect.

"Hidden Flower Sect!? Does that cult not only accept women?"The Old Man asked with a raised eyebrow.

"They started accepting men about five years ago" Ruvan said with a half smile. He couldn't blame the old man, after all this place was too secluded.

"Oh I see... sorry for my lack of knowledge"

"Well? What can you tell me about the Akataz Clan?"

"Very well... but I hope no one will tell you what I'm going to tell you..."

"The Akataz Clan is a clan that is supposedly cursed" The Old Man said with a serious look.

"Cursed? What do you mean by cursed? Ruvan asked with a raised eyebrow, after all it wasn't uncommon for mortal people like this Old Man to be superstitious.

"I don't know very well but it is said that the members of the Akataz Clan are born with a curse mark which is embedded in their arms"

"Curse mark?"

"That's right... According to travelers who know them, the curse mark not only represses their cultivation levels, but also keeps them trapped inside their own valley" The Old Man said as he began to tell the odd story he had heard from travelers passing by his inn.

"So a cursed Clan, ehh" Ruvan murmured with some irony, after all he had taken this random mission without imagining that he was going to run into a Clan that was supposedly cursed.

"Do you know why they have that curse?"

"I don't know... There are many different rumors about it and most of them contradict each other"

"A rather famous rumor says that they are the descendants of a cultivator who offended a powerful immortal cultivator but there is no proof whatsoever about that"

"Another theory says that they are people with a demonic lineage... Supposedly some powerful Cultivators came to seal them in this place so that they would never escape to the outside world"

"Mmm I see... Many theories but none are for sure..." Ruvan muttered to himself as he analyzed the situation.

"Do you know where the Valley of the Akataz Clan is located?"

"I dunno, but I know a merchant from the village who can surely draw you a map, after all, he has done business with the Akataz Clan members himself before..."

"Business?"

"That's right... Even if it doesn't look like it, those guys sell pretty good goods... Many merchants take advantage of going to do business with them" Said the Old Man

"Great. When could you get the map ready for me?"

"For tomorrow, early morning young master" The Old Man said with a smile. His merchant friend was out of town at the moment.

"Okay... I'll wait until tomorrow morning" Ruvan said as he got up from his seat. The chair creaked quite a bit the moment Ruvan took his butt off it, revealing the bad state of the whole place.

"Does the young master want a room to sleep in?"

"Sure... Give me the best room you have"

"By the way... Does this place also serve as a brothel?"Ruvan asked as he heard another round of groans coming from the second level of the inn again.

"That's right, young master! Two of my daughters work at this place, but unfortunately each of them is already booked," the Old Man said with an apologetic smile.

"Oh... Well no problem... Then just take me some bread to my room" Ruvan said.

"Sure Young Master"

"Oh on second thought, I think I have someone perfect for the young master..." the Old Man said at that moment with a greedy smile.