That day, an odd noise suddenly came from outside the inn—a sound like something heavy falling. Just as I was about to step out to check, the yokai gathered by the entrance began to crowd around.
"Huh? What's that?" Jin San squinted outside, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Is a new yokai coming?" The River God propped his chin in his hand, curiosity glinting in his eyes. Meanwhile, the tiger yokai stared intently in that direction, ready to face any new challenge.
I walked to the door and prepared to open it. But the sight before me made me burst into laughter.
Right outside our door, a yokai in tattered clothes was clumsily picking himself up. In his hands was a large, ancient bamboo-woven chest, as if he had just hauled it down from the mountains. Yet, his figure didn’t quite match that of a traditional yokai.
"Uh… what’s going on here?" I watched as he fumbled to straighten his clothes, completely unable to imagine why he’d show up in such a state.
The yokai looked up, panic flashing in his eyes. Clearly unused to such a lively environment, he scrambled to his feet and muttered, "Sorry, I think I came to the wrong place…"
I smiled and stepped forward. "No worries. This is a yokai inn—welcome."
He looked a little embarrassed, his face flushing slightly. "I… I’m Lu Ban, a carpenter yokai. I just moved here to start a new life." As he spoke, he suddenly gave the bamboo chest a vigorous shake—only for its contents to tumble out with a loud thud.
Scattered across the ground were strange items: a worn wooden mallet, a pile of unfinished timber, and an axe inexplicably caked in mud. The whole scene was utter chaos.
"Sorry, I really wasn’t prepared…" Lu Ban looked flustered as he hurriedly tried to gather the fallen items.
The surrounding yokai couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
"Haha, this guy’s hilarious!" Jin San chuckled and clapped Lu Ban on the shoulder. "Looks like this place is about to get even livelier!"
"You’re a carpenter yokai?" I asked with a smile. "Then you must be good at making furniture and buildings, right?"
Lu Ban paused briefly before nodding, a hint of pride in his eyes. "Yeah, I’m skilled at crafting all kinds of useful things from wood—I can even restore antique furniture. I hope I can be of help here."
"That’s great!" I said cheerfully. "There are parts of our inn that need repairs—like the backyard fence and some furniture. Can you help?"
Lu Ban immediately brightened. "Of course! That’s my specialty."
Just as I was about to ask him for specifics, my phone spirit suddenly chimed from my pocket.
"Master, a heads-up—there are guests arriving," the phone spirit said calmly, though with a faint unease. "And they seem to be bringing trouble."
"Again?" My eyes widened, a vague sense of dread rising in my chest. "What kind of trouble?"
"Details unclear," the phone spirit replied, its tone tinged with anxiety. "But they don’t seem friendly."
I turned back to Lu Ban, an ominous feeling creeping over me. "Lu Ban, there might be some trouble soon. If you can handle repairs, I’ll go deal with this first."
Lu Ban nodded. "Don’t worry. I’ll be ready."
I hurried toward the lobby, my mind racing—what kind of trouble was coming this time?
As soon as I entered, I saw a group of men in strange outfits standing at the entrance, their eyes full of hostility. They were clearly here to make trouble.
"Who are you?" I raised a brow, already resolved. "If you’re here to cause problems, you’d better leave now."
The oldest-looking man among them scoffed. "We’re here to deal with yokai. We heard this is a yokai inn, so we’ve come to root you out and eliminate your kind for good."
My heart sank—these people were clearly here to challenge the existence of yokai. I glanced back at the others, silently signaling them to prepare for the coming conflict.
But just then, Lu Ban appeared behind me, gripping his large axe. "Are these guys the trouble?" he asked firmly.
I smirked. "Yeah. But this time, we’ve got enough strength to handle it."
Lu Ban swung his wooden axe and stepped forward. "Let’s see how tough these arrogant fools really are!"
ns216.73.216.234da2
然後按「加至主畫面」