"Mind Curse?" both River and Pearl asked at once, looking at Cliff in shock and alarm. Cliff, however, only chuckled.

"Yes, a Mind Curse. It’s designed to make you numb and docile, so you do not resist much. It’s fortunate that you’ve had River with you to keep you safe, or who knows how things may have turned out?" he asked, though it was obvious what would have happened had River not been there.

"The curse has been growing for quite a while, which is why it’s not easy to remove using ordinary means. This cultivation technique, however, will weaken and remove it with time. You just need to cultivate daily for a minimum of two hours."

In truth, removing the curse after it was so thoroughly entrenched into Pearl’s mind was basically impossible using the means of the Land of Rivers. Even the person who cursed her would not be able to do it.

For Lex, however, it was not much of an issue. In fact, he could resolve the problem even easier than the method he’d given her, but something too easily attained was never appreciated or was undervalued. He didn’t blame others for it - he himself had been suspicious of the system for so long simply because it granted him such amazing powers for so little return - or so it originally seemed.

In fact, this was not the only thing Lex was withholding. In his casual sweeps while learning about this place and these people, Lex had uncovered layers and layers of conspiracies that left even him, an immortal, dumbstruck.

It made him realize just how ruthless and cunning humans could be - especially when they lived with a certain timeline. Somehow, becoming an immortal dulled the edge of humans. Only in mortality, with a given amount of time to accomplish their tasks, could they truly display their talents.

Yet it was not the time to unveil these things just yet. Whether it was fortunate or not, he had plenty of time here to recover, since breaking through the barrier around his body would take quite some time. The slow flow of time in the Dream realm, combined with the extremely fast flow of time in the Land of Rivers, allowed him plenty of time to recover and enact his own plans.

"I cannot stay for much longer," said Cliff as his body became pale and seethrough. "I will guide you, but you two will have to do everything yourselves. This guest house is the perfect cover to stay here as long as possible. Make the most of it."

Cliff faded from existence, startling the weasel and the bird, who looked oddly at his seat, wondering where the human had gone. River and Pearl, though, looked at each other with a deep look. They first ate their meal - it was already growing cold and the basement wasn’t going anywhere.

Once that was done, they entered the basement, and immediately paused. River’s mouth fell open as he felt the dense spiritual energy in the air. Technically he should not even be able to feel ambient spiritual energy, but since he had stepped onto the path of paladins, he could feel external energy pressing up against his internal energy.

He didn’t quite understand the levels of the paladin’s path, and if they had distinct ranks or levels like cultivators, he did not know. He just felt like he was equal to an early Qi training cultivator.

Pearl, on the other hand, had grown up in such environments. Even if she could not specifically feel the extent of the spiritual energy, she subconsciously felt that the air was fresher and more comfortable to breathe.

"We can’t let anyone into the basement," River said very seriously, and Pearl only nodded whilst distracted.

She descended into the basement and took a seat on the empty floor, and tried to cultivate the technique passed to her by Cliff. Since she was not too familiar with it yet, she was not able to complete one full cycle. Even so, she could already tell how profound it was compared to even her previous technique.

The first night inside the Guest House was spent calmly and without any problems. When Pearl woke up the next day, the sun had already been up for a few hours, and the sound of passing people could be faintly heard in the distance.

The traffic on the main road was heaviest during the early part of the day, and since the construction had been going on for quite a while already, many of the regular travelers already knew about the unusually located Inn. But then again, the regular travelers did not need to stop and take a break for they already had set routines.

It was those who did not necessarily frequent these roads who were attracted by the sight of the random building in the middle of nowhere, and the unusually jolly man at the porch yelling greetings at all passersby.

Perhaps that was his temperament, or perhaps that had become his habit from always maintaining a positive appearance in front of Pearl, but River had an excitable and energetic demeanor which made it easy for him to converse with strangers and build bonds.

Compared to the calm and comforting persona that Lex had adopted while greeting guests, River’s attitude was completely distinct, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Despite having no prior reputation, a breakfast crowd had gathered by 8 am, consisting of a mix of travelers, hunters, merchants who had been on the road for too long and families traveling with kids who forced their parents in for a decent meal!

Due to the crowd, Pearl was handling the kitchen duties and River was handling the service and tending to the guests. Since it was their first day, they both made a tremendous amount of blunders but with River’s quick wit and Pearl’s charm, they managed to resolve all the problems and keep the guests happy.

Quickly a story began to spread that a newlywed couple had opened up an inn in the middle of nowhere as an ambitious business endeavor, and all who heard found it amusing at the very least.

Lex kept an eye on the both of them though for the most part, he focused on gathering energy. The days were extremely hectic for the both of them, but they were also extremely fulfilling and gratifying. Over the course of their first week, the two of them met countryfolk who were, for the most part, decent enough.

They hired help from a nearby farm who would drop by eggs and milk every couple of days. The delivery boy, the son of the farmer, found the excitement of the inn to be far more entertaining than working on the farm so with his fathers permission he began to work the morning shift at the Guest House, easing their burdens.

Before they knew it, days turned into weeks, and they had developed a comfortable routine. River even discovered that his strength had subtly grown since Pearl started to enjoy this life filled with new faces and new stories everyday. Combined with her daily meditation sessions which were helping her grow stronger while also resisting the curse, her life truly had been getting better.

But nothing lasted forever. From within his necklace, Lex sensed the coming challenges even without needing to look specifically for them. Yet what was easy to look through for him would be a challenge for the young River and Pearl to see through.

Still, Lex did not warn them just yet. He wanted to see how they would deal with trouble.

One morning, River stood outside the Guest House with a confused expression. The sun was rising, and the morning crowd was beginning to appear, yet their weekly groceries had not been delivered.

Since it was just the two of them, leaving the inn to travel all the way to the city for groceries would be inconvenient, so River had struck a deal with a local trader. He’d bring things to the Guest House once a week, and River would pay a premium for the service.

It was a little pricey, sure, but with the Guest House doing so well, they could afford it. Despite the name, they hadn’t accommodated a single guest so far overnight. However, many travelers stopped for breakfast and lunch, and on a couple of occasions, dinner as well.

Yet today, on delivery day, the trader seemed to be late. While that wouldn’t stop them from running the kitchen just yet, it would cause problems if he was late by a whole day.

He shook his head and ignored it for now, but throughout the day there was no sign of the trader. The next day as well, the trader did not appear, because of which they ran out of food halfway through the breakfast crowd and had to stop accepting guests which was quite embarrassing for River.

With no choice left, at noon he asked one of the regulars to bring him back some groceries and paid him a small advance. He could not risk going himself because he did not want to leave Pearl alone. However, if both Pearl and him left, then he risked someone breaking into the inn.

While he could take the money with him, he could not risk the basement being exposed, thus the compromise. If things did not improve, then he would be forced to just go to the city with Pearl. After all, he would not leave her alone under any circumstances.

Yet the next day, when the regular arrived with a bag of groceries for River, he also brought back some bad news.