Tap tap.
Someone gently knocked on the door of the small courtyard, with a very polite rhythm.
Wang Chen, who was preparing dinner in the inner room, heard it and went out to open the door.
He wondered which neighbor had come to visit.
When he opened the door, he saw a thin, gaunt cultivator standing outside.
The man looked to be in his thirties or forties. He was somewhat ugly, with a shifty-eyed, wretched air about him.
Wang Chen frowned. "Fellow Daoist Hou?"
He knew this uninvited visitor. His name was Hou Zheng, and he lived in the most dilapidated house at the very end of the alley.
Usually, he loafed around doing nothing. It was said that he made a living doing dirty jobs for others.
He had a very poor reputation among the neighbors.
"Fellow Daoist Wang, forgive my abrupt visit."
Hou Zheng rubbed his hands together and gave Wang Chen a fawning smile. "I want to tell you something extremely important, something concerning life and death!"
"Something important?"
Wang Chen hesitated for a moment, then opened the gate. "Come in and tell me."
He led the other man into the main room.
Wang Chen had just prepared a table full of food. There was braised beast meat, steamed spirit fish, fragrant mixed vegetables, and more.
When Hou Zheng entered and saw it, he could not help swallowing.
He looked as though he were drooling with hunger.
Wang Chen smiled and took out a bowl and chopsticks, handing them over. "Fellow Daoist Hou, since you're here, have something to eat with me."
Normally, he cultivated and rested underground.
But he cooked in the kitchen aboveground, since the air circulation in the underground space was not very good.
"Thank you."
Hou Zheng accepted the bowl and chopsticks.
He