"What's your name?"
Yan Yu gnawed on jerky with one hand and scratched his chest hair with the other. His eyes, beneath thick brows, fixed on Jiang Ping An.
"What do you want?"
Jiang Ping An did not know why the three men had approached, but seeing the other prisoners steer clear told him they were no good.
Yan Yu sucked the grease from his fingers and said:
"Most people locked up here are hot-tempered prisoners. It's dangerous for a newcomer like you. If you want to get through your time here in peace, I suggest finding someone to back you up."
"As it happens, I'm rather well-known in this prison. Everyone shows me respect. I can keep you safe."
Jiang Ping An understood. This was a protection racket, wasn't it?
They took money in the name of protection.
In truth, the people collecting it were the greatest danger.
Jiang Ping An did not want to invite more trouble. He only wanted to focus on the crisis a century away, so he took out a bottle of Lord God Pills and tossed it to Yan Yu.
"I hope you'll look out for me in the future, fellow cultivator."
Yan Yu opened the bottle and looked inside. "This little bit of medicine? Are you trying to fob off a beggar? I've got two brothers with me, you know."
When Yan Yu pressed for more, Jiang Ping An's expression turned cold.
Yan Yu suddenly spoke again. "But since you're new, one bottle will do. If anyone threatens you later, just give them my name."
With that, Yan Yu put away the pills and left with his two underlings.
The man on Yan Yu's left said, "Boss, why take only one bottle? He just got here. He must have plenty more on him."