Wang Biao took off his clothes, revealing his finely honed muscles. The look he gave Lin Fan grew heated and greedy.
Lin Fan secretly felt like vomiting, but he still maintained a certain degree of calm.
If the other party had been a woman, he could have gone with his heart or his lust. But now that the other party was a man, Lin Fan had no intention of going "gay."
The more nauseated he felt, the more rational and vigilant he became.
"Brother Wang, I'm not sleepy yet. Let's have a talk..."
"Were you kidnapped and brought here too?"
"After we've had our fun, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."
"Do you like being on the bottom, or do you prefer being on top?"
Wang Biao licked his lips and asked impatiently.
"Brother Wang, actually, I have a disease."
"What disease?"
Wang Biao's brows furrowed as he stared fixedly at Lin Fan.
"A contagious disease. You understand."
Lin Fan racked his brain and spoke rapidly.
"Do you take me for a fool?"
"To become a Menial Disciple, one has to pass the sect's screening. They're all healthy young men and women."
Wang Biao let out a scornful laugh.
"Brother Wang, give me one more day to think about it. Is that okay?"
Lin Fan took a step back and spoke.
As he talked, his right hand inconspicuously slipped into his pocket and closed around something cold.
Wang Biao remained silent. Light flickered in his eyes, and the atmosphere immediately grew unbearably tense.
"No. You don't have a choice."
"Either agree to give yourself to me, or don't blame me for turning ruthless and pushing you out the door."
"You still don't understand, do you? At night, without the shelter of a room or the light of an Everlasting Lamp, the fiends surging out of the darkness are enough to devour a person completely."
Wang Biao spoke with harsh severity.
He had always been the one making decisions for others. When had he ever given anyone else the chance to think things over?
"Since that's the case, I'll do as you say, Brother Wang."
As though he had resigned himself to his fate, Lin Fan immediately walked toward Wang Biao.
"That's more like it."
Wang Biao smiled smugly, as though he had expected this result all along.
"Follow your brother, and your brother won't treat you unfairly."
Wang Biao was just about to undress Lin Fan.
But at that moment, Lin Fan suddenly moved.
He gathered strength in his left hand, forming it into a fist, and smashed it toward Wang Biao's face.
The two were very close, and Lin Fan's sudden attack caught Wang Biao off guard.
Bang!
But in the next second, a large hand clamped around Lin Fan's fist like an iron pincer.
Wang Biao's expression turned cold. "You'd better learn your place."
"Brother Wang, what if I don't?"
Lin Fan suddenly smiled.
At that moment, Wang Biao felt a chill at his neck. At some point, an incredibly sharp dagger had been pressed firmly against his throat.
The blade glimmered coldly. With only the slightest application of force, it could cut his throat open.
"Put the knife down. We can talk this out."
Wang Biao's scalp went numb.
"Brother Wang, can we talk now?"
Lin Fan revealed a friendly smile.
"Yes, of course we can."
Wang Biao forced a smile onto his face.
Only now did he realize that this newcomer before him was apparently not someone he could easily manipulate.
Lin Fan did not lower the knife. Instead, he asked on his own, "You said just now that there would be fiends at night. What's that about?"
With a knife pressed against his neck, Wang Biao could only answer honestly. "In the depths of the cliffs beside the Hidden Scripture Pavilion, terrifying fiends lie dormant. Once night falls, they surge up from the bottom of the cliffs."
"Only the rooms and Everlasting Lamps can hold them back."
That was why most Menial Disciples lived together in pairs.
On one hand, they could look after each other and defend against the fiends. On the other, they could reduce the consumption of their Everlasting Lamps.
While the two were talking, a series of noises suddenly came from outside the door.
"Slap, slap..."
It sounded as though someone was violently pounding on the door, while an extremely terrifying chill seeped into the room through the cracks.
Fortunately, the light flickered and blocked most of the cold.
"It's a fiend!"
Wang Biao's expression shifted slightly.
The commotion outside grew louder and louder. The original pounding gradually turned into bang, bang sounds as something slammed against the door.
Lin Fan was both shocked and suspicious. What the hell was outside the room?
"Quick, brace the door! Otherwise, once it's knocked open, even with an Everlasting Lamp, it may not be enough to keep the two of us safe," Wang Biao hurriedly said.
"I'm not trying to deceive you. A few days ago, several Menial Disciples had their doors smashed open and were devoured by fiends, leaving behind only a few skeletons."
Seeing that Lin Fan still remained unmoved, Wang Biao explained again and again.
Although he was furious that Lin Fan had threatened him with a knife, with the fiend pounding at the door, the slightest mistake could leave both of them dead and their bodies destroyed.
"You go brace the door."
After hesitating again and again, Lin Fan still did not withdraw the dagger. He continued holding it against Wang Biao's throat and gestured for him to go forward.
Wang Biao's face was full of resentment, but under Lin Fan's threat, he obediently came to the door, sat down heavily, and used his body to hold it shut.
Through the crack in the door, Lin Fan tried to see the fiend outside clearly. But outside was pitch-black, and he could not see anything at all.
"Don't waste your effort. Everyone who's ever seen a fiend has died."
Seeing him like this, Wang Biao snorted coldly and mocked him.
Lin Fan did not argue with him. Instead, he continued asking, "Does the thing outside come every night?"
Wang Biao turned his head away and did not answer Lin Fan's question.
He had also figured it out: Lin Fan did not dare kill him. Holding a knife to his throat was nothing more than self-defense.
Seeing this, Lin Fan truly had no way to deal with Wang Biao.
If he really killed him with one slash, who could guarantee that the Blood Demon Sect would not pursue the matter?
And so, the two remained locked in a tense standoff until the crashing outside the door quietly faded away.
"The fiend has retreated. You should put the knife down now, shouldn't you?"
Wang Biao spoke impatiently.
"I can put the knife down, but let's keep some distance between us. What do you think, Brother Wang?"
Wang Biao's brows furrowed, but he quickly returned to normal. "Fine."
Lin Fan backed away several steps and kept a certain distance from Wang Biao. If Wang Biao dared to strike, he should not blame Lin Fan's merciless blade.
Wang Biao narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Lin Fan, a trace of chill in his gaze.
But he showed no intention of attacking. He merely said coldly, "Since you're unwilling to give yourself to me, leave this room when dawn comes."
"Fine."
Lin Fan nodded slightly.
Now that they had fallen out completely, there was naturally no need for them to continue sharing a room.
Soon, the morning sun rose.
The doors of many rooms opened, and the various Menial Disciples gradually stepped outside.
Yet nearly every Menial Disciple had a trace of weariness on their face, as though they had not rested well.
Lin Fan also quickly walked out.
"Although you disrespected me last night, you're still a vigorous young man. I quite admire you."
"I'll give you one more piece of advice: hurry and replace your Everlasting Lamp. Otherwise, you won't live for more than a few days."
Wang Biao also came out and coldly warned Lin Fan.
"Thank you, Brother Wang."
Lin Fan voiced his thanks.
"From now on, you and I are strangers."
Wang Biao snorted coldly, turned around, and swept away with a flick of his sleeve.
Just then, Lin Fan suddenly saw two figures hurrying toward him.
When they drew closer, Lin Fan saw that they were dressed in black and wore strange masks. They were none other than Formal Disciples of the Blood Demon Sect.
Neither of them even glanced at Lin Fan. They went straight into a room, then dragged out two corpses with most of their flesh gnawed away.
Lin Fan's heart shook. In just one night, people had already died horrible deaths. They had probably been devoured by fiends after their door was smashed open last night.
What exactly were the fiends?
He had thought that becoming a Menial Disciple at the Hidden Scripture Pavilion would let him eke out a life. But now, it seemed this place was even more dangerous than he had imagined!
Human lives were as cheap as grass. Lin Fan let out a soft sigh, then immediately turned around and walked into the Hidden Scripture Pavilion.
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