Straw Dogs

Halfway back to the West Courtyard, Li Tui stopped at the stone pavilion by the pond.

The night was deep and heavy with dew; the lanterns under the pavilion eaves had been extinguished, leaving only the moonlight to shine coldly upon the water. He leaned against the railing, staring at the moon shattered by the breeze in the pond, while the fragments in his mind slowly pieced themselves together.

Zhao Wen, Zhao Yuanchong, Zhao Hao.

Three wolf cubs thrown into a single jar.

What was the difference between this and raising a gu? As the thought clarified, Li Tui found it somewhat laughable. In his eighty years of a past life, he had seen too many similar tricks, but he hadn't expected that even cultivation families would use such naked tactics.

A sudden tightening of the growth on his chest interrupted his thoughts.

This time it wasn't a pulse, but a sharper, stinging pain, as if needles were pricking beneath his skin. Li Tui frowned and reached up to press it. The temperature at the point of contact was abnormally high, and a dark red glow even seeped through his coarse clothing, flickering eerily in the dim light.

Almost simultaneously, a faint sneer echoed in his ears, as if it had come directly from within his skull.

It wasn't a sound, but a mental projection.

"Little bastard... you're being raised quite well."

Li Tui's muscles tensed instantly.

"Does the taste of the Blood Bodhi bonded to your flesh and blood feel comfortable?" The mental projection continued, hoarse and dry—it was the voice of the old monster from the bottom of the well. "However... just raising it isn't enough. Within seven days, at the third quarter of the Zi hour, bring it to the old locust tree in the West Suburbs. This old man has a way to break the curse, which will save you from suffering the backlash."

Li Tui did not move, nor did he respond. He stared at the swaying moon shadow in the pond, his face devoid of expression.

The mental projection waited for a few breaths, and seeing no response, it let out a low laugh: "If you don't come... this old man will go find that little brother of yours. His surname is Huang, right? I heard he still has an ailing mother at home."

Li Tui finally spoke, his voice flat: "As you wish."

The mental projection paused.

"You don't care?" The old monster's voice was laced with surprise.

"Why should I care?" Li Tui countered, his tone as indifferent as if he were speaking of someone else's affairs. "If you want to kill, then kill. What does it have to do with me?"

The side of the pond fell silent for a moment.

"...Good, very good." When the mental projection returned, it carried a chilling, sinister intent. "Since that is the case, this old man will try another method. Tell me, if the Zhao Family finds out that their own attendant has a wicked Blood Bodhi growing on him... how will they deal with it?"

Li Tui's gaze darkened.

"Expulsion? Stripping your cultivation? Or... simply cleaning house?" The old monster's laughter sounded like the cry of a night owl. "I'll give you seven days to consider. If you don't show up after seven days, this old man has his own ways to make the Zhao Family discover what is inside you."

The mental projection receded like a receding tide.

The stinging pain in his chest dissipated along with it, leaving only the growth pulsing slowly and rhythmically.

Li Tui sat in the stone pavilion for a long time without moving. The night wind blew across the pond, bringing the chill of late autumn.

It wasn't until the sound of the night watchman's clapper echoed from afar that he stood up and headed toward the abandoned garden.

Zhao Hao was already waiting under the withered tree.

He leaned against the trunk, toying with the Ink Jade Pendant, which now bore even deeper cracks. Seeing Li Tui approach, he looked up but said nothing.

"That old monster found me," Li Tui said, getting straight to the point.

Zhao Hao's movements paused: "What did he say?"

"He wants me to take the Blood Bodhi to the West Suburbs within seven days to trade for a way to break the curse. If I don't go, he'll kill Huang Bao, or let the Zhao Family discover what's on me."

After listening, Zhao Hao curled his lips: "He's certainly practiced at making threats."

"What do you think?" Li Tui asked.

Zhao Hao didn't answer immediately. He stared at the jade pendant in his hand, his fingertips tracing the cracks, before finally speaking: "He wants to force you to leave the Zhao Family's protection."

"Yes."

"Then do you intend to go?"

"I won't," Li Tui replied crisply. "If I go, I die; if I don't go, I die. The only difference is the speed of death."

Zhao Hao let out a low laugh, the sound appearing abrupt in the silent, abandoned garden.

"I actually think... this is an opportunity," he said.

Li Tui looked up at him.

"Since that old monster dares to be so brazen within the Zhao Family's territory, he must have some backing." Zhao Hao tucked the jade pendant back into his robes and stood up straight. "Coincidentally, I also want to see exactly how many eyes are hidden inside and outside this Zhao Family."

Li Tui understood: "You want to use his hand to test the Zhao Family's bottom line?"

"Just a test." Zhao Hao turned and looked toward the main courtyard. In the night, the silhouette of those buildings loomed dark and heavy, like a crouching giant beast.

"The family is raising gu, I think you've seen that too. But the person raising this gu... how many hidden cards do they really have? Are those daily rules and laws truly capable of suppressing external evils, or are they just for show for the people below?"

He paused, his voice dropping: "Since this old monster has delivered himself to our door, it would be a waste not to use him."

Li Tui was silent for a moment.

"What if the test reveals that the Zhao Family doesn't care about the life or death of an attendant at all?" he asked.

"Then that would mean your life is indeed as light as dust in their eyes." Zhao Hao turned his head; the moonlight illuminated half of his face, and there was no emotion in those eyes. "Knowing is better than not knowing."

The wind passed through the withered branches, making a rustling sound.

Li Tui stared at Zhao Hao for a long time before finally nodding slowly.

"Seven days," he said.

"Seven days," Zhao Hao repeated, a cold arc forming at the corner of his mouth, "enough to do many things."

The two men said nothing more, each turning away and disappearing into the night.

When Li Tui returned to his room, the horizon was already turning a pale gray.

He bolted the door and walked to the window. Pushing it open, the morning breeze rushed in, dispersing the stale air of the night.

From the direction of the main courtyard in the distance, the muffled thuds of Zhao Yuanchong practicing his punches could be heard. This young master of the direct line was up earlier today than ever before.

Li Tui watched the sky gradually brighten, the tumor on his chest rising and falling slightly with his breath.

Life is as cheap as grass, isn't it...

Li Tui tugged at the corner of his mouth and closed the window.

Very well.

Since we are all to be stewed in this jar, since we are all to be ground into blades.

Then at the very least, I must see clearly what the hand holding the blade looks like.

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