"Come see me before next month's lease is up if you want to renew."
Fang Huai had intended to speak quietly with Wu Liu, but Wu Liu raised her voice as she replied.
"Senior Sister Wu?" Fang Huai asked, confused.
"It's not like we can keep this secret," Wu Liu said, her tone tinged with a hard-to-place meaning. "Telling them now will do you no harm and may even help."
Wu Liu left him with that cryptic remark, then glanced around the Skinning Room, seemingly waiting for a good show.
Fang Huai hadn't figured out what she meant when a crowd of disciples surrounded him.
Most were female cultivators, with two or three male cultivators among them. They looked at him like he was a fat piece of meat about to be devoured.
New junior disciples like him, who had just joined the sect, were exactly the kind of people senior brothers and sisters wanted to share a place with.
After all, having nowhere to live was extremely dangerous.
Just a few days earlier, a disciple from Skinning Peak had watched a male cultivator lying on the ground get carried off toward the Human Puppet Hall by someone who'd been following him.
Later, the Human Puppet Hall had been inexplicably destroyed by a Mystic Sword Sect spy. No one inside had survived.
As for the male cultivator who'd been carried away, there was no doubt he was already well and truly dead.
"Senior Brother, this younger sister is from the Tongxiang Liu Family. I beg you to take me in. Once my cultivation improves, I'll repay you."
One woman traced a jade finger across Fang Huai's palm, but another shoved her aside with a sneer.
"What Tongxiang Liu Family? I've never heard of it. If you were really from a lineage, you wouldn't have to keep switching between your fellow disciples' homes every day.
"Junior Brother, my elder brother is a bona fide disciple of Corpse Refining Peak. Live with me, and one day I'll give you a Copper Armored Sha Corpse!"
"Junior Brother, don't mind those women. Your senior sister here has mastered the art of yin-yang harmony. I guarantee your cultivation will advance every night!"
"Junior Brother, women are all much the same. Men understand men better. Share a place with me, and I'll pay half the Contribution Points!"
"..."
Hearing all that wolfish talk, Fang Huai's scalp prickled. He just wanted to find an excuse to leave.
Sharing a place could indeed save him some Contribution Points, but everyone in front of him either wanted a free ride or had ulterior motives.
Jin Xiaoxiao's actions back in Servant Valley were still vivid in his mind. He couldn't take the risk.
As for Contribution Points, with Senior Brother Zhang Yuan's help, surely he could earn them!
Just as he was about to refuse, a warm sensation brushed his palm, followed by a faint tickle.
If he hadn't been certain that the Little Corpse Meteor Insect was still by his heart, Fang Huai would have thought the little creature had burrowed into his palm.
He turned his head and found himself face-to-face with an old acquaintance. "Junior Sister Jin?"
Jin Xiaoxiao smiled. "Senior Brother, long time no see. I can't believe you still remember me after all this time."
Fang Huai gave her a strange look. What was this woman doing here too?
But on second thought, it made sense. Jin Xiaoxiao had also come from Servant Valley, so it was only natural that she'd been assigned to Skinning Peak. It was just a coincidence that she was in this Skinning Room.
"Everyone, move along. This senior brother is an old acquaintance of mine. We lived together back in Servant Valley."
Jin Xiaoxiao smiled sweetly and shot Wu Liu a look. "Senior Sister Wu, sorry for the trouble, but please register me as sharing a room with Senior Brother Fang Huai."
Wu Liu nodded. "If Junior Sister Jin gives you any trouble, come to me."
When the others heard that Fang Huai had come from Servant Valley, they wore understanding expressions and dispersed.
It took years of struggling to rise from servant to Outer Disciple, so it was only natural to have some savings.
Fang Huai said nothing. Judging from Jin and Wu Liu's expressions, they seemed to have a good relationship. If he turned Jin Xiaoxiao down, he might incur Wu Liu's displeasure.
He studied Jin Xiaoxiao. She was at the First Layer of Qi Refining too. Though she was slightly better than him at body tempering, Fang Huai wasn't afraid of her.
If she dared to plot against him, he wouldn't mind letting her taste the agony of regressing in cultivation again.
Fireflies blinked in the night, and cooking smoke curled upward. Stone Houses dotted the mountainside, giving the place a touch of homely warmth.
The Stone Houses scattered across the peak were where the Outer Disciples lived.
Fang Huai sat on the bed, while Jin Xiaoxiao sat on a chair. They stared at each other in silence.
At last, Jin Xiaoxiao's hand moved toward her Storage Bag.
"Whoosh—"
A stone dart sliced through the air and shot toward Jin Xiaoxiao. If she hadn't dodged in time, it would have punched a bloody hole through her.
"You'd better behave," Fang Huai warned. "I'm not in the habit of going easy on pretty women."
Jin Xiaoxiao wasn't offended. She smiled and said, "Senior Brother, I was only going to take out my bedding and make a bed on the floor. Is that not allowed either?"
Fang Huai said nothing. Jin Xiaoxiao took out a straw mat and spread it on the floor herself.
"To be honest, I'm clumsy with my hands, so my Skinning Technique is improving slowly. After paying my monthly dues and covering my cultivation expenses, I barely have any Contribution Points left."
Her voice took on a hint of grievance. "I've been sleeping rough for over a month."
"You've slept outside for a month?"
Fang Huai frowned. Given her nature, why hadn't she found someone to rely on?
Jin Xiaoxiao seemed to read his mind. "The people here are either useless good-for-nothings who just wait to die, or wolves and tigers. Once you get mixed up with them, they'll gnaw you down to the bone."
"Then why did you choose me? I'm no good person either!"
"Didn't Senior Brother kill quite a few Pei Family disciples before you left?"
Fang Huai's pupils contracted. He clamped his right hand around Jin Xiaoxiao's neck and pinned her against the wall.
Everyone in Servant Valley knew he'd taken revenge on the Pei Family, but no one dared speak of it openly.
The Pei Family's backer was Pei Long, and Pei Long had Feng Wuwang to rely on. If Jin Xiaoxiao went to Pei Long and reported him, Pei Long would surely come after him.
"Senior Brother, you're standing on my straw mat."
Jin Xiaoxiao's face flushed red. "Don't worry. I swear on my Dao heart that I won't tell Pei Long."
"What exactly are you getting at? I don't like women who beat around the bush." Fang Huai released her.
"My family lived in a mortal town under the Mystic Sword Sect. We had no worries about food or clothing, and my parents loved me. But the Mystic Sword Sect slaughtered everyone in the town without warning, including my parents."
Jin Xiaoxiao's gaze flickered, as if boundless fury burned within her. "If I hadn't happened to be away visiting relatives that day, I would've met the same fate!
"After that, I joined the Corpse Sha Sect and cultivated by any means necessary. One day, I'll kill those beasts from the Mystic Sword Sect with my own hands!"
Fang Huai stared at her and saw the unwavering resolve in her eyes.
He sighed. "Relying on someone can make your cultivation progress quickly, but it can fade just as fast. If you fall on someone else's turf, there won't even be anyone to collect your corpse. Better to settle down and cultivate in peace. At least you'll be safe."
Jin Xiaoxiao smiled. "Why do you sound like you're trying to persuade a brothel girl to go straight?"
Fang Huai actually smiled for once. "That wasn't the best way to put it, but I really did play the part of a brief lover once. I know a thing or two about this."
Jin Xiaoxiao froze for a moment. When she understood what Fang Huai meant, her face turned faintly red.
"You can stay here, but you have to follow the rules. Do the laundry and cooking every day, clean the room, and handle all the daily chores. If you can't manage that, find somewhere else to go first thing tomorrow morning."
"What's so hard about that? Just don't complain if I'm clumsy and the food doesn't suit your taste, Senior Brother."
The night grew deep, but Fang Huai kept his divine sense trained on Jin Xiaoxiao.
He knew full well that in the Corpse Sha Sect, trusting others lightly was a dead end.
But if he didn't take in Jin Xiaoxiao, whose background he knew a little, other disciples would set their sights on his home instead.
Only after Jin Xiaoxiao's breathing grew slow and steady, and she had fallen fast asleep, did Fang Huai release the Little Corpse Meteor Insect to keep watch. He lowered his eyelids and drifted off in peace.
Before you continue