Buying a Life

The next morning, when Fang Huai got up, breakfast was already laid out on the table.

"Senior Brother, you're awake?"

Jin Xiaoxiao had changed into a light, airy pale-green dress. She sat gracefully, and when she saw Fang Huai looking her way, she hurriedly brought the hot congee from the table over to him.

"I added some Sweet Celery leaves to the congee. Give it a try."

"It's a little bland."

After smelling it, Fang Huai took a dark purple leaf from his sleeve, crushed it between his fingers, and sprinkled it into the congee. Then he tipped his head back and swallowed the hot porridge.

"Poison Heart Grass?" Jin Xiaoxiao asked, surprised.

Fang Huai replied calmly, "I like strong flavors. I can't stomach food this bland. From now on, whenever you're out and come across Poisonous Grass, gather some for seasoning."

By the time they reached the Skinning Room, a dozen or so disciples were already inside. Most were newly recruited, working cautiously with beads of sweat on their foreheads.

Nobody asked what had happened between the two of them last night. On Skinning Peak, men and women sharing lodgings was nothing unusual.

Only Zhang Yuan's hand, gripping his knife, jerked to a halt the instant Fang Huai walked in.

For some reason, ever since Fang Huai appeared, Zhang Yuan's knife hand had started to waver.

When he looked up, Fang Huai was staring straight at him, brows slightly furrowed, as if mulling something over.

Fang Huai looked at the [Skinning Expert (Gray)] tag above Zhang Yuan and fell into thought.

The tag's color had changed.

It was still Skinning Expert, but yesterday it had been white, and today it was gray.

Was it because he had grown familiar with Zhang Yuan's technique, so the tag offered less of an actual boost and had changed accordingly?

Fang Huai guessed the color of a tag might change based on factors like cultivation level, disparity, difficulty, or rarity.

"What are you looking at?"

Zhang Yuan was already seething. Seeing Fang Huai staring at him, he assumed the other man was there to laugh at him.

"Was I looking at you? Sorry, I was looking at Junior Sister Jin." As he spoke, Fang Huai beckoned toward Jin Xiaoxiao.

Jin Xiaoxiao was sitting near Zhang Yuan. When Fang Huai waved, she answered with a playful smile.

"Get lost. I've got my eye on this spot."

Unable to lash out, Zhang Yuan provoked Fang Huai again, hoping he would say anything at all so he could teach him a lesson.

Everyone in the Skinning Room, Wu Liu included, turned their eyes toward the two of them.

Zhang Yuan acted this way because he was confident that Wu Liu would turn a blind eye as long as he paid a few Contribution Points.

Fang Huai didn't even raise an eyelid. He simply moved to another spot, which bothered Zhang Yuan more than swallowing a fly.

"One of these days, I'll kill you."

Grinding his teeth, he lifted a second-layer Qi Refining demonic beast onto the Skinning Table, then drove his knife into its hide.

Fang Huai's eyes flickered as he kept Zhang Yuan under watch. The instant Zhang Yuan reached a critical point, Fang Huai switched out the other man's [Skinning Expert].

"Pfft—"

Zhang Yuan suddenly lost his composure, ruining the entire beast hide.

"If you can't handle a second-layer Qi Refining beast, then stick to first-layer ones. Don't waste materials here!"

Wu Liu's eyes flashed with anger. When one of her subordinates made a mistake, she was punished too. Zhang Yuan had ruined beast hides three times in a row, and she would lose a substantial number of Contribution Points.

Zhang Yuan hurriedly apologized. "Senior Sister Wu, please! It's all that brat Fang Huai's fault. He had me so distracted that I ruined the hide."

He had no intention of handling first-layer beasts. Skinning the two kinds took about the same time, but the Contribution Points he earned differed by a whole half.

Wu Liu said nothing, her gaze drawn to Fang Huai.

At that moment, Fang Huai was following the technique in the Essentials of Skinning, deftly removing the poison sac from a Poison-Tail Fox.

Poison-Tail Foxes were covered in poison sacs, and few parts of them were useful. Yet Fang Huai could pinpoint exactly where to cut, and his technique was smooth as flowing water.

"Born with nimble hands?"

Wu Liu looked surprised.

His technique didn't look like that of a newcomer. He seemed more like a seasoned hand with years of experience.

Could she have struck gold?

Yesterday, when Fang Huai had worked on a Sharp-Toothed Porcupine, she had already thought he was remarkably skilled.

She had assumed he'd just gotten lucky, but now it seemed Fang Huai might have been born with a gift for skinning.

As he worked, Fang Huai kept glancing at Zhang Yuan, letting a mocking look show now and then.

"You!"

Zhang Yuan finally couldn't take it anymore. The other man was just a newcomer, yet he dared mock him. In a fit of rage, he seized his Skinning Knife and hurled it at Fang Huai.

"Senior Brother Zhang, what are you doing? Senior Sister Wu, help!"

Fang Huai recoiled in alarm, but he still failed to dodge in time. The Skinning Knife struck his shoulder.

A Skinning Knife sharp enough to slice through demonic beasts pierced straight through his shoulder.

"Yin Underworld Claw!"

Wu Liu's expression changed drastically. She chanted an incantation, and a deathly pale demon hand appeared behind Zhang Yuan, clamping around his throat.

"Are you all right?" Seeing the wound in Fang Huai's shoulder, Wu Liu was furious. If Fang Huai really had a gift for skinning, this injury might ruin it.

Fang Huai was drenched in sweat, his face twisted with pain. "It's damaged the tendons and bone. I'm afraid I won't be able to skin anything for several days."

"Senior Sister, he provoked me first! I only acted on impulse!" Choked by the demon hand, Zhang Yuan still struggled to defend himself.

Wu Liu snapped, "Nonsense! Ever since Junior Brother Fang arrived yesterday, you've been giving him a hard time at every turn. Today you went too far—you dared to disregard the Skinning Room's rules and attack someone right in front of me!"

"I..."

"Zhang Yuan, according to the Skinning Room's rules, I should cripple both your hands in front of everyone."

Cripple his hands?

Zhang Yuan was horrified. When cultivators talked about crippling someone's hands, they didn't just mean severing the tendons, as people in the secular world did. They meant permanently severing the meridians through which spiritual energy flowed.

After that, his hands would be useless for casting spells, leaving him no better than a cripple.

"Senior Sister, spare me! I'll work hard at skinning from now on. Before the end of the year, I'll offer you five hundred Contribution Points!"

Wu Liu considered this, then withdrew the deathly pale demon hand and tossed Zhang Yuan to the ground. "Since that's the case..."

"Senior Sister Wu," Fang Huai said through gritted teeth, "every sect has its rules, and every peak has its regulations. All our fellow disciples are watching. How can you let a brute like this off?"

Wu Liu's expression turned cold. "Junior Brother Fang, are you determined not to let this go?"

A harsh glint flickered in Fang Huai's eyes. "Senior Sister, Zhang Yuan is offering five hundred Contribution Points. I can offer more."

"Heh, interesting." Wu Liu said, "It seems you're set on buying Zhang Yuan's hands. Tell me, how many Contribution Points are you offering?"

"I'll offer a thousand—not just for his hands, but for his life!"

"A thousand Contribution Points for his life?"

"Every year, a thousand!"

"I'll kill you!" Zhang Yuan heard Fang Huai's words and flew into a rage. He leapt to his feet and lunged at Fang Huai.

Wu Liu swept her hand, and a length of white silk flew from her sleeve. It abruptly swelled in front of Zhang Yuan and wrapped around him.

The white cloth drew tighter and tighter. At first, they could still see Zhang Yuan struggling inside it, but gradually the movement stopped, and the cloth turned crimson.

Wu Liu waved her Soul Banner. Zhang Yuan's soul wailed as it flew out of the white cloth and was sucked into the banner.

"Zhang Yuan harmed a fellow disciple, deliberately ruined beast hides, refused to mend his ways despite repeated warnings, and even boasted that he would attack and kill a supervisor. I killed him on the spot.

"Does anyone have any objections?"

Wu Liu saw that everyone had their heads bowed and no one dared speak, and nodded in satisfaction.

She walked over to Fang Huai, pulled the Skinning Knife from his shoulder, then tossed him a small bottle of medicinal powder.

"This spiritual medicine is made from ground Blood Thorn Flower stems and leaves. It can invigorate the blood, disperse bruising, clear poison, and soothe the meridians. Consider it an investment in you.

"If you can't give me a thousand Contribution Points within a year, I guarantee you'll die ten thousand times more horribly than Zhang Yuan!"