Chapter 14

The wind came through the window.

Luo Qingchen turned around and walked to the window, intending to close it. But he paused, then opened it again and looked outside.

Outside, the night was pitch-black and deathly silent.

Only in the small building not far away were a few windows still lit by faint lamps. Yet they looked hazy and indistinct, like several ghostly flames in the darkness—grim and strange.

"Woo..."

The night wind carried a rotten stench as it blew in through the window, bringing with it a bone-piercing chill.

Luo Qingchen could not help but shudder. He raised a hand and shut the window.

His gaze returned to the deep claw mark on the wall and the pool of blood beside the bed that had long since turned black.

It seemed Medicine Man Town was no safer than the cave had been.

If anything, it was even more dangerous.

The dangers before had been plainly visible, and he had at least had time and opportunity to prepare. But the dangers now lurked silently in the darkness, unseen and untouchable, liable to erupt without warning at any moment.

So here, he had to be extremely careful.

He pondered for a while longer, then took out the tiny banner he kept close against his chest.

The colors on its surface had grown increasingly dim.

It seemed this Ten-Soul Banner would not hold out much longer.

He had to find someone to repair it as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the Ten-Soul Banner was completely destroyed, his sister's soul would vanish into nothingness with it.

"Get some rest early. Tomorrow, I'll ask at the Grocery Store."

The oil lamp in the room soon went out.

Outside the window, the night deepened.

The faint lights reflected in the windows of the small building in the distance also went out one by one.

The entire Hundred Fragrance Pavilion sank into darkness.

"Crack..."

At some unknown moment, a dead leaf on the ground made an almost inaudible snapping sound.

A black shadow appeared before the window like a ghost.

He pricked up his ears and listened carefully at the window for a while. Then he took out a long, thin tube from his sleeve and silently slipped it through a crack in the window.

Inside the room, a wisp of green smoke curled upward.

Very quickly, it filled the entire room.

"Creak..."

The tightly shut window quietly opened.

The shadow outside noiselessly vaulted over the windowsill and entered the room. In his hand was a long, narrow dagger that gleamed with a cold light.

The room was utterly dark.

The claw marks on the wall and the bloodstains on the floor could no longer be seen.

But the bulging quilt on the bed was faintly visible.

Holding the dagger, he held his breath and approached the bed step by step. Then he extended his other hand and slowly lifted the quilt.

But beneath it was only a pillow.

His heart jolted. He spun around with a swish and looked into the darkness around him. His entire body tensed, the dagger in his hand raised as he backed toward the wall step by step, pressing his back tightly against it.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

At that moment, all he could hear was his own violently pounding heart.

After a moment, he cautiously took out a tinderbox and blew the flame to life.

The dim yellow light immediately illuminated the room.

Yet there was no sign of the youth anywhere in the room, not even under the bed.

He narrowed his eyes, put away the dagger, and glanced once more at the claw mark on the wall and the pool of blood on the floor. Only then did he go to open the door and leave, soon vanishing into the night outside.

The next day.

When light illuminated the blackened window, Luo Qingchen woke in the second room.

He inspected the threads across the window and the Beast Trap set at the door. Only after finding nothing unusual did he carefully put them away.

He had brought all these things from the cave.

They had originally been used to catch wild beasts in the forest, but now they had become his weapons.

For safety's sake, he had changed rooms last night.

The first room had claw marks on the wall and lingering bloodstains on the floor. Someone had clearly died there not long ago, so naturally he could not sleep there.

"Creak..."

He opened the window and looked out. Outside was still gray, dark, and overcast, like a world at its end.

I hope I can see the sun again...

He sighed inwardly, then left the room, intending to find Old Wu's General Store.

Just then, Chen Ju also emerged from the room next door. Seeing him come out of the second room, he froze for a moment and asked in puzzlement, "Brother Luo, didn't you stay in the first room last night? How did you..."

Luo Qingchen's expression remained calm. "I did stay in the first room last night. I just got up and came to take a look at the second room. Why, did Brother Chen come looking for me last night?"

A smile appeared on Chen Ju's face. "No. I just saw you coming out of the second room and thought you had changed rooms."

Luo Qingchen smiled as well. "Brother Chen, I'm going out onto the street for a while. That should be all right, shouldn't it?"

Chen Ju smiled. "Of course. Daytime is free time. Just remember to come back early tonight for patrol duty. Oh, and you must return before dark. Tonight is your first night patrol, so you can't be late."

Luo Qingchen nodded. Saying no more, he headed outside.

Chen Ju watched his receding figure. The smile on his face slowly vanished. Then he turned his head and looked toward the second room.

Luo Qingchen left Hundred Fragrance Pavilion and stepped onto the street.

Strangely, the street had just as many people as yesterday, but whether merchants or pedestrians, they had all suddenly become quiet and withdrawn. Their expressions were dazed, their heads hung low, their faces pale. Silent and motionless, they seemed like walking corpses.

It was entirely different from yesterday's bustle and clamor.

Luo Qingchen soon learned the reason.

He saw that many people had bandages wrapped around their wrists. Inside one shop, a Demon Controlling Sect disciple was holding a large bowl beneath a man's wrist, squeezing out the blood that flowed from it.

In the alley beside it lay an old man with a pale face, unconscious from shock.

A man in black robes stood beside him, a dagger in hand, seemingly considering where to begin cutting apart the "corpse."

"Master, please... please don't squeeze out too much..."

Beneath a bare tree, a merchant knelt on the ground and begged through tears, while a Demon Controlling Sect disciple gripped his wrist and coldly squeezed out his blood.

The merchant's child was also kneeling on the ground, crying and kowtowing as he begged.

So today was "blood donation" day.

Looking at the scenes before him, Luo Qingchen suddenly felt that this world was absurd beyond measure, even more despairing than the end of the world.

Every Blood Medicine in Medicine Man Town had a master of their own.

Everything on their bodies—their blood, their corpses, and even their freedom—belonged to their respective masters.

If their masters wanted them dead, then they had to die.

They were like slaves, like cattle and sheep penned for slaughter. They lived one day at a time, liable to be butchered at any moment.

And now, he was the same.

"Blood Medicine have only two paths. One is to cling to life and bleed themselves to death. The other is to succeed in cultivation, break through to the Blood Changing Realm, and become a disciple..."

Zhang Dashan's words echoed in his mind.

"If you want to live, then you can only cultivate desperately..."

Yes. He could only cultivate desperately.

Not only did he have to strive to stay alive himself, he also had to strive to let his sister remain "alive" forever.

He did not linger any longer and continued onward.

Before long, he found Old Wu's General Store on North Street.

Various odds and ends were displayed in the shop. Behind the counter, an elderly man with graying hair and only one arm was frowning as he worked an abacus.

When Luo Qingchen entered, the old man did not even look up. He merely said coldly, "Look for whatever you want yourself, take it yourself, and come here to pay."

Luo Qingchen looked around the shop, then went to the counter and said, "I want to repair an item."

The old man raised his head and sized him up. "Repair an item? What item?"

Luo Qingchen glanced outside the shop. Seeing that no one else was coming in, he carefully took the small banner from where it rested against his chest.

"This is... a Ten-Soul Banner?"

The old man paused, surprise appearing on his face.

When Luo Qingchen saw that he recognized the magical artifact at a glance, hope immediately rose in his heart. He hurriedly said, "Yes, it's a Ten-Soul Banner, but it's damaged. I need it repaired. Also..."

He looked at the little banner in his hand, his voice trembling slightly. "My sister's soul... is inside it. I hope she won't be harmed during the repair."

The old man reached out and took it, carefully inspecting both sides. Frowning, he said, "This is a low-grade magical artifact. It isn't difficult to repair, and it won't harm the soul inside. But this thing needs to be taken above for repairs. It can't be repaired here."

Luo Qingchen's heart sank. "It can't be repaired here?"

The place above that the man spoke of was naturally above the staircase, where the Demon Controlling Sect disciples lived.

But with his current status as a Blood Medicine, he was not allowed to go up there.

And neither the little banner nor his sister's soul had time to wait any longer.

The old man said, "This is Medicine Man Town. We can only repair ordinary items here, naturally not magical artifacts. If you can afford the silver, I can take it above to find someone to repair it. It will probably take less than two days before it can be sent back down."

Upon hearing that, Luo Qingchen quickly asked, "How much silver will it take?"

He took out his money pouch. It contained all the silver he had.

The old man held up two fingers and said flatly, "Two thousand taels."

Luo Qingchen froze on the spot. "T-Two thousand taels?"

His money pouch contained only three taels of silver in total.

Even those three taels had once been a considerable sum in Clear Water Town.

One tael of the broken silver had even come from Zhang Dashan.

"This is a magical artifact. Two thousand taels is already very cheap."

Seeing that Luo Qingchen clearly could not afford it, the old man returned the small banner to him. "Actually, there's no need to repair it. Instead of worrying about your sister's soul, why not worry about yourself? How many more days can you live?"

After saying that, he ignored him and lowered his head to continue working the abacus.

Luo Qingchen looked at the little banner in his hand in silence for a while, then raised his head and asked, "Can it be any cheaper? Or I... can I buy it on credit first?"

The old man gave a cold laugh and looked at him. "Credit is impossible. Don't even think of owing a single coin. As for whether it can be cheaper, if you don't need it fully repaired and only use some cheap materials to patch it up enough for it to last another half year or one year, then it can be cheaper. But the lowest price would still be eight hundred taels."

"Eight hundred taels..."

Luo Qingchen lowered his head again and looked at the money pouch in his hand.

The old man said nothing more. He waved him away and lowered his head to continue working the abacus before him.

With a heavy heart, Luo Qingchen carefully put away the banner and money pouch, preparing to leave.

Eight hundred taels of silver—where could he get that much?

Just then, the old man behind the counter suddenly raised his head again. "If you truly want to repair that Ten-Soul Banner, you can borrow money from the pawnshop up ahead. Your blood, arms, legs, or kidneys can all be pawned for money. This place has more people selling blood or kidneys than anything else. But you need your master's permission, since nothing on a Blood Medicine belongs to you."

At those words, Luo Qingchen stopped in the doorway.

"Oh, right. You can also sell your soul. If you sell your soul, you won't need your master's permission."

The old man spoke again.

"You can pawn your soul first. When you die, they will naturally come and take it away, using it to refine a soul slave or feed evil ghosts and the like. That is, if you don't care whether you can be reincarnated."

Luo Qingchen raised his head and looked toward the gloomy, silent street ahead.

The pawnshop on the street was particularly conspicuous.

The black banner at its entrance fluttered in the cold, gray morning wind, snapping loudly.

It was as though it were warmly calling out to customers.