Chapter 18

The air suddenly froze.

The two men stood motionless in the dark shadows, staring at each other.

All around them, not a sound could be heard. It was as if they could hear a withered leaf fall nearby.

Then, suddenly, Chen Ju burst out laughing.

Still laughing, he said, "Brother Luo, don't be nervous. Other people aren't allowed out, but we Night Patrollers naturally can be."

After saying that, he glanced at him with another smile and continued walking.

Luo Qingchen paused, then slowly unclenched his fist and followed behind.

"We'll make a quick round and head back. The nights around here aren't safe. You never know what strange things might come darting out of the woods."

As he walked, Chen Ju kept scanning the darkness all around them.

Luo Qingchen glanced at his back, then turned his gaze toward the surrounding darkness.

The two soon made a round of the courtyard wall outside the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion. Seeing nothing amiss, they returned to the courtyard.

Lanterns hung in the courtyard, their faint light driving back some of the darkness.

Only then did Chen Ju stop. Smiling at him, he said, "Brother Luo, I scared you just now, didn't I? Don't blame me, brother. Every newcomer gets a scare on their first night patrol. When I first arrived, Brother Zhao scared me too. I nearly pissed myself that time."

"Brother Zhao?"

Luo Qingchen's expression remained calm, but his heart gave a sudden jolt.

None of the guards he'd met yesterday had the surname Zhao. And from what Chen Ju said, he'd been patrolling with that man named Zhao before. Now, though, he was alone.

What had happened to the man surnamed Zhao?

The answer was obvious.

Chen Ju smiled. "Brother Zhao had other business and already left. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten this post. Plenty of people have their eye on this job."

"Come on, I'll show you around inside."

He smiled, climbed the steps, and headed into the building.

Luo Qingchen followed close behind, his expression unreadable.

Sun Ping was speaking quietly with a maid in a corner of the main hall. When she saw the two men enter, she quickly waved them over and lowered her voice. "There are honored guests upstairs, people from above. Don't go up there for now."

Chen Ju nodded and led Luo Qingchen toward the corridor on the right side of the first floor.

As they passed the stairwell, a woman's piercing scream rang out from one of the rooms upstairs, followed by the leering laughter of two men.

Chen Ju explained in a low voice, "The people who come down from above are usually full-fledged disciples of the sect. I hear there are Green Pavilions up there too, but they're very expensive, and you can't do whatever you want. So some disciples occasionally come down here to have fun."

As he spoke, his eyes filled with envy and longing. In a low voice, he said, "I hear there are lots of female disciples from the sect working in the Green Pavilions up there, even female elders. Those women have smooth skin, lovely figures, and know bewitching arts. Men with even a little less cultivation go in and never come out..."

Luo Qingchen was taken aback. "Female disciples from the sect? Even female elders?"

Did they really have to sell themselves in brothels?

Chen Ju said, "In the Demon Controlling Sect, the higher your cultivation, the more blood and silver you need. For the sake of cultivation, people will flock to sell themselves in brothels, let alone give up a bit of flesh."

Luo Qingchen fell silent.

Chen Ju suddenly looked at him with a smile. "Brother Luo, now you have Demon Stones and medicinal ingredients too. Where are you planning to get blood? Buy it from outside, or... use your own?"

Luo Qingchen caught the greed deep in his eyes and replied calmly, "I'm not ready to take medicinal baths yet. I have to borrow silver just to repair things. Where would I get money to buy blood? As for using my own blood... someone from above will come to draw blood in a few days. If I use my blood now, then have them take a big bowlful later, I might die."

"True."

Chen Ju smiled and continued walking.

A moment later, he couldn't help sighing and grumbling. "Brother Luo, we're both wretched souls. We don't earn much working here, and every few days they draw our blood. Even if we have Demon Stones and cultivation ingredients, how can we cultivate without blood?"

Luo Qingchen asked, "How many people make it up there in a year?"

Chen Ju shook his head with a bitter smile. "At most one or two people climb up from here each year. Anyone with even a little talent or money would never come here as Blood Medicine. They go straight up as soon as they enter the sect. People like us can forget about it."

Luo Qingchen asked, "Is it hard to cultivate to the Blood Changing Realm?"

Chen Ju turned to look at him. "What do you think? How can you cultivate without enough blood? Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you have Blood Medicine of your own."

Chen Ju sighed. "But who'd be willing to become our Blood Medicine when we have neither sect disciple status nor money? Kidnap someone? The sect doesn't allow that."

Luo Qingchen asked, "So you're saying the Blood Medicine in Medicine Man Town all came here willingly?"

Chen Ju smiled. "Of course they came willingly. The world outside is in chaos, and Demonic Beasts run rampant. You could lose your life at any moment. Here, you get food and drink, and the Demon Controlling Sect protects you. Poor people with no money or power naturally want to come."

Luo Qingchen nodded silently and said nothing more.

They made a round of the first-floor corridor and the various rooms. As they returned to the main hall, two men in black robes came down from upstairs.

Sun Ping, usually so indifferent to others, immediately went over with a beaming smile and began speaking to them.

Chen Ju stopped and watched the two men stride off with their noses in the air. "See the skulls embroidered on their chests? They must be sect disciples from upstairs."

Sun Ping smiled obsequiously as she saw the two men out.

"Come on, we should check upstairs. If there's nothing wrong, we can rest on the first floor."

Chen Ju yawned and started up the stairs.

Luo Qingchen followed him to the second floor.

They entered the corridor. As they passed the first room, they suddenly heard a woman sobbing quietly inside.

Chen Ju smiled. "Those two men just came out of this room. Don't be fooled by how miserably the woman's crying now. She'll forget all about it after a night's sleep. After all, people from above pay quite a lot."

As he spoke, he continued onward.

Some rooms were very quiet, while others echoed with noisy voices.

"As long as the women inside aren't in danger of dying, we don't need to interfere."

Chen Ju led him around the second floor, yawned again, and turned toward the corridor exit. "Come on, let's go downstairs and keep watch. If something happens, someone will call us."

As the two passed the first room at the entrance to the corridor again, the door suddenly creaked open.

A hoarse female voice came from inside. "Xiao Cui, come up and clean the room."

Luo Qingchen happened to be passing by and looked toward the woman in the doorway.

The woman's eyes met his at the same moment.

They both froze.

"A... A-Chen?"

The girl in the room had swollen, red eyes and disheveled hair. Several slap marks showed on her face, and tears still glistened at the corners of her eyes. Shock and delight mingled on her face.

"A-Yun?"

Luo Qingchen's expression grew complicated.

The girl before him was Zhao Shi's younger sister, Zhao Yun. Back in Clear Water Town, she'd often played with Xiao Yu.

Chen Ju asked in surprise, "Brother Luo, you know each other?"

Luo Qingchen composed himself and replied calmly, "We used to live in the same town."

"Oh?"

Chen Ju glanced at them both again and smiled. "Then have a chat. I'll head downstairs on my own. Call me if anything comes up."

With that, he went downstairs alone.

Just then, a young maid came up with hot water. She glanced at the two by the doorway, lowered her head, entered the room, and began cleaning.

"Brother A-Chen, I heard Dad say this morning that you came here to work as a guard."

Zhao Yun looked uncomfortable. She gave an awkward smile, wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, and pulled her disheveled clothes back over her chest.

Even with her hair hanging loose, she couldn't hide the marks on her neck.

Luo Qingchen smiled too. "I heard Brother Shi mention you yesterday..."

He paused, then added, "I'm glad you're alive."

Zhao Yun lowered her head and bit her lip, not knowing what to say.

For a moment, they both fell silent.

Afraid of embarrassing her, Luo Qingchen said, "I still have to patrol downstairs. We can talk another time."

"Mm."

Zhao Yun answered softly, not daring to lift her head.

Luo Qingchen had only taken a few steps when she suddenly looked up. "Brother A-Chen, I heard Xiao Yu..."

Luo Qingchen stopped, silent.

With reddened eyes, Zhao Yun said, "Brother A-Chen, I believe you wouldn't do something like that. I know you love Xiao Yu more than anyone. You'd rather something happen to you than see anything happen to her. How could you hurt her?"

Luo Qingchen was quiet for a moment longer, then turned to look at her. "A-Yun, thank you."

A smile like the one on the face of the innocent girl she'd once been appeared on Zhao Yun's swollen cheek. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she said, "Brother A-Chen, wait a moment."

She hurried back into the room.

Soon, she came out with a pink purse and held it out to him. In a soft voice, she said, "My brother came by at dusk. He said you seemed short of money. These are the savings I've put away. Dad and my brother don't know about them. There's only twelve taels, but I hope they can help you."

Luo Qingchen was taken aback. The girl's sincere smile and gentle gaze made his heart tremble.

"Thank you."

He hesitated for a moment, but still reached out and accepted it.

"Mm. Brother A-Chen, go on and take care of your work."

Zhao Yun smiled faintly, lowered her head, and stepped back into the room. Then, from the doorway, she suddenly added, "Oh, Brother A-Chen, I'm free during the day. If you have time, you can come talk with me."

She paused, and a hint of sorrow and self-mockery seemed to cross her face. "If you're busy, never mind."

After saying that, she smiled again and retreated into the room.

Creak...

The door closed.

Just then, a woman's anguished sobbing suddenly came from another room nearby, followed by the sound of a whip striking flesh.

Luo Qingchen lowered his head and stared at the purse in his hand, still warm from the girl's touch. A dazed look crept into his eyes.

The noise around him seemed to fade into silence.

But just then—

"Ah—"

A woman let out a scream of utter terror downstairs!

"Someone's dead! Someone's dead—"

Luo Qingchen's expression changed. He hastily tucked away the purse and raced downstairs!

Chen Ju was nowhere to be seen downstairs. Only a naked woman with disheveled hair stumbled out of a room in the corridor on the right, screaming in terror.

Luo Qingchen rushed over. As soon as he reached the doorway, he saw the horrifying scene inside!