Chapter Forty-Three: Old Wang Next Door

If he were told to fight and kill, Wang Changsheng might not refuse—after all, when a man is under another’s roof, even if sent to his death, he likely has no power to resist! At the very least, as a menial laborer, he could be made to do odd jobs or heavy work, and that would be acceptable!

But now, to be told he must eat human flesh?

What kind of madness was this? In all his years of cultivation, Wang Changsheng had never witnessed anyone being forced into cannibalism. And from what the old schemer said, this was allocated by the sect. Was such an act of eating human flesh something that could be assigned?

He could not comprehend what kind of sect he had actually been taken to!

“Old Schemer, I’m a vegetarian,” Wang Changsheng said helplessly. “Besides, this was given to you by the sect. You should keep it for yourself. We’re neighbors, no need to stand on ceremony!”

At his words, the old schemer’s expression changed at once.

“Not good!” Sensing the shift, Wang Changsheng’s heart sank. He feared the old man was about to turn violent.

After all, he knew nothing of the old schemer’s true identity—he only claimed to be the head of the menial house, which likely meant he had little authority within the sect. Or so he said. Given how muddleheaded he seemed, could he even remember what his own position was?

Wang Changsheng recalled hearing when he was captured that it was getting harder and harder to find new people these days. Could even the menial house get a share of this “delicacy”?

“There’s nothing human in there,” the old schemer said in a low voice.

With that, he turned and went back into his room, shutting the door, leaving Wang Changsheng in a daze.

“If it’s not a person, then what is it…” Wang Changsheng thought bitterly, but had no one to confide in.

He crept toward the cloth sack, took a deep breath, and reached out to touch it.

“Hm, no reaction…” he muttered. “Could it be that the person inside fought back and was killed in the struggle?”

That was plausible. The elders themselves didn’t get enough, so anything sent to the menial house was probably already dead.

“If only you hadn’t resisted when you knew you couldn’t win,” Wang Changsheng murmured, feeling a trace of sympathy for the cultivator in the sack. “Maybe you could have survived, like me…”

With no other choice, Wang Changsheng decided to open the cloth sack. If the person inside was dead, he would find a place to bury the body—a small kindness, at least.

His hands trembled as he untied the bag.

He had killed many before, especially during his years in the martial world, where bloodshed was commonplace. But this—this act of eating human flesh—was something altogether new and horrifying.

Yet when he opened the sack and saw what was inside, he was completely dumbfounded. He staggered back a few steps and collapsed onto the ground, staring in disbelief.

Thinking he must have seen wrong, Wang Changsheng leaned in again. But no, he had not made a mistake.

“Old Schemer! Old Schemer, open the door! Old Schemer, you left something behind! Old Schemer, if you don’t come out, your things will be gone!”

...

Upon seeing the contents of the sack, Wang Changsheng’s first reaction was to rush to the old schemer’s door and pound on it furiously.

The door creaked open, and before Wang Changsheng could react, a huge foot came flying at him.

With a thud, he was sent sprawling. Even if he had been prepared, with his current strength, he could never have dodged that kick.

Lying on the ground, Wang Changsheng looked up at the old schemer’s grim face and instantly felt a surge of dread—he had forgotten what sort of person the old man really was.

“Who are you?” the old schemer demanded from the doorway, his voice icy. “How dare you trespass on my territory? I’ll kill you!”

Clearly, the old man still hadn’t remembered who Wang Changsheng was.

The old schemer’s true energy surged as he strode forward, hand shaped like a blade, aiming a lethal strike at Wang Changsheng’s face—a blow he could never hope to withstand.

“I’m new here! I live next door! I’m your neighbor, Old Wang from next door!” Wang Changsheng shouted, feeling the pressure of death closing in. Only after he roared did the suffocating aura suddenly dissipate.

“Old Wang from next door?” The old schemer frowned, as if the name rang a faint bell. “Sounds familiar…”

Though he never quite recalled, he seemed to accept Wang Changsheng was newly arrived.

As the old man calmed, Wang Changsheng let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. He had truly thought he was about to die, and it was only at the last instant that the old schemer had held back.

“What do you want, disturbing me?” the old man snapped.

“You dropped something… your item fell…” Wang Changsheng said, pointing to the sack in the courtyard.

“Hmm? Isn’t that the nutritional supplement from the sect?” the old man wondered, then turned to Wang Changsheng. “Did you go pick up this month’s supplement?”

“Nutritional supplement from the sect?” Wang Changsheng was stunned. What was going on? The sect provided supplements? Such generous treatment?

“No!” he blurted. “You brought this back! You dropped it in the yard, I just wanted to let you know.”

It was exhausting trying to communicate with someone so muddleheaded—especially when that person was powerful enough to take your life at any moment.

“I brought it back?” The old man looked thoughtful, then waved a hand dismissively. “Then keep it for yourself. I don’t need it.”

With that, he went back inside.

Wang Changsheng was left bewildered—something didn’t add up.

“Don’t want it? Keep it myself? Is this a joke?”

But the old man had closed his door, and Wang Changsheng dared not disturb him again. His chest still ached from that kick—clearly, the old man had shown mercy, or he’d be dead already.

He walked over to the sack, peered inside once more, and found his breath coming heavier.

“These… these are nutritional supplements?” He could hardly believe it. “And he doesn’t want them? They’re for me?”

No wonder Wang Changsheng doubted. It was beyond belief. Inside the sack were not corpses at all, but a large pile of spirit stones, spirit herbs, and medicinal plants—dozens of each, by his estimate.

Not corpses, but cultivation resources!

How could he accept this? Even if, as the old man claimed, these were supplements, surely they were meant for him? The old schemer looked so frail and emaciated, it was clearly he who needed nourishment!

Yet the old man had seen what was in the sack and still given it to Wang Changsheng—what was his game?

More baffling still, for someone so absent-minded that he couldn’t remember a neighbor, how had he remembered these were monthly supplements from the sect? And he’d even collected them on time—how could that be?

Could he really remember?

Wang Changsheng was not just lost in confusion—he was utterly bewildered, unable to make sense of any of it.

“If, as the old schemer says, these are monthly supplements from the sect…” Wang Changsheng muttered in disbelief. “Could this be some kind of sect benefit? Even the menial house receives this kind of welfare?”

He was utterly at a loss.

Even with no experience in the Divine Heavens, he knew that there, cultivation resources were incredibly scarce. Otherwise, why would those at the Pulse-Opening stage risk everything to break through to the next realm?

Spirit stones and spirit herbs were precious cultivation resources. By his estimation, this sack alone contained enough to push him not just to the fourth layer of Pulse-Opening, but even the fifth, with ample spiritual energy.

When had resources ever been so easy to come by? And the old schemer didn’t even compete with him for them!

Even if the old man was at the Foundation Transformation stage, such resources would be invaluable to him as well.

Wait—something’s off! Wang Changsheng instantly dismissed all his prior speculations.

He recalled something important.

“Elder Yun didn’t use me as a sacrifice because I was too weak…” Wang Changsheng pondered. “And the old schemer said the only thing to do in the menial house was to fatten myself up…”

Plus, if the sect issued nutritional supplements every month, that meant there was a regular pattern.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Wang Changsheng drew a chilling conclusion.

“They’re fattening me up for slaughter?”

As this thought struck him, his breathing grew heavy. The pile of cultivation resources before him suddenly felt like a burning coal in his hands.

So many resources—even if given only once, let alone monthly—would drive countless cultivators mad. Was the sect really investing so much just to fatten up a sacrificial offering?

The cost was staggering—a true blood price.

If, by some stroke of luck, he managed to escape, the loss would be immeasurable! Of course, Wang Changsheng understood that the chances of his escape were nearly nonexistent. After such an investment, how could they let him slip away? Not to mention, the sect was crawling with powerful figures—he hadn’t the faintest hope of escape.

“What… what on earth is all this?” Wang Changsheng was on the verge of tears.