Chapter Forty-Six: A Life Fraught with Hardship
Creak!
The door opened, and Old Mou stepped out of the room. He still looked disheveled and gaunt, but a faint smile hung on his face, which surprised Wang Changsheng for a moment.
“Old Wang...” Old Mou looked at Wang Changsheng, his smile widening. “If you need anything, just say it. We're neighbors—whatever I can help with, I will!”
Wang Changsheng stared at Old Mou. If not for his usual untidy appearance, Wang Changsheng might have thought he was someone else entirely.
The Old Mou he met today was nothing like his former self—almost like a different person!
“Old... Old Mou...” Wang Changsheng, still a little unaccustomed, asked, “Did you take your medicine today?”
“What medicine?” Old Mou replied immediately. “You’re not here to ask for elixirs, are you? I really don’t have any!”
Wang Changsheng: “...”
Alright. It seemed Old Mou’s attitude had changed quite a bit today, but his mind was still as muddled as ever!
“Old Mou, I have a question for you!” Wang Changsheng said directly. “Where exactly are we? Why are there so many supplements every month?”
This mystery had troubled Wang Changsheng for some time. He had to get an answer out of Old Mou today.
“Where?” Old Mou answered promptly. “Of course, this is the Servants’ Quarters!”
“I know this is the Servants’ Quarters,” Wang Changsheng pressed. “I’m asking, which sect does it belong to?”
“You made it here and you don’t know which sect this is?” Old Mou looked at him as if he were an idiot. “Everyone says my mind’s not right, but I think yours is worse than mine!”
Before Wang Changsheng could respond, Old Mou continued, “Well, if you had a good brain, you wouldn’t have ended up here!”
“You know your mind isn’t right?” Wang Changsheng asked offhandedly.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Wang Changsheng tensed, ready to flee at a moment’s notice. Who likes hearing that their mind is faulty? If Old Mou suddenly lost his temper, that would be disastrous!
“How could it be?!” Old Mou reacted as if a sore spot had been pressed. “How could my mind possibly be wrong? Yours is! Your whole family’s got problems!”
“Raise your head and ask the heavens who’s clever—none in the world are like me!” Old Mou declared proudly.
Wang Changsheng: “...”
“Fine, let’s skip that question!” Wang Changsheng said. “I admit, it’s my mind that’s faulty. Now, can you tell me which sect we belong to?”
“Let me think!” Old Mou adopted a pondering look. “Which sect does this belong to, anyway?”
“Such a tough question. I think I know something about it!” Old Mou muttered to himself.
Wang Changsheng looked at Old Mou, completely at a loss. How had he ended up with such a peculiar neighbor?
“Give me a moment to think. I should be able to remember!” Old Mou said after a while. “Anyway, you know nothing, but I know a bit, which means I’m still smarter than you!”
Dark lines appeared on Wang Changsheng’s forehead.
If it wasn’t for Old Mou being much stronger, Wang Changsheng really would have wanted to beat him up!
“Alright, take your time with that question. Let me ask you another one!” Wang Changsheng said. “What's with the supplements the sect sends us every month?”
“Supplements?” Old Mou pondered again.
“Oh, come on!”
Seeing Old Mou’s expression, Wang Changsheng was rendered speechless.
“You don’t know even this?” Wang Changsheng said. “At least I know something about the supplements. If you know nothing at all, I’d really have to question your intelligence!”
“Wait!” Old Mou immediately said. “You know some, so I, being so clever, must know more than you!”
With that, Old Mou fell into deep thought.
“Forget it...” Wang Changsheng looked at Old Mou and gave up hope.
He figured Old Mou couldn’t recall anything.
This only made Wang Changsheng even more perplexed.
If Old Mou couldn’t remember anything, how did he manage to collect supplements from the sect every month?
He had no memory of it, yet he still knew to collect spirit stones and medicines. Wang Changsheng truly wondered what was in Old Mou’s head!
“I remembered!” Old Mou exclaimed with delight. “See, I told you I’m smarter than you—I couldn’t possibly not know!”
“Those are supplements the sect distributes to us!” Old Mou explained. “Let me tell you, those supplements are special. Only we in the Servants’ Quarters have this privilege. In the entire sect, only we get them!”
Wang Changsheng said seriously, “I already knew that...”
“You did?” Old Mou looked annoyed. “If you knew, why ask me? Are you messing with me?”
As he spoke, Old Mou’s energy began to surge, as if ready to attack at the slightest provocation!
“No, of course not!” Wang Changsheng hurried to explain. “I meant, why does the sect give us supplements?”
Old Mou listened to the explanation and relaxed his energy. He thought for a moment, “It’s like... they simply don’t need them...”
“Seems like... yes, that’s it... Let me think!” Old Mou mused.
“Don’t need them?” Wang Changsheng pondered as well.
Though Old Mou seemed unreliable, what he said likely came from the scraps of his memory and was probably trustworthy.
Mid-grade spirit stones and medicines—unneeded?
“Could it be... could it be... the cultivators here only use top-grade spirit stones?” Wang Changsheng considered a terrifying possibility.
If the sect’s cultivators only used top-grade spirit stones, then mid-grade stones truly would be unnecessary, since their spiritual energy is far too impure compared to top-grade ones.
“I remembered!” Old Mou cried out, interrupting Wang Changsheng’s thoughts. He smiled and said, “They don’t need them at all. Their cultivation doesn’t require spirit stones or medicines—they rely on other methods. To them, spirit stones and medicines are just waste!”
“It just happens that we need them, so they’re given to us.”
Old Mou’s tone was utterly matter-of-fact.
Hearing this, Wang Changsheng actually felt relieved.
“So that’s how it is...” Wang Changsheng said gravely. “Apparently, this sect is special—they don’t cultivate by absorbing spiritual energy...”
There could only be this explanation. Otherwise, if every cultivator here really used top-grade spirit stones, the foundation of this sect would be unimaginably deep and terrifying!
Understanding this, Wang Changsheng realized even more.
Special cultivation methods... No need for spirit stones... Require offerings...
Wang Changsheng tried to deduce the nature of the sect from what little he knew.
Could it be... Could it be...
After some thought, Wang Changsheng’s expression became one of horror.
Combining his own experience—how he was captured and nearly turned into an offering—he recalled a sect.
Li Fusheng had idly spoken of it many times, second only to Yun Palace Peak in his tales.
If it truly was that sect... What should I do?
Wang Changsheng’s face was filled with terror.
He had been abducted and nearly made an offering, but due to his old age, weak vital energy, and low cultivation, Elder Yun had simply tossed him into the Servants’ Quarters.
After arriving, Old Mou had told him to fatten himself up...
Piecing everything together, Wang Changsheng gradually became certain.
It was almost certainly that sect...
Wang Changsheng exhaled deeply, slumping to the ground in despair.
If this was true, he felt utterly hopeless.
“How is my fate so bitter...” Wang Changsheng lamented inwardly.
“By the way, I remembered the answer to your earlier question too!” Old Mou said at that moment. “See, I’m clever! I figured out the answers to two questions at once! I told you, raise your head and ask the heavens who’s clever—none in the world are like me!”
Wang Changsheng ignored Old Mou, instead piecing together the information he’d received with his own experiences. He was now eighty percent certain.
At this moment, Wang Changsheng was like a deflated ball, slumped on the ground, muttering to himself, the words indistinct.
“Hey, Old Wang, what’s wrong?” Old Mou watched him, puzzled. “Has Old Wang’s mind deteriorated this badly?”
“Ah, I really am too clever. Old Wang just isn’t up to it—a bit slow!” Old Mou said regretfully.
With that, Old Mou walked over, reached out a hand toward Wang Changsheng’s head.
“What are you doing?”
Just as Old Mou’s hand was about to touch his head, Wang Changsheng snapped out of his daze. Seeing Old Mou’s action, he thought Old Mou meant harm and immediately recoiled, dodging the hand.
“Nothing, just seeing if there’s any hope for you!” Old Mou replied matter-of-factly. “You see, if your mind’s not right, don’t overthink things. Just let a clever person like me figure things out and tell you later, isn’t that better?”
“Look at you, overusing your brain!”
Old Mou even looked regretful. “I wonder if you’ll be left with any lasting problems!”
He scrutinized Wang Changsheng as if about to treat him, convinced that Wang Changsheng belonged to the group with faulty minds.
Wang Changsheng was on the verge of tears, staring at Old Mou, then gazing up at the heavens, bemoaning his ill fortune and troubled fate!
By now, Wang Changsheng had pretty much deduced where he was, which explained his reactions.
If his guess was correct, this place was...
The Corpse Refining Sect!