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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
"Why should I give it to you?" Brother Three shouted, covering his head with a defiant expression.
I raised the shoulder pole in my hand and brought it down with force. The others who were working stopped to look at the scene, and even those in the dormitory were awakened by the commotion, peering out of the windows.
They must have heard about how I almost strangled the Room Manager yesterday. The key point was that the Room Manager didn’t let them do anything to me; instead, they began to regard me with a sense of awe.
That’s human nature—people tend to bully the weak and fear the strong. Even if they could band together and overpower me, they simply didn’t dare to.
Some people are afraid to fight outside but will hit their wives at home, or they might only dare to strike women on the street.
Others, facing hardships and pushed to desperation by the government, won’t dare to attack officials but will take their frustrations out on children in kindergartens.
That’s just how it is.
There was a historical incident where a group of eunuchs were often scolded and humiliated by the emperor. One day, during a palace upheaval, they conspired to kill the emperor without mercy.
However, when they stormed into the emperor's chamber, a single reprimand from him froze them in place: "You dare! What are you doing invading my chamber? Kneel!"
With that simple command, most of the eunuchs fell to their knees. Seeing this, the rest had no choice but to kneel as well. In the end, only one eunuch stood trembling and said, "We came to kill the tyrant emperor! Don’t forget, if we don’t kill him, we’ll all die!"
The emperor felt fear too but pretended to remain calm: "Since you were incited by him, I won’t hold you accountable. But this one standing here cannot escape death!"
Naturally, all the eunuchs ended up being executed.
Some people become angrier when bullied; even if they resist for a moment, after facing severe repression, what follows is an even greater fear.
Everyone has their own servility; everyone cherishes their life. Even with a knife at their throat, there are those who would plead for mercy.
If I had been randomly hitting people earlier, they might have rushed over in defense of Brother Three being attacked. But now they merely stood by watching the show.
The Room Manager pulled me aside and scolded, "Brother Yang Hao, if you need supplies, it’s simple enough. Why resort to violence?"
I replied, "Fine, I’ll give you face this time. I won’t bully him. I want half of his supplies and half of that guy's stuff who drank foot-washing water yesterday. Put them on my bed before I finish work. Let’s eat; it’s time to get ready for work."
I let out a grunt and headed towards the cafeteria. Two boys who wanted to sit at the table across from me were eating, so I knocked my leg against the bench and, while sipping my Rice Porridge, pointed to the side and said, "Get lost!"
The two boys looked embarrassed and took their trays to another table.
After finishing my meal, I started working. As I was carrying a bucket down the mountain, I saw the Room Manager and Huang Laohu exchanging shifts. They stood together, seemingly deep in conversation, before heading into the dormitory. When I returned with the water, Huang Laohu called me over and asked, "I heard you caused some trouble in the dorm last night and hit the Room Manager?"
I replied, "That's right. I hit the people from the Miscellaneous Room and also the Room Manager. If I didn't provoke them as a newcomer, how could they have hit me?"
"Is that so? Do you want to hit me too?" Huang Laohu raised an eyebrow.
I quickly said, "How could I dare? Brother Huzi is the boss of the Water Storage Room; everything depends on him for meals and sleep. I will definitely listen to you and wouldn't dare to go against your words."
"Good that you know," Huang Laohu said with a stern look. "Although Azure Cloud Sect is a Daoist Sect, we are all laborers here. If you cause me trouble and they blame me from above, I won't let you off easy. Every year there are casualty lists from Reservoir Mountain; I hope you don't end up on one of those lists."
"Thank you for the warning, Brother Huzi," I said.
Huang Laohu waved his hand dismissively. "Go back to work."
Just as I was about to leave, Huang Laohu called me back. "Tonight work half your shift; you can clock out by midnight. Starting tomorrow, you'll be on day shift with the Room Manager. You've offended him; he’s not as easygoing as I am. Find an opportunity to apologize and work hard to earn his forgiveness."
I carried the bucket down the mountain with a smile on my face; it seemed that the Room Manager hadn't told Huang Laohu anything after all, or else he wouldn't have said those things.
After I went down the mountain, Huang Laohu summoned someone over and said, "Go call those two from the Miscellaneous Room and check on this Yang Hao's background in the Outer Sect. The Room Manager can't be bullied like that without putting this kid in his place."
After finishing my work that night, I tossed the wooden bucket by the water tower and headed towards my room, continuously hauling water as if it were training for myself.
However, the door was locked from inside. I knocked on the door and called out, "Jiang Yang, open up."
After a while, I heard the sound of the bolt being undone. When I opened the door, Jiang Yang had already crawled back under his blanket.
I sniffed around in confusion and asked, "Why does it smell so good? Are you wearing perfume?"
Jiang Yang ignored me and pulled his blanket over his head.
I had only just gotten to know Jiang Yang, so I didn't want to ask too many questions. I was planning to take a shower and go to bed, ready to start working hard tomorrow.
After a while, the Room Manager knocked on the door and walked in, carrying a thick blanket in his arms.
"Room Manager, what are you doing? Are you planning to sleep with me? I’m not fond of men," I joked.
The Room Manager laughed and said, "Brother, don’t joke around. Winter is coming soon, and you're still using a blanket. So I brought you this winter quilt. I've only used it a few times, and it's much better than the one from the Miscellaneous Room. Don't turn your nose up at it."
"How could I possibly turn my nose up at you, Room Manager? I was just worried about not having a quilt, and here you are bringing one. You're quite the brother," I replied politely.
"By the way, I also brought Three Sons and Eye along to apologize to you," the Room Manager said as he called out to the door behind him, "You two, why aren't you coming in to give something to Brother Yang?"
Three Sons and Eyed Boy came in, each carrying a large pile of items. With sincere expressions, they said, "Big Brother Yang Hao, we didn’t recognize your greatness and caused trouble for you. We apologize."
I responded, "No need for that! We're all brothers here; it’s only through conflict that we get to know each other. Take these things back; how can an older brother accept gifts from you?"
The Room Manager pointed to a large table between me and Jiang Yang. "Just put the things on the table; don’t disturb Brother Yang's rest."
Three Sons and Eye exchanged glances with the Room Manager. He snorted, "You think just because I told you to take them back means Brother Yang doesn’t want them? You really don’t get it! Just put them down and hurry up and leave!"
After Three Sons and Eye placed the items down, they bid me farewell and returned to the dormitory.
"They're just kids; they don't understand. No need to get angry, Room Manager," I said.
The Room Manager sighed and remarked, "A brother who is both cultured and skilled in martial arts, as well as so knowledgeable about human affairs—surely you are a Person of Extraordinary Talent. May I ask what your current strength is?"
I replied, "I'm not even at Entry-Level Realm yet."
"How is that possible? Given your age and your acquaintance with Elder Hong, with countless Elixirs at your disposal, you should at least be at Purple Qi Coming from the East Realm!" the Room Manager exclaimed.
I had heard of Purple Qi Coming from the East Realm before. A few months ago, when Douding and I escaped from Qingliang Mountain to Yaowang Mountain with Wu, he pretended to have a Martial Dao Classic on him to divert Serpent Cult members from chasing us. At that time, I vaguely heard Elder of the Divine Serpent Sect Si Tu Nan mention that Wu had just crossed into Purple Qi Coming from the East Realm.
I said, "I’m sorry Room Manager; although I look middle-aged, I'm actually only twenty-three years old. Previously, due to my practice leading me astray in my cultivation, I've ended up like this—Purple Qi Coming from the East Realm has turned me into a complete waste."
"Indeed, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse," the Room Manager nodded.
I asked, "I wonder what kind of strength the Room Manager possesses, and how strong Brother Huzi is? Right now, I have no Dao Foundation and need to start my cultivation anew. I can't tell what Brother Huzi's true strength is."
The Room Manager replied, "In this lifetime, I have no hope of reaching the Entry-Level Realm. After practicing for over ten years, I've only just managed to cultivate a trace of Dao Qi, which is practically useless. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been captured by my brothers without being able to fight back. Brother Huzi is at the Late Stage of Qi Entry Realm. He was sent to the Water Storage Room as an Outer Sect Disciple over a decade ago due to some circumstances. I heard he will likely step into the Purple Qi Coming from the East Realm within a year. At that point, he can participate in the Outer Sect Disciple competition to earn a good ranking and hopefully enter the Inner Sect, so he won't have to stay in this godforsaken place any longer."
"So after the Entry-Level Realm comes the Purple Qi Coming from the East Realm. I've heard that each realm has a tenfold difference in strength. If I were at that level, I could easily kill Wang Laohu, but since I haven't even entered the Entry-Level Realm, I'm definitely no match for him," I murmured to myself.
The Room Manager informed me that people in the Water Storage Room aren't considered disciples of Azure Cloud Sect. They lack a sect token, formal Daoist robe, cultivation methods, and secret manuals for Daoist arts. They aren't even registered upon entry; if they die, they are simply buried without anyone notifying their families.
Suddenly, the Room Manager's words reminded me of what Grandma Wu had entrusted to me. I asked, "How many years has the Room Manager been in this Water Storage Room?"
"I came in at fifteen; it's been nearly twenty years now," he replied.
"Do you know someone named Wang Hai?" I inquired.
Upon hearing my question, the Room Manager's expression changed dramatically. He looked towards Jiang Yang's bed and pulled me aside to ask, "How do you know this person?"
I shrugged nonchalantly and said, "He used to live in my village; he was my neighbor. He entered Azure Cloud Sect a few years before me, but we lost contact afterward. His mother asked me to find out about him—whether he's dead or alive—so she can finally put her mind at ease."
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