6: Chapter 6 The Patrol Team's "Rules"

The door hinge let out a dull, long "creak," like a weary sigh, completely connecting the dim, yellow lamplight inside the room with the deep night outside.

Three people stood outside the door, two flickering torches stretching their shadows into twisted, terrifying shapes against the alley wall.

The leader was a burly middle-aged man, around forty years old. His worn leather armor was stretched taut by his muscular frame, and a standard-issue long saber hung at his waist, the wrapping on its hilt soaked oily and shiny by sweat from his hands.

His face was fleshy, and his eyes, though small, glinted with a wolf-like ferocity. At this moment, they were like two poison-dipped blades, scraping across Lin Chen's face over and over again.

Patrol Squad Captain.

The name instantly surfaced in Lin Chen's mind.

In Black Stone Town, the only person who could afford to wear that Patrol Squad Captain uniform and leave such heavy boot prints was this man.

Patrol Squad Captain's gaze didn't linger on Lin Chen for more than a breath before contemptuously passing over his shoulder and casting straight into the room.

When he saw Su Qingyao sitting half-upright on the kang, covered only by a thin quilt, his murky eyes suddenly brightened.

The dim oil lamp's light softened Su Qingyao's sickly pallor, instead adding a fragile, hazy beauty to her cold, otherworldly face, like a snow lotus blooming in the cold night, causing his Adam's apple to bob subconsciously.

The unmasked astonishment and greed in that gaze were like a slimy venomous snake crawling across Lin Chen's spine.

"Ahem!" Patrol Squad Captain cleared his throat heavily, only then pulling his gaze away from Su Qingyao and letting it fall back onto Lin Chen's face, carrying a condescending, interrogative tone. "You're the one who just moved in? What's your name? Where are you from?"

Lin Chen's right hand hung at his side, his thumb subconsciously rubbing the rough stone ring. The cold sensation allowed the churning killing intent in his heart to settle down.

He turned his body slightly to clear the doorway and replied in a calm tone, "Lin Chen. I was originally a handyman responsible for gathering herbs for the Qingmu Sect, but I was expelled from the Sect for violating Sect rules. This is my wife, Su Qingyao. The journey was arduous, and she isn't in good health."

"Qingmu Sect?" Patrol Squad Captain let out an "Oh," dragging out the tail of the sound, his face revealing a hint of playful mockery.

He had heard of that place; it was considered a behemoth within a hundred miles of Black Stone Town. To be kicked out of such a place, one was either trash or had caused big trouble.

He didn't ask any more questions and lifted his foot to walk inside, his leather boots making a dull "thud-thud" sound as they stepped on the mud floor of the room.

The two young team members holding torches behind him also squeezed in. The small, dilapidated room suddenly appeared incredibly crowded, and the air filled with the smell of sweat and the pine resin from the burning torches.

Patrol Squad Captain's gaze swept across the cramped room, as if he were inspecting his own territory.

The empty earthen kang, a chipped pottery jar, a few coarse pottery bowls, and those few dried herbs tied with straw rope in the corner, currently drying.

He walked over and casually picked up a dried herb with blood-colored veins on its leaves; it was precisely a blood-vein root.

He put it under his nose and sniffed hard. The faint smell of earth and vegetation made him frown, as if he were disgusted by something dirty, and he casually threw it back on the ground, grinding it with the tip of his boot.

"Just this junk?" He sneered, the disdain in his tone undisguised.

Lin Chen stood by the door, eyes lowered, saying nothing, like a silent stone statue.

"I have nothing of value." His voice had no fluctuation at all.

Patrol Squad Captain paced to the side of the kang, his tall figure casting a shadow that completely enveloped Su Qingyao's frail body.

He looked down at her, and seeing that although her complexion was pale, her eyes were cold and clear, without a hint of the cowardice typical of ordinary women, his possessiveness grew even stronger.

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth stained yellow by tobacco: "This young lady really doesn't look too well. Although our Black Stone Town is a poor place, it has the rules of a poor place. Those who come from outside to settle down must pay a 'settlement fee.' Otherwise, who knows if you are criminals fleeing from elsewhere, or if you carry some foul disease?"

He extended three thick fingers and waved them in front of Su Qingyao: "Three taels of silver. Or... bringing something of equal value to offset it will also work."

Su Qingyao leaned against the cold head of the kang, her pale lips pressed tightly together, saying nothing.

She did not look at Patrol Squad Captain's disgusting face, her gaze piercing through the dim air and falling fixedly on Lin Chen's back by the door.

Under the quilt, her fingers had already tightly gripped the rough corner of the quilt, her knuckles turning white from the force.

The air in the room seemed to have frozen, with only the occasional "crackling" sound of the torches bursting.

Lin Chen was silent for a moment, as if weighing options, or perhaps as if rummaging through everything valuable on his person.

Finally, he raised his head, meeting Patrol Squad Captain's scrutinizing gaze, and slowly pulled out the small object wrapped in a rag from his bosom.

He unwrapped the cloth, revealing that dull, fingernail-sized fragment of a Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

"Only this."

Patrol Squad Captain's eyes instantly narrowed.

He snatched the Spirit Stone fragment from Lin Chen's hand. It felt slightly cool to the touch, and although the Spiritual Qi was pitifully thin, that unique texture could not be faked.

A flash of greedy joy crossed his eyes. He weighed the fragment in his rough palm, but his face showed an expression of disappointment, and he curled his lip: "Just this little bit? It doesn't even count as a whole piece. Are you trying to brush off a beggar?"

His gaze again pointedly circled Su Qingyao's curvaceous figure, and he said slowly, "How about this. I see you two are truly pitiful. This settlement fee can be deferred for you for now. However, you must find a livelihood in town; you can't just eat and live for free, occupying the town's land."

He used his chin to point at the few herbs on the ground that he had stepped on: "I see you still recognize some herbs..."

Patrol Squad Captain, like a generous benefactor, finally gave his "favor": "From now on, every month, submit ten 'blood-vein roots' to our Patrol Squad, or other medicinal materials of equal value. This will count as offsetting your settlement fee, and it will also prove to the town that you are a decent family that earns a living by their craft. How about that?"

The words were said in a high-sounding manner, as if he had bestowed a great favor, while also naturally turning extortion into a "tax."

His eyes stared fixedly at Lin Chen, carrying an oppressive feeling that would not allow for refusal.

Lin Chen knew this was naked extortion.

Although the blood-vein root was a Mortal-grade item, it was not common in the mountains. Ten per month was an extremely heavy burden for an outsider like him who was completely unfamiliar with the nearby mountains.

What's more, this was just the beginning.

But right now, he was only at Qi Refining Stage 3 with meager spiritual power. Facing a local bully at Qi Refining Stage 4 and two Mortal Martial Artists, a head-on collision was no different from throwing an egg against a rock.

He raised his eyes, meeting Patrol Squad Captain's gaze, and slowly nodded: "Fine. But we are newcomers and are unfamiliar with the mountains; gathering herbs takes time."

Seeing Lin Chen was so "sensible," the flesh on Patrol Squad Captain's face piled up, revealing a satisfied smile: "Easy, easy! I like people like you who know the score. I'll give you a month. On this day next month, I will come to collect the 'goods' myself."

He contentedly tucked the Spirit Stone fragment into his bosom, then took one deep, meaningful look at Su Qingyao on the kang, as if admiring a collection piece that would belong to him sooner or later, before waving his hand and turning to leave with his two team members.

The heavy footsteps and arrogant laughter gradually faded, disappearing around the corner of the alley.

Lin Chen closed the door and re-bolted the thin wooden latch.

He leaned his back against the cold door panel, as if all his strength had been drained away, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air that had been suppressed for a long time.

On the kang, Su Qingyao's tense body finally relaxed. She released the corner of the quilt that she had almost gripped to shreds, her palms covered in cold, clammy sweat.

"He won't give up." Her voice was very low, carrying a hint of chill.

"Yeah." Lin Chen replied, his voice somewhat hoarse, "He is testing our bottom line, and also testing whether we have any more grease left to squeeze."

He walked to the side of the kang and sat down, looking at Su Qingyao's pale face, and continued, "blood-vein roots... they do exist in the mountains, but they are hard to find, time-consuming, and laborious. Moreover, even if we pay this month, next month he will only ask for more, and for things that are even rarer."

Drinking poison to quench thirst is, after all, not a long-term solution.

Su Qingyao was silent for a long time, the dim lamplight dancing in her cold, clear eyes, reflecting points of cold light.

Suddenly, she spoke: "I remember a formula."

Lin Chen looked at her.

"It's called 'Soul-Calming Powder.' It's used by some Outer Sect Disciples in the Sect to calm the mind and aid sleep, but the effect is stronger on Mortals." Her speaking speed was not fast, but every word was incredibly clear, "The main ingredient is 'Heart-Confusing Grass,' supplemented by 'Night-Crossing Vine' and 'Withered Ling Grass'... All ground into fine powder, when ignited, the smoke is colorless and odorless. Those who inhale it will fall into a deep sleep within a quarter of an hour, which can last for at least two hours."

She raised her eyes, her cold, clear gaze looking straight at Lin Chen: "Heart-Confusing Grass and Night-Crossing Vine are both common Mortal herbs in the mountains, inexpensive and easy to find. We still have a little Withered Ling Grass."

Lin Chen instantly understood her meaning, his heart contracting sharply: "What do you want to do?"

Su Qingyao lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a shadow on her face, concealing the surging emotions in the depths of her eyes: "Nothing. Just preparing,"

Just in case.

In Lin Chen's mind, the undisguised lecherous gaze of Patrol Squad Captain when looking at Su Qingyao surfaced again. A burst of rage, suppressed deep in his heart, like magma beneath the earth, silently burned his internal organs.

He nodded, his voice low and firm: "Okay. Next time I go into the mountains, I'll keep an eye out for these."

The night grew deeper.

After Patrol Squad Captain left, the dilapidated room seemed to return to its usual deathly silence.

Lin Chen did not rest immediately. He sat cross-legged on the cold ground, closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, and attempted to guide the meager Spiritual Qi within his body, washing over his dry Meridians over and over again.

Rather than pinning hopes on external objects, it is better to strengthen oneself.

Even if this process is as slow as a tortoise, it is the only path that can be taken at the moment.

Just as his Spiritual Qi was stumbling through its third cycle and about to complete the circulation, the rough stone ring on his right thumb suddenly transmitted a wave of warmth that was clearer and more enduring than any time before.

In an instant, in the lower-left corner of his vision, on that pale golden panel that only he could see, below the [Dao Companion Panel], a new, extremely tiny line of golden text quietly appeared:

[Detected that Dao Companion "Su Qingyao" has confirmed participation in the reproduction plan. Long-term goal "Spreading Branches and Leaves" Phase 1 officially initiated...]

[Pregnancy assistance module pre-loading... Requirement confirmation: Host's cultivation must reach Qi Refining Stage 4 to officially activate.]

Lin Chen suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of incredible brilliance flickering in them.

He turned his head and looked at Su Qingyao on the kang, who could no longer resist the exhaustion and had fallen into a deep sleep.

Under the dim oil lamplight, her side profile was pale and quiet, but her brows were still slightly furrowed, as if she could not find peace even in her dreams.

He slowly clenched his fists, his hard knuckles turning white from the force, his fingertips digging deeply into his palms, sending a wave of sharp pain.

Qi Refining Stage 4...

A difference of only one stage, yet it seemed like a chasm.

But now, behind this chasm, it was no longer an ethereal strength, but the hope to live, the only possibility to protect this dim lamplight before him.

An unprecedented desire grew wildly from the deepest part of his heart.

He needed Spiritual Qi, needed more and purer Spiritual Qi to break through this shackle.