The night wasn’t as blissful as the one before. Instinct woke Jun up during the night, and he dragged Chen Hao to a different spot when he picked up human scents. Hours later, they had to relocate once again, much further this time. When the sun peeked over the horizon and the two woke up, misery and tiredness were written across their faces.

“Hear me out. What if we find a cardboard box and sleep under that? Wouldn’t that be totally awesome?” Jun sarcastically grumbled, trailing behind Chen Hao. All work and no play made Jun a grumpy dog.

When they arrived at the shop, the butcher lady, whose name they still didn’t know, said that Chen Hao had recovered enough to stand behind the counter and greet customers. He decidedly looked worse today than yesterday.

Jun was waiting for something of note to happen now that Chen Hao was talking to people, but those who came here were ordinary. No one asked why a young, pale boy was standing here, or why the usual saleswoman was sitting on a chair, half-asleep. Some would haggle a bit upon seeing the newcomer, which added a moment of spice to an otherwise boring day.

Today, they practised on every variety of animal there was in this makeshift barn. Due to Chen Hao training half of the previous evening with a branch, it only took two hacks to take off an animal’s head. Killing intent was forcefully taught to him, but he fared decidedly better than yesterday.

Then, she started teaching him how to properly cut the meat. There was no possible way for Chen Hao to succeed from the start, which meant his debt only grew. Each ruined peace earned him an additional month of labor.

‘Well, we’re not staying here for long, so what does it matter?’

Jun didn’t get to witness much of the process. Instead, he had one job in mind. For the first hour, he tested how much the woman paid attention to him by walking over to shadowy places or hiding behind other animals. The answer was—not much. She was too preoccupied with Chen Hao, teaching him the basics.

At some point, he vanished behind a particularly lazy cow and circled the warehouse, keeping to the shadows and staying out of her sight. His target was a wooden table, which held still uncut scraps of meat intended for feeding animals. They were not prime cuts to be sold in the shop, but they were better than nothing. Nearby, though less in number, were pieces of meat still waiting to be processed, and pieces that were set out to dry.

After making sure no one but a few chickens saw him, he leapt onto the table, shovelling as much meat as he could in his mouth, leaving enough for it to not be blatantly obvious. It made him want to gag, but he desperately held it back as he leapt to a shadowy corner. He must have looked stupid right now holding so much meat in his mouth.

He kept to the warehouse’s walls, staying low to the ground and trying his best to appear nonchalant. When he arrived near the door, he started testing the boundaries.

While her back was turned away from the entrance, he pushed the door open and slipped outside, immediately turning the corner. But he did not leave yet. Lifting one leg high in the sky, he pointed his junk at the stone wall, ready for a strategic excuse when the woman came looking.

After a minute passed and his jewels started to feel cold, Jun began to run.

‘I’m calling your fucking bluff, old woman. The shadowy umbrella man only said not to head to our quarters. Nothing about a warehouse.'

There was no possible way a butcher who sold meat to broke disciples had people surveying them at all times. She would likely hunt them down if they didn’t show up for work on time or if they went back to the disciple’s quarters, but why would anyone be watching right now?

He didn’t run far. Choosing a nice and shallow crack between buildings, he dropped the meat on the ground, wondering about the sanitary implication of this.

‘Beggars can’t be choosers.’

Less than a minute passed before he was back at the warehouse. Timing his return with her being distracted was a challenge and a half, but eventually, he slipped inside, immediately lying on the floor as if nothing had happened. The next hour was spent trying to ignore the weird flavour in his mouth and nervously looking at the woman to see if she noticed anything.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

His worries were unfounded. After another thorough butchering session, she gracefully let Chen Hao off for the day, kicking them both out of the warehouse. Before the boy could slip into his depression again, Jun started pulling his clothes in the direction of the alley.

“Yarrr. Come with me, matey. I’m the great pirate king, and I’ve found us some booty!” Jun said, excitedly wagging his tail. It was still not healed, but at least he wouldn’t be dying from an infection.

“What? Where are we going? Is there danger?”

Jun didn’t respond. Instead, he navigated by scent, looking out for any would-be meat thieves. Thankfully, no one had touched the street meat by the time they arrived. Chen Hao looked in confusion at the pile, eyes darting between Jun and it.

“You... did this? When? More importantly, you stealing a few bones got us into this situation in the first place. What if she finds out?” he said, panic making his voice barely a whisper.

“Last time there was a freak accident involving a formation. I was professional this time.”

Chen Hao buried his face in his arms, sighing heavily. He looked at the pile of unappetising meat through the cracks of his fingers, shaking his head as he did.

“What do we even do with this? Eat it? We would need to wash it and roast it for a while first,” he thought, squatting next to the pile, poking it as if it was going to reanimate any second now.

“Well, we have to wash it regardless. I think finding a place to sleep is more important than food for now. Maybe we could package it and sell it to some inn? I heard people eat spiritual food there.”

He awkwardly picked up the meat with both of his hands. The boy seemed squeamish about this despite killing animals and butchering them all day. Maybe it was the layer of saliva that made it look extra yucky. Jun had to admit, carrying a pile of meat automatically made one look like a creep. You couldn’t trust a guy with meat in his hands.

Finding water was nearly impossible. No one sold it here due to the presence of minor cultivation techniques, which could create it at will. Jun just bet they would’ve learned some of these had they made it to the hall properly. They spent half the evening begging for a cultivator to cast such a technique, and then spent the other half scavenging around until they found a torn but decent enough woven bamboo basket. Chen Hao had the artistic idea of wrapping the meat with leaves. As an actual artist, the presentation made Jun want to cry. At least it distracted from the fact that these weren’t exactly the best cuts.

“You know, I didn’t really think this through. Why would anyone want mystery meat from a kid and a dog?” Jun admitted as they walked in the direction of Half-Moon Inn. They specifically asked around for something a bit shadier and lower-end.

“I just wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t incompetent after failing so miserably last time. Stealing from her felt good. But, really, who is going to want this?” He sighed. Why weren’t they working for a diamond shop instead?

Half-Moon Inn was one of the few buildings properly painted and decorated—warm green and brown tones, splashes of silver that created spirals on the stone walls. A hanging sign of a yellow moon obscured by shadows greeted them. On the door was engraved a small symbol of a dancing woman.

The two stared at the building until they were pushed to the side by a burly-looking cultivator entering the inn. They followed suit. Immediately, warm, stagnant air hit them in the face—the smell of spices, alcohol, and sweat was almost too much for Jun to bear. The loud clinking of glasses and drunken chatter that overwhelmed any individual conversation didn’t exactly help Jun’s overwhelmed mind.

The place was nice, if a bit old. Half the chairs were glued together after having been broken, and the round, wooden tables had many scratches and stains on them from years and years of usage. There were no scantily-clad barmaids here—in fact, there was only one server, and it was a boy that looked to be around fourteen or fifteen. He was dressed in a brown, easy-to-move-around robe and undershirt. Despite his age, he moved with incredible agility and speed, unnoticeably slipping from one table to another.

They must have been standing there for some time, because soon after, the same server came up to them, flashing a disarming smile.

“Are you here for a room, or will you order something to drink?” He asked, speaking way too quickly for Jun to properly process the words.

The boy before them had short, brown hair and a scar running down his face, all the way from his eye to his mouth. It was grizzly, and Jun could practically imagine how a dagger would make such a mark. Despite that, the boy confidently held himself, his back straight and his eyes steady.

“Yes. We would like to sell some meat,” Chen Hao said in response, pushing forward the bamboo basket. He adopted the same customer service voice that millions on Earth were familiar with.

“Excuse me? What the fuck?”

When the young man said that, several battle-scarred men turned in their direction, narrowing their eyes at the duo. The air ran cold with tension.

‘Uh oh.’