In more ways than one, Jun was a scammer. He was pretending to be the grandpa in the ring cliche, famous at the start of various novels. Imagine the boy’s surprise when he finds out his lucky encounter is a dog. Not even a proper talking dog at that, but the one that scratches his balls and sniffs to know if they smell bad.
Jun didn’t count much on Xu Peng. If he found some sort of manual, then great, but if not, he would still do his best to take care of the two. What kind of a person would he be otherwise? To make any real progress, he would have to search for an official sect disciple that fit all the criteria. That was much more difficult. Perhaps he needed to make his way back to the disciple’s quarters and closely observe the people there. Plus, he had to start making money somehow in case the manual cost spirit stones.
With thoughts of the future on his mind, he made his way back to the inn and back to Chen Hao, catching the end of a conversation.
“-eed to use pills.” He Ming finished, animatedly arguing with the boy before him.
“Alright, let’s assume that you’re right. Why wouldn’t you use that money to rent a place closer to the lake?”
“Because most people that live here are white-robed disciples. Or their parents were. The sect owns all the buildings above ground, and the Hall of Formations won’t let servants buy or rent them. Here, away from the lake, status doesn’t matter. The buildings are managed by the Lu family,” he explained.
“You shouldn’t live above ground anyways if you can’t be close to the lake. Most people with wealth or status live in the undersect.”
‘What the fuck? Why are we only hearing of this now? Are there dwarves and dark elves too? Secret cultivator mole people?’
Chen Hao was similarly in shock, sharing the same slack-jaw expression as Jun.
“Lu family? The undersect?”
He Ming sighed. “Damn new disciples,” he murmured before heading off and serving another table.
“Wow. Someone hand this guy a pen. He would be a best-selling author the way he edges his listeners. Tell me more!”
Half an hour passed before He Ming returned, seemingly on break. Then, Chen Hao repeated the question, insisting on an answer.
“Listen here. The ‘lower sect’ is primarily managed by three families. The Jin family is the muscle—they collect protection costs and take care of problems when things go wrong. You might have seen a black umbrella on some buildings. That means that no one goes in and steals things for them or causes any trouble.” He Ming pointedly stared at the pair.
“And if someone does steal from them?” Chen Hao nervously asked.
“You don’t want to find out.”
A moment of silence passed between the two.
“And the rest?”
“The Lu family takes care of gambling, thieving, and the like. Even assassination from time to time,” he looked wistfully towards the kitchen. “They own a lot of the buildings and businesses above and below ground, leasing them out to interested parties.”
“Very fragmented. Many subfamilies,” He Ming added as an afterthought, lost in his thoughts. There was something more to this whole story.
Chen Hao probed for more information, but the server remained quiet. After minutes of silence, Jun “accidentally” nudged him by ramming full force into his leg. His valiant attack did no damage to the enemy several stages above him.
“Right. Then there’s the Zhao family. Smuggling. Infiltration. Disguise. Those sorts of things. All the secret routes in and out of the sect are controlled by them, though only a select few people have that privilege.
“That’s all secondary to their main business—cultivation resources. You want to buy a pill? It’s sold by the Zhao family. They run the markets and the auctions, control the forges and the pill furnaces. They’re also the biggest family due to them taking in the talented Hall disciples whenever they get stripped of their status for one reason or another.”
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‘Bet you’re feeling stupid for not studying formations with Grandpa Jun here.’ Jun smugly thought. Then, he gnashed his teeth at the fact that they were missing formation lessons while sitting in this place.
Chen Hao quietly absorbed the facts. It was getting harder and harder to predict what he was thinking. Perhaps the boy wanted to join one of them and seek protection and shelter.
“You’re too weak for that. Too weak for the undersect as well. Learn some proper attack and defence techniques first.” He Ming spoke as if similarly reading his thoughts.
“Too weak. Too weak. That’s all you say,” Chen Hao grumbled, pretending to be offended at the casual words.
“Well, to get stronger, I need to make spirit stones. We’re practically friends now, aren’t we? Don’t you have any opportunities?” the boy said, flashing a smile at the server. His words brought a similar smile to Jun’s face.
‘His old personality’s starting to recover bit by bit. It might take a while to smile properly, and his innocence may be forever gone, but the boy still likes to make friends whenever he can.’
“Friends? Absolutely not.”
‘Or not.’
Chen Hao’s face sank, and such was his sadness that even He Ming started to look troubled for a second. Running his hand through his hair, he leaned against the table, taking a long look at the pair of Jun and Chen Hao. Then, he looked at the cup of water on the table.
“Fine. How about this? I’ve got a contract from the Lu family about an official disciple that can’t pay back his loans,” he leaned in closer, whispering so quietly only a cultivator might be able to hear him. Fortunately, Jun was both a dog and a cultivator, which sharpened his hearing enough that he might be able to hear colours soon.
“The job is simple—steal the magical artifact he keeps at home and leave a message. Normally, I’d spend a few days gathering information, casing the place, and all that, but I know you have your little water technique that you use to daydream.”
Chen Hao hesitantly nodded, though Jun could already see the gears of refusal spinning in his head.
“If you can map out the interior of his house and see if he has any traps, I’ll split it... let’s say thirty-seventy. Note down times when he leaves and arrives back at his house as well.” He Ming said, and the sheer intensity in his eyes made it hard to refuse.
“I can’t. Anyone with a higher cultivation base than me can sense the spying.”
“Tch. Just the house interior then. I’ll keep it thirty percent just because Liu Wei likes you.”
Chen Hao went silent at that, intently looking at the table, wracking his mind over the moral implications of this.
‘You’re not going to see any star signs in the old beer stains.’
Jun had thought the butcher had gotten rid of the boy’s good nature, but here he was, most likely thinking that ‘stealing is bad.’ Well, it was bad, but this was a dog-eat-dog world, where nothing was off the table. The dog shuddered at that.
‘What a horrifying saying.’
“If you’re not skilled enough, then say so. It doesn’t matter whether you join me or not, I’m going to do this job. It just comes down to whether you are dumb enough to refuse spirit stones when you’re complaining all day about being weak.”
He Ming flicked the boy’s forehead, which sent his entire body rocking back. A momentary sense of weightlessness, and then Chen Hao was on the floor, crashing with such a noise that it silences the inn for a second. Then, laughter filled the room. To the drunk people around him, it was the funniest thing in the world.
“I...” Chen Hao murmured, and then hesitated, staring at the ceiling above him.
“Whatever. I had thought you had finally grown a spine, but I was mistaken. You haven’t changed one bit since coming here.” He Ming looked down at him, disappointment written all over his face. He turned to leave.
“I’ll do it. It’s wrong, and I know it deep in my heart to be so. Still, I’ll do it.” Chen Hao quietly said, standing up. He was not the bastion of determination Jun hoped to be, and from the boy’s uncertain eyes and red cheeks, he saw a deep shame.
‘Who’s been teaching him these pretentious phrases? Deep in my heart, my ass! It must’ve been that damned bard and his songs.’
He Ming laughed for the same reason. “You’re not a hero about to save the world. It’s a lucrative job, but a minor one at that.”
“It’s different. I want to get stronger, but if I’m harming innocent people, then what’s the difference between me and her.”
The server groaned. He Ming then proceeded to mock the boy’s ideals for the next ten minutes.
“The weak have no right to offer mercy and kindness,” was the conclusion, and even though Chen Hao disagreed, there was not much moral high ground he could stand on when he had already accepted the job.
‘Maybe I am turning into a bad guy. Well, so be it. A random cultivator’s well-being isn’t as important as Chen Hao’s, and that’s a hill I would die on,’ Jun thought to himself.
The inn eventually closed down for the night, but the trio still had a task to do. The first plan of their heist would happen tonight. When all went quiet and the inn turned dark. they set out into the streets, sneaking their way over to someone else’s house.