The amount had surpassed what he was expecting. Perhaps, the castle was feeling generous and had rewarded him for the killing of Laluri as well. It didn't matter. A reward could never be too much.

Juwaira who stood by his side was baffled as to why he was grinning. "Perhaps Will of San may be wary of returning, but that wouldn't change the fact that your castle is wide open now. And the culprit is still out there. Don't you think we ought to give him a chase?"

Abdin glanced at her. Her words were laced with worry, perhaps because her fate was involved or because the castle had begun to grow on her.

"Take care of the entrance for me," Abdin said. He had already gotten what he wanted and this was an ok time to test the princess' capabilities. "Also, no need to go after her."

"Her? So she is a woman? How did you know?"

Abdin shrugged. "I don't know. But women nowadays like to disguise themselves as men."

Juwaira glared at him. He was talking about her, and she would get back at him.

Abdin didn't give her the chance to argue and climbed down the stairs. A frowning Juwaira followed behind but didn't speak. Abdin continued into the castle while she stopped by the entrance and joined Denyanu and the others.

Deep within the castle, Abdin entered one of the empty houses. He found a room and sat down, circulating his pol for some time before he retrieved Tairen. The young man was still unconscious.

Abdin poured a green liquid on his chest, waking him up with a start.

The young master glared at Abdin. A mixture of confusion, anger, and hatred was etched in his eyes.

Abdin smiled at him. "I will call you young master. You look like one."

Tairen didn't reply but kept staring at him.

"Better stop stressing yourself, young master. You can't recover your ability to use techniques for a while. I know you have questions, but I have no intention of answering any of them. You are, at the moment, a prisoner of war with your life on the balance. I can do away with you any time I want to."

The young man was still quiet, but his eyes were beginning to show signs of fear despite his fruitless attempt to hide it.

"There are three villages up in the west that are under your father's control, or rather your uncle's control. Whoever is in charge, I don't care. I want you to evacuate all three villages in the next ten days. I don't care where you take them, but I don't want to see even a cat there."

Whenever his castles expanded, they took up space. Any structure or forest that stood in its way would just be consumed. The people would be annihilated. It wasn't just the people, all lives standing in the way would be mercilessly eradicated.

The people of these villages would all perish if they kept staying until the castle expanded. There were innocent men, pregnant women, and young children that Abdin wouldn't want to kill. Moreover, the villagers never offended him.

The men of Duna had taken up arms against him as such he had no qualms about burying them underground. But the other villages were innocent. He simply couldn't bring himself to kill thousands of lives for his gain.

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Tairen frowned in confusion. He still didn't want to open his mouth but it was obvious he was listening.

"You shan't do it for free," Abdin said. "Though you can't summon any skill, you can still absorb spirit ki. So I, Commander and King of the castle, permit you to use the ki in the castle and enhance your cultivation for three days. This is not the whole reward. I will give you more if you agree to my request. If I'm satisfied, I'll end up allowing you to come here and meditate once in a while."

Abdin narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "You do have return scrolls, don't you? I'll warn you not to use any such scrolls here. Trust me, you wouldn't want to be teleported somewhere dark and be trapped in my castle forever."

Well, that should be all. Even if the young master didn't want to speak, he could still listen. Abdin would consider his mission of basic human communication accomplished. And if he didn't have an answer in three days, the young master would no longer be a living young master.

"Aren't you afraid I might come around and kill you while you sleep?" Tairen finally asked. He pushed himself up and sat facing Abdin. "It baffles me... I could swear having seen your face somewhere before."

Abdin arched an eyebrow. "Ha? So you remember me?"

Tairen shook his head. "I don't but it's clear you do. We may probably understand each other better if you explain."

Abdin scratched his short beard and explained in earnest, "We met once a few years back. But it's your job to remember the place, I can't tell you. And... about you cutting my throat while I sleep..." He said changing the subject. "Why don't you take a pol oath with your core that you will not harm me or anyone else in this castle or even the castle itself?"

Abdin was prepared for this very moment. The young master was surprised to see his opponent bring out a handwritten scroll and hand it over to him.

"Upon this scroll is an oath I want you to take before I can release you. Even a young master should know what happens when people break their oaths."

"I'm not young master!"

Abdin frowned. "You are not?"

Tairen knew it when someone was playing with him. He gritted his teeth and calmed down. "You can call me Tairen. I guess you have already known that."

Abdin was beginning to enjoy the conversation, but he didn't have the luxury of time. He gave the young master the scroll and waited until he finished reading it before he stood up.

"I am giving you three days to think it over. I won't permit you to send any messages outside the castle, even though that would not be so easy on you in your state."

Abdin had learned his lesson. Killing the enemy was sweet, but not as euphoric as luring them to your side. Instead of destroying Will of San, which admittedly would be very difficult and time-consuming, Abdin intended to use Tairen and force the sect to bow down to his wishes. They were neighbors after all. One day, the castle might end up expanding in their direction.

He walked toward the exit but then turned around. He removed a book from his bag and flung it to Tairen. With the secret technique explained in the book and the spirit ki in the castle, Tairen could, in twenty days, absorb enough ki to transition and form a core. From then on, the young master couldn't cultivate without the castle. He would keep coming back even if Abdin would beat him up and chase him out.

"You are so full of yourself," commented Tairen, amazed at Abdin's arrogance.

Abdin only chuckled at that before turning to leave. He didn't need Tairen's approval, but even if he did, he knew he wouldn't be getting it right now.

But the job he assigned to the young master didn't need any approval. It was an alliance they would forge which would benefit both of them. From what he knew about Tairen and his inability to break through and form a core, the young master wouldn't turn him down.

Abdin went deeper into the castle. He spent an hour walking in silence before he finally sat on the doorstep of a house. The house was locked and its paint was different from any other house in the neighborhood.

Unlike the other houses which were painted either white or green, this one was painted dark yellow. And the door was pitch black.

Abdin stared intently at the door for five long minutes before he sighed and pushed it open.

The door opened all the way through so that everything inside became visible from the outside. There was surprisingly nothing in the house but pitch-black mist. The mist swirled violently and kept forming shapes. Surprisingly, it didn't rush out of the house despite the door being wide open.

Abdin sighed again and stepped inside.