Ash slumps the bag of gold over his shoulder and heads with Baro down trash alley, a head pops out from a nearby pile. It's Loosetooth sniffing the air.

"I know that smell." He said, jumping out the pile. He limps up to Ash.

"You're okay!," Loosetooth cheered getting close but not engaging contact. It was strange, Ash felt like he was getting a concerned and relieved hug, but this man isn't touching him. He must be cautious of making Ash smell dirty, though it's thoughtful, the man underestimates the potency of the new qi infused Kireina Kami mixture. Ash gives the man a hug. He's a good person.

"You and the other guy risked your lives to help us, I won't forget it."

Baro's eyes widen, he gives the man a bow.

"You have done a noble service for me, stranger, I won't forget it," Baro said.

These two kid's are way too formal, they'd even give adults a run for their money. Loosetooth rubs his neck.

"Y'all too kind, iz juz' what you do when there's a kidnappin'. I reckon y'all escaped through your teeth, barely survivin in the belly of the beast. Y'all overcame yo deepest traumas, becoming more complete people and friends in the process."

"Yeah... something like that," they said.

That's not what happened at all. The only reason they're arriving this late is because they fell asleep in the hot spring. Ash didn't get any stronger from the scavenger encounter, in fact, pretty much nothing changed. His hands are still broken from his fight with Baro, and his qi control only improved because he used it. A part of him recognizes the opportunities for qi expression the scavenger's gave him, but he was literally planning to practice using qi anyways. Furthermore, those scavengers were chumps. Their qi use was amateur, self taught without any decent framework to start with, they were too full of openings. Clearing the scavengers out was nowhere as exhausting as fighting Baro for five minutes. Ash tried to make it seem grander by picking up that disgusting mixture, a reward for their troubles, but the truth is he was already planning on making his own vile mixtures.

Ash and Baro nod along awkwardly before continuing onto the Unofficially Official Sec City Underground Auction.

Ash picked up the poison because it was less psychologically taxing than making it himself. To the poison demon though, it's just another sick twisted offering. For Ash, it's one less sick mixture he has to concoct. However that psychological tax too is it's own opportunity to practice discipline. By armoring his mind against the taint and creating abhorrent mixtures anyways, Ash reaffirms to himself exactly what he's developing his toxi-grip to clean away. It's inevitable that his mind, body, and qi will come across the most vile manners of filth imaginable on the road to cleaning up all the garbage in the world. Sect Master Khan always said, a true trashman never succumbs to filth. It's because of this mental that those who pass the poison demon ritual with sound mind feel glory, while those who lose their mental in the process suffer humiliation. It's why the sect members who willfully pass tend to shame those who pass with unsound minds. It's all nonsense. There is glory in having willpower, yes, but it's not the end all be all. Sect Master Khan explained this hypocrisy. He said the goal end of the day is to clean trash, not be built different in the head. Those who succumb to the poison demon ritual, like Ash did, can still cultivate themselves into peak trash handlers when given the opportunity to improve each day in the presence of great teachers. Sect Master's wisdom knew no bounds, and neither did the jealousy of his enemies.

"Oh it's you again, you brought a friend?" the auction guard said. The man next to him nods as he opens the door and let's them in.

"Down the stairs, Xiaojie will find you."

Baro gazes quizzingly at Ash as the men lets him in. Is he planning to trade the poison they grabbed from the scavengers? It's worthless, what's the point? The rat blood-shit mix has medium grade effectiveness, to be fair that's effective at killing over ninety percent of the human population, including qi practitioners. However, it lacks the complexity needed to harm a qi expert, at most it'll give them indigestion. Furthermore the vile taint of the rat blood-shit makes it impossible to use discreetly. An obvious poison isn't that useful in stealth, and stealth happens to be one of the biggest appeals of poison. It's no coincidence that the Ninja Clan members regularly use a vast array of lethal toxins. The most frightening part is how once their poisons are used, there is no trace left to be studied. It's for that reason that any information regarding Ninja Clan recipes will be handsomely rewarded by Sec Kingdom Royalty. Unfortunately the Royal Family can't publicly announce they are looking for people with this information, because it tells the enemy to switch tactics, regardless they are willing to give tremendous piles of gold to whoever brings intel on the ninja clan. Compared to peak poisons like that, this disgusting rat blood-shit mix is a joke. Is it Ash's intent to buy more poisons? Baro stares emptily at the mask in his hand, before looking onto Ash.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Ash wonders if this is the moment where Baro finally backs down from a situation. At this point it's become a game for Ash. Where else can he take Baro without explaining himself. First his home in the middle of a forest, then the trash alley, now the underground auction. Ash still hasn't spoken a word about the poison demon ritual, he just told Baro to store some poison and the guy just went with it. He seems to be willing to get involved in anything, it's kind of off putting, yet also fascinating. He seems to have morals, but Ash has only spent one very tired day with the guy so he's not exactly sure how far it all goes. He's socially inept after all, he could be completely misjudging the type of character Baro is. If Baro finds out Ash wants to spend all his money on poisonous and hazardous ingredients, would he get mad?

"I'm here to buy drugs and poisons."

"What?" Baro said, grabbing Ash by the collar and pushing him against the wall.

Oh shit, he got mad fast.

"I knew it. What are you going to do with them?" Baro said. Ash falters. Baro was suspicious the whole time yet still chose to trust him. Ash should reveal his true plan now, but decides to first tease Baro a little more with the truth. It'll be a great prank in retrospect.

"I'm going to use them, silly," Ash said with a twisted smile. Now is the time to reveal the ancient ways of the Khal Sect, and his grand plan for cultivating the ultimate body which is capable of clearing out all the trash littering and harming the world. Hahaha, he got Baro so good. Maybe too good, the look on his face is that of utter betrayal. His hand is shaking as qi pulses sporadically. Dang dude, relax, it's just a prank. Ash should damage control.

Baro clasps Ash's mouth shut before Ash could get a word out. Baro used his good arm too, Ash has no hope of pulling it away with his broken set of hands. Baro's eyes cold and resolute.

"You have two choices. A good and a bad. You may leave with a handful of spirit stones and cultivate in peace. Or try to with any form of drug or poison, but know if you try, I'll be there to break every bone in your body. See you outside, friend."

There was a eerie hiss on that last word. Ash regrets testing Baro, and blames his own social ineptitude. There was absolutely no reason to set Baro off like that, Ash could have just soundly explained the toxi-grip theory, and the intent behind it. Better yet, he could have continued saying nothing and Baro would have just went with it. Instead, his only friend now thinks he's paving himself a dark path to walk on. It's reassuring to know that Baro is willing to break every bone in his body to prevent it from happening. That takes some serious resolve. It's a shame that's not going to stop Ash from buying all the ingredients he needs to make offerings and also prepare himself for the poison demon ritual. He's so close, he just needs to perform the three preliminary trials to see if he's worthy to continue. A simple matter of taking three poisons in succession. Once the trials are passed, the Khal Disciple knows they are ready to summon the poison demon, and give their offerings. The poison demon has a sweet tooth for vile improvised poisons, and it's breath becomes more potent because of it. Conveniently, the preliminary poisons make for pretty decent offerings. When the poison demon breathes it's toxins into the hand, that increased potency will result in a stronger toxi-grip. With Ash's qi control, he can also use it to awaken a stronger poison clear vision. For this reason, the rat blood-shit mix makes a solid offering to the poison demon.

For now though, letting the vile mix fester at home is the best call. Ash made sure to properly store it. Right now the main concern is collecting what's needed to create the three preliminary poisons. The ingredients for the Rancid Garbage Punch are still ripening at home, they should be done in a weeks time. The gasoline and plastic needed for the Dumpster Fire Cocktail shouldn't be too hard to buy, and the cigarette butts can just be picked off the streets. It'll look like harmless community service. The most difficult one however is the Landfill Surprise. A constantly evolving recipe, it's a little bit of every toxic looking thing in your household thrown together. It's poisons as potent as whatever is present in house. Unfortunately, Ash's home has no strange, mysterious, hazardous chemicals. He doesn't know if drain cleaners, paint thinners, bleach, or insecticide are normal household objects in this world. If they are, Landfill Surprise won't be too difficult to make. However, if these ingredients don't exist... Ash lacks the knowledge needed to recreate them all. He'd have to do the poison demon ritual blindly without knowing for sure if he's ready for the unknown.

If only he explained his plans to Baro. The situation really blew up in Ash's face hard. Once he sees Ash leaving with handfuls of household poisons, and gasoline, he'll no doubt try to do something about it. Baro is sneaky and mysterious, he probably left to immediately prepare himself for battle. Ash must do the same. Sister Xiaojie pokes her head through the red curtain.

"Hasn't anyone taught you that it's rude to keep a lady waiting," she said. Ash smiles beneath a plain black mask.

"I was just looking for the right one," he said.

"Well, it looks dashing. You buying or selling?" Sister Xiaojie said as she pulls back the curtain.

"Buying."