I slipped in while they were still speaking, my timing precise enough that neither of them sensed anything amiss. The robe's concealment effect wrapped around me like a second skin, swallowing my presence completely.
I didn't rush.
Rushing was how mistakes were made.
The two bandits walked ahead, their footsteps echoing faintly as they followed a narrow corridor carved into the stone. The walls were damp, the air thick with the scent of mold, sweat, and something darker, old blood that had seeped too deeply to ever truly wash away.
They turned left. Then right. Then descended a flight of stone steps spiralling downward.
I followed silently.
At the bottom, they passed through an unremarkable door embedded into the wall. The moment it opened, noise rushed out like a living thing.
Shouting. Laughter. Cursing. The clatter of spirit stones and dice.
An underground gambling den.
The space beyond was vast far larger than the surface building had suggested. Lanterns lined the ceiling, their dim light revealing rows of gambling tables packed with people. Cultivators and mortals alike crowded together, eyes bloodshot, faces twisted with desperation or greed.
Some laughed wildly after a small win.
Most stared hollow-eyed as their last spirit stones were dragged away.
They thought luck would save them.
Instead, they were being bled dry coin by coin, drop by drop.
The two bandits didn't spare the scene a glance. Clearly, this place was familiar territory. They moved straight past the gambling floor toward a staircase leading upward to a private level.
I stayed close, blending into the shifting shadows cast by the lanterns.
At the corner of the upper floor stood a secluded cabin. One of the men knocked lightly.
A lazy, indulgent voice answered from within.
"Come in."
I recognized that voice instantly.
The door opened.
Inside, the bandit leader lounged in a wide chair, a wine cup dangling from his fingers. A scantily clad woman sat sideways on his lap, giggling softly as she poured him another drink. His eyes were half-lidded, expression arrogant, relaxed the look of a man who believed himself untouchable.
He frowned the moment he saw them.
"What's all this noise about?" he snapped. "Haven't I told you not to disturb me over trivial matters?"
One of the men short, thin, with a scar running from his eye to his cheek Li Gou bowed hastily.
"Leader, forgive us. It's about a man from Jin Shang Hall Lin Qiang. He owes us a large sum from gambling debts."
The leader snorted. "Another useless trash. Why should I care?"
Li Gou swallowed and hurried on.
"I heard from him that a merchant group will be passing through the city soon. They're transporting rare goods to a neighbouring city."
The leader's eyes sharpened slightly.
He looked at the corner of the room, there another man sat behind a desk piled with account books and spirit stones. He was older, thinner, his eyes calculating as he continued tallying numbers even while listening.
"I've already confirmed it," the man at the desk said calmly. "I have just now sent the message to the Overseer. He replied and ordered us to take action."
The leader's mood darkened instantly.
"Tch."
He slammed his cup down.
"Of course he did. Always issuing orders without lifting a finger himself."
The accountant continued coolly, unfazed.
"He also instructed us to prepare this month's tribute spirit stones and goods. He'll be sending someone to collect them soon."
The leader's patience snapped.
He struck the table with his palm.
The solid wooden surface exploded into fragments.
"Who does he think he is?" the leader roared. "Taking everything we've bled for with a single message!"
The woman on his lap shrieked and scrambled away.
The accountant waved the two messengers toward the door.
"You may leave."
They didn't hesitate.
Once the door closed, the accountant spoke again, lowering his voice.
"Leader, calm yourself. We anticipated this. You're already at the peak of Qi Refining one step from Foundation Establishment. Until you break through, we must endure."
The leader clenched his fists but didn't interrupt.
"He's a Foundation Establishment cultivator," the accountant continued. "And he's a disciple of the Sun Moon Spirit Sect. For now, we have to bow our heads."
Then he leaned closer, voice dropping to a whisper.
"There's more. We know that Overseer… he's cultivating a forbidden art. One that consumes the blood of young, virgin girls."
The leader's breathing hitched.
"Once you break through," the accountant said softly, "we can expose him. Kill him. Reveal everything to the sect. Then they won't punish us, instead they'll reward us."
A dangerous light filled the leader's eyes.
"After that," the accountant continued, "you can request sect discipleship. With your strength and merits, they won't refuse. Our territory will expand if you join the sect. Our organisation power will also multiply."
Hearing that the leader laughed, lost in his imagined future.
"Good," he said. "Very good."
Then he said.
"Prepare the spirit stones and goods for him. And where will the merchant caravan pass?"
"Northwest mountain passage, At evening mostly or night if they were late" the accountant replied. "The Overseer said there may be a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator escorting them."
He nodded.
"Hmph. No problem."
The leader suddenly paused, as if recalling something important.
"Hm," he said, tapping his fingers against the armrest. "The spirit stones prepared for the auction are they all gathered?"
The accountant straightened immediately."Yes, Leader. A total of twenty-five thousand spirit stones."
He hesitated for a moment, then added cautiously, "Under normal circumstances, they would sell for twelve to fifteen thousand at most. But this year is different."
"Oh?" The leader raised an eyebrow.
"The Foundation Pill auction," the accountant continued. "The major families in the city are practically at each other's throats. Several old patriarchs are at the end of their lifespan. Desperation makes people reckless they will push the price far higher than usual and I suspect there will be bloodbath after the auction."
He lowered his voice and ventured, "Leader… why don't you ask the Overseer directly for a pill?"
The atmosphere instantly cooled.
The leader scoffed, his expression turning ugly."Ask him?" He laughed coldly. "Do you think that demon would ever give me one?"
He leaned forward, eyes sharp."The moment he senses ambition in me, he'll replace me without hesitation."
Then his voice dropped further, laced with contempt."There is a fool who sat in this position before me thought the same. He grew greedy, robbed farmers indiscriminately, slaughtered without restraint. He brought the sect attention upon us."
The leader's lips curled."So to avoid the investigation from the sect, the Overseer killed him personally. Cut off his head and presented it to the sect as proof of loyalty. Even then, that idiot thought himself as indispensable and the overseer would protect him."
The accountant's pupils shrank. He immediately bowed deeply."So that's why Leader ordered us to avoid unnecessary killings… Your foresight truly surpasses ours."
The leader laughed, clearly pleased by the praise."Enough flattery. Just do your job well."
He rose to his feet."I'm leaving. Watch this place carefully. Don't let anything go wrong and don't leak anything suspicious to the receiver."
"I will obey your instructions, Leader," the accountant replied respectfully.
Then the leader exited the cabin went down and gathered some people they went through a concealed passage at the front of the gambling den, one that likely connected back to the surface entrance.
I remained hidden.
The accountant stood there at the cabin entrance for a while, gazing down at the underground gambling hall below the flashing lights, the desperate faces, the endless cycle of loss and false hope. Then he turned back, locked the cabin door, and walked toward a section of the wall.
He reached into his spirit bag and took out a token. With a practiced motion, he pressed it against the concealed mechanism.
The wall shifted silently.
A hidden safe opened.
Inside were neatly arranged pill bottles, several spirit bags, and boxes of medicinal herbs.
The accountant chuckled softly, a low, self-satisfied sound.
"That idiot…" he muttered. "He really thinks he's in charge."
His grin widened as he continued rummaging through the contents."If only he knew I'm the Overseer's real agent."
His laughter grew bolder."I didn't report anything yet because I was waiting. Waiting for the Overseer to kill him."
He lifted a spirit bag, eyes gleaming with greed."Five years. Five whole years he's been saving for that Foundation Pill. Once he's dead, all of this will be mine."
"Hahaha..."
The laughter stopped abruptly.
A thin red line appeared across his neck.
For a heartbeat, he seemed confused.
Then his head slid from his shoulders.
It hit the ground with a dull thud.
I dispelled the concealment effect.
Silence reclaimed the room.
I stepped forward calmly and picked up the spirit bag from the dead accountant waist. Inside were Overseer token, the safe's control token, several pill bottles, hundreds of spirit stones...
As I kept checking the contents, a familiar chime echoed in my mind.
[Congratulations!][You have harvested a mid-level cultivator.][Random Reward acquired: Tier-1 Talisman Legacy.]
I froze.
"…Harvested?"
For a moment, I simply stood there, stunned.
Then memory surfacedFarm and harvest plants, animals…
"I had thought those dots as a typo."
I let out a slow breath.
"So living beings count as well," I murmured. "Even humans."
I glanced at the corpse on the floor.
"…System," I said quietly, shaking my head, "did you really think I was so bloodthirsty that you didn't bother explaining this earlier?"
There was no reply.
Only silence.
My gaze fell back to the dead body.
I went through his spirit bag briefly again.
"Five tier-1 cleansing talismans, Three tier-1 Earth escaping talismans, Seven tier-1 sword talismans, One tier-2 sword talisman, talisman-making tools and books along with five unused talisman papers."
"So you were a talisman master, huh…"
I straightened and looked at the safe.
"Now the real harvest had truly begun."