"Child, come closer."
The first level of the sect's prison was a depressing place, filled with emaciated and tortured victims. Unlike every other level, the prisoners here weren't actually dangerous. They were simply people who had offended the sect in some way and had been sentenced to endure as much suffering as possible for as long as possible before they died.
"Guard duty" here was mostly meant to keep custodians and rowdy outer disciples in line under the threat of being placed in these cells one day rather than actually guarding them.
The prisoner speaking was a new one.
A skeletal metal statue with a shattered helmet and a carved metal face beneath it. Its entire lower body had been removed, along with both of its arms, leaving only half a chest and a head intact.
He wasn't supposed to be able to speak. All of the prisoners on the first floor were cripples. Their tongues had been removed, their arms and legs shattered, and their ki-refining organs stolen. But I guessed that, since this thing was made of iron, they hadn't been able to silence it.
"Kid Come here."
The metal man spoke again, louder this time.
There were no rules against talking to prisoners, but I really didn't want to acknowledge that I could hear the thing. I decided to wait until my shift was over and then tell Outer Disciple Tel that it had spoken to me.
"If you won't come closer, just listen. I'm thirsty. The guards don't feed me because I look like this, but my body still needs to drink. I grow parched. Please bring me some water tomorrow."
"..."
I thought for a while before responding. There weren't any rules against feeding the prisoners. Actually, there weren't any rules regarding the prisoners on the first floor at all. The sect had simply left them there to die in agony. I'd never heard of anyone being punished for helping one of them, but I'd also never heard of anyone granting a prisoner's request before. I couldn't imagine the sect would approve.
"I don't know if I can," I finally replied before quickly adding, "but I'll ask. If I'm allowed to bring some, I'll share it with you."
"Thanks."
The statue was silent after that.
The way out of the prison was a long hallway sloping upward with several unlocked wooden doors blocking the way, mostly just to keep the smell from spreading to the rest of the sect.
But the smell still clung to my robes as I left the prison.
Outer Disciple Tel was waiting beside the gate with his usual bored expression.
"Kon, turn it over."
I pulled a token from my pocket and handed it to him. When custodians did guard duty, we received a small reward in the form of tokens, just enough to buy a bowl of rice or a flavored drink at the mess hall. But if an outer disciple was assigned guard duty, it was meant to be a punishment, and they received nothing.
Outer Disciple Tel had taken in a group of servants and let us serve out his punishments for him. Then he gave us the meager tokens we earned. In exchange, he promised to help us during the selection test at the end of the year.
"Good work today. Head down to the mess hall. I've got no other chores for you."
Tel gave me a pat on the back and started to walk away.
I hurried after him.
"Wait, Outer Disciple Tel."
He didn't even bother looking back.
"One of the prisoners asked me for water earlier. He said he hasn't been getting any. Is it okay if I bring him some?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Really? I won't get in trouble for it?"
"I already said go ahead. Are you really going to make me answer you again?"
"R-right. Sorry, sir. Thanks! I'll go eat now!"
I turned and ran toward the mess hall.
I arrived at the mess hall pretty late, so the only other people there were other custodians whose duties had spilled over into the evening.
"Hey over here!"
It was Tang, another one of the custodians.
I was pretty young for a custodian. Normally, by the time you decided to join a sect to become a cultivator, you were either an urchin on the verge of adulthood or an unmarried grown man. But because my family was supportive, I was allowed to come here at the young age of twelve, and with Tel's help I'd start cultivating by the age of thirteen.
But Tang was in his prime, the tallest adult I'd ever seen. Apparently, he had a family before coming to the sect, but they were all wiped out by a spirit beast attack. He talked about them often.
I took a seat next to him.
"Sorry if I smell guard duty."
"Bah, don't worry about it. Your stench will add some flavor to this bland food anyway."
I chuckled "I don't think that's how it works."
"Of course it is. That's why meals taste best after a hard day of work. The smell of your sweat seeps into the food, infusing it with more flavor."
Was that actually how it worked?
By the time I started pondering whether he was joking or not, he'd already started digging in, and I followed. The rice did taste better than usual, and the beans did seem saltier. But that could just be the exhaustion talking.
"Oh yeah, Tang! Guess what? In the prison today, one of them actually managed to speak!"
I took another swig of water, washing down the rice and beans in my mouth.
"A metal statue with just half of its torso and a head asked me to bring it some water. The guy was so freaky."
"You mean that thing wasn't a decoration? I saw it get taken in, but I didn't think much of it. It didn't say anything during my time guarding the first floor either."
"Yeah, it's a real guy. Or maybe a real spirit beast? I don't know what it actually is, but it can talk. It seemed weak, though. It could barely manage more than a few sentences."
"So, are you going to bring it water?"
"Yeah. Outer Disciple Tel said it was okay, and it's not like we're forbidden from messing with the prisoners, so why not?"
Tang looked at me like he was about to say something.
"...I-"
He stopped himself and swallowed the rest of his food.
"Time for me to catch up on sleep."
He placed a hand on my head.
"If you're going to bring some water, hide it, just in case."
He stopped for a second, then added,
"Don't think too deeply about it. Just do it if you decide to bring some."
Before I could ask what he meant, he turned and headed out.
I finished my meal shortly after, and with nothing else to do, I headed back to the dorms and went to sleep.