Liu Er pressed himself against the cold wall, moving cautiously. Thanks to his innate talent, "That Damn Lack of Presence," his footsteps were nearly soundless, and his breathing so faint it was almost undetectable.
The corridor outside the cells was dark and oppressive, the air thick with mold, sweat, and a faintly sweet, intoxicating fragrance—the very same scent he had noticed earlier in the great hall.
On either side stretched rows of nearly identical cells. Behind the iron bars, shadowy figures of men lingered—each sharing the same fate as him.
Yet, in some parts of the corridor, solitary cells stood out. These had thicker, narrower bars, as though the prisoners there required stricter containment. But strangely enough, those prisoners lived in better conditions—stone beds, wooden tables, and even a water basin filled with fresh water.
The men inside, though still imprisoned, appeared cleaner and better fed. Most of them sat cross-legged, eyes closed, as if cultivating some kind of technique.
The difference in treatment was clear.
But no matter the conditions, Liu Er quickly realized the truth: every man he had seen so far was locked away. Not a single one enjoyed freedom of movement.
Only that "Miss Su" and her masked maids could walk the corridors at will.
Fortunately, Liu Er had not encountered them yet. Avoiding prying eyes, he carefully slipped past, eventually finding himself in a shorter yet wider passage.
Unlike the prison corridor, the rooms here had wooden doors instead of iron bars.
Liu Er crept forward cautiously—until a faint murmur of voices made him freeze.
"Why hasn't the new one arrived yet? Miss Su has already asked once. She's still waiting for her."
Inside a half-open door, a few maids wearing white masks chatted with one another.
"Who knows? Maybe some senior brother intercepted her midway. Who can tell how long it'll be delayed…"
"It's not the first time. Those guys are like starving wolves, pouncing at the slightest whiff of fresh prey."
"They can trick ignorant junior sisters, sure. But once they're brought here, they won't be fooled so easily."
"In any case, if she isn't coming, no point saving it for her. Let's divide it up first—better than wasting it."
A dragging sound followed, something heavy scraping across the floor.
Heart pounding, Liu Er edged closer, peering through the narrow gap of the half-closed door.
The room looked like a storage chamber, cluttered with dusty tools and crates. The lighting was dim, shadows pooling in every corner.
There, in the gloomy light, several maids huddled together. One bent down, pulling a limp body from the ground.
When Liu Er saw the corpse clearly, icy dread surged from his feet to his skull.
It was Liu Yi—the avatar who had been reported and killed with a single palm strike just yesterday!
Why was his body here?
And what were they planning to do with it?
A wave of nausea rose in Liu Er's chest, but he forced himself to keep watching.
"This corpse still carries a trace of yang energy. Hurry and drain it—don't waste it," the maid in the black mask said coldly.
"Yes, Senior Sister," the others replied in unison, pressing their hands upon the corpse.
The black-masked maid stepped forward without hesitation, placing her palm just below the corpse's dantian.
Her hand glowed faintly with black light, like a small vortex pulling at something unseen.
"What a pity. Only Miss Su can absorb the yang energy of the living. We're bound by restrictions—we can only feed on the scraps left in corpses."
"That's the way it is. Our status is low. Being allowed even leftovers is already fortunate."
"No idea how this one managed to sneak out, but it works out well for us."
"If another fool shows up, Senior Sister might be able to break through to the Qi Refinement stage."
The black-masked maid gave a slight nod. "Mm."
Listening in, Liu Er suddenly understood.
Only Su Mei'er herself could devour the vitality of the living. These maids were bound by restrictions—they could only draw from the remnants in corpses.
That was why they killed so decisively—because they needed dead bodies!
To them, corpses weren't waste. They were resources.
Just then, the black-masked maid's eyes snapped upward, sharp as lightning, locking onto Liu Er's hiding place.
"Who's there?!"
A chill shot through him. He had been discovered.
His talent could mask his presence to some degree, but against cultivators like these, it was far too weak.
He turned, desperate to flee—
"Eavesdropping on us? Seeking death!"
"Pffft!"
A streak of black light pierced his chest like lightning.
The force hurled him against the cold stone wall. Pain and icy numbness swallowed him whole, leaving him paralyzed.
"Another rat," the maid sneered, crouching down. She studied his stubbled, ordinary face and frowned slightly. Confusion flickered in her eyes. "Strange… how did someone this ugly manage to get in here…?"
But Liu Er no longer heard the rest. His consciousness faded into darkness.
Meanwhile, in another cell, Liu Ming—sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, feigning cultivation—suddenly gasped awake. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Though it was only an avatar's death, the shared consciousness and sensations made it feel no different from dying himself.
And this death had been slower, more painful than the last.
[Your avatar, Liu Er, has died.][Liu Er successfully overheard the maids' conversation, learning part of the Demonic Sect's secret. His death was not in vain.][New Talent Acquired – "Eavesdropping Rat": Your hearing becomes sharper, making it easier to overhear hidden secrets.]
The system's voice arrived belatedly. Liu Ming exhaled deeply, finally regaining composure.
"So… those maids need corpses!" A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes. "She must have noticed me long before—but let me overhear on purpose, just so she had an excuse to kill me!"
"Just like with the living—they can't touch us without cause. There must be restrictions binding them too."
"Otherwise, they could just slaughter us all at once and use the bodies as cultivation resources."
"Liu Yi died for trying to escape. Liu Er died for overhearing a secret. Both broke the 'taboos' here, and were killed without mercy."
"That means… as long as I don't cross certain lines, I should still be safe."