"Wha, what, brother, what are you saying?!"
Jun Haru was stuttering because of the shock.
"Listen, for now, just do as this man tells you to. Also, make sure to avoid using any cultivation methods or your full strength. I will come pick you up soon enough." After whispering this into Jun Haru's ears, he looks at the man and says,
"Sir, here."
Yang Zhai took ten essence stones and left.
"Brother…"
Jun Haru wanted to follow Yang Zhai but stopped.
"Hey, kid, come here and help me."
The stall owner grabbed Jun Haru by the arm and put him to work. He didn't resist and did as Yang Zhai told him to.
"Uh… Yang Zhai…" Mah Qi didn't wait for Jun Haru and followed Yang Zhai. She did glance back at Jun Haru but didn't say much.
"What is it?"
"...nothing…"
However, Mah Qi stopped and didn't say anything. Yang Zhai didn't ask her again.
After a little while, Ji Hye came with his man to Yang Zhai.
"Here, ten essence stones as you asked."
Yang Zhai handed the essence stone to Ji Hye. Ji Hye looks at the man near him, clearly shocked by what Yang Zhai did.
"Where's the boy who was with you?" Ji Hye asked.
"I sold him, so he won't be working with us anymore." Yang Zhai replies.
Ji Hye: "..."
Just what is with this boy? How can he say this so shamelessly?!: Ji Hye thinks, his eyes twitching.
"Sigh, whatever, you fulfilled the condition. I will take you to meet our leader in a week as promised. You can join us."
Ji Hye took ten essence stones and left. It didn't even take him a few minutes to earn ten essence stones.
…..
Meanwhile,
"You two will be helping us catch rank 1 and rank 2 beasts. After that, we will sell them to the Luo sect. We will also sell its meat in this village and the Luo sect. If you two do well, you will be rewarded with two to five essence stones every week."
Ma Nik looks at Si and Li before saying. He is walking with them in the forest. Even though they didn't want to follow Ma Nik into the forest, they had no choice as Yang Zhai had instructed them.
"Si… will we be fine?" Li Na asks Si Yu.
"Don't worry, I am sure Brother Fen had something in mind when he told us to follow them." Si Yu replies, comforting Li Na, even though he himself is anxious.
They were discussing in a low voice, barely hearable.
…..
After a week,
"Are you really serious?!" Mah Qi said with a surprised voice.
"Yeah, it's only for two hours or so. After that, I will come pick you up. You just need to grit your teeth through it." Yang Zhai replied.
"But…but…" Mah Qi said anxiously.
"Look, we still haven't traveled far from the vicinity of our clan. You might think it's easy, but no. Soon enough, we will have to face situations far worse than the Water Hounds situation. We need to be prepared."
Mah Qi went quiet. She hesitated to say anything.
"You are a cultivator, so you need to face difficulties, let's go." After saying this, Yang Zhai went to a stall.
This stall was owned by a middle-aged woman.
Even though Mah Qi was hesitant and unwilling, she still followed Yang Zhai.
I have to deal with them differently. I can't blindly go ahead and treat them equally. Nobody is born equal; everyone faces different situations differently, said Yang Zhai.
Mah Qi was not like Jun Haru. The way she was brought up was different. Yang Zhai could sell Jun Haru just like that, but not Mah Qi. She would have definitely rebelled.
"Ma'am, this girl here is very strong and can help you with a lot of things."
Yang Zhai began his bargaining.
After an hour,
"My lady, here is the one I told you about." Ji Hye said to a woman standing in front of him.
This woman had long black hair with fair skin. The color of her eyes was red and was wearing quite beautiful clothes. She was very beautiful and anyone would be willing to help her just from her looks.
"But, weren't there three? Why is there only one?" The lady said.
"Yes, but they sold one to obtain ten essence stones. It's because of this that they could accumulate ten essence stones in a week. As for the second one, this boy did the same with her." Ji Hye said.
"Oh, he sold his friends! Interesting, anyway, put them to work now." The lady was not very interested in mortals.
The reason she met them was because of the storage bracelet. However, Yang Zhai had some other plans,
"My lady… if you don't mind, can I give you something?" Yang Zhai said with utmost respect.
"What is it?"
"Here, I wanted to give you this as a respect for cultivators."
Yang Zhai took out a pouch with essence stones. In this pouch were ten essence stones Yang Zhai had just taken.
"Oh, you know your cue."
The lady didn't hesitate and took the ten essence stones. She was wearing the bracelet that Yang Zhai gave them.
She activates the bracelet and stores the essence stones. However, when she does that, a smile appears on Yang Zhai's face,
"As I expected¹."
Yang Zhai mutters.
"Did you say something?" The lady inquired.
"Ugh…"
However, in the next moment, a deep cut suddenly appears on her stomach. Blood begins to gush out, but, for some reason, it doesn't fall to the ground and instead returns back into her body.
"What… did you…do…" the lady mutters.
"You, what did you do?!!"
When the other cultivators see this, they charge at Yang Zhai.
Yang Zhai didn't attack himself and activated the Corpse Collector. A rank corpse comes out and waits for Yang Zhai's orders.
"Get rid of them."
Yang Zhai says with indifference.
"What, what is that?!"
A rank 1 cultivator asks with a fear.
The corpse doesn't wait and attacks the closest cultivator close to it, killing him.
"What's happening to me?!!"
The lady asks. She is unable to move her body and can only speak. However, soon enough, she even became unable to speak.
Yang Zhai closes in on her. The woman's eyes are opened wide, with a tint of fear in them when she sees Yang Zhai closing in on her.
Nonetheless, she is unable to do anything.
Yang Zhai grabs her arms and pulls out the storage bracelet and stores it in his pocket. He looks at the woman and whispers,
"Do you want to live?" He asks slowly.
However, this instilled even more fear in her.
"I will ask you again. Tell me, do you want to live?"
She is awoken from her fear and quickly blinks her eyes.
"Good, now listen to me carefully."
After a few minutes,
"Did you find them?"
Yang Zhai asks Vara and Reen.
"Yes, Master, they are in the forest just west of the village exit."
…..
After half an hour,
"How many more do we need to catch today?" Si Yu asks Ma Nik.
"Five to ten should do for now" Ma Nik answers.
They are traveling towards a certain location to catch rank 1 and rank 2 beasts. For the past week, both Si Yu and Li Na have been doing this.
"Si, how long do we need to work with them? I really want to beat this idiot for punching Brother Fen." Li Na slowly mutters to Si Yu.
"I want to beat him as well. But we need to do as Brother Fen told us to. I am sure he has something in mind for doing what he is doing. Let's just wait and see." Si Yu clenches his fists and replies.
It could be seen that he was holding back his frustration.
/!*****!*****!/
Did anyone catch what Yang Zhai did in these chapters, and what did he expect¹? Why did he do it? I think the clues are already there. Also, a huge amount of explanation for his actions was omitted here. It's just the pure story there, enjoy.