The bitter scent of cheap lichen hit Adam as soon as he stepped into the underground tunnel. Torches crackled on the green patch of rot covering the walls, casting soft lights on five guards. Their copper hauberks clinked as they put down their pipes and gave up on their dice to raise their faces, eyes narrowed and hands on their blades’ hilts.
Adam noted the immaculate mail and sharper blades compared to those of the city guards, raising a brow.
Upon noticing their boss accompanying the blue-haired youth, the n’s grip loosened on their blades. They bowed slightly, their lips curling into smirks as the oldest stepped forward. His burly presence swallowed the narrow tunnel, his unkempt, graying hair framing a long scar running from his left brow down to his chin. He opened his lips, the left part of his face turning threatening.
"It’s good to see you, boss. Any longer and that slly moss would have grown on us." The guard chuckled.
"I’m more afraid you’ll drown in your booze or cough your lungs out with everything you smoke." Hu slapped the man’s shoulder with a playful wink. "Lucky you, the cultivator ca early. Don’t spend your nights with Xiao, though," he said, squeezing the air in front of his chest and laughing. "I’m thinking about giving her your pay directly since she gets almost all of it already."
The other guards burst into laughter, slapping the table or their legs. The captain laughed too.
"What can I say? She’s not popular without reason." A predatory smirk split his face as he turned toward Adam. "You should stop by the brothel to enjoy her services before leaving, esteed cultivator. I guarantee what she hides beneath those colourful dresses is worth the detour."
Adam rolled his eyes, his voice coming out dry. "I’ll keep that in mind... after, you know? We proceed with what matters."
Hu and the captain’s eyes narrowed into slits, all traces of amusents fading from their voices.
"I admire your discipline and agree." The captain nodded. "We’ve fed them a few hours ago, so they have enough strength to walk to the sect. Their odour, however..." He pinched his scrunched nose. "How about I get them cleaned and dressed before nightfall?"
Adam strolled forward as if the tunnel were his own, shaking his head. It was ti to obtain information. Subtly, so they wouldn’t lie.
"Let inspect your... rchandise’s quality." His voice hardened. "They’re not rely those you managed to buy for a miser, right?"
Hu rushed behind him, the torches casting shadows on his pale face. "Of course not. Let explain how seriously we take the sect’s commissions." He took a deep breath. "We bought many children, no matter their price. Once in our hands, we ran a few tests to filter those who didn’t et the sect’s requirents out of the batch."
The captain followed, nodding. "I don’t know why your elders need these impure bloodlines, but it’s not too hard to differentiate them."
"Oh?" Adam raised a brow, curious about the bloodlines. "What’s your thod?"
Hu’s lips twisted. "Nothing as intricate as what your esteed sect can do. To be honest, I’m ashad by how crude it is..."
"Crude it is. And noisy. I have to stay my hand or I would have gutted them all since they were already squealing like pigs." The captain clicked his tongue. "Well, we did just that. It’s better if you see."
Adam clenched his fists beneath his broad sleeves as Hu rolled his eyes.
"Don’t listen to this blunt fool, lest you believe we’re butchering them." He sighed. "I promise perfect goods. Therefore, I hired a retired field dic. I’d be lying if I told you the procedure is painless. But I guarantee I’m not wasting money on that man. No one ever died or suffered from aftereffects... at least not physical ones."
"Oh, old Zhao? He’s indeed a professional butcher." The captain laughed as a key ring clanged in his hand. He moved to a door barely noticeable between the walls’ shades, sliding the right key in. With a rusted click and a grating rattle, he pushed it open.
Stenches of sweat, ammonia, and faeces instantly overwheld Adam’s scrunching nose. He pinched it, almost coughing to purge the pungent odours threatening his senses to imagine their tastes.
Jaw clenched, he glared at the two n. "You call that quality? Even pigsties aren’t this revolting. No, this is worse than an infection!"
Before any of them could answer, a sob, weak, pitiful, ca from the darkness sprawling inside the room.
"N-Not again. Please... Anything... We’ll do anything you ask. So, please, don’t hurt us."
"You hear him? Infection or not, they’ll be as good as new after a proper scrub." The captain threw his torch inside, smirking.
The bright fla instantly dispelled the darkness, revealing terrorised children.
Adam only caught the dirty rags they wore and the soot darkening their faces before they covered their eyes, scread, and crawled back, the chains tying their emaciated legs rattling on stones. Trembling like leaves, they curled into balls, doing their best to escape the unfamiliar light that seared their eyes—to prepare for whatever those cruel n would do to them.
However, the captain was much faster. In the blink of an eye, he gripped a boy’s arm and pulled him before Adam. Then, he unsheathed the dagger strapped behind his belt and tore off the dirty tunic.
His ribs were visible, his stomach sunken, and his arms so thin they seed about to break... The sight made Adam bite his lip.
But the captain wasn’t over. He tapped the icy blade of his dagger on a large scar on the boy’s belly, making him shudder and sob in despair.
"Mister... I b-beg you."
"Shut up if you don’t want sothing to happen for real." The captain snorted, then smiled at Adam as the boy sobbed in silent terror. "You see, our thod is the most logical: the dan tian. Since only mages’ descendants lack this organ, it’s pretty reliable."
Adam’s knuckles whitened, his nails digging into his trembling palms. His eyes narrowed into slits that almost let his mana and qi seep out. Yet his cheeks bulged as he clenched his jaw in suppressed rage.
"Why mages’ descendants?" He hissed through gritted teeth.
Hu sighed. "I understand seeing this kind of... thing might disturb you. I would have reacted the sa way at your age. But understand that we’re acting under constraints. We can’t bring enough water to wash them regularly. Even if I wanted to bring them to the river, most would try to flee. The risks and trouble aren’t worth it. As for your question, you know the Witch of the West is an unreliable lunatic. But her potions... your elders don’t want to lose them."
He massaged his brow, knowing he had to calm Adam. After all, an outraged cultivator was not sothing they could deal with. No, the Verdant Peak Sect could deal with its own disciples for all he cared, not that they left them alive after they learned about this deal.
With a sigh, he continued. "They’ll try to nurture the most talented into alchemists. The others... Did I ntion the Witch of the West was a lunatic?"
Adam exhaled like a steam engine about to burst. "Spit it out."
"Let remind you, I’m rely following your elders’ commands. I’m just one among their many suppliers." He continued after Adam nodded. "From what I understood, the witch brews potions with mana-reinforced organs. That’s all I know, but I guess it’s enough to clarify the fate that awaits them."
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AN: out of surgery with a splitting headache :/
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