Chapter 3: 3. The First Night Song Yan looked at the coquettish woman with large eyes before him, her silk skirt partially slipped off, clothes half undone, like the skin of a juicy water honey peach, slightly torn open, revealing skin that was somewhat plump yet still creamy white. At this moment, the brown blanket had already been drawn up, twenty-four stone hooks causing the blanket to cover the six sides of the small Suspended Room, only allowing glimpses outside through the gaps in the blanket. Below was a sheer cliff, outside was mysterious danger, peril at every turn, at times like this, there was no better joy than indulging in the most basic desire of living creatures. This was also a form of release, a way to ensure oneself didn’t go insane. The question had become a choice: heart first, or physical pleasure? Song Yan was a normal, healthy man, if he were in a different environment, he’d surely be willing to opt for physical pleasure, but now... he couldn’t. First arrival and everything was unfamiliar, for the information about this world, even the Demon Sect, he knew very little. Although the woman before him taught him some skin making knowledge, she might have other intentions, more critical is: the Demon Sect seems quite chaotic. There’s robbing disciples, men and women cohabiting at first sight, killing without blinking, and the taboo of not leaving the house when night falls... In such circumstances, how could he be sure this woman hadn’t messed around previously, ensuring her body was disease-free? Or perhaps, how could he guarantee this woman was problem-free? Rather than losing one’s mind, opting to think with the lower body and entrusting everything to unfounded trust, Song Yan felt it was better to maintain necessary sanity and vigilance. "Sister Wang, let’s talk, before you were kidnapped here..." "Young master, come to me, after we have fun, I’ll tell you everything, hehe." The woman’s unabashed words could make a youth flush, but she seemed indifferent, even sneaking off more of the silk skirt, showing more skin, then twisted her hips, raised her back to Song Yan, giggling, "Or... does young master prefer horseback riding?" "Sister Wang, give me some more time, okay?" "Why?" The woman’s voice suddenly carried anger, she abruptly straightened up, sat upright, and stared directly at Song Yan, her eyes reflecting the youth’s vitality and strength, showing impatience. Song Yan’s gaze swiftly scanned, suddenly settling on the small knife on the bedside table. Only for a fraction of a second before the woman’s gaze followed over. The atmosphere instantly became dim and tense. Suddenly, both of them lunged quickly. Wang Susu was closer to the bedside and grabbed the knife. However, Song Yan immediately followed, his arm wrapped around, twisted, turning the woman’s arm back, swiftly pressing his elbow, inner grasping, shouted explosively, exerted strength, and snatched the small knife from her hand. It was a small capture technique taught while participating in military training when the instructor was idle. Song Yan, as a martial arts novel enthusiast since childhood, naturally learned a few moves, but he never thought he’d actually have a chance to use them in his life. After grabbing the knife, Wang Susu twisted her body, followed with her arm, and subsequently slammed backward. The slam surprisingly had significant force, Song Yan was directly knocked from the bedside onto the couch, tumbling twice. Wang Susu swiftly turned, intending to leap again, but saw the youth had already sat up, holding the knife, coolly facing her. "Sister Wang, let’s talk." "Put down the knife and let’s talk." Song Yan showed a friendly smile, then put down the knife, pushing it a bit further away. Wang Susu breathed out leisurely and laughed, "That’s right, using a knife for..." Before finishing the last few words, she suddenly lunged out, quickly rushing towards the knife, but she ended up grasping thin air. Song Yan seemed to have been waiting for her move, so almost as soon as she moved, his arm promptly extended, firmly clutching the knife between his fingers, refusing to let go! They slowly drew back distance again. "Why?" This time it was Song Yan’s turn to ask, because Wang Susu had no reason to grab the knife again, there was no hatred between them, just for physical pleasure, why bother? However, the woman named Wang Susu no longer answered. Time wasted nearly a joss stick’s worth, Wang Susu suddenly glanced outside through the gaps, and said, "After autumn, the miasma in the mountains begins to thicken, at night, you and I need to take turns keeping watch, using the body to hold the door to prevent accidents. This is also why two people live in one room. If living alone, then one can only seek blessings, either the ghost doesn’t come knocking, or... he can stay awake without nodding off, without relaxing all night." "Sister Wang, what is miasma? What are ghosts? Why is our Tannery’s stone house only built one story?" Song Yan asked a series of questions. Wang Susu tied the half-untied clothes properly, pulled up the silk skirt, sneered coldly, and said, "Why should I tell you?" "You guard the first part of the night." "Okay." "Then, Sister Wang, since things are as they are, when we’re keeping watch, let’s stay away from each other." Wang Susu said softly, "Alright." Song Yan’s expression hardened slightly, instinctively he felt: Wang Susu truly intended him harm, but fortunately, she wasn’t a good actress, at least her abnormalities soon emerged. Afterwards, nothing happened in the room, Wang Susu ascended the steps and sat below the entrance of the Suspended Room. The house had entry from above, hence beneath the door were five steps. Keeping watch means sitting at the top of the staircase, slightly bent, using the back to hold the door. Song Yan maintained distance, sitting in the corner resting his mind, but occasionally, he observed Wang Susu’s actions, posture, and details seriously. The latter seemed to sense his thoughts, let out a cold laugh, "Nothing special, just hold the door when it shakes. I wouldn’t dare lie to you about this. After all, if the door opens, it’s not just you who’ll die." "Then what did Sister Wang lie to me about?" "Hmph." Time ticked by, second by second, and the night seemed long. Yet, outside the Suspended Room, it wasn’t pitch-dark; instead, an unusual red mist entwined with moonlight, swirling gently. This scene reminded Song Yan of a painting called "Starry Night" from before his transmigration. On the cliff, the wind was strong, blowing the mist into swirling vortexes, now dense, now thin, occasionally revealing the trembling woods below swaying in the gale. Suddenly, without any warning, Song Yan heard a knocking on the door. Wang Susu hurriedly exerted her strength to hold it. The knocking ceased after just two sounds. "What’s outside?" Song Yan asked. Wang Susu still didn’t answer. And after an unknown amount of time, during which there were several more instances of knocking, the strength varied—light ones were easy to hold, but strong ones required full force. Suddenly, Wang Susu stood up and said, "Your turn." The two carefully brushed past each other. Song Yan mimicked Wang Susu’s earlier posture and sat down. ... ... The night passed. The red mist dissipated, the moonlight withdrew, and the gray world welcomed the dawn. The doors of the Suspended Rooms opened, and many servants emerged. Song Yan also quickly came out. "Return the knife to me." Wang Susu shouted, "This was exchanged for with my Contribution Points. If you want one, you can wait until you become a servant for a while and then exchange for it." In order to reassure Song Yan, she walked closer and said with a cold snort, "I’m giving you some information as a bargain, and including the knowledge I taught you yesterday as a goodwill gesture, so you won’t hold a grudge against me." Then, she whispered, "There are many remnants in the mountains and forests, and also many lingering souls, accumulating into a river, which is called Earth Demon. This Earth Demon, especially in the Demon Sect area, is even more abundant. Once autumn and winter arrive, thick fog arises, and when Earth Demon enters the fog, it becomes a foul mist, appearing red. This mist is all-pervasive, and if it encounters remnants, even a piece of skin or a bone, it could form a ghost creature. These ghosts lack intelligence, only instinct. And their instinct is merely to live again. Therefore, they desperately approach places with life, knocking on doors. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺 If the door opens, these ghost creatures will leap onto a person, and then ghost bones would pierce into the body, ghost skin would wrap around the skin, and the Evil Qi would relentlessly invade your body. Of course, usually, this wouldn’t succeed, but... the attacked would go mad, become dull, indistinguishable from being dead. As for why the stone house is a single layer, it’s because a single layer is easier to seal up, preventing the skins inside from contacting the foul mist, which would be a significant problem." "Oh, and if someone in the same room wants to harm another, they can quietly open the door, then either push that person outside or kill them in the room and throw the corpse to the cliff’s bottom. At night, it’s dark, everyone shuts their doors, no one would see, no one would speak... come morning, they can blame it on the ghost things. However, no one would do such a thing when it’s light. But if such a situation occurs, afterwards, no one would share a room with that person, since no one is foolish, hence... incidents of killing and throwing bodies are extremely rare." "So, Song Yan, you can return the knife to me now. Then tonight... you pick another place to sleep. Between us, from now on, we’re strangers." Song Yan responded with a "Thank you" and then asked, "So what did Sister Wang intend to do yesterday?" Wang Susu didn’t answer again. Song Yan tossed the knife back into the room, saying, "From now on, we’re strangers." Wang Susu nodded, looking at him no more, and quickly entered the Tannery. Just then, Song Yan suddenly noticed two black dots coming straight up from the cliff. As they got closer, he saw they were two disciples in black robes, riding peculiar Shadow Puppet twin-headed wolves. The twin-headed wolves clambered up roofs and walls, running and jumping at great speed. Upon reaching the cliff top, the pair of disciples didn’t engage in small talk with the servants, instead swiftly inspecting the rooms, then promptly dragging out seven already mad servants; among them were men, women, and even the somewhat good-looking female newcomer who hadn’t entered a room with a man yesterday. One of the disciples waved his long sleeve, his fingers lightly flicking, releasing a Shadow Puppet Car. He casually killed the seven mad servants, loaded them onto the car, and then left over the mountains. Song Yan felt a sudden chill in his heart. In just two days, he had witnessed more untimely deaths than before his transmigration... He hurriedly turned back into the stone house, found a corner spot, sat down, and began today’s leather crafting.