Alex had already done the math in his head. If they rushed him together-him, a nobody with no backing, no allies-he would die.
Not maybe. Not possibly. One hundred percent.
"You''re the Ninth, right?" Wang Junhao shouted, pointing straight at him.
Alex immediately forced an innocent look onto his face. "No. You''ve got the wrong person. You''re knocking on the wrong door."
"Liar!" Wang Junhao roared. His hands clenched into fists as he stared at Alex like he wanted to tear him apart. “You''re not fat. You''re obviously a newbie!"
"Senior Wang Junhao," one of the men behind him said impatiently. "Enough talking. Let''s just kill him now!"
"Yes!" another agreed at once.
They started advancing. One of them kicked the door without hesitation. The wooden door exploded inward with a single blow, splintering apart.
Alex could see it clearly now. Every face was twisted with rage. These people weren''t bluffing. They looked ready to kill him on the spot.
"Pure Snow Sword Maiden Li Qingxue brought me here!" Alex shouted at the top of his lungs. He made sure everyone heard every word. "If you have a problem, goin to her! If anything happens to me—Li Qingxue wille looking for all of you!"
The entire group froze.
"Pure Snow Sword Maiden... Li Qingxue?" Wang Junhao said, stunned. “You''re lying, right?"
"Why would I lie?" Alex shot back. "Ask the fat woman who brought me to the kitchen. Ask her who brought me here!"
The group exchanged uneasy looks.
The man who had just kicked the door suddenly bent down, picked up the broken wooden b, and awkwardly leaned it back into ce.
He coughed. "Senior... I just remembered I still have work to do."
"Yeah. Me too," another said quickly.
One by one, they scattered, vanishing as if they had never been there.
Soon, only Wang Junhao remained, standing alone in front of Alex.
"I won''t ept this," Wang Junhao said coldly. "Next week, I''m supposed to ascend
from Senior Servant to Core Servant of the kitchen. When that dayes, I''ll
challenge you to a death duel. Winner takes the Ninth rank. Loser dies.”
"I think I''ll pass," Alex replied tly.
"You-!" Wang Junhao exploded with fury. "Then I''ll kill you right here!"
Alex''s face went pale.
Before Wang Junhao could strike, arge, slightly fat hand mped down on his fist.
"I heard from the juniors that you''re making things difficult for the Ninth," a calm but dangerous voice said. “Are you looking to die here?"
"Brother Eight!" Wang Junhao eximed. "I worked my way up step by step to be a Core Servant! I won''t let someone use connections to steal my ce!"
"Then tell me," Number Eight said coldly as he seized Wang Junhao''s arms and twisted them hard, "do you still think we made a mistake choosing our Ninth?"
Wang Junhao felt as if his arms had been mped in molten iron. Pain shot through him, sharp and merciless. "I-I''m sorry, Senior!" he cried. "Please forgive me!"
Number Eight released him with a shove. "I''ll let this go for now, for the sake of your years serving in the kitchen. But if you try anything stupid again," his eyes narrowed, "don''t force me to break your arms."
Wang Junhao bowed deeply, his face drained of color, then turned and ran as fast as he could, not daring to look back.
Number Eight turned to Alex. “Ninth Fatty," he said, “you''ve been cultivating for a few days now. It''s time you started helping out in the kitchen."
"A few days?" Alex frowned inwardly. He tried to recall the passage of time. He remembered sitting down to cultivate fire energy—and then everything had blurred together. Days and nights must have passed without him noticing.
"It looks like it really has been a few days," he murmured.
"That Wang Junhao isn''t a good person," Number Eight said tly. "You''d better stay
in the kitchen and not give him any chance to get close to you."
"Thank you for your help," Alex said sincerely, bowing. "But... why was he so desperate to be the Ninth? If it means that much to him, can''t you just give him my position?"
Number Eight''s lips slowly curled into a wide, knowing smile. His eyes gleamed with something unreadable.
"That," he said calmly, "is exactly why I called you over."
When Alex followed Number Eight into the kitchen, chaos erupted the moment they crossed the threshold.
"Close the gate! Close the doors! Hurry!" someone shouted. "Number Eight and Number Ninth are here!"
"Third Fatty, check for spies!" another barked. "Now!"
Alex blinked in surprise. Everyone suddenly moved with frantic urgency.
Momentster, the main gate and the kitchen doors were sealed tight. The room plunged into darkness, leaving only a single candle burning at the center. Its flickering light cast long warped shadows across the walls, and beneath that din glow, the fat men looked
secretive-almost ominous.
Eightrge-bodied fatties gathered together and opened a hidden door leading to the food storage.
"What are you standing around for, Number Ninth?" Number Eight called. "Get over here."
Alex blinked again, then slowly walked over, wearing the most harmless expression he could manage—like someone who wouldn''t hurt even an ant.
The moment he reached them, one of the fatties grabbed his arm and pulled him into the circle. Instantly, a strange aroma hit his nose. Warmth surged through his body, spreading from his chest to his limbs.
Alex nced around. The others all wore intoxicated, euphoric expressions. His own spirit lifted as well, energy stirring inside him for no clear reason. Then he noticed it.
One of the fatties was holding a wooden box-inside ity rare herbs, their scent rich, deep, and unmistakably powerful.
Alex recognized almost every medicine and herb at a nce. From what he could see, there was no mistake—every single item in that box was genuinely rare.
"This new batch came through our kitchen," the first Fatty said with a crooked grin. "It''s supposed to be refined into food pills for about 3000 cultivators."
He paused deliberately, letting the meaning settle in. Around him, the others traded slow, knowing smiles.
He reached into the wooden box and pulled out a piece of five-thousand-year ginseng.
Without hesitation, he took a hard bite, then passed it to the second Fatty. The second bit off a chunk and passed it on.
It moved down the line from one to the next, until it reached Number Eight. By the time Number Eight took his bite, more than half of the ginseng was already gone. He thrust what remained toward Alex. "Your turn, Ninth. Bite it."
"Uh..." Alex hesitated, staring at the five-thousand-year ginseng in his hand.
He nced around at the eight fat elder brothers surrounding him. Their smiles faded. Impatience shed in their eyes.
The first Fatty''s expression darkened, and the others followed suit. From the looks on their faces, Alex understood clearly—if he didn''t eat it, all eight of them would be his enemies for life.
Alex swallowed hard.
Even in his wildest dreams, he had never imagined a situation where people would explode with anger if someone refused to take a bite of a priceless medicinal herb. And yet, that exact nightmare was unfolding. right in front of him.
His heart pounded. He clenched his teeth, epted the ginseng, and finally opened
his mouth. He took arge bite.
The ginseng dissolved instantly. A powerful warmth surged through his body, far stronger than the sensation he had felt earlier when he had only smelled the herbs.
The energy spread through him like fire through dry grass. His face flushed bright red almost at once.
"Excellent," the first Fatty said, clearly satisfied. "The Elder ordered this five- thousand-year ginseng to be used in food pills for the cultivators. But he never said how much we had to put in."
Heughed softly. "Now we''ve all taken a bite. From this moment on, we sink or swim together."
Looking thoroughly content, he opened the wooden box again, took out another rare herb, bit into it, and tossed it to the next Fatty. One by one, they all began chewing, casual and unashamed.
Now that everyone was eating together, they turned to Alex with friendly, conspiratorial smiles—as if he truly belonged among them.
The rare herbs granted by the Elder had already been bitten by all eight fatties-and
now by him as well. Nearly half of the stock still remained, set aside to be refined
into food pills.
Only then did he fully realize the truth.
Every single one of these men was a partner in crime.
"Brother,” Alex said cautiously, watching them chew through yet another priceless
herb. "Won''t the Elder notice if half the ingredients are gone?"
The Second Fatty snorted. “Gone? Who said anything about gone?"
"Exactly," the Third added with a
carelessugh. "It''s all part of the refining process. The pills will still be ready for three thousand cultivators. Don''t worry about it-this tradition has been
from
passed down on generation to generation
thousands of years."
Alex let out a quiet chuckle.