Seeing the pendant in Jack's hands, both brothers smiled as they looked at each other.
Black Fickle nodded his bald head. "Good, good! Now that's more like it," he said and grabbed the pendant.
"Show it to me, brother!" Yellow Fickle said, taking the pendant from his brother and examining it. Soon enough, he nodded in satisfaction.
"This is a pretty good item, an aura-congealing pendant. Only someone at the Golden Core Realm could see through it," he said, looking at Jack with a smile.
"Junior brother, you should have given this to us earlier. I would have reduced your beating by fifty percent. Looks like you like to be late everywhere," Yellow Fickle said.
"I'm sorry, brothers," Jack apologized. He couldn't do anything right now.
"Hahaha! This junior brother is sensible. He knows how to please his elder brothers," Black Fickle nodded. Then his eyes caught the communication device on Jack's belt.
A smile appeared on his face.
"By the way, junior brother, what were you doing outside the sect?" Black Fickle asked.
Jack took a deep breath and, after gathering his strength, stood up. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he looked at the brothers.
"I went out to eat some food," Jack replied.
"Alone?" Black Fickle asked.
"Yes, brothers," Jack nodded.
"Hehehe... I wonder who you have saved on your communication device?" Suddenly, Jack's communication device appeared in Black Fickle's hand.
Jack's heart skipped a beat. He looked down at his belt in surprise. How? I didn't see him take it! He's so fast! Jack thought, swallowing hard.
He then looked at Black Fickle, who was fiddling with his communication device.
Soon, a smile appeared on Black Fickle's face, and he looked at Yellow Fickle. "Brother, look, our junior brother here has two girls on his communication device."
Yellow Fickle looked at the device and licked his lips.
"Our junior brother is handsome. He's got two mortals on his device," he laughed, looking at Jack.
"You're quite a playboy, junior brother," Yellow Fickle said.
"They're just friends," Jack said quickly. He didn't want any harm to befall innocent girls because of him.
"Hehehe, is that so?" Black Fickle laughed.
"Yes, brother, they're just friends," Jack said, swallowing hard again.
"If they're your friends, how about inviting them to your cave tomorrow? We brothers want to meet them too," Yellow Fickle said, his tone dripping with malice.
Jack fell silent at their words. He could tell what they were thinking.
"Why so quiet, junior brother? We won't kill them. We'll just play with them a little and then give them back. You can watch while we do so, hehehe," Black Fickle said.
Jack thought for a moment and then nodded. He had no other choice. If he wanted to stay alive, he had to do what they said for now.
I'll deal with them later. I have to get out of here alive, he thought.
"That's good! Hahaha! This junior brother is truly sensible. I hope they're beautiful. It'll be fun to play with them. It's been a long time since we enjoyed mortal flesh," Black Fickle said, coming near and patting Jack's back.
Yellow Fickle licked his lips at his brother's words. "Yes, brother, it's been so long. The last one died in a few minutes. I hope these ones last longer."
Jack stayed silent, disgusted and angered by their words, but he could only remain quiet.
"We'll come back tomorrow. I hope you're not late again," Black Fickle said. Tossing the communication device onto the floor, he started walking away.
Yellow Fickle gave Jack a final look and followed.
Only after both had disappeared did Jack take a deep breath and collapse onto the ground, exhausted. Every part of his body hurt; he felt like he was breaking down.
"I have to find a healer soon," Jack thought. Standing up with all his strength, he circulated his Qi to reduce the pain and started walking toward the outer sect center.
The outer sect center was the main hub of the outer sect. Here, shops were opened by the sect to sell various items. You could buy cultivation manuals, divine medicines, spirit herbs, and many other things related to cultivation. However, it was far more expensive than the local market or black market, which was why it was mostly empty. The only benefit of the place was that you could find rare resources there.
"I heard that prices are reduced by fifty percent when we enter the inner sect," Jack thought as he approached the outer sect hub and sighed. He swallowed his blood-filled saliva and looked around for a healer shop. Soon enough, he found one. Healers were the most expensive group in the outer sect. They were so costly that people only visited them in life-and-death situations.
Jack took a deep breath and entered the small, single-story shop. It was empty and cold, with air that smelled of medicinal liquids. He looked around and saw a middle-aged man sitting on a chair, eyes closed, wearing a blue robe. The robe made it clear that the man was a healer.
"He seems to be cultivating. Should I disturb him?" Jack thought, a hesitant look crossing his face. He had just been beaten by two outer sect members simply because he wasn't in his cave. He didn't know what might happen if he angered this healer. He might really die here.
As he debated what to do, the middle-aged man suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Jack. Feeling the gaze, Jack quickly bowed slightly. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to disturb you," he said, his face paling from the pain he was enduring.
The healer frowned, stood up, and approached Jack. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he inserted his Qi into Jack's body to examine him, then sighed. "You've been beaten pretty badly," the healer said, looking Jack in the eyes.
Jack nodded. "Can you help me?" he asked.
The healer fell silent, studying Jack for a few seconds. "Yes, but…"
"But what?" Jack asked, afraid the healer might refuse him.
"You'll have to pay in advance," the healer said with another sigh. "Five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones." He turned and started walking back to his chair. He had seen this scenario play out many times: newcomers came to him after being beaten, but when they heard the price, most left. That's why he didn't even glance at Jack after stating the cost.
"Okay, here's the money." Jack quickly gathered five hundred spirit stones into his bag.
"You can try other shops, but let me tell you, I'm the cheapest— What?" The healer spun around, staring at Jack in shock. He never expected Jack, an outer sect member at only Bone Refinement Level One, to agree so readily. Spirit stones were not easy to come by in the mortal world; a single low-grade spirit stone cost about a thousand gold coins. Even for the king of a mortal kingdom, it was a huge sum. Yet Jack, a new sect member, was ready to pay five hundred for treatment.
The healer looked at the bag in Jack's hand, then at his face, and fell silent for a moment. After thinking it over, he approached Jack, took the bag, and checked inside. Sure enough, there were five hundred low-grade spirit stones. Shocked for a moment, he quickly snapped out of it, placed the bag on a table, and supported Jack toward a bed.
"Come, lie down. I'll heal you," the man said with a serious expression. Now that he had the money, he became proactive.
Jack let out a breath of relief and gently lay back on the bed. His breathing was ragged, and his body ached everywhere.
"You've been beaten pretty badly. Were they bullies?" the healer asked.
Jack nodded.
The healer sighed and nodded. "Don't worry, I'll heal you quickly. But make sure not to mess with those bullies. You know this sect is lawless, right?" He took a small green pill from a box inside his belt.
"Thank you, sir," Jack said.
He hadn't meant to cross the Fickle Brothers; his luck had just been terrible today. If not for his pendant, his injuries could have been much worse, and he might have died.
"Here, swallow this." The healer placed the green pill on Jack's tongue and made him swallow it. Instantly, Jack felt warm medicinal energy rush through his body, and his pain vanished. He relaxed.
The healer guided the medicinal energy through Jack's injuries, and after an hour, Jack was completely healed. He stood up and checked his body. "It's like I was never beaten," he thought, shocked. "It costs a fortune, but it's effective." Jack was pleased with the treatment.
He looked at the healer and bowed slightly. "Thank you, sir."
The healer nodded and chuckled. "Don't mess with those bullies again."
"Thank you for your advice, senior," Jack said as he left the shop. As soon as he stepped outside, a serious expression appeared on his face.
"I have to deal with them today!" he thought.