If one had to name the place amongst the outer disciples where work could always be found, it was either the kitchens or the preparators, who many times doubled as the cooks within the kitchens themselves. It was easy to get into their circle as many of them rotated out the moment one of them screwed up the preparation of a beast, got themselves into trouble because of it... And had to find another work to do. That was exactly Neya's first worry when she started out. But, after all that happened to her, all that she went through, now she felt herself to be much more at home with a knife and a dead beast.

  Yes, despite everything that happened with Nue, she was back, but not in the kitchens anymore; instead, she was working directly with preparing and harvesting beast carcasses for either disciples or the sect itself. At first, it was hard to get through all the blood, guts, and gore, but, remembering Siu's words, she steeled herself and even learned to breathe through the smell, no longer noticing it.

  A few days after Siu's return with his new fox, Neya stood at one of the lower tables, sleeves rolled up, her hair tied back, her brows scrunched together in focus. In front of her was a carcass of a low-grade horned river-lizard, already bled dry and partially skinned. What she quickly realized was that with the work she was doing, she began learning about all the different creatures living inside the forest, the mountains, and the land the Hollow Song had under its grip. Although she also knew that what she had access to had to be the lowest of the low... but everyone had to start somewhere, like the disciple who brought this one back home. Sadly, he made a few mistakes when slaying it as its scales were dull and its muscles torn, but she was doing her best to get the most out of the carcass.

  And that was one point that began making rounds amongst the outer disciples, for now, in a small circle only, but people had started noticing that there was someone who cared to get the most out of everyone's work. Of course, Neya didn't know that, and her focus was on the harvest as her knife moved with precision, cutting, peeling, and separating the salvageable parts.

  She no longer hesitated when she was tracing her knife's edge along sensitive joints, and she no longer flinched when her fingers slid beneath flesh to free tendons or pry loose organs without rupturing them. Well... as long as she had settled down in her breathing technique and got into a kind of absent-minded focus. Otherwise, her hands may tremble from the sight of so much blood.

  If it were months ago, she would've needed supervision for this. Yet, now the leading, experienced head disciple at Neya's workplace merely glanced her way every so often, nodding faintly before moving on, checking on everyone else's work.

  "Clean extraction," he muttered once, as he walked past her, watching as the lizard's organs were being sorted and collected on her table.

  Smiling at his words, she finished separating the gall sac, set it carefully into a labeled ceramic dish, and reached for the cloth to wipe her blade when the sound of heavy footsteps cut through the background noise. It seems someone was coming or bringing in prey... Which meant whoever was getting access to the place they were working at was either someone with deep pockets or part of one of the big groups, having the privilege to select who would work on their carcass. And if that was the case, Neya's boss would finally have something to do after all, so she glanced up, only to be surprised by who she saw, because it was Tian standing at the entrance.

  For a moment, she barely recognized him because his clothes and leather armor were scratched and dull, with dried blood covering him, and one of his sleeves hung loose where a strap had been cut and hastily reattached. Looking at his posture, he was also slumped, his shoulders no longer as aligned as he usually carried himself, but... he looked pleased. Which meant that it was a good fight, whoever he battled. Or whatever, in this case, because behind him, two Ember Circle members came next, and they dragged in a massive carcass suspended from a pole.

  As she glanced at it, she saw a boar-like creature, thick-bodied and broad as a treetrunk, with iron-stiff bristles along its spine and a split tusk stained dark with blood, coloring its tip. She could see from how it was hung up that its chest bore a deep wound, cauterized at the edges by fire or something. Even Neya's breath was caught because that creature for sure wasn't low-grade, like the lizard she was working on.

  “Tian?” she called without thinking, wiping her hands and stepping away from the table. “What—”

  "Good, you are here." He looked up, eyes finding her immediately, surprising the others, who were also stopped in their work, watching the new arrivals, including the head disciple, who was walking towards them to take the prey away. Whenever the Ember Circle returned from a hunt, there was good money to be made... “So,” Tian continued, his voice a bit rough, “I got myself a prize.”

  Seeing that Tian was going to hand it off to Neya, the head disciple, instead of getting angry, he simply smiled to himself, already stepping back to watch the two youngsters. At the same time, the Ember Circle members set the carcass down with a dull thud, stretching their sore arms. One of them muttered something about baths, and they staggered off without waiting for permission, only here to help Tian, who stayed behind.

  "That's yours?!" Neya gulped, pointing at it.

  "My share, yes." Tian nodded, "The Boss is generous, and I did most of the work, so I got the biggest of the bunch that we hunted down. She will bring more soon," he added, glancing at the head disciple, who only nodded in understanding, not interfering with their business at all. “I was hoping you’d handle this,” he continued, looking back at Neya, gesturing at the boar. “If you’re free.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Me?" Neya stepped closer, eyes already assessing the kill, "I never worked on something this valuable..." she muttered, wiping her hands.

  The creature was large, with dense muscles and a thick bone structure. The bristles alone would fetch a reasonable price if harvested cleanly, but she will have to look up the species and the proper methods for handling it. As for the tusk, it was a bit damaged, but salvageable. There was skill in the wound placement, too, hitting its heart, causing the least possible damage to every other valuable organ. This was a prime kill...

  “This is a Needleback Tuskboar,” the head disciple finally stepped in as he said calmly, glancing at Neya. “A variant of one.”

  “Ember-blooded subspecies. That is what my Boss told me,” Tian nodded, “It was an older male, still very aggressive.”

  "A good kill." The head disciple muttered, patting Neya's shoulders, "You can do it. I will prepare the proper table for it, with all the tools you will need. Read up on how to get started; the rest will be similar to every other corpse you've already worked on. Don't be afraid, you've got the talent, go for it!"

  "Thank you, Senior Ivhar!" Neya smiled, feeling courage well up in her. Yes... Siu would also go for it, so she will too. She will do it! “You killed it?” she asked, turning back at Tian.

  "I did the finishing blow," He nodded. “But we hunted down a whole herd, and it took four days to entrap them all. The others are handling the piglets; they said they could be sold alive, for people who are trying to bind beasts into contracts or something. I don't really get that part, but it's not my forte and not my issue. I need the money from this to move out.”

  "Moving out..." Neya suddenly felt a bit taken aback, but she just sighed. Right... The dormitories are only there to help them acclimate... those who stay there for a long time are usually those who failed as outer disciples, still stuck at the starting point. “Mhm, I will do my best, but it will take a day or so to finish it,” she said, already calculating in her head how much strength she will need to open up something so... thick.

  "It's fine, I can wait." Although he didn't say it, the fact that he brought his first big kill to her... It told Neya that the stubborn, pretty much thorny guy did trust her, which made her happy. “So,” Tian suddenly asked, “Siu’s mission, I haven't met him yet, do you know anything? Did he come back yet?”

  "Yeah," Neya nodded with a half-smile, “He came back, days ahead of you."

  “That fast?” Tian frowned. “That’s not... Ah. So he screwed up?”

  “He failed,” she nodded, watching Tian as he exhaled through his nose, crossed his arms, and smiled, but there was a tinge of great annoyance in his eyes, too.

  “You can't go hunting alone, that's too dangerous,” he muttered, almost chuklcing, “He’s a bit full of himself, but I can admire that. Still, that's what I call a reality check. Also... don't tell him I said I may admire his stupid face.”

  "Sure," Neya glanced at him, but said nothing, trying not to laugh.

  “He thinks he can brute-force experience because he is quick in learning,” Tian continued, shaking his head, “That’s not how it works. I saw it happen amongst the warriors I followed! The battlefield is the same as the forest; it doesn’t care how talented you are! One missed swing, and you die to a simple, sharpened rake or hoe. Hmph!”

  "Well," Neya finally began speaking, putting a finger on her lips, “He nearly died, yes...” she said calmly, watching Tian stiffen for a moment.

  “That's how it is.” He snorted, imagining that Siu had to be in a worse shape than he was.

  “I said, he nearly died,” Neya repeated, meeting his eyes, “But he also killed a Bluetipped Ironclaw... Alone.”

  "..." Hearing her say that, Tian's body flinched, his eyes blinking, almost out of sync before finally recollecting his thoughts, “What did you say?”

  “He didn’t get the eggs he went for,” she explained with a satisfied smile, “But he killed a juvenile Ironclaw. Solo. He also brought the corpse back himself! Although he didn't think about bringing it to me... Well, I wasn't working that day either, so, oh well!”

  "He killed one... Himself... Alone?" Tian stared at her, then let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “No,” he stopped himself at once, “That’s not funny.”

  “I’m not joking," Neya answered firmly, rolling her eyes at him.

  “…That doesn’t make sense,” he said slowly, taking a few calming breaths. “A juvenile Ironclaw is still... Alone?”

  “Did you see him leave with a group or join your Circle?” Neya asked, getting a bit annoyed now, "How many times are you going to ask the same question?!"

  "..."

  “The storage hall assessed the Ironclaw the previous morning,” she continued, as if discussing the weather, “With all damage considered, the fees taken out, all the little details squared away... I was there myself.”

  "And..." Tian looked up. “How much?”

  "..." Neya paused, just long enough to let the moment hang a little, annoying him as she kept smiling at Tian, “Nine Sun Crystals,” she said, feeling proud, “A flat payout offer.”

  “…Nine?” Tian asked, gulping, because that was 9,000 CC... That was almost enough to rent a private abode for a year already... not a flashy one, but at least one that allowed proper silence and separation from everyone else to meditate!

  “Too bad he didn't get any eggs, because the mission itself had seven more as a reward,” she sighed, “He didn’t get those, that would have been even better!”

  In the end, Tian's arms loosened as he tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling beams, a humorless smile tugging at his lips.

  “…Damn,” he murmured, "That's a nice harvest, and he doesn't have to pay anyone from it. I will have to share a 10% kickback from this boar..."

  "You were the one who joined the Ember Circle," Neya reminded him at once. "Don't complain."

  "I'm not complaining! I wouldn't be able to kill this one all alone." He admitted without shame, turning his head back at her, "Do you have a guess how much I will get from this one?"

  "No idea yet, but I bet you can match his haul."

  "Great!" His eyes lit up at once, "That's perfect."

  "Well, I mean, the material haul he got," Neya added with a smile that made Tian twitch his eye a little.

  "What else did he get...?" He asked, inhaling sharply.

  “He came back with a spirit beast, too. He already visited the Elders, and they helped him create a Mutual Contract with the spirit fox he got himself."

  That did it, because Tian almost fell on his butt.

  “Motherfucker!”

  “Hey!” Neya snorted at once, “Rude!”

  "Fuck him!" He stared at her like she’d grown a second head, “Damn it! The prick just loves to flaunt, doesn't he?!” And then, he couldn't help but laugh to himself, running his fingers through his hair, “Tsk! He always lands on his feet...”

  "Jealous?" Neya smiled faintly, watching him groan.

  "Annoyed!" Tian answered with a snort, "Whenever I think I caught up to that sweet-talking bastard... he pulls out something else to stay a step ahead."

  "Yeah..." Neya muttered, biting her lips, thinking about something that Siu hadn't mentioned yet, but she had a feeling it would happen.

  Now that he has enough CC saved up, he may also soon move out. Especially now... when way too many disciples were coming to see him or, to be precise... to see his fox.