The dark-faced man was named Dong Ba, an Inspector from the Forging Room.
The dignified-looking man was named Zhang Chao, an Inspector from the Grinding and Carving Room.
The two of them were the type to squeeze blood from a stone—by no means good people.
That was why the Mortal Servants called them "a shady pair, as troublesome as petty demons."
"I heard it with my own ears. Tang Zhiyi was praising that Brother Yi, saying the Bone Material from the Quenching Room is much better quality than usual. It's better suited for grinding and carving, enough to handle the rush orders from the Inner Peak."
Zhang Chao picked up a slice of meat, swished it in the boiling water of the copper hot pot for a moment, then put it in his mouth.
"When it comes down to it, we work for the Servants. How much is our face worth in talisman coins? Calm down, Younger Brother Dong.
We'll be dealing with him for a long time to come. There's no rush to teach him a lesson."
Before coming up the mountain, Dong Ba had been one of the Bandits and had even engaged in Highway Robbery, so naturally, he didn't have a good temper.
After his fortress was wiped out and he became a wanted man, he simply shaved his head and became a monk. But by a strange twist of fate, he ended up being sent to the Qianji Sect.
"You're right, Third Brother Zhang. I just can't stand that guy surnamed Jiang putting on airs. He finds some secret recipe in a tattered book, gets promoted by Marshal Yang, and now he really thinks he's something special!"
Zhang Chao laughed.
"Eat, eat! Let's not talk about him. It's killing the mood!"
Dong Ba and Zhang Chao had known each other for years. They were thick as thieves and had squeezed plenty of benefits from the Mortal Servants of Red Flame Peak.
His small eyes darted about as he leaned in closer and asked:
"Third Brother Zhang, you're the one with all the ideas. You've already got a way to deal with that Jiang fellow, don't you?"
Zhang Chao just smiled without a word. Seeing this, Dong Ba toasted him with several cups of wine in a row.
When the mood was right, Zhang Chao finally spoke slowly:
"Younger Brother Dong, you and I both know that being an Inspector is a greasy job. Those Mortal Servants work themselves to death for eight hours straight, and whether they get paid for it is entirely up to us.
In past years, the Quenching Room's Inspector position was vacant, so we basically got an extra share. Now that Brother Yi has taken the spot, we have to give up a piece of the pie."
Dong Ba nodded. That was precisely what infuriated him.
Before, he could make an extra ten thousand-odd talisman coins every two or three months. Now, a portion of that would be gone.
'Isn't that the same as taking money right out of my own pocket?!'
Zhang Chao chewed on the cooked slice of meat and said with a grin:
"Those are the rules, Younger Brother Dong. Let's not be stingy.
If that Brother Yi is willing to take his cut, all the better. We can all make money peacefully and avoid trouble."
Dong Ba heard the unspoken meaning and looked at Zhang Chao, whose expression was obscured by the steam from the copper pot.
"Third Brother Zhang, what if he doesn't know what's good for him?"
Zhang Chao spat on the floor, spitting out the mangled piece of meat from his mouth.
"This tastes wrong! The cooks at Shenghe Cave must be trying to fool me with rotten meat!"
He cursed, then continued:
"If he refuses a toast and chooses the forfeit instead, then I have at least nine ways to cripple him!"
On the Qianji Sect Outer Peak, being crippled was more terrifying than death.
Even if you lost a hand or a foot, as long as your twelve-year term wasn't up, you still had to keep working.
If you missed work, skipped shifts, and delayed your tasks, your talisman coins would be deducted.
Once your savings were gone and you were in the red, you would be in debt to the Qianji Sect.
Then you could start using your own flesh, bone, and skin to pay it off!
"Third Brother Zhang, your methods are both brilliant and brutal! How could that Jiang fellow possibly stand against you!"
Dong Ba had always been a petty man, so he asked again:
"Brother Three, he embarrassed us today. Is there a way we can knock him down a peg, too?!"
Zhang Chao said coolly:
"That's simple. I heard that Brother Yi is infatuated with Miss Luo from Sewing Peak. As it happens, I have some dealings with Zhou Zhiyi from the Laundry Room.
Another day, we'll find out where he usually eats. The two of us will host a banquet and invite Zhou Zhiyi!
Haha, we'll make him watch as the goddess of his heart ends up in another man's arms..."
Dong Ba hissed, then raised his porcelain cup again.
"A brilliant move, Third Brother Zhang! No matter how young and arrogant he is, what right does a mere Inspector have to act high and mighty in front of a Servant! When the time comes, you and I will call him over to toast Zhou Zhiyi!
We'll get a good look at his face then, HAHAHAHA! Just thinking about it is thrilling!"
The two men drank their wine and ate their meat, their triumphant laughter muffled by the thick curtain.
Outside the tiled-roof house, a bitter chill surged, blowing snowflakes that looked like cotton fluff. The contrast only made it feel warmer and more pleasant inside.
In the courtyard, two shivering figures huddled, wrapped in dusty gray Daoist Robes, chopping wood and tending the fire.
Only when summoned could they go inside to take turns warming the wine, slicing the meat, and doing other menial chores.
A mocking voice drifted faintly through the thick curtain:
"This bunch of Mortal Servants only knows how to bury their heads and toil. They're nothing like us, eating meat and drinking wine. What a life!"
"Exactly, exactly! Come, come, Third Brother Zhang, your little brother toasts you!"
The undisguised, mocking words drifted out, but didn't get far before being torn apart by the wind and snow.