I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Back to the rental house.

Zheng Yifei put away the things he had bought, laid the bedding on the bed board, put the pots and pans on the stove, and stuffed the rice and salt into the cupboard.

He squatted down and touched the niche in the east wall of the main room. There were loose brick joints. He used a short knife to pry open three bricks and sealed the mask, the extra spirit stones, and several talismans inside. He put the bricks back in place and plastered the outside with mortar.

Zheng Yifei took out the Spirit Gathering Array Plate from the bottom of the bundle and sat cross-legged on the bed in the main room.

The array plate was placed between his knees, the spirit stones were embedded in the array eyes, the array patterns glowed faintly, and the surrounding spiritual energy began to slowly gather.

A first-grade low-level array plate is of little use to his current cultivation.

But it's better than nothing.

He closed his eyes, and his spiritual energy circulated along his meridians, with the five meridians of different attributes simultaneously absorbing and releasing spiritual energy.

The drawbacks of having five spiritual roots are fully apparent during cultivation. While others consume two spirit stones a night, he needs at least a dozen spirit stones a night to make the same progress.

In other words, the resources he needs to advance to a higher realm are several times, or even ten times, more than what others need.

The higher one's cultivation level, the more resources are needed.

However, there are advantages as well. The spiritual energy stored in his body is several times that of others, making his combat power far exceed that of cultivators of the same realm, and he can even fight beyond his level.

The spiritual energy settled in his Qi Sea strand by strand, still quite a distance from the fifth level of Qi Refining.

"Bang bang bang".

knocking.

Zheng Yifei's eyes snapped open, and his spiritual energy instantly stopped circulating.

He didn't move, but sat on the bed and listened for three breaths.

The knocking was neither too hard nor too soft, and the rhythm was even. It didn't sound like someone was trying to cause trouble; it sounded more like neighbors visiting each other.

But he's only been here for half a day, who would come to visit?

"Bang bang bang".

He knocked three more times, this time with a sound.

"Hey, new neighbor, open the door! Don't be afraid! Old Zhang's just come to see you!"

He has a loud, powerful voice with a rough, uninhibited tone.

Zheng Yifei put the spirit-gathering array plate under the bed, straightened his clothes, and walked to the back of the courtyard gate.

"Who?"

"Neighbor, I saw you move in this afternoon and have been wanting to say hello. I just got back from hunting."

Zheng Yifei unlatched the door.

Standing outside the door was a tall, burly man, nearly two meters tall, in his early thirties, with a square face, a tangled beard, and a few dry leaves clinging to his temples; he exuded a menacing aura.

He was wearing a blood-stained animal skin vest and carrying two gray rabbits strung together with straw rope in his right hand. The rabbits were dead, and the blood on their necks was still wet.

He carried a jar of wine in his left hand, the mouth of which was sealed with yellow mud, and the aroma of the wine wafted out from the gaps in the mud seal.

"Hey bro, how are you?"

The man grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "My name is Zhang Biao, I live next door. I'm a hunter, I hunt in the mountains. I got lucky today, caught two iron-boned gray rabbits, perfect for a drink! Let's have a drink!"

As he spoke, he was about to go inside.

Zheng Yifei didn't let him pass, instead blocking the doorway with a polite but distant smile on his face.

"Brother Zhang, you're too kind. I just moved in, and the place is a mess—"

"What's wrong with being messy? My room is ten times messier than yours!"

Zhang Biao didn't care at all, shoved the two rabbits into Zheng Yifei's arms, and stepped over the threshold by himself: "Come on, come on, I'll help you pack them up."

Having said all that, it would be inappropriate to refuse now.

Zheng Yifei quickly made a judgment in his mind.

Late stage of Qi Refining.

He sensed this as soon as he stood at the door; the aura was deep and profound, more so than the surface ruggedness. There were thick calluses on his hands, old scars on the tiger's mouth, and his right shoulder was slightly lower than his left—marks of years of drawing a bow.

A hunter, and a tough one at that, who spends his days fighting monsters in the wild.

Such people are either extremely easy to get along with or extremely difficult to deal with.

But there is no indication of malice at present.

Zheng Yifei stepped back and let the person in.

Zhang Biao entered the courtyard, looked around, and nodded: "Not bad, the previous tenant kept this courtyard quite clean... Hey, you have a pot on your stove, perfect."

"Hey bro, do you know how to stew rabbit? If not, I'll do it."

"I'll do it."

Zheng Yifei took the rabbit, carried it to the stove, and with swift, practiced movements, skinned and deboned it. In his previous life, he had cooked for himself for twenty years, so he was very skilled at handling ingredients.

Zhang Biao moved two stones and sat in the yard, broke the mud seal on the wine jar, and took a sip himself.

"Hey bro, what's your name?"

"Zheng Fei".

"Zheng Fei, what a good name! 'Fei' means 'soaring to great heights.' Where are you from?"

"Heishan Market".

"Wow, that's quite far. What are you doing in Suzhou?"

"Making a living."

Zheng Yifei cut the rabbit meat into chunks and threw them into the pot, added water, threw in a few pieces of cheap spices he bought on the street, and put the lid on the pot.

Zhang Biao didn't press the matter, took another swig of wine, and wiped his mouth.

"Making a living is good. There are plenty of rogue cultivators who come to Suzhou to make a living. I came here from outside twelve years ago and have stayed ever since."

Zheng Yifei was squatting by the stove tending the fire when he casually asked a question.

"Brother Zhang, what do you think of the Wutong Lane area?"

Zhang Biao's smile faltered for a moment.

"Did you rent it from Old Yu at Tongda Pawnshop?"

"Um."

Zhang Biao put down his wine jar and rubbed his hands together. "Brother, do you know why this courtyard only costs ten spirit stones a month?"

Zheng Yifei peeled off the last piece of meat, his back to Zhang Biao, his hands still moving.

"Is the location remote?"

"The remote location is one aspect."

Zhang Biao lowered his voice. Although there was no one else in the alley, he still subconsciously glanced towards the courtyard gate.

"Wutong Lane is under the jurisdiction of the Iron Fist Sect. You know the Iron Fist Sect, right? It's the largest gang in the West District. The leader is called Zhao Tiequan, a ruthless character at the ninth level of Qi Refining."

Zheng Yifei knew that he had already done his research during the site visit.

"The Iron Fist Sect collects protection money in this area, five spirit stones per household per month. If you pay, everything is fine; if you don't..."

Zhang Biao raised his right hand and gestured horizontally in front of his neck.

"But collecting protection money is a minor matter."

Zhang Biao's expression turned serious: "The real trouble is that this area of ​​Wutong Lane is the 'hunting ground' for a few small bosses under the Iron Fist Sect."

"The hunting grounds?"

"They specifically target independent cultivators from outside the area."

Zhang Biao's voice lowered even further: "Think about it, these are wandering cultivators from out of town, unfamiliar with the place, carrying spirit stones, renting a room here, without any foundation or background. If they disappear, who will know? Who will care?"

Zheng Yifei paused for a moment while tending the fire, then continued adding firewood.

"Since last year, eight tenants have gone missing in Wutong Lane."

Zhang Biao paused for a moment: "The people and things are gone, the house is empty, and Old Yu put it up for rent again the next day."

Zheng Yifei remained silent.

A monthly rent of ten spirit stones, an independent courtyard with a spirit spring well, and the old man from Tongda Pawnshop didn't even flinch when he quoted the price.

The agent won't tell you that the environment here is so harsh, just like in my past life, and it's the same in the cultivation world.

The rabbit meat in the pot began to simmer, and a fragrant aroma filled the air.

Zheng Yifei stood up, dusted off his hands, walked into the courtyard, took the wine jar from Zhang Biao, poured himself a bowl, and drank it all in one gulp.

The wine was of inferior quality, spicy on the palate, but after swallowing it, a warm, comforting spiritual energy spread through the stomach.

"Brother Zhang."

Zheng Yifei handed the wine jar back to him: "I've already paid three months' rent, and it's non-refundable. What should I do?"

Zhang Biao poured himself a bowl of wine: "Wanbaolou sells first-tier simple anti-theft array plates for thirty spirit stones a set, which isn't expensive."

It's set up on the courtyard wall; if someone tries to climb over, it will trigger an alarm. While it won't stop a late-stage Qi Refining expert, it will at least buy you a few breaths to react.

"You should also carry a Golden Sword Talisman or a Vajra Talisman. In short, don't be alone. Don't go outside the alley at night. People from the Iron Fist Sect generally don't come into the courtyard to make a move. It's too blatant, and the Su family won't allow it."

He spoke very seriously, not like he was bluffing.

Zheng Yifei served two bowls of rabbit meat and handed one to Zhang Biao.

"Brother Zhang, thank you for the reminder."

"What are you thanking me for? A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative."

Zhang Biao took the bowl, scooped up a large piece of meat with his chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed a couple of times, and his eyes lit up: "Great cooking! This meat is so flavorful. Did you used to be a cook?"

"Just do it casually."

The two squatted in the courtyard, eating meat and drinking wine by the moonlight.

Zhang Biao was a chatterbox; after three bowls of spirit wine, he would spill everything.

He knew everything about the neighbors in Wutong Lane, the temperaments of the small leaders of the Iron Fist Gang in the West District, which roads were off-limits, and which times were the most dangerous.

Zheng Yifei listened, occasionally asking a question, subtly absorbing all the useful information into his mind.

After finishing the wine and the meat, Zhang Biao let out a burp, patted his stomach, and stood up.

"Alright, I won't keep you from resting any longer. I'll get some better stuff another day, and we'll drink some more, brother."

"OK."

Zheng Yifei escorted him to the entrance of the hospital.