Ma Youcai arrived aggressively, evidently looking for trouble and most likely to stand up for Liu An.
Chen Qingshan gave Wang Dahai a look and shook his head slightly.
Wang Dahai understood what Chen Qingshan meant; he was telling him not to act rashly just yet.
After all, the opponent was stronger.
Understanding Chen Qingshan's intention, Wang Dahai immediately plastered a smile on his face and stepped forward.
"Oh, you must be Senior Brother Ma! Yes, yes, yes, we two are newcomers, and we hope you'll take good care of us from now on!"
Wang Dahai was all flattery, but Ma Youcai had come today to back up Liu An, and he ignored Wang Dahai's pleasantries altogether.
"Since the two of you are new here, why didn't you come to report to me? As punishment, neither of you is allowed to eat today. Go clean out the latrine, or don't even think about eating tomorrow either!"
Wang Dahai had not eaten anything since yesterday.
Although he had cultivated all night and his physical fitness had improved considerably, it had only made him even hungrier.
He was already reaching his limit.
Now, hearing that Ma Youcai wouldn't let him eat, his composure nearly shattered, and he could barely keep up the act.
He had no choice but to look at Chen Qingshan to see what he wanted to do.
Chen Qingshan's expression also turned somewhat ugly.
Seeing the pair's expressions, Ma Youcai showed no fear at all.
As an expert at the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering, he had every confidence in himself.
If Chen Qingshan dared to make a move, it would give him a good excuse to teach these two arrogant kids who didn't know their place a lesson.
Chen Qingshan chuckled and said indifferently, "Understood. We will make sure the task gets done!"
Seeing that neither Chen Qingshan nor Wang Dahai had any intention of fighting, Ma Youcai felt somewhat disappointed and gave a cold snort.
"Since you understand, get to work right away. If you don't finish, neither of you will ever eat again!"
With that, Ma Youcai strode outside.
He hadn't walked far from Chen Qingshan's quarters when Liu An, who had been waiting there all along, hurried up to him.
"Senior Brother Ma, did you do it?"
Judging by Liu An's expectant look, he was clearly hoping a fight had broken out.
Ma Youcai sighed, shook his head, and said, "No."
Liu An's face instantly froze, and he asked anxiously, "Senior Brother Ma, what about my Blood Qi Pills, then?"
Ma Youcai glanced at Liu An with disdain and said unhappily, "I'm a formal disciple. Would I go rob a servant disciple of his Blood Qi Pills?"
Hearing this, Liu An realized his pills hadn't been retrieved either, and anger flared on his face.
"Senior Brother Ma, didn't you even scare those two brats into handing them over voluntarily?"
Ma Youcai glared at Liu An and said coolly, "What, are you telling me how to do my job?"
Noticing Ma Youcai's dark expression, Liu An hurriedly said, "No, no, how would I dare tell you how to do things!"
Only then did Ma Youcai's expression soften slightly. He gave a cold snort and said, "I made the two of them go shovel manure. Until they've cleared out every last bit of waste in the Servant Quarters, neither of them is getting a bite to eat!"
"Go keep an eye on them for me. At the same time, drop a few hints so they hand over the Blood Qi Pills, and I'll let them off!"
Hearing this, Liu An finally relaxed, and with a flattering smile, he said, "Senior Brother Ma, you're truly brilliant! Making them hand over the Blood Qi Pills on their own means it won't be considered robbery. You're a genius!"
Seeing that Liu An finally understood his intent, Ma Youcai looked somewhat pleased with himself and said indifferently, "In the future, use your brain more when you run into trouble instead of just knowing how to snatch things!"
"You need to remember, this is the Xuanyang Sect, not a bandit den!"
Liu An nodded hastily. "Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother!"
Ma Youcai left with his head held high.
Now that he was a formal disciple, coupled with the tributes from the servant disciples, he wasn't short on Blood Qi Pills.
He had only stepped in for Liu An this time out of regard for Liu An's older brother.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered.
After Ma Youcai left, Liu An remained full of himself. Leading his lackeys, he headed straight for Chen Qingshan's quarters.
Chen Qingshan and Wang Dahai were just discussing how to deal with Ma Youcai's trouble when Liu An barged right in.
"Chen Qingshan, Wang Dahai, why are you two still here? Senior Brother Ma told you to go shovel manure, didn't you know?"
Seeing Liu An walk in with two lackeys, Chen Qingshan's eyes lit up, and he grinned.
"Dahai, look at that. The disciples in the Servant Quarters are so close-knit! Senior Brother Ma just told us to shovel manure, and people have already come to help us out!"
Wang Dahai chimed in, "Yeah, they really came at the right time!"
Seeing the smile on Chen Qingshan's face, Liu An felt a chill creep up his spine.
He suddenly remembered the time Wang Dahai had tried to strip off his pants.
Subconsciously, he took two steps back.
"I'm telling you, this time it's Senior Brother Ma's direct order! You two better not try anything funny!"
Chen Qingshan stood up, walked over to Liu An, and said with a smile, "Brother Liu, you still owe me two Blood Qi Pills. Shouldn't you pay up?"
Liu An had long forgotten about that matter. He had assumed that since Chen Qingshan let him go back then, the issue was water under the bridge.
Now that Chen Qingshan was suddenly demanding them, he didn't have any on hand.
"Chen Qingshan, don't get cocky. I'm telling you, if you don't finish shoveling the manure, Senior Brother Ma won't let you off. But if you say a few nice words, I can point you toward a way out!"
Chen Qingshan said with disdain, "Is the way out you're talking about handing over my Blood Qi Pills?"
Liu An's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, "Of course, not to me—to Senior Brother Ma! Though, naturally, you'd have to let me help deliver them for you!"
Before Liu An's voice even faded, Chen Qingshan grabbed him by the shoulder, sneering, "About those Blood Qi Pills, I'll think about them later. Right now, you're going to go shovel that manure for me!"
Liu An's shoulder had been fractured by Chen Qingshan just yesterday, and now, under Chen Qingshan's grip, a piercing pain flared up instantly.
"Chen Qingshan, what are you doing?"
Liu An cried out in agony.
Seeing that the situation had turned sour, Liu An's two lackeys wanted to turn and leave.
However, Wang Dahai moved faster, stepping forward to block their path.
"Hey, your boss is about to shovel manure here. Shouldn't you loyal underlings stay behind and lend a hand?"
By this time, Chen Qingshan had already released Liu An's shoulder.
Just now, he had simply wanted to test how well Liu An's injury had healed.
After all, Liu An was also an expert at the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering.
Now, seeing that Liu An was still injured, Chen Qingshan felt completely at ease.
Liu An glared viciously at Chen Qingshan. "Shoveling manure was Senior Brother Ma's order for you guys! We were just sent by him to keep an eye on you!"
Chen Qingshan smiled faintly, completely unbothered. "I know. But we're new to the Servant Quarters and don't know our way around yet. As our senior, you should naturally help us out."
"Are you going to help or not?"
Looking at the calm smile on Chen Qingshan's face, Liu An squeezed a sentence through his teeth: "Help, of course I'll help!"
How could he dare refuse? Chen Qingshan was still staring right at his shoulder.
If he dared utter a single word of refusal, Chen Qingshan would probably slap him right down!