After leaving the third floor, Li Ban first went to the second floor to distribute the remaining gruel-like substance and confirmed no one else had died before collecting the food bucket and returning to the first floor.
Outwardly calm, his mind was in turmoil.
After three months, Tree-Person A and Zhou Gu had begun testing him again.
At first, Li Ban hadn't realized, but while carrying a corpse through the empty corridor, all the pieces suddenly connected in his mind.
That hour of contemplation revealed much.
Tree-Person A had previously forbidden him from entering the third floor, yet now sent him there alone.
To an unlocked room precisely when Zhou Gu was absent.
Had Li Ban been more curious or attempted to verify if someone was inside by entering Zhou Gu's room, would they have suspected him?
Moreover, that passing jailer had coincidentally mentioned Zhou Gu having secrets.
Was such elaborate testing excessive?
Or did Death Prison staff spare no effort in rooting out infiltrators?
Fortunately, Li Ban had remained vigilant these three months - suppressing curiosity, strictly following rules, focusing entirely on cultivation.
Clearly, relaxation remained premature.
As he walked past the cat-woman, she stood facing the wall, head tilted upward.
"What are you doing?" Li Ban asked casually.
"It's snowing." Her desolate silhouette matched her chilly tone. "I'm listening to snow falling on the ground."
Here we go again.
"Your head is nearly three meters from the ground."
The cat-woman turned, expression serene. "The snow falls upon my heart."
"...Want some eggs?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Her eyes instantly brightened, all pretense of melancholy abandoned as she rushed to the bars, blinking eagerly.
"Qi said you're raising chickens and ducks - can I have one?"
Li Ban ignored her pushing boundaries. "How's Qi performing?"
Since overseeing the second floor, he'd seen less of the cat-woman.
Having mastered basic combat skills, he no longer needed daily instruction, just diligent practice.
Now he only visited occasionally for cultivation advice, bringing protein supplements.
"Same as always. What do you really want to ask?" She knew his patterns well.
"Who exactly gets imprisoned in Death Prison?"
"Or rather - why are you all here?"
The cat-woman lost interest. "What an unpleasant question. Offending powerful people, backing the wrong faction, becoming useless... yet still retaining some capability - all might land you here."
"Is Death Prison's purpose just perpetual confinement? Jailers still send you to the beast-fighting arena for profit. Why keep rather than kill useful prisoners?"
"Who knows?" She waved irritably. "How many here remain truly useful?"
Li Ban stopped prodding her wounds.
The cat-woman was the most mentally stable prisoner on the first floor.
Perhaps because she could still earn money for Tree-Person A.
The other two prisoners had issues, but compared to the second floor's "rotting meat," they lived comfortably.
Keeping first-floor prisoners might serve purposes.
But why maintain clearly incapacitated second-floor inmates?
Moreover, deceased prisoners underwent inspection before being sent to Zhou Gu.
Did the corpses hold significance?
Could his mission relate to these bodies? Explaining Tree-Person A and Zhou Gu's coordinated testing?
Noticing Li Ban's preoccupation, the cat-woman teased, "Become a jailer yourself, then you'll know why Death Prison keeps us."
"Stop daydreaming for me."
Internally, he agreed.
Only by rising to jailer, even officer status, could he access more information.
Perhaps then he'd inadvertently complete phase objectives and temporarily log out.
He resolved to maintain his current approach:
Steady cultivation, climbing the hierarchy.
Three months as a menial worker had earned him 1,500 coppers - one and a half taels.
Some merchants gave him tips when purchasing for Zhou Gu and the tree-person jailers.
Li Ban didn't pretend righteousness, accepting reasonable gratuities.
Though raising poultry and feeding cats - uncompensated by Death Prison - consumed some savings.
He retained slightly over one tael.
Planning to sell the mimic rat's tail for an ordinary-grade element fusion.
He'd consulted both the tree-person jailer and cat-woman.
Elements ranked in four tiers:
Inferior, Ordinary, Good, Superior.
His current Identity only accessed Inferior and Ordinary grades.
Inferior elements often carried severe side effects.
Like this mimic rat tail.
Its fusion caused chronic poisoning.
Without antidotes or counteracting elements within years, the body would deteriorate into uselessness.
This likely explained Lu's murderous desperation after fusing a mimic rat tail.
She needed rapid advancement.
Every promotion required vicious competition.
Li Ban naturally avoided such risky elements.
His sensitive situation and severe death penalties demanded cautious progress.
He must advance steadily without reckless gambles.
Thus, a suitable element was essential.
The day after corpse delivery, Tree-Person A reappeared, sending Li Ban to purchase provisions and specific liquors for Zhou Gu.
"Officer Zhou says you may stay overnight this time. If high-proof liquor appears in black or white markets, acquire one jar under fifty taels - charge it to his account."
Fifty taels?!
Li Ban's eyes widened - over eight years' wages!
For alcohol?
What experiments was Zhou Gu conducting?
Scientific research truly burned money.
Noticing Li Ban's provincial shock, Tree-Person A chuckled and left.
Unbothered, Li Ban preferred not being overestimated.
He informed Min not to save meals for him tonight or tomorrow morning, then departed the tree hollow with his money pouch and tail-containing cloth bag.
After waiting, Old Horse arrived pulling the empty carriage again.
The cat-woman was right - snow had fallen yesterday.
All day, leaving thick accumulation.
The once-clear forest path had vanished, though Old Horse proceeded unerringly through the drifts.
Bundled in heavy winter wear, Li Ban sat inside the carriage, low walls barely blocking northern winds.
Witch World winters were terrifyingly cold - only his spiritual essence cultivation prevented freezing.
Upon reaching the main road, another carriage appeared distantly.
Its driver wore minimal clothing, just a rain hat against the wind.
The breeze revealed his muscular physique, clearly formidable.
Li Ban's right eye briefly scanned before focusing on the cargo bed.
Longer than his own and roofless, it carried towering stacks of straw mats bound with hemp rope.
Frosted yellow mats bore snow accumulations.
As the carriages neared, Li Ban finally looked away.
Those straw rolls contained corpses.