"Li Ban, Officer Zhou wants to see you."
At dusk, Tree-Person A came looking for Li Ban again.
Li Ban was currently cultivating.
Because cultivation required emptying one's mind, he couldn't absorb spiritual essence while thinking.
Tree-Person A had no reservations about entering the warehouse where Li Ban lived, simply pushing the door open directly.
Li Ban stood up and nodded in response: "Alright, I'll go right away."
He had already met Zhou Gu when returning today - why would the officer want to see him again? Had Tree-Person A said something?
As Li Ban squeezed past Tree-Person A, he heard the tree-person speak as if casually:
"Officer Zhou seems very interested in studying corpses. I wonder why - do corpses have other uses?"
Li Ban gave a dry laugh but didn't respond.
Still, he memorized Tree-Person A's words.
Was this implying Zhou Gu was researching corpses?
Another test?
How many times would they keep doing this?
Li Ban decided that after going over, he would stay far away from anything related to corpses!
After Li Ban entered the third level, Tree-Person A went to have Qi deliver food to the cat-woman before leaving.
Qi skillfully prepared the mimic rat and pushed the iron cage cart toward cell number thirteen.
The cat-woman heard the cart's wheels but maintained her meditative posture with closed eyes.
Only when the iron cage cart stopped at the small door did she slightly open her eyes.
Calculating the days, it hadn't even been half a month since she last ate a mimic rat.
Her heart sank, though her expression remained unchanged.
Only when Qi opened the small door did she stand up and grab the mimic rat.
Having already eaten two meals of meat today, she wasn't very hungry and ate unhurriedly.
Unexpectedly, Qi approached the bars and took out an egg from his robe, extending it toward her.
"Miss Cat, have an egg."
Qi had lighter skin and looked somewhat handsome when smiling.
The cat-woman snapped the mimic rat's neck and swiftly snatched the egg from Qi's palm.
"Tsk—"
Qi made a pained sound.
The cat-woman's nails left a one-inch-long cut on his hand.
He showed no anger or fear, just kept smiling at her with a "what-can-I-do-with-you" fondness in his eyes.
The cat-woman focused on eating while thinking: Hmph, stealing credit - this egg came from Li Ban's chickens anyway!
Qi waited until she finished eating and said many things, as if wanting to be friends.
But while the cat-woman appeared indifferent, internally she was extremely annoyed.
Since being assigned meal delivery, this person always carefully ingratiated himself yet never stated what he wanted.
In her experience, this meant he expected greater repayment - possibly even her life!
In that case, she'd eat the offerings but ignore the person.
Qi's smile became stiff, but the cat-woman didn't glance at him again.
Still composed, he said, "Before my family declined, I heard prisoners in Death Prison lose a layer of skin every few months."
"But you've been here for years, Senior Cat, still elegant as ever - truly worthy of being a Gold Rank assassin from the Assassin Hall, a fifth-rank Spirit Practitioner."
The cat-woman... showed no reaction.
Many knew her identity anyway.
Eating was more important!
......
"Sir, you wanted to see me?"
When Li Ban reached the third level, Zhou Gu's door remained wide open.
Not entering rashly, he announced his presence from outside.
"Come in."
Upon entering, Li Ban saw complete disarray.
Zhou Gu sat behind a long table, looking even more severe than usual.
"Clean up this mess, then you can leave."
[If you want support, you'll need to find someone else.]
The cat-woman's voice echoed in his mind.
Among those who could suppress Tree-Person A, Li Ban only knew Zhou Gu.
That jailer who lived next to Zhou Gu last time might also work - but he completely ignored Li Ban's existence.
Currently, Li Ban had nothing to offer him either.
Yet compared to himself, Zhou Gu had known Tree-Person A much longer.
But Li Ban had his own advantages.
Last time, just for neglecting slave conditions, Zhou Gu chopped off Tree-Person A's arm - it grew back within a month - proving Tree-Person A wasn't Zhou Gu's trusted subordinate.
Why would a veteran jailer like Zhou Gu extend an olive branch to a new menial worker like Li Ban?
Could it be... Zhou Gu lacked capable people?
Li Ban efficiently cleaned while thinking hard.
Most of the mess was shattered wine jars.
Handling the fragments carefully, Li Ban had an epiphany.
This wine didn't seem meant for drinking.
"Sir, don't be angry. Next time I'll definitely help you obtain good wine."
Zhou Gu remained stern, eyes lowered in thought.
"Sir, do you prefer high-proof alcohol? Or are you using it to preserve insects?"
Only then did Zhou Gu look up. "Why ask? Can you make liquor?"
Li Ban chuckled awkwardly. "I don't know complicated methods, but I've heard of a way to increase alcohol concentration. If you want fine wine, I can't help. But if you just need stronger alcohol, I could try."
Li Ban wanted to avoid corpses - too many dangerous secrets there. But alcohol seemed safer.
He knew both Zhou Gu and Tree-Person A likely suspected him as a mole, so he should lay low.
But between the two, Zhou Gu wanted to use him while Tree-Person A wished him dead.
Excessive caution might reduce suspicion but also make him useless.
As the cat-woman said: useless people ended up in Death Prison.
In this Witch World, lazy fish truly got served for dinner.
Zhou Gu studied Li Ban, then gestured. "Continue."
Li Ban explained distillation.
Seeing Zhou Gu use wine to preserve insects while worrying about mold suggested an anti-decay purpose.
His recent search for high-proof liquor indicated regular wine lacked sufficient strength.
Perhaps some here knew distillation, but information was closely guarded.
Since Zhou Gu paid heavily for good wine, he probably didn't know this method.
"We call this method 'steaming wine.'"
Li Ban fabricated the name and vaguely described filtration, heating, separation and collection steps.
His vagueness came from imperfect memory - his system provided no additional guidance.
Fortunately, Zhou Gu truly didn't know distillation. As Li Ban spoke, his expression showed growing interest.
"Heating then condensing should still produce wine - why would the proof increase?"
"Wine is mostly water with some pure alcohol. When heated, the first vapors are mostly alcohol. But maintaining precise heat is hard - water vapor will mix in. Multiple distillations can achieve your desired strength."
Zhou Gu stood and pointed at Li Ban. "You'll handle this. Get whatever materials you need - put it on my account."
Li Ban hesitated anxiously. "Sir, I'm just a menial worker with vague knowledge. I can't guarantee success immediately!"
Zhou Gu paused, looked at the broken jars, then waved. "Do it! I'll give you fifty taels. Whatever remains after success is yours."
He added sternly, "Tell no one. If a third person learns, I'll pickle you in alcohol!"