"I got scammed.

"

This single sentence was all it took to change my mood. I was joyous after all the shopping I did, eager to look into ways to make the best use of them.

But this single sentence, single information, changed everything.

For a moment, rage took over my soul. But in just a flash, I forcefully quelled this feeling, as it touched on the emotional scars that I still kept on hiding.

It already happened a long time ago... But I still wasn't ready to face it.

'I guess not all the brothels are as accomodating as the one back at the Zero Zone,' I thought once I managed to rein in my emotions. 'Still, I don't know enough,' I thought, refocusing my eyes and looking Lucius in the face.

Yet, before I could even open my mouth, I noticed a particular thing about my vocabulary.

'I'm already referring to the Skyladder sect with how the locals call it,' I thought before shaking my head and refocusing on the topic at hand.

"Tell me exactly what happened,

" I requested.

"Isn't what I already said enough?

" he scoffed, leaning back on his chair. In an instant, his shame disappeared, replaced by anger.

"Or do you want me to humiliate myself in public before helping me out?

" he barked, clearly trying to provoke me.

"I'm not going to just throw money at you,

" I said, my expression darkening a little.

"If you want my help, you need to tell me what happened,

" I said, looking straight into Lucius' eyes.

"Without knowing what happened, I won't be able to help you at all,

" I said, crossing my arms on my chest to show my determination.

"This is a very private affair...

" Lucius protested again, this time far weaker.

I kept silent, waiting for his opposition to crack.

He took a deep breath and lowered his head.

"You see, the cost of the girl depends on two factors. How attractive she is... And how high cultivation she has,

" Lucius finally started to explain.

'Does this have something to do with dual cultivation?' I thought, making the connection as instantly as my expression sank.

Even though it wasn't mentioned, just thinking about dual cultivation put a crack on my mental defenses.

In a second, my wish to help Lucius died off.

'No, I can't do it,' I thought, clenching my jaws. 'If I never face it, it will only continue to burden me,' I thought, tightening my hands into fists.

"I guess some people use brothels to dual cultivate,

" I muttered before raising my eyes at Lucius' face.

"Right?

" I asked, unsure whether my guess was correct.

I knew the answer before the man even answered.

"Yeah,

" Lucius said and nodded his head.

"It can serve as another way of improving one's cultivation. It's a relatively cheap way to grow, so it's pretty common,

" he explained before sharply raising his head and looking me directly in the eyes.

"It's unsustainable. There is a limit to how far one can go just by dual cultivating,

" he stressed the point out, keeping his eyes right at my face.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in growing in this way,

" I quickly replied.

I didn't know what the basis on which the dual cultivation worked was. As such, outside of all the emotional scars that were bound to that topic, I had no intention of using such methods.

Obviously, even if I knew how it worked and either managed to work through my trauma... I still wouldn't use it. After all, dual cultivation or not, it would mean cheating on Mia.

And unless I either caught her cheating or heard her deciding she wanted to split, I would make this simple yet tragic mistake!

"Back to the point,

" I said and shook my head to stop thinking about dual cultivation.

"What is the problem?

" I asked.

For now, all I heard was the explanation of the process. A single word about the actual problem remained to be said.

Lucius turned silent once again. But instead of pressuring him, I just waited.

I waited when he sighed.

I waited when he took a sip of a beer.

I waited when he simply remained silent.

"So, they paired me with a cute girl. Right down my preferences,

" he finally started to speak after gathering the courage to do so.

"I could tell she was on the verge of a breakthrough and...

" Lucius turned silent, only to sharply raise his head again.

"Wait, do you even know how the dual cultivation works?

" he asked.

"Not a clue.

" I shook my head in denial.

"Enlighten me,

" I requested.

"Basically, when a pair... dual cultivate, their Qi will always move towards equilibrium,

" Lucius said. Whenever he was talking about theory or background information, he would be quick to answer my questions. He would only stumble on his words whenever the topic was about what actually had happened.

"If you dual cultivate with someone weaker, you will help them raise their strength. If you dual cultivate with someone stronger, they will do the lifting,

" Lucius said before taking another sip.

"Only when the parties are equal can the true wonder of the dual cultivation happen,

" he explained.

"Wait a second,

" I requested, confused about one thing.

"Is there any difference between dual cultivating and actually having plain sex?

" I asked.

Just by listening to the explanations of dual cultivation and by combining this knowledge with what Lucius already said, I could get the picture of what happened.

But to fully understand the sides there, I had to understand this one point.

Was dual cultivation just another name for screwing, or did one have to do something to elevate passionate hugging to a level of actual dual cultivation?

"It's the same. The moment you reach the third level of cultivation or higher, whenever you sleep with someone, you will dual cultivate,

" Lucius explained.

"Now then,

" I said, leaning back in my chair, satisfied with the answer.

"What does all of that actually have to do with the problem?

"

I could tell what really happened. The answer to my question was pretty obvious. But if I wanted to help Lucius, he had to say it with his own mouth.

"They gave me this girl, who was on the verge of a breakthrough,

" Lucius repeated his earlier words. I could tell from how quick he was to speak that he no longer had the strength and willpower to keep silent.

"Before going to have some fun, I splurged on the card games... And well, sought to lift my mood after losing it all in the arms of the girl,

" Lucius said, his face once again exploding in red.

"As you might expect already, the girl broke through while we were at it. I didn't really mind as it makes them... Well, it elevates the experience to another level,

" Lucius smiled a little before shaking his head.

"But when I was about to go out, they demanded I pay according to her new, higher rank!

" he almost shouted before realizing where he was and lowering his voice.

"I helped her to reach that higher ranks, and they wanted to tax me for it! If not for claiming that I will go and get more money, they wouldn't even let me leave!

" he complained.

I released all the air in my lungs to the outside. Right now, I didn't really know what to say.

"I guess...

" I muttered before raising my eyes at the man in front..

"You went to **, and ended up being **ed over.

"