It was still early.
The agreed-upon time was even earlier.
But that seemed to be meaningless now.
Zhou You's eyes flickered as he silently pondered these matters.
He disliked the feeling of thinking, because when he was on the mountain, his brain was almost never used.
It was only after coming down the mountain that he felt many things required thought.
He detested this feeling.
Amidst the bustling crowd, everyone was busy.
As they walked, the old dog disappeared.
Xiao Jing stomped his foot in annoyance; this old fellow just couldn't make things easy for anyone.
Then, as they walked further, Zhao Qian also disappeared.
Zhou Chen suddenly turned around, and Xiao Jing was gone too.
"Second Master."
Zhou Chen's heart instantly pounded, "They're all gone."
"Separated?"
Zhou You looked back in confusion, his gaze sweeping through the crowd, but he found nothing.
Zhou Chen suggested, "Second Master, should we go back and look for them?"
She always felt that something was amiss.
Zhou You frowned slightly; he hadn't noticed anything.
"There's probably no need. That old dog has a very keen nose and is very experienced; there's no reason he would suddenly get lost.
Perhaps something delayed him."
Zhou Chen was not without worry; Lu Renjia had been lost earlier.
Now three more were gone.
Zhou You glanced at Zhou Chen, then walked to the side of the street, "If you're worried, we'll wait for them here for a while."
Zhou Chen followed Zhou You to the roadside, standing on her tiptoes, constantly looking into the crowd.
"Hey, brother."
A half-centenarian old man quietly appeared, furtively glancing in other directions.
Zhou You said, "Oh? Something wrong?"
The half-centenarian old man whispered, "Want to get into the top 500 or not?"
Zhou You was surprised, "What?"
The half-centenarian old man murmured, "My name is Wang Qi; I do some private work outside."
Zhou You shook his head, "I don't understand."
Wang Qi mysteriously leaned into Zhou You's ear, "To be honest with you, although I don't have much ability, I do have some connections.
I can get you into a Sect in the top 500, but after that, you'll have to rely on yourselves."
How difficult was it to get into the top 500?
This was very tempting.
Zhou Chen was shocked, "You actually have such connections?"
Wang Qi chuckled, "A strong Dragon soars in the sky, a groundhog drills holes in the ground; everyone has their own Path.
As long as the two of you can afford the price, or even pay in installments, we're not picky."
Zhou You looked at Wang Qi, and what surprised him was that the other party showed no emotional fluctuations; was he actually telling the truth?
Zhou Chen was astonished, "Unbelievable."
That was the top 500!
Even being able to become their Outer Sect Disciple would be extraordinary.
After all, the Path was laid out for you; how to walk it, how to continue, that would depend on your own abilities.
But very quickly, Zhou Chen calmed her excited emotions.
After all, her Second Master could recommend Li Wanji to join Moon Emperor Sect with just a letter.
Wang Qi keenly caught this slight change, feeling a bit strange in his heart, but his face showed no emotional fluctuations.
"Tianyuan Sect, Tianyang Sect, Sacred Dao Sect, and so on, we all have connections for such Schools, but the price is higher.
If the two of you can't afford it, just write an IOU, and pay it back within fifty years."
Zhou Chen once again found it hard to suppress her inner shock.
What was the origin of this person?
The IOU's deadline was actually as lenient as fifty years?
This was already a lifetime for ordinary people.
To put it another way, who could know what would happen after fifty years?
Perhaps both parties would be gone, or one party would be gone.
Zhou You laughed, "This is almost no different from a pie falling from the sky."
Wang Qi laughed, "Some things in this world are indeed incredible.
In any era, a small portion of people will always control absolute power and resources.
To speak frankly, although it seems like you're getting a good deal, in reality, we are still the ones truly benefiting.
Imagine, if you establish yourselves in these Sects, even just in the Outer Sect, then later, if more people want to get in, couldn't you arrange something?"
Zhou You was surprised, "Oh? So that's what it means."
Cultivating 'their own people' in a unique way, and these 'their own people' didn't enter through legitimate means.
Then, the IOU would become his biggest stain.
In this way, it seemed they could only 'collude'.
Wang Qi smiled mysteriously, "Brother is indeed clever, understanding it with just a hint."
Zhou You smiled, "Not interested."
"Don't rush to answer."
Wang Qi smiled, "This is my name card; it has my address on it.
Whenever the two of you have thought it over, you can come find me; I'm always at your service."
With that, he handed a name card to Zhou You.
The name card was two inches square, with only an address on it.
"I look forward to your arrival."
Wang Qi cupped his hands and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
The name card flipped between Zhou You's fingers, then was put into his storage ring.
Zhou Chen was curious, "Second Master, is this kind of thing really reliable? I've never heard of it before."
"When some things go beyond one's scope of understanding, there are usually only two reasons."
Zhou You chuckled, "The first, one's own knowledge is shallow, unable to reach the higher echelons.
The second, a pie will never fall from the sky..."
Smack!
A half-eaten pancake smacked heavily in front of Zhou You, "Are you trying to die? Can't you talk somewhere else? Do you have to be under my wall?"
The second-floor window opened, and a fat-faced woman cursed angrily.
Zhou You looked up, "You're very impolite..."
Before he finished speaking, a stool was thrown directly down.
Zhou You's face darkened, and he hurriedly dodged with Zhou Chen.
Damn, how infuriating!
This old woman had no manners.
Zhou You took a deep breath, never mind, he'd endure it.
With his limited ability, why provoke trouble everywhere?
Zhou Chen looked around, "Strange, why can't I still see the three of them?"
Zhou You frowned slightly; he also felt something was wrong.
What was going on?
Even if they left suddenly, couldn't they have said something?
Could it be...
Had Sun Ling made the first move?
Zhou You's brows relaxed; that guy was quite fast.
He was still playing dumb here, and he had already started moving?
As his thoughts settled, Zhou You's Left Hand quietly rested on the sword hilt.
This Xiliang City was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
Zhou Chen softly called out 'Second Master'.
"Don't separate from me."
Zhou You instructed, if Sun Ling and the other had indeed made the first move, then his act of playing dumb simply couldn't continue.
Zhou Chen nodded repeatedly, her small face taut.
The name card reappeared in Zhou You's Right Hand, and he walked forward thoughtfully, "Follow me."
