Ling City. Nine Clouds Tea House.

Sitting alone at a table in the tea house, Fang Bubai silently savored the cheapest tea available. Well, save wherever he could.

His purpose at this tea house was naturally not to try the Nine Clouds tea that was rumored to be enjoyed by even the Golden Core cultivators.

Instead, his goal was simply to eavesdrop on rumors and recent news firsthand.

Although the little beggar was his main channel of intel, Bubai never put his full trust in others. For unimportant info, he didn’t have to verify, but since he was about to make his escape, it was best to gather as much info as possible while he still had free time.

The new farming season would come soon, and he might not even be able to step out of the farm until the crops were planted.

A bunch of rumors flew around in the teahouse.

There were talks of hidden treasures in the nearby mountain ranges, whispers of a rare herb blooming only once every century in the Moonlit Valley, and even wild tales of looting the lair of a mythical beast in the far east.

One particular rumor caught his attention.

"Did you hear about the upstart of Ling City?"

“Who? The unknown man that was recently accepted as a disciple by the Golden Core cultivator in charge of Ling City?”

“Precisely. I heard he sent a challenge to Mo Tianren.”

“For real? How is that possible?! Mo Tianren is ranked 49 on the Earth Ranking!”

The Earth Ranking was a popular list of the top 100 geniuses in the Foundation Establishment stage. All rankers on this list had broken through to Foundation Establishment before the age of 30, and each one held the hope of breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

"I can’t be wrong. I heard he's got some kind of powerful technique. Some say he's got a treasure that can rival Mo Tianren's demonic arts."

"You think he stands a chance? Mo Tianren is no pushover. He is the true disciple of one of the elders of the Sun Furnace Demonic Sect. If this kid isn't careful, he might end up as demonic energy fodder."

"That's true, but you know how it is with these upstarts. They always surprise us. Wouldn't be the first time someone from nowhere made a name for themselves. I just hope things don’t get worse…"

“Just another background character… or the rise of a genius? Or could it be…” Bubai pondered this information as he calmly sipped his own tea.

It was an unexpected turn of events, and he couldn't help but wonder how it might affect his own plans.

Jogging back on the dusty road, Bubai couldn’t help but muse, “Geniuses, huh? But who knows how many true evildoers haven’t actually shown up on the list.”

The tall tree attracts the wind, and the true heavenly geniuses were probably hidden until the critical moment, usually when the gears of fate start churning.

“Well, nothing to do with me.”

In the forest, Bubai changed back into his dirty rags, stashing his outfits in his storage, folded neatly on top of the new box that occupied a large chunk of his seed space. “It’ll take some time to prepare this unnamed disguise technique… and the methods are a bit bloody. I bet it’s from the demonic sect, and it’s best I don’t let anyone see me prepping it.”

Letting out a sigh, Bubai looked towards the direction of Manager Qin’s farm, “It seems I will have to stay a little longer. Hopefully, I can escape in time.”

By the time Bubai returned to his hut after washing, the sun had barely just set. Walking past Old Liu and a couple of others who were still loitering around, squatting outside their huts, Bubai received their stares, but they didn’t exchange any words.

Entering his hut, Bubai closed the door, peering back with a slight frown, “Strange, did something happen? Their expressions were a bit gloomy.”

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After pondering a bit, he shelved the distracting thought, “Well, it doesn’t matter. As long as they don’t bother me, then everything’s good.”

After lighting a candle, Bubai then discreetly confirmed that no one is peeking into his hut before he took out the box, preparing to familiarize himself with the instructions in the booklet.

The night grew darker as Bubai immersed himself in the contents of the booklet.

The instructions for the disguise technique were indeed thorough and, as he suspected, carried a dark undertone.

The method seemed to originate from the demonic sect and naturally came with hints of sinister, bloody components.

The bloodiest part was the requirement of the skin of a human face. Unless Bubai had the money to buy himself a fresh one, he will have to do the skinning himself.

Fortunately, the skinning method and requirements were provided, and he knew he didn’t have to put himself at risk by committing murder. As long as it was a fresh corpse that had died within a day, it would work after applying the special concoction.

“But making the concoction has a lot of room for error. I bought three sets of material just in case… hopefully there is no need to make another run because I might not have enough spirit rice.”

Midnight.

Bubai’s concentration wavered as he heard hushed whispers outside his hut. Curiosity piqued, he carefully opened the door just a crack, concealing himself in the shadows.

Outside in front of Old Liu’s hut, Old Liu and the others were gathered, speaking in low tones. Straining his ears, Bubai picked up on their conversation.

"...Ah Niu still hasn’t come back this late. Could something have happened?"

"Who knows? But who'd be foolish enough to draw Manager Qin’s attention?"

"Old Liu, can it be that one? His honesty really isn’t to my liking…"

“Can’t be. I tested it earlier. Though Manager Qin was vague, based on my experience, he is clearly shifting the blame. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve fallen into the trap. Poor Xiao Chen is too honest, made into a scapegoat without even knowing. That Manager Qin’s mind is too deep!”

“Heh, Old Liu, weren’t you intending to make Honest Chen into a scapegoat for us? What difference is there...”

Bubai's ears perked up at the mention of himself, but soon lost interest. The pieces of the puzzle seemed to align.

“Each one worse than the other. No wonder most honest men never have good endings. Glad I’m not one of them.”

Closing the door silently, Bubai resumed his study of the disguise technique.

The next morning, Bubai stepped out from his hut, stretching his arms as he looked around. With a glance, he noticed the group of workers gathered around an area near the field.

Raising a brow, he put on his trademark silly smile and began to walk over to join in the fun.

As he got closer, Bubai suddenly smelled a tinge of a fishy smell in the air. Hmm? He paused for a moment before he got closer, tapping on the shoulder of Old Liu. “Old Liu, what’s going on?”

Old Liu jumped slightly due to his tap. He calmed down after seeing Bubai, but his old monkey face still showed an ugly smile, “See for yourself.”

As Old Liu tapped on the shoulder of the two in front, they parted. With one look, Bubai narrowed his eyes.

A bloody corpse with scars was hung on a thick wooden stake on the field. The fresh dripping blood told of the tales of torture that had probably lasted until early morning.

Although the body was savagely scarred and scorched, the face was still left intact, as if left on purpose to reveal his identity. It was Ah Niu.

“This…” Bubai glanced over at Old Liu for an explanation, only to receive a shake of his head.

However, the rest of the group glared at Bubai with some suspicion in their eyes.

Before any conflict could break out, heavy steps sounded from behind the group as if deliberate.

Turning around, Bubai found himself facing Manager Qin, who had a sneer on his face, his hands clasped behind his back. Following behind him was WeiWei, who had her head bowed timidly, a red palm print on her white face.

Manager Qin swept his gaze over the group, “Good. It seems everyone has seen it. This man…” Manager Qin waved towards the blood corpse, “had done something that could never be tolerated on my field. And this is the consequence. I hope you all manage yourselves well and don’t let me catch you… touching what you shouldn’t covet.”

Manager Qin swept his ominous gaze over the group, causing the mortals to step back a couple of steps. “Now, get to work.” He then turned around, “Let’s go, my dear WeiWei. We still have a lot to… discuss.”

As WeiWei turned around to follow Manager Qin, her eyes briefly locked with Bubai’s and a slight playful smile seemed to appear on her face, causing Bubai to feel a chill done his spine.

As Manager Qin and WeiWei left, the workers dispersed, casting wary glances at each other. Bubai, however, couldn't shake off the unsettling feeling that there was more to this than met the eye.

Bubai's mind whirred with suspicion. He recalled the pale Ah Niu coming out from the forest yesterday...

And now, he hung lifeless on a stake, a grim example for all to witness. That slap mark on WeiWei also spoke of the hidden implications.

No way. Will he be implicated?! After all, he...

Later in the day, Bubai was still hoeing his field in a daze, ignoring the whispers that circulated among the workers, some casting accusing glances his way.

Old Liu approached him discreetly, whispering in a soft voice.

“Xiao Chen, you better be careful. I could guess the hidden story. Ah Niu might not have been innocent, but what Manager Qin did was brutal. It’s as if he wanted to send a message. And those who don’t know may cause you trouble. It’s best if you prepare yourself. This warning is the last I could do to help you.”

However, even when Old Liu left, Bubai didn’t react much.

Was he scared that these other mortals would make trouble for him? Honestly, he didn’t have the time to worry about them now.

What Bubai was truly afraid of was the wrath of a late stage Qi-refiner!

And his lifeline is currently in the hands of the evil fox, WeiWei!