Fourth District.

In a cramped, dark shack, the sloshing sound of water echoed off the walls like whispers of the sea.

After vigorously scrubbing the day’s greasy grime into the murky liquid, Bubai lifted his hand to his nose to take a sniff.

“Hmm. Much better.”

Rising from the vat with droplets cascading from his handsomely toned form, Bubai hopped out onto the sandstone board he laid out.

Waiting to serve right beside the vat, the beauty in a fishnet outfit closed the gap, using a thick cloth to dry his damp back.

The warm, soft towel pressed against him from behind, rubbing up and down while a pair of hands sneaked onto his abs.

“Ahn~ my king, Jali can feel the unparalleled power ready to be sprayed out here...”

Bubai slapped the naughty hands down. “Don’t waste time. Focus.”

“Ahn~ As you wish, my king...”

While his servant’s nimble fingers obediently performed their drying duty…

Flipping his palm, another towel appeared in Bubai’s hand, and he briskly scrub the front of his body, intent on expediting the drying process.

Once satisfied, he discarded the towel back into his storage space before applying a thin layer of skin paste.

The subtle alteration to darken his complexion had become routine.

Nonetheless, he had been using less and less of this paste ever since his mind shifted gears to lightening the skin of his Ah Niu mask to match the natural hues of his own skin.

It was always a hassle to paint parts of his own body with paste. Thus, this gradual transition was just another ongoing project to cut costs...

With the assistance of an extra pair of hands, the color of his skin was modified as quickly as using copy and paste.

Once finished, Bubai retrieved a fresh set of robes from his storage space, allowing the very enthusiastic An Jali to help him in donning them.

While the fabric whispered against his skin just like her touch, Bubai’s gaze flickered over to the vat of now-used, slimy water.

"Hmm, gotta find a suitable spot to dispose of this and let Xiao Lan refill it once I return."

Shelving this matter on his to-do list, with a touch, Bubai sucked the vat into his storage space.

Just when Bubai did this, a different type of suction force coming from below caught his attention.

With a helpless expression, Bubai glanced downward, finding his beautiful servant at his feet, blow drying his little brother who was still wet for some odd, odd reason…

How did a blow dryer appear in this backwards era? Go figure. Ahem.

Patting the disobedient woman’s head, Bubai reminded her, “I told you to help me get dressed.”

An Jali’s upturned eyes met his, "My king, Jali’s daily storage of yin energy should have recharged quite a bit.”

Bubai stiffly replied, "I’m aware. I'll clean you up when we return, not here. We can't afford to dilly dally out here for too long."

Properly expressing discontent on her usually stiff face, An Jali shot him an amorous glance but still obediently pulled up his coarse pants.

Shortly after, her nimble fingers tied the knot.

Bubai sent the compliant doll back into his storage space and quickly cleaned up the remaining supplies, leaving the shack as devoid of evidence as it was upon his arrival.

Throwing on his mysterious black robe, Bubai donned his mask and slipped out the door, sneaking across the sandy paths snaking their way to the inner sect.

Slinking into an unoccupied alley, he shed his disguise like a second skin...

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When he stepped out from the other end, he seamlessly blended back into the stream of disciples trickling towards the grand archway.

Reentering the inner sect without encountering any obstacles, Bubai secretly let out a silent sigh of relief.

Fortunately, there was no lockdown yet.

Well, some things do take time to ferment, just like the rumors he intended to spread this time.

Don’t think all his tricks up to this point was just to hide his identity while making a quick buck.

Honestly, why go through all the trouble to sell scorpions under so many disguises?

It would definitely be much easier to outright rob these weaker disciples if Bubai purely wanted to pad his coffers, even if such a tactic might attract some unwanted attention from the patrols.

The only reason why he acted upon such an elaborate scheme was because his motives run much deeper than mere profit.

Each elaborate ruse served a purpose—to leave behind breadcrumbs, subtle traces that would lead away from his true identity!

Wait. Why leave evidence when he doesn’t want to be tracked? Isn’t that counterproductive?

Well, the crux of the problem was never whether he gets tracked or not.

Bubai hasn’t forgotten: his Liang stall owner identity was never actually in the safe zone!

He had a nagging suspicion it had long been leaked to the ever-watchful golden core peeper stationed at the Saintess's tent.

That happened back when he was foolish enough to think changing in the Public Commons District’s stalls was a great idea.

So, Bubai knew if this tiny variable was left unaddressed, investigations would inevitably circle back to him, potentially exposing his true self… if it hasn’t already.

That begs the question: what is the best way to ensure the investigations don’t go in that direction?

Or better yet, how could he provide himself with a plausible excuse should his true identity be uncovered?

Naturally, the most effective strategy was to manipulate the direction of the investigation, diverting attention away from himself, and even planting the seeds that could serve as his excuse!

By leaving deliberate traces behind, his aim was to lure investigators back to the outer sect.

Of course, merely giving them a clear investigation direction wasn’t enough.

If all the evidence consistently pointed in one direction, it wouldn't take the astute old fogeys long to zero in on suspicious targets—such as himself.

With his record of unexplained excursions between the inner and outer sects, it was too hard to not raise suspicions.

To counter this, Bubai adopted a more roundabout approach.

Donning a plethora of disguises, he targeted specific individuals he had profiled during his time at the plaza—those with a keen interest and deep pockets.

Through these strategically-chosen buyers, Bubai aimed to disseminate a concoction of truths and falsehoods, creating a murky stew of rumors that would bury the genuine truth!

With all these rumors flying around, both baseless and substantiated with witnesses, it can stall the opponent’s investigations, assuming they haven’t locked onto the true culprit yet.

Even if they had linked it to him, the web of gossip woven by him will actually add a layer of ambiguity that he can exploit to his advantage.

Unless they caught him red-handed or searched his memories, the investigators won’t be getting anywhere—even if a golden core eunuch were to testify against him.

After all, can they lock him up if he claimed he found his batch of scorpions in the outer sect during his excursions to the outer sect?

And who could they blame if he further asserted that a mysterious person had sold them to him, just like everyone else?

Hiding in plain sight... oh, it’s a game that can be much more complicated than simply setting up an alibi.

Of course, everything he has done could be superfluous as a simple word from his backer, the old Granny Shu, may be enough to solve a lot of his issues.

But Bubai was not one to sit and passively wait for salvation.

Who knows if the old lady’s protection would hold when interests were at stake?

So, he took matters into his own hands.

Doing more could sometimes be counterproductive, but right now...

There was only wins, especially since this event not only expanded the room for him to play, but also lined his pockets with a satisfying cha-ching.

Just from these few hours alone, Bubai already amassed eleven spirit stones!

Of course, the true profit margin amounted to less than nine spirit stones once the expenses for his various disguises, including the costly grimy beggar ensemble, were deducted.

These sunk costs, originally prepared for his escape if he ever got the chance, had been repurposed for this venture here.

So, a resupply trip was on the horizon.

Still, the harvest was definitely worthwhile.

Of course, it could’ve been more, but Bubai made a conscious decision to limit sales in each district and even distributed some of his stock for “free” - a sacrifice that weighed heavily on his heart.

Alas, practicality dictated such actions.

His goal was a blitz. He had to get in and out before any lockdown happens.

Taking into account the need to travel across multiple districts, the negotiations with each customer, and the threat of time constraints, expecting to sell his entire batch was rather unrealistic.

So, being too greedy wasn’t an option. For the greater good, he could only earn less.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t like there was zero benefits to his giveaway spree.

By deliberately leaving some scorpions behind, he subtly planted the notion that they might be a wild species indigenous to the outer sect, adding another layer of muddy water to his trail.

Coupled with the other rumors and feuds he instigated, these tactics should be enough to hold off the horses and safeguard his identity, provided he doesn’t let silly greed take over and come back out for another round of "business".

As for the business partners to whom he dropped hints of his or her potential return?

Well, will a scammer ever return to send himself into custody? Haha.

Gazing up at the turbulent clouds looming beyond the protective barrier of the sect, Bubai’s grin widened.

Oh, another storm is coming.

This time, he’s ready to avoid getting wet, whether it be through his own cunning or with the assistance of his umbrella.

When his thoughts arrived at this point, Bubai looked in the direction of the Book Pavilion.

"Well… time to pay a visit to the umbrella, request leave, and... engage in a little business discussion."