‘Usually in the novels, the beggars accept just about anyone in their sect. Should I just join the beggars?’ Zhi Fen thought about just giving up and becoming a beggar out of frustration.

After parting ways with Inspector Zhang, he had been going around to all the relatively famous martial arts sects in the area to see if they could take him in. Some of them outright rejected him after taking one look at him.

“You are too old. Your bones and muscles are already starting to harden. Even with the best teachers and great effort, there is only a very small chance for you to reach a first-class level. It would only waste our time and resources to train someone of your age.”

“What? You want to learn martial arts? Every dog in the street wants to learn, there might have been a chance if you were younger but it isn’t possible now.”

“Why are beggars coming to our sect to learn martial arts? Go away.”

Even though the rejections were painful, Zhi Fen was able to understand their reasons. Why would anyone willingly invest in stocks that they know aren’t valuable? With the time, effort, and resources it would take to train Zhi Fen, they could train multiple first and second-rate warriors for the sect.

What was infuriating were the reactions from the sects that were blatantly trying to rip him off. They knew that Zhi Fen would not be able to have any big achievements but they didn’t care. All they cared about was whether Zhi Fen could make them a lot of money.

“Hmm… although you are slightly older, it is never too late to learn, right? Our Southern Black Tortoise Sect is actually an ancient sect with a history of centuries. Although we have declined over the years, we have unfathomable techniques passed down from generations. If you learn those, you will be able to become a great martial artist. All you have to do is pay a small fee…”

“Oh? Your age? It doesn’t matter. Those who rejected you for your age are just third-rate sects who know nothing of martial arts. What you need for martial arts more than your body is hear! Heart, you know? Anyway, how much money do you have saved up…”

“What? This isn’t a scam. Ask anyone out there, we are a legitimate sect with a long history in this neighborhood. The money is just to buy herbs to make your training easier….”

Perhaps because of how he dressed poorly and acted with naive curiosity about everything, he was mistaken for a country bumpkin who had run away from home with the dreams of becoming a martial artist. They wanted to fleece him for all the money he had before throwing him out on the streets.

There were a lot of cases like that. Hundreds of thousands of youths who heard the stories about great warriors and their incredible feats would flock to the cities in search of a sect that would take them in and train them into great warriors.

But, most of them would end up being scammed and joining back alley gangsters, bandits, or pirates. Those who were lucky enough to learn some basic techniques would get jobs as escorts, guards, foot soldiers, porters, and such. The luckiest talented ones would get to join a martial sect or a family.

Zhi Fen had no delusions about joining the big sects and families like the 9 great sects and 5 great families. He was painfully aware of his limits. That was why he had been trying to join the smaller, regional sects with some reputation. But all he got was disappointment.

He could, in theory, go to other provinces and try his luck but the land mass of China was huge. And this wasn’t the modern times when you could catch a bus, train, or flight. Just getting from one city to another in the same province could take days if not weeks for a normal person. And that too if you had a horse or a carriage.

For a poor kid like Zhi Fen to travel between provinces was just a pipe dream. Even if he somehow could do that, he would have to waste months and years of his life wandering the central plains in the hopes that some sect or family would accept him. Not to mention, the more time was wasted, the more his chances would continue to decrease.

Just visiting the dozen or so sects around Jinan city had taken Zhi Fen a whole month and all the money that Inspector Zhang had given him. Now he was broke, hungry, and had nowhere to go. Even so, Zhi Fen wanted to give it one last try and test his luck in Qufu City, the hometown of Confucius.

He had heard that there were quite a few sects with Confucian flavor in Qufu. Didn’t Confucius preach about meritocracy and equality? The sects that follow his teachings might be willing to take a chance with him and take him in. It was only a very tiny hope. But to keep that hope alive, Zhi Fen would have to walk a week away to Qufu with only half a dozen buns with him.

‘I may be an ordinary person but I have watched enough survival shows to know how to live in the wilderness. It will work out somehow.’

Desperate and in a state almost similar to mania, Zhi Fen walked along the road to Qufu. Zhi Fen consoled himself with the thought that he had nothing left anyway, so he might as well pursue the last remaining spark of hope before giving up cleanly.

But once again, reality reared its ugly head out of the bushes to give Zhi Fen a nasty surprise. No… there was more than one head? Human heads?

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‘Fuck! Those are mountain bandits. Why didn’t I think of this earlier? Of course, there would be bandits in the forest. What did I expect from murim?’

Zhi Fen was so occupied and obsessed about getting to Qufu that he had not even thought about anything else. The 4 bandits with their huge muscles with scars visible under the torn, sleeveless clothing, menacing looks, and impractically large weapons grinned as they walked out of the bushes.

“Older brother, I think our luck is shit today. This one doesn’t look like he has any money either.” The youngest-looking bandit with an ugly scar on his face spoke while looking Zhi Fen up and down.

The ‘older brother’ who seemed to be the leader and the largest among the bandits clicked his tongue, “Why aren’t there any merchants on this road today? Are only the bums of Jinan going to Qufu today?”

As is customary for any shady group, there was also a snake-eyed, long-faced, skinny guy among the bandits. This kind of guy is usually the ‘brains’ of the group.

And as expected, he spoke up with a sinister smile, “It isn’t too bad. Unlike the geezer we caught earlier, this one is young and has a good-looking face. We can get a good price for him.”

‘Fuck you bastards! Why does every asshole in this world want to sell me? I’m not even that handsome to begin with, I’m barely above average.’

Although he complained in his mind, Zhi Fen didn’t antagonize the bandits. Instead, he slowly began backing away to increase the distance between himself and the bandits. While the bandits were distracted by their conversation, he was planning to sprint away.

“Take one more step and I will put an arrow through your leg.” A murderous voice froze Zhi Fen in place. He turned to the side to see that the fourth bandit who had been quiet the whole time was already in a shooting pose with a large bow in his hands.

“As expected of the third, only you have the eyes on the game. What are you two fools doing? Go tie that kid up and take him to the hideout.” The leader praised the bow bandit and scolded the other two.

Zhi Fen felt like the whole world was trying to screw him over. Ever since he came to this world, nothing has gone well for him. First, he was caught by a loan shark gangster and when he finally got out of that guy’s grip, he was now caught by mountain bandits.

“Wait! Wait! Please let me go. If you let me go, I will pay you back a hundred times, no, a thousand times. Just let me go for now.” Zhi Fen pleaded. Honestly, he was too tired of life and its curveballs.

He had almost reached the Zen state where he couldn’t care less. He knew that pleading wasn’t going to work with the bandits. They didn’t seem like the kind to have sympathy for anyone.

But, Zhi Fen had extensive experience in dealing with bastards like the bandits before him. If he didn’t plead, it would just irritate them that he wasn’t scared of them and it would lead to a beating. By going through the motions of groveling, he was sparing himself from physical abuse.

“Hehehe. Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. Broken and damaged goods never sell for the proper price.” The snake-eyes bastard laughed creepily while reassuring Zhi Fen that he was now a precious item.

……

After a little bit of resistance and a lot of wailing, the bandits tied Zhi Fen’s limbs, stuffed his mouth with dirty cloth, and covered his eyes before carrying him away. When his blindfold was finally removed, he found himself in a cold, dark room.

“Hey geezer, we found you some company. Have fun asking your stupid questions to this kid. Heh heh.” The creepy snake-eyed bandit walked away while laughing.

Zhi Fen looked around in the dark, cold room and saw that there was an old man who was looking back at him with a gentle smile. With his white hair, sparse beard, and toothy smile, he looked like an old farmer.

From his five years of restaurant work, he could immediately tell that the old man’s clothes weren’t very expensive either. It was a mystery why the bandits even caught the man. No matter how you looked at it, he didn’t seem worth selling as a slave or to demand ransom.

“I was tracking the people who stole my goods. The trail led me here.” As if reading Zhi Fen’s thoughts, the old man spoke up first with a wry smile. He didn’t seem very regretful about the situation.

“Huh?” Zhi Fen was surprised. It took a second for him to understand what the old man meant. Then came fear. Does that old man know how to read minds?

“Haha. Your thoughts show on your face, you know. Although you are quite good at managing your expressions for someone so young, you can’t hide it from someone who has eaten more salt than you have had rice.” The old man chuckled and explained kindly as if teaching his own grandkids.

“Oh, okay.” Zhi Fen frowned while thinking about the old man’s words. But the old man continued speaking, “I’m Ji She. You can call me Old Man Ji, or Grandpa Ji if you like.”

It was common etiquette that you introduced yourself to the elders or anyone in a higher position than yourself. Zhi Fen realized that he had forgotten to introduce himself and spoke hurriedly, “Oh, I’m sorry. I was dazed because of all that was happening. My name is Zhi Fen.”

The old man shook his head in understanding, “It is fine. I am rather surprised at how calm you are in this situation. You are living up to the meaning of your name, wise fragrance.”

It wasn’t just the old man who was surprised. Zhi Fen could tell that the old man in front of him was even calmer than himself. He had an air about him that made him seem leisurely.

‘His atmosphere seems like that of those old geezers who lazily sat out in the sun while playing Baduk.’

Did the old man already give up on life? It didn’t seem like it. It felt more like the old man just didn’t feel the danger of the situation he was currently in. While closely observing the old man, Zhi Fen answered.

“What can I gain even if I panic and become anxious? It’s already an inevitable conclusion that I am going to be sold. I might have the tiniest chance if some warrior came to subjugate the bandits but this place seems too small for any of those martial artists to care.”

Although some warriors talked about righteousness, duty, and honor of the sword and went around subjugating evil people, they were a small minority. For most martial artists, what mattered was fame and fortune. What fame and fortune would there be in subjugating a small bandit hideout of four?

“Oh? You have quite a mature perspective on life, don’t you? It looks like you have lived a very hard life until now.” The old man Ji’s eyes shone with a brief flash of light. He seemed very interested in Zhi Fen.

Zhi Fen sighed sadly, “I don’t even know if all that shit I went through could be called life.” Since his fate was sealed anyway and there was nothing to do, Zhi Fen began pouring out his grievances about life from the beginning. Apart from the fact that this was his second life, he poured everything out.

‘I can see why therapy was all the rage. I feel my shoulders getting lighter after telling the story. Fuck, I hope I am sold as a sex slave to a rich lady. At least I can die happy like that.’

Suddenly, Old Man Ji leaped up from his sitting position and held the startled Zhi Fen’s hands, “Young man, you seem to have great potential. Do you want to become my disciple?”