Chapter 0: 12. Finally Found You
White Poplar City.
“Ah, life is truly as lonely as snow.”
Little Fatty, dressed in an extravagant and luxurious official’s attire, with five or six exquisite storage bags adorning his waist, and cradling a large pile of dazzling high-grade spirit stones, walked with a dejected expression through the bustling street.
“Just yesterday, Fatty was a simple farmer toiling under the sun. This morning, a cultivator visited my home, insisting there was a spiritual vein mine! They forcefully bought my ten acres of fertile land and stuffed me with so many of these damn spirit stones! What am I to do? I wonder how much money these spirit stones can fetch!”
He shook his head and raved deliberately loudly, as if afraid no one would hear, portraying the image of a nouveau riche country bumpkin.
“Heh heh, from now on, Fatty is also a rich man. I’ll first exchange these spirit stones for a golden hoe, then a golden sickle! Even the Human Emperor would likely have this kind of treatment, right? It will surely make farming more energetic!”
Little Fatty chuckled foolishly, flaunting himself in public for a while before weaving through streets and alleys into secluded nooks. After repeating this a few times, he was finally cornered by three people led by a cultivator in the Artifact Forging Realm.
“Little Fatty, I heard you’re selling spirit stones?” the Artifact Forging Realm cultivator stepped forward and asked with a smile.
Little Fatty grinned foolishly, “Yes, these stones are rare treasures for cultivators, but to me, they’re just shiny silver.”
“Then this young master will buy them all.” The Artifact Forging Realm cultivator’s smile deepened. As he extended his hand, the two Qi Gathering Realm cultivators beside him immediately took out several silver notes and placed them in his hand. “Here are three thousand taels of silver notes, more than enough to buy these spirit stones. The excess is a reward for you.”
Little Fatty opposite them was merely a commoner who couldn’t recognize a gem.
Three thousand taels of silver notes were indeed more than enough to buy over ten low-grade inferior spirit stones. However, anyone with discerning eyes could see that the hundreds of spirit stones weighing down Little Fatty’s arms were all high-grade spirit stones of the highest quality in terms of both appearance and spiritual energy density, rare goods with no market.
“Only three thousand taels…” Little Fatty tightened his grip on the spirit stones in his arms, showing his displeasure.
The Artifact Forging Realm cultivator raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Not enough? Five thousand taels!”
Little Fatty shook his head, “Brother, are you trying to trick me again?”
“Eight thousand taels!” The Artifact Forging Realm cultivator sneered, “To tell you the truth, these broken trinkets in your arms are only worth this much silver. If you’re still greedy, you’re asking for trouble.”
Little Fatty said with great distress, “But the cultivator who came to my house this morning to buy the land said these spirit stones are enough to get me a wife in the Artifact Forging Realm, to help me till the land! He told me not to be fooled by anyone. I was thinking of first getting an Artifact Forging Realm wife to help me farm, and then using my years of savings to find a wife from the village matchmaker…”
“Enough!”
The Artifact Forging Realm cultivator sternly roared, “What a waste of time. Xiao De, break all four of his limbs and take the spirit stones directly.”
“Yes, young master.”
A Qi Gathering Realm cultivator took out a sharp dagger from his storage bag and walked towards Little Fatty with an evil grin.
Little Fatty’s honest smile suddenly froze on his face, and his tone became sly, “What are you doing? There’s righteousness in trade! I warn you, Fatty is not to be bullied.”
The Qi Gathering Realm cultivator named ‘Xiao De’ sneered contemptuously, “A mere mortal refuses a toast and instead asks for a penalty, and dares to threaten us? You’re seeking your own demise. Originally, I only planned to break your limbs, but it seems I can’t be so merciful.”
Little Fatty suddenly thumped his chest, “Fine, if you can scratch even a single hair on Fatty, I’ll take your surname.”
Just then, a tall figure in green robes descended from the sky.
Qin Gou had a gentle smile as if he had met a loved one, his face radiant with joy, “You must be planning to rob them, right? And even planning to silence them afterwards? Alright, you are indeed three formidable heroes.”
For a moment, the three of them looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Where did this person come from? What was his background? They hadn’t detected him at all.
“Cough, cough, fellow Daoist, don’t make a fuss. How about we split the spoils after this is done?” the Artifact Forging Realm cultivator said with a dry laugh, trying to coax him.
“Only children make choices, I want them all!” Qin Gou grinned mischievously and drew his long sword.
The Artifact Forging Realm cultivator frowned and said in a deep voice, “Fellow Daoist, are you planning to betray us?”
Hearing this, Qin Gou and Little Fatty exchanged a look. Little Fatty patted his storage bag and took out a giant wolf-toothed club as tall as a person. His honest smile vanished, and his chubby face was filled with cunning.
“What? You’re together?” The three on the opposite side were instantly shocked.
Qin Gou and Little Fatty walked towards the three with wicked smiles.
“Wait, what are you doing!”
“Help! Someone’s robbing the robbers!”
“Where is the law!!”
…
It turned out this Little Fatty was the eccentric person Qin Gou met at the entrance of Guyue City three days ago. His real name was Chen Keshua. The boy had fled Guyue City in a hurry and had nowhere to go. Seeing that Qin Gou was easy to talk to and not a bad person, he simply stuck around and traveled with him.
The system hadn’t given any new missions these past few days, and Qin Gou couldn’t return to Arc-Moon Mountain directly. Seeing that this Little Fatty looked naturally honest and could talk well, he decided to make him his partner and resume their old business of “acting on behalf of heaven.”
Each time they dealt with some scoundrels, Qin Gou would generously reward Chen Keshua with a large sum of spirit stones, making the Little Fatty so delighted that he forgot to go home.
Half an hour later.
Chen Keshua, who had been dressed like a wealthy man adorned with gold and silver, was transformed. He was now wearing coarse white clothes and mourning attire, squatting in front of a ‘corpse’ wrapped in white cloth, with a sign around his neck: “Selling myself to bury my father.”
Passersby were dumbfounded. They had seen beautiful young women and married ladies selling themselves to bury their fathers, but why was a little chubby kid doing this? What would they do with him if they bought him home, make them bankrupt?
The real trick lay at the bottom of the broken porcelain bowl in front of Chen Keshua. Beneath the scattered silver coins thrown by kind-hearted people, a high-grade spirit stone, exuding a dense aura, lay quietly awaiting its ‘guest’.
Suddenly, the broken porcelain bowl in front of Chen Keshua was kicked over. The Little Fatty, who had been lowering his head silently, suddenly had his eyes flash with a sharp gleam. Qin Gou, who was disguised as a corpse, suddenly popped up from under the white cloth, drew his sword, and shouted, “Who is this wicked villain?”
A black-robed old man was staring intently at Qin Gou with shining eyes, as if examining a peerless beauty, and let out a piercing, strange laugh.
“Finally found you, good thing I didn’t give up.”
