Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

"Senior Brother? What are you doing? He... didn’t he say he was full?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Qingfeng immediately adopted a look of both pity for the man’s plight and exasperation at his weakness.

"Sigh. I knew it. You’re just too naive. He says he’s full, and you just believe him? Maybe he was just being polite! He was probably too embarrassed to eat so much in front of us!"

"Think about it. He hasn’t eaten in three days. How could a few steamed buns possibly fill him up? He’ll probably walk for a bit and get hungry again! We have to follow him and make sure he’ll be alright!"

"Come on, come on, let’s keep up!"

Su Ling’er: "..."

’Wait... Senior Brother, aren’t you being a little *too* concerned? Do you really have to worry about whether he’s *actually* full later on?’

Although she found it a bit strange, she was more moved than anything else. A thought even sparked in her mind.

’Maybe Senior Brother is a good person at heart? If... if I could just guide him properly, maybe... he could change for the better?’

Once the thought took root, it became impossible to suppress. She nodded and followed Lin Qingfeng. The two of them concealed their auras and tailed the beggar from a distance.

The beggar hurried along, diving into a complex network of alleyways. He turned left, then right, weaving through the winding paths. Only after confirming that no one was following him did he emerge onto another street, which was also bustling with people.

He glanced left and right, and upon confirming that his "benefactor" hadn’t followed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He then expertly set down his wooden sign, the one that read "Haven’t eaten in three days," placed his broken bowl in front of him, and transformed back into a "starving," pitiful man.

"Please, kind people, have a heart..."

...

From the shadows of a small alley, Lin Qingfeng watched the scene unfold and nodded.

’Just as I expected. Sigh, this routine is exactly like the ones back in the real world. The Beggar Gang truly deserves its reputation as a sect that stands the test of time. Their legacy has never once been broken. Even in the modern era of the real world, the Beggar Gang’s business model is still going strong.’

’Maybe once technology advances to the point of warp drives, they’ll be able to beg across the entire universe! Sigh. As long as there’s a bustling commercial district, you’ll always find the Beggar Gang.’

’At least the ones in the real world are still dedicated to their craft; their begging scams involve actual people.’

’I wonder if one day they’ll have a smart-robot kneeling on the street, kowtowing while blasting sad music. I doubt anyone would fall for it, but you never know.’

’At least this guy is still putting in the personal effort for his scam.’

’It’s just...’ Lin Qingfeng’s gaze shifted to Su Ling’er beside him.

’This Junior Sister of mine is way too gullible. She’s so naive, she’s the type who’d help count the money after being sold. This won’t do. As her Senior Brother, I have to see this practical lesson on the harsh realities of the world through to the very end.’

Lin Qingfeng extended a finger, pointing to the beggar who had just "reopened for business" down at the corner of a distant wall.

"See? What did I tell you? I said he wasn’t full! Look, he’s hungry again!"

Su Ling’er was completely stunned. ’Could it be... he... he really only said he was full to save face? If Senior Brother hadn’t been so observant, I would have actually believed the poor man and let him leave hungry.’

In that moment, Su Ling’er’s heart filled with self-reproach and admiration for Lin Qingfeng. Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Qingfeng once again picked up the sack, still more than half full of food, and strode forward.

The beggar was humming a tune with his eyes closed when he heard approaching footsteps. Thinking he had another customer, he was about to open his eyes and recite his lines. But when he looked up, he saw the face of that same wealthy merchant, Lin Qingfeng.

The beggar’s expression froze instantly. ’No! Bro, why are you here again?! Are you targeting me specifically? There are so many beggars, why do you have to pick me to bestow your charity upon?!’

"Sigh!" Lin Qingfeng let out a long sigh as he squatted down and once again piled the sack of steamed buns and food in front of the beggar. "I just had a feeling you weren’t full! See? You got hungry again, didn’t you? Come on, don’t be polite with me! Hurry and eat! I just can’t bear to see a good person suffer!"

’The corner of the beggar’s mouth twitched involuntarily. ’Is this how you do charity, you great philanthropist?! Is this targeted poverty alleviation or targeted force-feeding?! Oh, heavens above!! Will someone please take this "great benefactor" home?!’

But he forced himself to maintain his professionalism and knelt down once more. "Kind sir... I... I..."

"Say no more. I understand your plight completely," Lin Qingfeng interrupted him gently. "Hurry up and eat! Don’t let yourself go hungry. Your body is your most important asset."

And so, under the "caring" gazes of Lin Qingfeng and Su Ling’er, Lai San painfully forced down two more steamed buns. This time, even his words of thanks were spoken listlessly.

He once again insisted he was truly full, then snatched up his wooden sign and broken bowl and practically scrambled away in a panic.

「Then came the third time, under the stone bridge in the city’s west end.」

「The fourth time, by the memorial archway in the north.」

「The fifth time, at the mouth of the back alley by Fuman Building...」

...

「An hour later.」

The beggar, Lai San, despairingly set up his "stall" for the sixth time.

He leaned against the wall, panting for breath, feeling like he’d run more today than in the entire past month. He poked his head out and peered around for a long while, confirming that the terrifying figure hadn’t followed him.

"Phew..." He heaved a long sigh of relief.

’This time... I should be safe this time, right? That ’great benefactor’ has been hounding me for nearly an hour. Surely he’s gotten tired of it by now?’

He waited for a long time. Seeing that the wealthy merchant hadn’t followed him this time, he finally breathed another sigh of relief. Exhausted, he lay down to begin his work...

But then! A familiar figure appeared before his very eyes once more.

Lai San stared at the man, at the burlap sack in his hand that seemed to be a bottomless pit. And the string in his mind labeled "sanity" finally went SNAP and broke.

His eyes instantly turned red. "WAAAAAH—!"

This time, he was really crying. He cried his heart out, his sobs wracking his body.

"Kind sir! Bro! I’m begging you! I’m really, truly full! I’ve never eaten so many steamed buns in my entire life! Please, just let me go! I’ll kowtow to you! THUD! THUD! THUD!"

Lin Qingfeng remained silent, his face still fixed in that expression of profound, saintly compassion, and held out another steamed bun.

Standing to the side, Su Ling’er also began to feel that something wasn’t right.

’This beggar... what’s going on with him? You’ve already eaten so many times, why do you keep moving to new spots to beg? Are you a bottomless pit? Could it be...’ The conviction she held in her heart began to waver.

Seeing that Lin Qingfeng was unmoved, Lai San snatched up his sign and bowl and gave Lin Qingfeng a cupped-fist salute.

"Sir! I was wrong! I was really, truly wrong! I shouldn’t have come out to beg! I’ll pack up and go home right now! I’ll never do this again! Please, just stop following me, will you?!"

Without another word, he turned and bolted into the depths of the alley. Lin Qingfeng watched him disappear, then turned to Su Ling’er.

Su Ling’er’s face was a mask of confusion. "Senior Brother, what..."

Lin Qingfeng didn’t explain, just nodded his head in the beggar’s direction. "Follow."

The two of them tailed the beggar from a distance. They watched as he sprinted madly, running in seven or eight circles around the city, constantly glancing over his shoulder. Only after confirming he wasn’t being followed did he cautiously enter a rather affluent-looking street.

He finally stopped at the back door of a large residence. After a quick look left and right, he pushed the door open and slipped inside.

Su Ling’er stared, stunned by the scene. ’This place...’ Although she didn’t know it well, the residence was clearly not the home of a poor family. ’That beggar... how can he just walk into someone else’s back door like that? Isn’t he afraid of being beaten and thrown out?’

Lin Qingfeng, meanwhile, led her into an alley to conceal themselves. "Why don’t we go in and see for ourselves?" he said. With that, the two of them silently levitated, soaring over the courtyard wall and landing softly on the roof of the residence.

They looked down into the courtyard. The beggar was standing before a basin of water. He stripped off his tattered burlap clothes and changed into a clean, silk tunic.

He washed the grime from his face, revealing a healthy, ruddy complexion. He then took a luxurious, gold-embroidered outer robe from a nearby rack and put it on. After adjusting his topknot in a bronze mirror, he had, in the blink of an eye, transformed from a beggar into a wealthy gentleman.

Su Ling’er clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. ’Is... is that really the same beggar from before?! Wait a minute, if you’re this rich, how do you have the audacity to go out and beg?!’