Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

The figures of Lin Qingfeng and Su Ling’er disappeared at the end of the street.

At the base of the wall, the cart drivers who had been turned away gathered together again.

"Damn... just now... did you all see that? That little girl... she lifted Li’s cart with just one hand!"

"I saw it... She didn’t just lift it, it didn’t even wobble! Her wrist was like it was forged from iron!"

"Tch! What the hell! Hiring a heroine like that as a bodyguard... That boss must be loaded!"

"Totally! Scared the daylights out of me! Are even little girls this strong nowadays?"

The men chattered away, their conversation focused entirely on Su Ling’er’s incredible strength.

Just then, the dark-faced man named Zhang waved a hand, cutting off their exclamations. His gaze remained fixed on the direction Lin Qingfeng and his companion had gone, his brows knitted tightly together.

"Hey, Zhang, what are you thinking about? Did that girl scare you too?"

Zhang rubbed the stubble on his chin, not answering right away. He turned, his expression grave as he looked at the others.

"Being scared isn’t the main thing... Don’t you guys... think that girl in the black warrior’s attire looked a little familiar?"

"Familiar?"

Hearing this, the men all froze for a moment, then began to wrack their brains, trying to recall Su Ling’er’s appearance.

"Now that you mention it... she did seem a bit..." a skinny, weaselly-faced man scratched his head. "Her eyes... I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before..."

"I can’t remember. People come and go. Plenty of folks look alike. Maybe she’s been to our city before."

For these cart drivers, who toiled day in and day out just to make a living, memories were worn smooth by endless fares and daily exhaustion. How could they clearly remember a young girl they barely knew in the first place?

"Forget it, forget it." Zhang finally waved his hand, giving up. "If you can’t remember, you can’t remember. Who cares who she is? It’s not like we got the fare."

He put his felt hat back on, his gaze returning to the city gate. "Alright, perk up! Keep your eyes peeled! Maybe the next one will be a big customer!"

At his words, the others immediately scattered, returning to their spots to wait for the next fare. The familiar-looking girl was quickly pushed to the back of their minds.

...

Su Ling’er hadn’t been back in three years...

The street was the same, and the shops on either side looked just as she remembered.

Half a pig carcass still hung at the entrance of the butcher shop. The shopkeeper of Li’s Cloth Shop was dozing off, leaning against his doorframe. The attendant at Yuelai Inn was still at his post, loudly hawking for customers.

Everything seemed unchanged.

And yet, a sense of strangeness welled up inside Su Ling’er. She noticed the officials patrolling the street corners had been reduced by half, and she recalled how easily they had been allowed into the city earlier...

’Something isn’t right.’

Lin Qingfeng paid no mind to these details. He was sizing up the city with great interest.

’Hmm, the modeling isn’t bad. It’s got a nice, ancient vibe. The shop signs are all handwritten, and the stone lions by the road even show signs of weathering. The details are pretty good.’

They hadn’t walked far before they spotted someone at the base of the wall in front of Yuelai Inn.

A man was curled up on the ground, his body drawn into a tight ball. He was covered in a tattered piece of burlap, the fabric stained a grimy, grayish-brown from filth and dust.

His hair was matted into hard clumps. His face was streaked with grime, obscuring his features. Only his eyes, visible from beneath a tangled mess of hair, held a hint of murky light.

In front of him sat a chipped, broken bowl. At his feet lay a wooden sign bearing a line of crookedly written words in charcoal.

Su Ling’er’s gaze fell on the words: "Please, kind soul, have mercy. I haven’t eaten in three days. I just need ten copper coins for a full meal."

Her heart clenched. Passersby would occasionally stop, pull a few copper coins from their pouches, and toss them into the broken bowl, making a series of CLINKING sounds.

Each time, the huddled figure would stir, a muffled mumble escaping his throat. "Thank you, kind soul... I wish you... a long and prosperous life..."

Watching this, Su Ling’er’s heart softened. She recalled the ever-present soup kitchen in front of her family’s estate and her father’s favorite saying: "To give a meal to the hungry and a coat to the cold is to follow one’s true nature."

She reached into the pouch at her waist, about to pull out a few copper coins. Lin Qingfeng, however, was staring at the beggar with no pity in his eyes whatsoever.

’Begging? Hey, this was one of the classic rackets of my old Nine Schools of Thought! Playing this trick in front of me, the master of the Nine Schools... wait, no, the Sect Leader of the Guixi Sect? Aren’t you trying to teach a fish how to swim?’

Lin Qingfeng’s gaze swept over the beggar. He saw the clear muscle definition of the arms hidden beneath the burlap. He heard the man’s long, steady breaths, full of vigor. He could even sense the abundant qi and blood flowing within the man’s body.

’In this condition? Forget not eating for three days. From the looks of it, his last meal was better than what those people giving him coins had for dinner last night. And he claims he hasn’t eaten in three days? Is he kidding me? I knew it! These able-bodied, professional beggars are all a bunch of professional liars!’

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another figure at the mouth of a distant alley—another beggar, preparing for his shift.

He was struggling to twist one of his legs at an unnatural angle and stuff it into the other pant leg, faking a disability.

’Sigh, this game’s environment is so realistic it hurts. Even the beggars on the street are true to life.’

Just as Su Ling’er was still fumbling for copper coins, Lin Qingfeng reached out and placed a hand on her wrist. She looked at him, confused, and Lin Qingfeng sighed internally.

’My junior sister is so naive. She basically has "I’m an easy mark, please scam me" written all over her face. Ugh, this won’t do. I have to show her all the begging rackets later, make her understand just how much money there is in this business!’

He collected his thoughts and, still holding her wrist, said, "Junior Sister, this man is hungry. If you give him copper coins, you’re merely climbing a tree to find a fish. He would still need to take the money and trade it for grain, which is an unnecessary extra step. Our actions should be direct. Why not give him food instead?"

Su Ling’er froze at his words.

’Senior Brother... he... makes so much sense. I was the one who didn’t think it through. He... he actually has such a kind heart? And he didn’t just slaughter all these commoners when we entered the city... Could it be... have I been wrong about him all this time?’

’Senior Brother is ruthless with our sect-mates and his enemies, but he’s merciful toward these mortals who have nothing to do with cultivation? Was there some deeper meaning to everything he’s done?’

In Su Ling’er’s heart, the high wall she had built of fear and prejudice developed another crack. She looked at Lin Qingfeng, her gaze now holding a hint of searching and confusion.

Seeing that his words had gotten through to her, Lin Qingfeng was inwardly pleased. He then ducked into an alley. When he re-emerged, the bag in his hands was stuffed full.

First, he pulled a stack of fluffy, white steamed buns from the bag—a good twenty of them—and piled them all in front of the beggar!

The beggar: !!!

The beggar: ’What’s going on?!’