Potential

Wu Youren was only in a shallow state of cultivation, so outside disruptions would not cause him any backlash. He lifted his eyelids, glanced at the man, and shook his head slightly. "You want to buy information about a chang ghost for this little?" Back at Hostage Manor, this would have covered his living expenses for half a month, but now... whom did this man think he was looking down on? The middle-aged man looked somewhat surprised. The youth truly did not look like someone with wealth. He glanced at Rossi, saw that the knight merely cast a sideways glance without any further reaction, and steeled his resolve. "Then name your price. How much is appropriate?" Wu Youren scanned their surroundings, then asked curiously, "Are you paying on everyone's behalf?" He knew the man belonged to a sizable caravan, but weren't there plenty of outsiders here as well? The middle-aged man answered dismissively, "Doesn't matter. This news is important to everyone." His words carried a barbed edge, subtly hinting that the youth before him was far too selfish. "Oh," Wu Youren nodded slightly. "Then count it as one silver dollar per person... Go ahead and count heads." "Heh," Rossi snorted, caught between laughter and tears. The kid truly wasn't hurting for money. He understood even better that this answer was ingenious. If the man had hoped to use this chance to probe the relationship between the two of them, that was completely out of the question now. It was bold and unconventional, yet disciplined, utterly refusing to play by the opponent's rules. The middle-aged man's face darkened upon hearing that. Counting everyone sheltering from the rain, there were at least several dozen people, if not a hundred. Had this kid never seen money before? "Isn't that information a bit too expensive?" "Mm," Wu Youren gave a soft hum and said nothing more—say whatever you like, as long as it makes you happy. The middle-aged man wanted to lose his temper, but after catching Rossi's eye, he ultimately turned away in resentment. Once he left, a slightly chubby man walked over and addressed Rossi, "I'll buy that monkey-tiger head. Name a price." Rossi glanced at him, saw that he was merely an ordinary person, and lazily shook his head. "No need. You can't afford it." The chubby man persisted nonetheless. "Name a price, Your Excellency. If I can't afford it, I'll concede, all right?" "Why are you being so annoying?" Rossi frowned. "Can you match the bounty from Red Pine?" Some things were not for sale, certainly not something to be measured in silver dollars. Right at that moment, several blinding flashes of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a deafening crash of thunder. The rain poured down even more furiously. "Really now..." Wu Youren frowned and stood up with a reluctant expression. "Hm?" Rossi gave him a questioning look. "Let's find a corner," the young man from Jin said calmly. "Better safe than sorry." Rossi understood. Never mind the natural hazards this downpour might cause; the probability of certain potential incidents had also skyrocketed. It truly wasn't baseless paranoia—the monkey-tiger they had encountered earlier was real enough. Pushing his motorcycle, he made his way under a cliff overhang, drew the broadsword from his back, and slashed it across the ground. The ground was solid mountain rock. A trail of sparks flew, carving out a semicircle with a radius exceeding five meters. He offered no further explanation, but everyone understood: he had marked out a temporary restricted zone. They were spending the night here! Many people caught on. With rain this heavy, even if it stopped immediately, the road would remain impassable for quite some time. Others quickly followed suit, staking out their own defensive perimeters. The weapons shop owner's eyes glazed over slightly. Did these people really treat his supply depot as their own home? Within Red Pine's sphere of influence, he couldn't afford to cross knights from the martial academy, but as for the others, he wasn't particularly afraid of them. "What do you think you're doing? If you want to stay, we have rooms! Don't go marking lines all over the place—we developed this ground ourselves!" Rossi remained indifferent. The man didn't dare bare his fangs at him, and Rossi had no reason to go out of his way looking for an argument. After a bout of clamor, two caravans still managed to carve out their own defense zones. The supply depot was blatantly bullying the weak and fearing the strong, but then again, that was standard practice in Great Liang. Among the two caravans was the middle-aged man's group, while the other group had seven or eight people sitting inside a vehicle. Sunshades were drawn across the vehicle's windows, concealing the interior. Right after that, however, a female warrior stepped down from the vehicle—astonishingly possessing the cultivation of a knight. She walked up to Rossi. "Are you two heading to Suotu?" Rossi was taken aback. "What's your business?" The female warrior produced an item, flashed it briefly, and tucked it away. "Understand?" "Oh." Rossi nodded slightly, his relaxed expression turning a bit grave. "What do you want with me?" "Just curious, asking casually," the female warrior pointed a finger toward Wu Youren. "What is he to you?" "You're quite the inquisitive one," Rossi muttered under his breath before answering, "He's from the academy too." It was evident he didn't care much for this woman, but even more evident that he seemed somewhat wary of her. The female warrior didn't take offense, merely nodding before asking again, "Why are you following his arrangements?" "Oh, you're asking about that," Rossi had a moment of realization; he had thought she was harboring some other motive. Yet this also explained why she had ignored them earlier and only stepped forward now. He pondered for a moment and replied, "There are reasons, but it's not convenient to say right now." "What I want to ask is precisely what isn't convenient for you to say," the female warrior replied offhandedly. "Let's go into the vehicle to talk." Rossi followed her inside, leaving Wu Youren sitting alone, single-mindedly cultivating. Quite a few gazes turned toward him from around the area, clearly having overheard the exchange just now. Many had previously overlooked the fact that the Red Pine knight's decision to mark a perimeter had been prompted by the modest youth's suggestion. Reflecting on it now, this youth, who also hailed from the martial academy, clearly had some ability. Yet, though everyone was curious, none dared make a move. Red Pine Martial Academy was already formidable enough, and whatever faction could make even that knight wary was unquestionably powerful. With the two parties now establishing contact, who would dare act rashly? The two were in the vehicle for only two or three minutes before stepping back down. The female warrior walked up to Wu Youren and said neutrally, "Want to rest inside the vehicle?" "Thank you, but no need," Wu Youren shook his head impassively. "The air is better outside." Had anyone else asked, he wouldn't have bothered explaining, but with her... that probably wasn't wise. The female warrior gave a soft grunt. "The person who issued your travel warrant is an old friend of mine." Wu Youren turned to Rossi in disbelief. "You told her that too?" "Ahem," Rossi gave two dry coughs. "None of us are outsiders." "Well, I am an outsider," Wu Youren stated matter-of-factly. "So, I'll still pass." You think I wanted to agree? Rossi looked at the female warrior. "How about you contact that person?" "Forget it," the female warrior shook her head. She was only a knight, whereas Hong Yan was a grand knight. What she said wasn't false—they had known each other for quite some time, but someone of her standing didn't qualify to contact Instructor Hong over long distances to discuss matters. Paying a visit in person was acceptable, however. So she could only turn her gaze back to Rossi. "Once the rain stops, let's head to Suotu together." Rossi asked bluntly, "What do I get out of it?" The female warrior's answer was not only blunt, but domineering: "Whatever you harvest is entirely yours." "Well, thank you so much," Rossi couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Were you planning to rob us otherwise?" The female warrior was equally uncompromising, countering, "Got a problem with that?" Their exchange was full of sharp friction, but one thing was certain: the female warrior held the upper hand in terms of authority. "I don't want to provoke your people," Rossi answered straightforwardly, then pointed at Wu Youren. "Ask him if he has any objections." "Probably... a few," Wu Youren didn't elaborate further this time. He disliked complications, especially when the other party's identity might intersect with the Life-and-Death Knot. Being watched by one faction was already annoying enough; he had no interest in strapping on another set of shackles. The female warrior's brow furrowed at his words: Do you really think you're in a position to refuse? Yet looking into his clear, untroubled eyes, her heart inexplicably softened. After a moment of thought, she spoke, "Do you want to become an ability master?" "Holy crap..." Someone nearby couldn't hold back. This plainly dressed youth had that kind of potential? Even the middle-aged man who had asked about prices earlier muttered quietly, "No wonder he didn't care about silver dollars." Wu Youren's face, however, remained expressionless. "Thank you, but is that just talk?" He had seen far too many people making empty promises. Even this body of his had witnessed the Seventeenth Prince going back on his word. "Then forget it," the female warrior waved a hand, her interest completely dampened. "Young man, don't be too greedy!" With an opportunity like this, did he expect her to beg him? What a joke! "I'm actually not greedy," Wu Youren shook his head, still saying little—none of you understand the pressure I'm under! The female warrior ignored him, cast a glance at the crowd around them, and said in a heavy voice, "As for this youth, don't any of you get funny ideas. "What he excels at most is sensing the approach of Guizu. We in the military will be keeping an eye on him." Military my ass! Rossi's eyelid twitched, but he said nothing. To everyone else, however, their faces wore an expression of sudden enlightenment. Sensing Guizu was indeed an exceedingly potent ability, but for that kind of trait, official government demand far outweighed private sector demand. Unless one's faction was immensely powerful, there was truly no need to compete with the authorities for talent. "It's not necessarily accurate!" Wu Youren couldn't sit still anymore and proactively stepped up to dispel the rumor. He didn't consider himself a diehard practitioner of the cautious turtling style, but he certainly hated standing out in the limelight. "Thank you all for your high regard, but I'm just afraid of dying, so I tend to overthink things. It might just be a coincidence!" Hearing this, the female warrior became genuinely infuriated, glaring daggers at him: You think I can't handle a wet-behind-the-ears kid like you? "To slay a chang ghost all on your own—you're already quite formidable!" What are you trying to pull here? Wu Youren's expression darkened slightly, his arms dropping naturally to his sides. He spoke coldly, "Knight Rossi, don't you owe me an explanation?" He was truly getting angry—they were merely collaborators, so was it really appropriate to have such a big mouth? "I was bragging on your behalf," Rossi replied self-righteously. "I didn't say it was mainly the power of the ghost-dispelling powder." "Well, now you've blabbed everything!" Wu Youren raised a hand and slapped his forehead in exasperation. "Can this partnership of ours even continue?"