"Coincidence"

As soon as Wang Baiyan came down and saw Li Qi, his expression immediately became cheerful. He walked lightly to Li Qi, cupped his hands, and replied happily, "Brother, it's only been a few Chen since we last met, and I didn't expect to see you again. It seems that the Buddhist concept of 'fate' really has some truth to it. Look, aren't we destined to be together?"

He smiled broadly, looking genuinely happy. "Last time we parted, you were in such a hurry that I didn't even have a chance to ask your name. May I ask your name, brother?"

"Uh, I didn't expect to see Brother Wang again so soon. My Xia Li Qi. I have important business to attend to and was somewhat rude earlier. I'm truly sorry," Li Qi replied immediately, standing up with a smile on his face.

But deep in his eyes lay wariness and suspicion.

What's going on? Is this person the leader of the Golden Wave Sect?

Is it really such a coincidence?

The two entered the room, while the others stood guard outside, and the door was tightly closed.

Wang Baiyan pulled Li Qi down to sit. "There are rumors that someone wants to do big business with us. I was wondering who it could be. It turns out it's Brother Li. I didn't expect it. What a coincidence! Come, let's go inside and talk. I hit it off with Brother Li last time and wanted to chat a bit more, but Brother Li was busy and I couldn't insist. Now, it's good that I have a way to help Brother Li. Please speak frankly. If there's anything I can do to help, I won't refuse!"

"Thank you, Brother Wang. You must have already heard about this from Di Danyi, right?" Li Qi asked as he sat down.

Since things have already come to this point, there's no point in dwelling on whether it's a coincidence or not. It's better to talk to Wang Baiyan more.

"Yes, as soon as I heard him say it, I knew it must be you, Brother Li. After all, at this time, who else but you would care about the lives of more than 100,000 people? Brother Li, you are so noble, I admire you greatly," Wang Baiyan said admiringly.

Li Qi shook his head and said, "Let's not say those flattering words, they really embarrass me. Let's talk about the grain. Brother Wang controls the Golden Wave Sect, but you probably can't come up with 300,000 shi, can you?"

Getting back to the main point, Wang Baiyan smiled and replied, "Indeed, 300,000 shi is neither a lot nor a little. It's certainly enough for daily revenue, but if it's to be taken out all at once, each family will have to think twice."

"However, the Guangyang Zhang Family is different. They have their own unique channels, and they can definitely come up with 300,000 shi. In fact, 300,000 shi is nothing to them."

Upon hearing this, Li Qi noticed that Wang Baiyan's tone was very confident.

"Brother Wang, what makes you say that? What are their channels?" Li Qi asked curiously.

Why would he be so confident that the Guangyang Zhang Family could produce 300,000 shi of grain?

Wang Baiyan, however, lowered his head mysteriously and whispered in Li Qi's ear, "Brother Li, have you ever heard of the outer realms?"

Beyond the realm!?

Li Qi's eyes widened; he hadn't expected to hear this answer.

"The Outer Domain Small World are many strange existences beyond the world. As far as I know, the Guangyang Zhang Family controls the entrance to one of these Outer Domain Small World. Their food comes from that place, which is why they can provide tens of millions of shi of grain despite their current sphere of influence," Wang Baiyan said.

Li Qi suppressed his shock and asked calmly, "I see. So, if I go directly to the Zhang family, will they sell me grain?"

"Of course not. Your identity is unknown and your background is unclear. Why would the Zhang family sell you grain?" Wang Baiyan said with a smile. "Even if I introduce you, it's impossible. Grain is something that's not a big deal if you're short of it, but if you have too much, it becomes a strategic resource."

"Besides, Brother Li, you may not know this, but if you go to rescue these people now, you'll be breaking a taboo. Someone might come looking for trouble for you in a little while. The Zhang family is backed by the Guangyang Situ, and the Guangyang Situ doesn't want to see them alive."

Wang Baiyan's words left Li Qi completely bewildered.

Li Qi frowned. "Brother Wang, what do you know? And why are you telling me this?"

"I'm just telling you some things that you outsiders don't know. I've been working in Guangyang City for a long time, but Brother Li, you're new here and there are still many things you don't know. I'll have to explain them to you one by one," Wang Baiyan explained.

"Why?" Li Qi didn't understand.

Wang Baiyan, however, laughed heartily, grasped Li Qi's hand, and said happily, "Why? Haha, Brother Li and I hit it off immediately, wishing we could become sworn brothers. What's the reason? Besides, Brother Li has been working tirelessly for tens of thousands of people, displaying great righteousness. How could I sit idly by? Those who are virtuous receive much help. As soon as I heard about Brother Li's deeds, I immediately regarded him as a friend and will naturally do my best to help him!"

Li Qi felt a chill run down his spine as his hands were grasped, but he didn't show it. Instead, he was making plans in his mind.

Is what the other person is saying true?

Not necessarily.

But can the other party offer me help?

Can.

Well then, let's just take it as fact for now.

Li Qi then smiled and said, "Since that's the case, I'm relieved. Brother Wang, please tell me about the things I don't know?"

"The main point, as Brother Li should know, is that Guangyang City abandoned its town gate and its people, and even demanded that the army immediately return to defend Guangyang City. This was actually the idea of the Guangyang Prefect. They felt that the town gate could not be defended, and prepared to retreat a distance to set up a huge formation using the power of the mountains and rivers in between to prevent the invasion of demons."

"So, in order to carry out this plan, Guangyang Situ will definitely not let you slowly evacuate to rescue people. As for your idea of slowly sending food over, that's even more impossible," Wang Baiyan said.

"This doesn't make sense. Evacuating the people doesn't conflict with setting up the formation." Li Qi frowned.

Wang Baiyan shook his head and said meaningfully, "But what if I said that the common people are part of the formation?"

With a loud bang, a crack appeared in the chair Li Qi was sitting on, and several pieces of stone bricks on the ground also broke off.

Li Qi's face was grim, and he uttered two words: "Blood... sacrifice?"

"That's right. The Prefect of Guangyang is a seventh-rank Shaman Path, so he naturally knows the Blood Sacrifice method. So, do you understand now why you keep running into obstacles? Brother Li, you are also a smart and quick-witted person. Think about it again. If you were to go to the Guangyang Zhang Family and ask them to sell you grain, would that be possible?"

"What he wants is for all the people near the town to be wiped out, for them to all die, otherwise the formation cannot be set up."

Wang Baiyan said decisively, then looked at Li Qi: "What do you think, Brother Li?"

After taking a deep breath, Li Qi slowly said, "The Zhang family are under the command of the Guangyang Situ. They would never sell grain to me. Moreover, I would be alerting them, just like now. If you, Brother Wang, were also under the command of the Guangyang Situ, my whereabouts would have been exposed to him long ago. If he knew that I was still working on this matter, he might have ordered me to be eliminated to avoid ruining the plan."

"That's right, that's the point. Although I'm not a government official in Guangyang City and I abhor their actions, the entire Grain Alliance is backed by Lord Situ, who is an eighth-rank official. Moreover, he can mobilize several other eighth-rank officials. Brother Li should know the despair of facing several eighth-rank officials, right?" Wang Baiyan said to Li Qi, fanning himself with his fan.

"Thank you for your advice, Brother Wang. But you're not simply telling me that things are hopeless, are you?" Li Qi asked.

Wang Baiyan said all this not to make him back down, otherwise it would have been meaningless.

This person definitely has his own purpose. Just the revelation of those inside stories was enough to make Li Qi feel that something was wrong.

Seeing Li Qi staring at her, Wang Baiyan closed her folding fan and said seriously, "Of course not. If it were just to make Brother Li back down, not only would Brother Li be unwilling, but I would be unwilling as well."

"Originally, I was also worried about how to resolve this matter. Now that I heard that Brother Li and I share the same ambition, I immediately thought of it: why can't the two of us go to the foreign lands to obtain food ourselves?"

"If the two of us go to an Outer Domain Small World and produce enough food to save lives, wouldn't that allow us to bypass them? In that way, the Golden Wave Sect can gain the same status as the Zhang family, Brother Li, you can get the food you want, and we can save so many lives at the same time. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"

As Wang Baiyan spoke, she looked at Li Qi with some hope, hoping to get his reaction.

Li Qi, however, was stunned.

He felt that he had been stunned more times today than in the previous six months.

"Brother Wang, aren't you oversimplifying things? Finding Outer Domain Small World isn't that easy," Li Qi said, shaking his head.

There are many worlds beyond the realm, but going to the outer realm is not something that a mere ninth-rank cultivator can do.

"If I weren't confident, why would I say this to Brother Li? I happen to have a clue about an extraterrestrial world, but I'm struggling to find a master to help me subdue the Heavenly Dao of that small world. Brother Li, could you—?" Wang Baiyan said.

Upon hearing this, Li Qi began to have doubts.

What a coincidence!

Are you kidding me?

The fact that this person is the leader of the Golden Wave Sect is already ridiculous. It's barely plausible that his interests align with mine, but now, Wang Baiyan claims to have an entrance to an extraterrestrial world.

Are you kidding me?

A mere ninth-rank official, qualified to interfere in matters beyond the realm?

"Judging from your expression, Brother Li, you don't believe me? Then take a look at this." Wang Baiyan said, taking out a jade pendant.

The jade pendant is inscribed with the two characters "Bai Xuan".

Just by glancing at the jade pendant, Li Qi suddenly felt a strange energy surging towards him.

After some thought, he realized that this energy had no power to harm him, so he opened his inner world and accepted this wisp of energy.

Then he understood.

This wisp of energy is called the Scroll Qi; it is an energy that can carry divine will and information.

As soon as the Scroll Qi entered his body, Li Qi immediately understood the function of the jade pendant.

The jade pendant is the key to a cave abode.

That cave abode was a 'fortuitous opportunity' left behind by a senior. He had achieved the seventh rank of Dao and was about to leave the Baiyue region. He decided to give his cave abode dwelling, along with his unwanted furniture and Law Treasure, to his descendants. So he distributed the keys, and those with the right destiny would obtain them.

Within the cave abode, there exists an Outer Domain Small World.

This world is so unworthy that it cannot support any cultivators or technological advancements; it is almost entirely populated by ordinary people, with only a few unworthy individuals.

This small world produces almost no gas and has no resources to speak of; it was just a bonsai plant belonging to that seventh-rank master.

Place a small world in your home for decorative purposes.

However, there is no doubt that there is food inside, and the food is edible.

"I had been planning to go inside for a long time, but although the Heavenly Dao of that world was only at the ninth rank, the resistance was extremely fierce. I couldn't handle it alone, and I didn't want to tell the other members of the Grain Alliance about it, so I kept looking for help. It wasn't until I met Brother Li that I finally decided to tell him," Wang Baiyan said.

"Why me?" Li Qi asked.

"I have long heard of Brother Li's name. The Shaman Li Qi came from the south and has been doing good deeds all the way. His reputation has spread far and wide. Now he is taking on the responsibility of caring for the people who have no one to look after them without asking for anything in return. To be honest, I trust you with such character."

"When doing business with Brother Li, as long as it's agreed upon beforehand, I'm sure you won't break your promise. But if you cooperate with those wolves and tigers of the Grain Alliance, you have to be careful of being stabbed in the back and having your money taken away."

"This is what they mean by 'a gentleman can be deceived by his principles.' Only with a gentleman like Brother Li would I dare to take out such a thing without worrying about being tricked." Wang Baiyan looked at Li Qi with a smile.

At this point, Li Qi suddenly realized.

Last night at Tianning Temple, this person struck up a conversation with me. Did he already recognize me then?

That makes sense, but... it's still a bit too coincidental.

Is it really just a coincidence?

Li Qi was suspicious, but dared not be certain.

After all, it could indeed be a coincidence.

After thinking for a few seconds, Li Qi finally gave his reply, "Doing these things on my own is always a bad idea. I'll go to the Zhang family first. If the Zhang family doesn't agree, then I'll go with Brother Wang to venture into the outer realms."

"Alright, I'll stay here for the next few days. Brother Li, come anytime, and we'll leave anytime." Wang Baiyan stood up and said to Li Qi.

Li Qi also got up, nodded to indicate that he understood, then walked out the door, mounted his horse, and galloped away.

Try both sides. If the Zhang family is willing to sell, that would be best. If not, then come back.

Wang Baiyan watched Li Qi walk away from behind.

Di Danyi walked over tremblingly, knelt on one knee, cupped his hands and looked up, saying, "Master... why do we have to..."

"Call me Sect Master." Wang Baiyan's smiling expression turned cold.

"Yes, Sect Master. What about the former Sect Master?" Di Danyi asked tentatively.

"Tell him to get as far away as possible and not to come back for a month," Wang Baiyan said calmly.

"Understood!" Di Danyi immediately got up and ran towards the distance.

The manor returned to silence, with only Wang Baiyan leisurely brewing tea on the tea stove.