Zhou Yi

Er Gou listened, his hair standing on end. He subconsciously felt his body, but he had no idea where the Demonic Seed Chu Qing spoke of was located.

He didn't think Chu Qing would lie to him... His martial arts were formidable; he had killed someone like Tang Xi without hesitation.

In front of him, he was as insignificant as an ant, so why bother deceiving him?

He immediately dropped to his knees with a thud:

"Thank you, Master, for saving my life."

Master...

Chu Qing stood silently with his hands behind his back:

"Get up. Er Gou is not a good name. Change it."

Er Gou stood up and scratched his head:

"Master, I, I never went to a private school when I was little, I don't know how to pick a name."

Neither do I!

Chu Qing felt a bit awkward.

Er Gou was clearly a name meant to be easy to raise, not a name one could use for a lifetime.

"What's your surname?"

Chu Qing asked again.

After crying his heart out, Er Gou probably felt a huge weight lifted from his chest. The fierce determination that had lingered in his heart was gone, replaced by a hint of simple honesty:

"Master, this humble one's surname is Zhou."

Chu Qing pondered deeply, deliberating for a long time before finally saying:

"A new year begins, all things are renewed.

"From today onwards, you will be called Zhou Yi."

His voice was full of profound meaning. Er Gou listened, dumbfounded, feeling that this person was truly remarkable!

There was so much learning even in choosing a name.

He immediately nodded repeatedly:

"Okay, Master, this humble one has noted it. From today onwards, I will be called Zhou Yi."

Seeing this, Chu Qing felt a slight relief, realizing that choosing a name was indeed a tough problem and not something he was good at.

Fortunately, he had managed to get through it this time. He immediately said:

"Zhou Yi, I have a few things I need you to do."

"Master, please instruct."

Zhou Yi had already made up his mind. No matter what Chu Qing asked him to do, whether it was climbing a mountain of knives or entering a pot of boiling oil, he would not hesitate.

He heard Chu Qing speak softly:

"I want you to take over the Chen family's oil and grain store on North Street in Heavenly Dance City."

"Ah?"

Zhou Yi was stunned. He scratched his head and said:

"Master... this humble one has no money."

If he had money, how could he be living here?

"You don't need to worry about that."

Chu Qing said softly:

"Since you are working for me, you will naturally not lack silver.

"Listen to me first... After taking over the oil and grain store, you will operate it as usual, responsible for your own profits and losses.

"After that, every night at midnight, you need to go to the alley behind the oil and grain store. There is a large stone there.

"You will turn over the large stone, and if there is a letter inside, take it.

"Then, prepare a large vat in the courtyard and place a basin on top of the vat.

"If there is a letter, fill the basin with water and place the letter under the basin.

"If there is no letter, still place a basin, but you don't need to fill the basin with water.

"Have you remembered everything I've said?"

Zhou Yi was silent for a moment. After confirming that he had remembered all of Chu Qing's words, he nodded:

"Yes, Master, this humble one has noted it."

"Good."

Chu Qing nodded and took out a handful of gold leaves from his懷. After estimating the price of the oil and grain store, he took out a portion and gave it to Zhou Yi.

He also took out some碎 silver and gave it to him.

Zhou Yi looked at the gold leaf and silver and took them without much thought.

"Alright, you may go now."

Chu Qing waved his sleeve, letting him leave.

Just as Zhou Yi was about to depart, he couldn't help but turn back:

"Master, how should I find you on a normal day?"

Chu Qing shook his head:

"You don't need to find me. If there's something, I will find you."

"Yes."

After hearing this, Zhou Yi didn't ask any more questions. He glanced at Tang Xi's head on the ground again, picked it up, and said:

"This humble one takes his leave."

With that, he walked towards the exit of the Earth God Temple.

Only after Zhou Yi was out of sight did Chu Qing leap up and follow his steps.

There were many inconveniences to working alone.

In his current state, getting jobs often relied on pure luck and wasn't sustainable long-term.

Therefore, he needed to establish some influence of his own.

But he didn't need to build a massive organization like the Mirror of Sin... he just needed 'eyes' to see and a 'mouth' to speak.

Thus, the people under him didn't need to be highly skilled experts.

Rooting himself among the common people was the only way to learn more.

Zhou Yi was a test.

If he hadn't been greedy and run off with Chu Qing's gold leaf and silver, then preliminary trust could be established.

From now on, the profits and losses of that oil and grain store would all be his.

He could completely support himself with this one shop, and he could even marry and have children. Becoming extremely wealthy might not happen, but living comfortably wouldn't be difficult.

But if he ran off with the money... Chu Qing wouldn't go looking for him.

Because the Demonic Seed on him, Chu Qing hadn't completely removed it.

It wasn't that Chu Qing deliberately held back; rather, the Demonic Seed was deeply rooted and couldn't be removed overnight.

The Purple Mist Ruoxu Scripture contained the Purple Mist Divine Skill, which could resolve foreign true qi. The Demonic Seed, to some extent, was considered foreign true qi, so it could be resolved, albeit with difficulty.

But this required time...

Chu Qing didn't reveal this matter because he wanted to see Zhou Yi's character.

As for whether this was unfair to Zhou Yi, in fact, Chu Qing had already saved his life. If Chu Qing hadn't appeared, his ultimate fate would have been to have his heart cut out while alive and be completely devoured.

Moreover, Chu Qing had also helped him get revenge.

It was also he who said he would entrust his life to Chu Qing...

In this situation, if he still ran off with Chu Qing's money, it could only be considered that his death was not to be regretted.

Chu Qing followed Zhou Yi the whole way and saw him first find a deserted place, completely destroy Tang Xi's face with a short knife, and then walk along a small path, seemingly looking for something.

A moment later, a wild dog suddenly darted out of the grass. Zhou Yi might have been bitten by one before; seeing the wild dog, he instinctively shivered, then threw the head to it.

The wild dog didn't know how long it had been hungry. It grabbed the head and ran, as if afraid someone would snatch it.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi finally showed a hint of a smile. He turned and went to a clothing store, changing into a respectable outfit from head to toe.

Afterward, he went to a bathhouse, and by the time he came out, he had already put on the new clothes.

Having done all this, he went straight to the oil and grain store.

When he came out of the oil and grain store, it was with the original shopkeeper of the store. The two of them went together to the City Lord's Mansion.

Transactions for this type of shop all had to be reported to the City Lord's Mansion.

The entire process wasn't quick. It wasn't until dusk that the oil and grain store was considered to have changed owners.

Only then did Chu Qing leave. Preliminary trust had been temporarily established.

As for the rest, they would just have to wait and see.

Chu Qing also had his own things to do.

He had been staying at an inn for a bit too long. As an assassin, it was best not to stay in one place for extended periods.

Therefore, he bought a small courtyard as a place to live.

He had thought that there would be nothing to do for the next few days, just waiting for the 'big job' to start.

However, he didn't expect that late one night, as he was meditating at home, someone suddenly left in the dead of night, creating bursts of rushing wind sounds.