"Kunmao, what happened?"
The Thunder Pool Sage from earlier appeared again just as Kunmao left the Black Tower Sage's residence.
A smug smile tugged at the corners of Sage Kunmao's mouth.
"A deal..."
"Fellow Daoist He, the one I vouched for, has officially struck a deal with the Black Tower Sage. He now has two months to study the Black Tower Sage's Illusory World Book."
"Is that so? Congratulations, then. You'll make quite a bit from this..."
Envy flickered across the Thunder Pool Sage's face.
Sage Kunmao said modestly, "Oh, it's nothing... Just a little fee for my trouble, hardly worth mentioning. You could vouch for someone too, you know. Why don't you?"
"Me?"
"When have I ever been that lucky?"
"The higher-ups assigned me to the Illusory World Tower. I can only serve as a guard inside it, from the day I arrived until my assignment ends... I can't take so much as half a step outside."
"Ah..."
Sage Kunmao did not know what else to say. "Then you'd better follow the higher-ups' orders... I have things to do, so I'll be going."
"All right."
Sage Kunmao turned and left.
The Thunder Pool Sage did not stop him. He merely watched Kunmao's retreating back, his gaze darkening slightly.
"That bastard Kunmao... No one moves faster when there's something to gain. Now he's even pretending to be modest. Fuck..."
Kunmao paid the Thunder Pool Sage no mind and did not care what he thought.
After leaving, he kept turning one question over in his mind.
Why was the Illusory World Book fake?
Not one of the seven pages of the Illusory World Book in the Black Tower Sage's possession was real. How had he gotten into the Illusory World Tower with a fake?
Where had things gone wrong?
Still troubled