Junior Brother Zhou, Walking a Chicken!

The place was packed with iron cages, each holding some bizarre and exotic animal.

There were Two-Headed Black Scale Snakes, Three-Legged Four-Eyed Toads, One-Legged Strange Flying Cranes, Black Mysterious Bats with Heads on Both Ends...

The crowd clicked their tongues in wonder, with no idea where the stall owner had gathered all these things.

Especially after the stall owner sweet-talked them, claiming these were divine beasts born with natural anomalies that could bring their owners unprecedented good fortune. And sure enough, plenty of people actually bought them.

Zhou Qing wandered about absentmindedly, but his gaze was soon drawn to a comical sight.

A plump little chicken was locked in a cage. Its eyes bulged outward, somehow even worse than crossed eyes. Its tiny head swayed from side to side now and then, and every so often, it flapped its wings and pecked at the cage bars with its beak.

Perhaps because its crossed eyes made everything look misplaced, the chicken feed was clearly right beside it, yet it turned a blind eye to it and kept pecking away with a "tap tap."

Such a ridiculous sight made people unable to hold back their laughter.

"Cluck cluck cluck, cluck cluck~~"

Zhou Qing teased it through the cage with his hand. He had to admit, this chicken was truly fat. If he skewered it on a grill and sprinkled it with cumin, it would smell so good it could kill a man.

The stall owner was a shifty-eyed man. Seeing that Zhou Qing seemed interested, he hurriedly came forward and said ingratiatingly.

"Young master, this is no ordinary old hen. Look at those wise eyes of hers. Whenever you're in a bad mood, just let her wander around in front of you like this. Hehe, she'll definitely make you burst into laughter."

Zhou Qing did not think much of that. Whether people or other animals, none should be mocked for their flaws, much less treated as entertainment.

"How much?" Zhou Qing asked.

The stall owner immediately said, "Three Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Without another word, Zhou Qing turned and left.

It was just an ordinary chicken. In the mortal world, who knew how many he could buy with gold and silver?

They had changed locations, but even price hikes had their limits.

"Young master, don't go! The price can be negotiated."

"Two! Two! Fine, one! This is already the lowest price!" the stall owner cried anxiously.

In the end, Zhou Qing bought it for one Spirit Stone. But after the money and goods had changed hands, the moment he held the chicken in his arms, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Damn it, I got scammed!

This chicken was not merely skinny—it was practically held together by its fluffy feathers.

What chicken was there to roast? There was not even enough meat to fill the gaps between his teeth.

Seeing this, the stall owner wore the look of someone whose scheme had succeeded and promptly took a step back.

"Those are the rules of the Treasure Exchange Gathering. Once a deal is completed, there are no returns. Young master, don't look at me like that. I only bought it from a farming family along the way. This chicken truly doesn't have much meat. There's nothing worth eating, so you might as well keep her around for fun."

The stall owner offered this advice sincerely.

Zhou Qing left, his heart brimming with indignation.

He had not expected to misjudge something so quickly. Fortunately, he had only lost one Spirit Stone. He would have to keep his eyes open in the future.

In his irritation, Zhou Qing could not be bothered to carry the chicken anymore. He took out a length of string, tied it around one of the chicken's legs, and began walking the chicken.

"Senior Brother Zhou, what are you doing?"

After turning onto a street, Zhou Qing was looking around when Lu Yaoyao's voice came from beside him.

Turning his head, he saw Lu Yaoyao standing with a woman wearing a bamboo hat.

In an instant, Zhou Qing guessed the other woman's identity. No wonder you vanished the moment I looked up halfway through breakfast. So you came to browse the Trade Fair too.

Zhou Qing was just about to bow when Profound Abyss Immortal slightly raised her hand to stop him.

Lu Yaoyao crouched down instead, curiously stroking the Old Hen's head as she said with a giggle, "What a cute old hen!"

The poor-sighted Old Hen, however, began pecking at the ground beside Lu Yaoyao's feet with a "tap tap." Zhou Qing felt thoroughly embarrassed.

But he had spent a Spirit Stone on her, so throwing her away would be far too wasteful.

At the very least, he had to fatten her up before eating her. Besides, there were still more than twenty days left in the Five Sects Treasure Exchange Gathering. She could serve as a warning bell to keep him from getting scammed again.

"Not a bad chicken," Profound Abyss Immortal said after giving her a glance.

Zhou Qing could only smile awkwardly. "I bought her for fun."

Heart Insight Points +4

The next moment, the So Disloyal above Lu Yaoyao's head changed into So Childish.

The smile on Zhou Qing's face instantly froze.

No, how was walking a chicken childish?

Believe it or not, I'll find a tree branch later, put an iron hoop on it, and roll it all the way back to the Taiqing Sect.

Then Lu Yaoyao stood up and said, "Senior Brother Zhou, you go on... keep busy. I'll look around with Sister for a while."

"You two hurry along!" Zhou Qing quickly sent them away.

But after taking only two steps, he ran into another acquaintance head-on.

"Junior Brother Zhou, walking a chicken?" Senior Sister Shi Zhen greeted him with a smile.

Zhou Qing no longer wanted to explain, so he could only say, "Yes. Idle hands are the devil's workshop. Has Senior Sister gained anything today?"

Shi Zhen nodded. "I did pick up a few bargains. By the way, has your Eldest Brother still not emerged from seclusion this time?"

Zhou Qing shook his head. "Not yet. He's extremely competitive, so he probably won't emerge anytime soon."

Shi Zhen could not help feeling somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but she quickly smiled.

"Alright, then I'll go take another look over there!"

"May Senior Sister pick up a huge bargain!"

"You too!"

Just as Zhou Qing turned to leave, the system notification sounded.

Heart Insight Points +5

When he turned around, he saw that the Popular Junior Brother Zhou above Senior Sister Shi Zhen's head had become Childish Junior Brother Zhou.

Looking again at the Old Hen, who had run off to peck at the blue brick, Zhou Qing let out a long sigh.

"I'll just consider it grinding points!"

Heart Insight Points +6

When Zhou Qing walked the Old Hen back to Third Senior Brother's stall, just as expected, the Awesome-as-Heaven Junior Brother above his head had directly turned into a Junior Brother Who Sure Knows How to Have Fun.

"Not bad taste. This Old Hen is pretty fat... pretty skinny. What exactly did you like about her?"

Yan Xiaohu had barely picked her up before immediately tossing her back down.

The cross-eyed Old Hen staggered over and began pecking wildly at Yan Xiaohu's pile of junk.

Zhou Qing handed over the Food Box he had packed from the inn. "Hurry up and eat!"

Seeing how displeased Zhou Qing was, Yan Xiaohu immediately guessed the truth almost exactly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just as Yan Xiaohu took a couple of bites, violent explosions suddenly rang out nearby. Zhou Qing immediately stood up and looked toward the source of the sound.

Yan Xiaohu seemed long accustomed to it and said indifferently, "It happens every year. They make a fuss a few times and never seem to get tired of it."

Zhou Qing crouched down and asked with a puzzled expression, "Third Senior Brother, what happened over there? Could someone be forcing a sale?"

"Forcing a sale? Not likely. Everyone knows the rules. Whoever dares cause trouble here is refusing to give the five great sects face—and embarrassing their own sect as well," Yan Xiaohu replied unhurriedly.

Zhou Qing became even more confused. If that was not it, then what exactly was happening over there?

Watching countless people swarm in that direction, Yan Xiaohu gave a disdainful laugh. "It's just the younger generation fighting for supremacy. If Eldest Brother had emerged from seclusion, he could suppress them in minutes."

At last, Zhou Qing understood.

They said the five sects were harmonious on the surface but fiercely competitive in secret. It seemed that was true.

"I'll go take a look!"

Zhou Qing's curiosity was piqued as well, and he immediately dragged the Old Hen over.

By then, many people had already gathered there, pointing and discussing among themselves. Some were even cheering them on.