The clamor outside grew louder and louder.
Huayan City lay beside the largest underground forest in the Northern Wastes. Its space was vast, and its timber resources were inexhaustible, so the city had many wooden buildings. In this suburban settlement, they were piled together in chaotic heaps, while those living in caves were fewer instead.
Kou Chu was currently hiding in a small, half-new, half-old temple.
There were many sects in the Northern Wastes. Countless temples worshipped gods, ghosts, immortals, and demons, yet few had truly amounted to anything. They only invited contempt, a muddle of mud and sand. The temple's incense offerings were sparse, and Kou Chu had no idea which deity it enshrined. It did not care, either. It cared more about its own little life.
A bang-bang sound came from outside, the noise of tools striking the outer wall, like a funeral bell tolling doom.
"Old Kou, sitting on a mountain of gold is all well and good, but you still have to be able to mine it! Once you've gotten the benefits, you should know when to stop. What harm is there in passing along a bit of news? Don't tell me that person is your long-lost father or ancestor?"
Laughter followed.
Kou Chu remained silent. The man outside was nicknamed Black Wolf, but people were used to calling him Black Dog. His character was plain from his nickname: he was a typical Northern Wastes Rogue Cultivator. Around ten years ago, he had joined Yan Luo Hall and become a minor leader on its outer fringes.
The two sides had indeed shared a little friendship before, but that fragile connection had long since broken because of Black Dog's bottomless behavior. Kou Chu had not suffered too badly in the past only because it had nothing worth