He stood by the roadside, watching the crowds come and go, when something suddenly occurred to him.
The capital's inspections were strict. To enter the city, he needed a legitimate identity.
Zhou Qi's gaze swept across the official road and settled on a caravan slowly approaching.
The caravan was not large, only three or four carriages carrying what looked like goods. An old man drove the lead carriage, with several workers walking alongside, all dressed in coarse cloth.
After thinking it over, Zhou Qi stepped forward to meet them.
Just as Zhou Qi was about to say something, a sharp rebuke stopped him.
The driver gave him a glance, as though he had seen something filthy, and repeatedly waved him away.
"Go, go, go! Where did this beggar come from? Don't dirty my master's carriage!"
Zhou Qi said nothing and turned toward another caravan.
The middle-aged man who looked like a steward sized him up a few times, then frowned.
"Unknown origins. We're not taking you. Who knows whether you're a fugitive?"
Those words struck right at Zhou Qi's heart. He really was one.
At the third caravan, the young driver simply pretended not to see him and rode off in high spirits, mud flung up by the horse's hooves splattering Zhou Qi's trouser legs.
Zhou Qi stood beside the official road, watching carriage after carriage pass by him.
Some of the people inside wore silk, while others leaned against the carriage walls with their eyes closed, dozing.
No one was willing to spare him a second glance.
That was how realistic this world was.
A Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator like him could strut sideways through Lin'an City, yet beneath the capital's walls, he could not even catch a ride.
Fine.
The more people overlooked him, the safer he was.