The courtyard was tranquil.
A member of the Lu clan led someone inside, then bowed and withdrew.
The visitor wore a conical hat and had a withered, gaunt frame. He was none other than the stall owner surnamed Zhou from White Jade Square.
Stall Owner Zhou stood in the courtyard, looking at the figure in black.
His Adam's apple bobbed, yet he could not speak for a long while.
A sudden urge to retreat rose in his heart.
Was his decision too absurd? To stake the fate of the entire Elixir Cauldron Sect on a woman he had met for the first time...
What right did he have to make such a decision on behalf of the thousands of lives in the sect?
But...
He slowly clenched his fists.
What could possibly be worse than their current plight?
Reduced to pill slaves, driven day and night by those fiends. The slightest disobedience meant death.
Rather than suffer endless torment in that den of tigers and wolves until the oil ran dry and the lamp went out—
He might as well gamble.
Gamble that the woman before him could shelter the Elixir Cauldron Sect.
That she could find the sect a true path to survival.
With that thought—
Stall Owner Zhou drew a deep breath, stepped forward, and gave the girl a deep bow.
"I am Zhou Xuan. Greetings, Senior."
This time—
He had given his full name.
Then he slowly raised his head.
Beneath the shadow of his conical hat, determination flashed through his eyes.
"I... have made up my mind. I boldly beg Senior to act and save my sect from the fire and water."
As he spoke, he took the pair of orange-yellow gloves from his robes and presented them with both hands.
"This item is my sincerity."