In the Dense Forest of the Forbidden Lands, trees stood thick and vegetation grew in tangled profusion. The roars of Ferocious Beasts rang out from time to time, spreading through the woods with an eerie chill.
Two figures, one fat and one thin, carefully parted the undergrowth as they walked slowly through the Forbidden Lands.
Both wore the robes of wealthy merchants, with official hats adorned with peacock feathers. Each held a Bronze Sword, carefully probing the grass with it.
"Amitabha..." The thin man had barely opened his mouth before the fat man beside him clapped a hand over it.
"Shh... we're wealthy merchants now. We can't reveal our identities!" The fat man hurriedly glanced around and only breathed a sigh of relief after seeing no one.
The thin man immediately nodded repeatedly, but after thinking it over, he asked in some confusion, "Why do we need to hide our identities?"
"Boundless... er..." The fat man spoke as though it were only natural. "Because we're from the Ninth Realm. It's too dangerous for people from the Ninth Realm out in the outside world..."
The thin man thought about it and nodded, but then felt something was wrong. After wrestling with it for a while, he said:
"Could it be... that there are monks and Daoists in the outside world too?"
The fat man pondered this, his eyes shifting. "That's possible too."
The thin man wrestled with it a while longer before saying, "Could there also be another possibility... even if there aren't monks and Daoists outside, they wouldn't recognize us?"
"...After all, we're not Benefactor Su, whose name resounds throughout the world."
The fat man froze on the spot. After a long while, he looked at the thin man beside him, his face full of dejection.
"Couldn't you just leave