"Even a fool knows this is a setup. But since it's a game, there are countless possibilities. I want to take a gamble. Do you dare follow?"
The Daoist was an old hand at this, but he never let himself be goaded. "In Qi State, in Jianye, we never openly oppose the sects. That is a road to death. You've come to the wrong people.
"Also, as an apology for refusing you, we won't reveal why you came. If you have business in the future, we look forward to your patronage again."
Hou Niao was not disappointed. He stood and placed ten high-grade spirit stones on the table as a consultation fee. This was a probe: he was testing the Daoist, and the Daoist was testing him, each seeing whether the other was worth working with.
People in this line of work trusted only their own instincts. All that talk about not opposing sects merely meant the profit was not enough to move them. Offering ten high-grade spirit stones after a single conversation, without receiving anything of substance, was his way of saying, I've got money to spare.
Just as he was about to step out of the room, the Daoist's voice came from behind him. "It's not as though there are no other ways..."
Hou Niao turned around and tilted his head to listen.
The Daoist sighed. "Jianye is the capital of Qi State and the seat of the Qi Sect. There are more than ten Infant Transformation patriarchs and over a hundred Golden Core masters. Any Underground Faction trying to confront them head-on would be no different from an egg striking a rock.
"If you were just a rogue cultivator, I would agree, then rob you blind. You would die anyway if you carried on...
"But since you