The Old Beggar's Fated One

Could I beat Lu Ziyou?

It was a question that gave Gu Baishui a bit of a headache.

On the surface, Gu Baishui and Lu Ziyou were both cultivators at the peak of the Immortal Platform Realm.

The only difference was that, aside from the Bronze Mirror playing dead against his chest, Gu Baishui couldn't find a single usable Law Artifact on him. Lu Ziyou, meanwhile, was a Candidate Saint Son of the Yin-Yang Holy Land, a Transmigrator with fortuitous opportunities at his side, and covered in Law Artifacts from head to toe.

What was more, only about a tenth of the spiritual power remained in Gu Baishui's Dantian, and his Divine Sense was nearly depleted. If he rashly made a move, his chances of winning would be infinitely close to zero.

Being sickly when faced with an enemy was a truly helpless situation.

If it weren't a head-on fight, then even without a single Law Artifact in hand, Gu Baishui was confident he could use hundreds of different methods to make that young, arrogant fellow suffer terribly.

But unfortunately, under the circumstances, it seemed they had no choice but to fight head-on.

"Do we really have to fight?"

The Green-Robed Youth's voice made Lu Ziyou pause. Then he let out a somewhat cold chuckle. "What? Are you scared?"

"Not exactly."

Gu Baishui shook his head. "I'm just curious. Why do you think you're definitely going to get Li Shiyi's inheritance? Are you two related?"

It was a simple, crude probe. The entrance to the old courtyard fell quiet for a moment. Lu Ziyou slowly raised his eyes and looked expressionlessly at the Green-Robed Youth opposite him. "That has nothing to do with you. I'll give you only two choices. First, turn around and leave, and I'll pretend nothing happened. Second, die by my hand."

A long sword appeared in Lu Ziyou's hand. Its blade looked grim, and its aura was sharp.

An undisguised, ferocious killing intent rushed over. Lu Ziyou looked like a vicious beast ready to devour its prey, staring fixedly at the version of himself across from him.

Gu Baishui frowned and glanced at the tightly shut gate of the old courtyard. He was just about to say something when he heard an aged voice from behind him.

"Why do young people always like to fight and kill? Too much vigor can easily hurt you."

The wind fell still. The rain was silent.

The two youths at the entrance turned around in unison and looked toward the eaves at a street corner.

In the unnoticed shadows, a bent old beggar shakily straightened up. Holding a chipped porcelain bowl, he smiled at them without a word.

"Didn't I tell you, boy? Don't go into the city. Run as far away as you can."

Gu Baishui froze for a moment, touched the rough piece of bone in his sleeve, then asked in confusion,

"Senior, have you been following me this whole way?"

"Not exactly." The old beggar scratched his head and smiled honestly. "We met outside the city. I just felt you and I were fated, so I gave you a bone."

Gu Baishui was a little confused. "How were we fated?"

The old beggar fell silent for a moment, then said earnestly, "You're poor. Even poorer than I was when I was young."

"What?"

Gu Baishui was bewildered. "How can you tell I'm poor?"

"I didn't see it," the old beggar said, shaking his head. "I felt it out."

"Back then, I felt every cultivator outside the city from head to toe. You were the only one with pockets cleaner than your face. When I was your age, I at least had a brick to my name. But you don't even have a stick."

"In my whole life, I've never seen a poorer cultivator than you."

Gu Baishui felt a little embarrassed, but he knew perfectly well that the old beggar was telling the truth. He had only the Bronze Mirror, whose grade even he couldn't figure out. Apart from that, he had nothing.

"But being poor means we're fated? What kind of logic is that?"

"There's no need for logic."

The old beggar smacked his lips and smiled strangely. "The Cultivation Method I practice is rather special. I can see the pearls and treasures on a person. You should... understand what I mean."

At that, Gu Baishui fell silent. Threads of cold crept up his spine and into his mind.

The old beggar's meaning was clear enough. He had seen the dazzling brilliance of pearls and treasures on Gu Baishui, so outside Luoyang City, he had tried to feel around on him for treasures.

But he had found nothing. So the old beggar had concluded that Gu Baishui possessed an extraordinary treasure, only it hadn't been on him at the time.

Gu Baishui had also guessed what the old beggar had his eye on.

The only thing on him was a Bronze Mirror, and in the old beggar's eyes, it was an Against-Heaven Law Artifact with the potential to prove the Dao.

The old beggar wanted the Bronze Mirror. But for some reason, he hadn't managed to feel it out, so he had given Gu Baishui a piece of bone and followed him all the way here.

"I don't have what you want, Senior." Gu Baishui kept his expression unchanged, revealing not the slightest crack.

Unexpectedly, the old beggar nodded too. "I know you don't have anything on you. I don't want anything you have, either."

"Then what do you want?"

The old beggar fell silent for a moment, then pointed at the old courtyard with its doors firmly shut. "I want what's inside."

The old beggar hadn't been lying. He was a strange old Saint who wandered the continent. His Cultivation Method could see the pearls and treasures on a person-not only those they possessed now, but perhaps those they would possess in the future.

The old beggar had found nothing on Gu Baishui, so he thought it was very likely that Gu Baishui had yet to obtain that supreme treasure.

And the greatest fortuitous opportunity in Luoyang City was Li Shiyi's Great Emperor Inheritance.

Based on that, the old beggar had concluded that the fated one inside the old courtyard was this Green-Robed Youth. He wanted to make a deal with Gu Baishui.

"Bring me what's inside the courtyard. I'm a merchant who keeps his word, and I'll give you a fair reward."

The old beggar thought it over, then sighed with some helplessness. "I don't like to lie, and I'm already very old. I don't have any disciples, either. If what's in Luoyang City this time can't help me break through and extend my lifespan... I'll also need a little disciple to pass on the skills of this old man."

The rain mist drifted by. Gu Baishui was silent for a long while, his gaze gradually turning calm.

"Senior, you want to stake your bet on me?"

The old beggar nodded. "I tend to believe in fate."

"But I believe in probability more."

Gu Baishui thought for a moment, suddenly chuckled, then turned his head and said, "Senior, only two people should be able to enter the old courtyard tonight, right?"

The old beggar glanced at Lu Ziyou, who had remained silent on the other side, and nodded. "The old Saints wouldn't dare come. Only you two aren't afraid of dying."

"So you might have a one-in-two chance of betting right."

"That's true."

"Then why not raise the odds?"

Gu Baishui and the old beggar looked at Lu Ziyou in unison. Lu Ziyou's face turned livid. His lips trembled stiffly, but he didn't say a word.

"Actually, only one person needs to enter the courtyard, right?"