Bubai looked up. Framed against the dark skies was a middle-aged man sporting a combed bck beard.

  Putting aside the common cultivator robe, he looks just like that uncle next door.

  What really got Bubai’s attention was what the man was standing on - a gleaming bagua disk hovering not far above the rooftops.

  A flight magic tool. Its owner? A foundation realm patrol!

  Now, this outer sect guard was condescendingly looked down at him, not holding back in showing off his authority.

  "Who goes there?! Don’t you know the cesspits are off limits during curfew hours? State your business or don’t bme me for bringing you back to the tower for investigation!"

  Investigation – no outer disciple would get out easily once brought back, at least not without greasing some hands.

  Heck. Greasing hands alone might not even work.

  An unknown man here at the dumpsters in the wee hours of morning…

  No matter how anyone looks at it… One word: suspicious.

  Since there’s reasonable suspicion, an outer disciple won’t be let off the hook so easily even if there’s money to make the world go round. But...

  Bubai kept mum, simply fshing a certain dead guy’s token hidden underneath the fps of his robe and deactivated the Turtle Breathing technique.

  The man hovering in the air above eyed the token then him.

  Unkempt appearance, worn sandals, and sand-stained windbreaker… but when he sensed the thickness of the other’s Qi…

  Almost immediately, he put away his condescending demeanor.

  Whoosh! Lightly blowing away some sand, the man touched down to block Bubai’s path.

  Stepping off from his ride, the bagua disk shrunk down into a pendant, its golden glow fading away once it flew into the man’s hand.

  Giving Bubai another once-over, the man saluted and introduced himself, "So it’s a fellow daoist from the inner sect. He Cn. He Guofu. Might I have the honor of knowing fellow daoist’s name?"

  Bubai returned the salutation, making up a name on the spot. "Fan Baibu."

  He Guofu's face lit up with a friendly smile. "So it’s Daoist Fan. Well met. Well met."

  His eyes then drifted over Bubai's shoulder to the cesspits, a puzzled look crossing his face.

  "Please don’t be offended, Daoist Fan, but this hardly looks like a pce for people like us. Might I owe the pleasure of knowing why you are out here this te?"

  Right to the point. Bubai sighed inwardly, realizing he had no choice but to address the situation directly.

  "Daoist He. I came out to visit the fighting pits."

  He Guofu skeptically raised a brow. “The fighting pits? That’s in the next district over. How did Daoist Fan end up all the way here?”

  Letting his calm demeanor crumble like a brittle mask, Bubai put on an embarrassed face, "Speaking of this, it’s a long story..."

  "I just stepped out from my seclusion and came out to find some te-night enjoyment, pnning to go take a look at the excitement at the outer sect competition to see how those young snakes compare notes. As…"

  Bubai tapped his temple, "My memory is a bit dull after locking myself up for so long. I didn’t quite recall where the pits were, and when I asked a junior…"

  Bubai gestured over his shoulder towards the cesspits behind.

  "He pointed me in this direction. Who would’ve known these outer sect scoundrels are so bold. These rascals are growing more unruly and disrespectful by the day!"

  He Guofu's face showed some suspicion at the far-fetched excuse, but he quickly masked it, nodding along.

  "Right, right, it happens whenever the Inner Sect exchange comes around. These rascals like to get rowdy around these times. We even had to step up our patrols due to the recent cases that have been popping up left and right."

  Bubai was aware that some of the mischief stirring the sect’s waters was his own handiwork, but he concealed any clues of being an insider behind a mask of feigned resignation.

  “Ai… The wind howls and the sect is rife with chaos. When there’s fire at the city gate, it’s only a disaster for fish in the moat. We can only strive to keep our three acre nd safe. As, as…”

  “Daoist Fan’s eloquence… Guofu admires.” He Guofu politely gave him a salute.

  In return, Bubai pstered on a look of earnest admiration, weaving his words as smooth as silk.

  "Daoist He is a dragon mixed amongst carps. It’s Baibu’s luck to receive the recognition of a gentleman of Daoist He’s caliber."

  He Guofu’s face softened into a humble smile and modestly saluted. "You ftter me, you ftter me. Crouching tigers, hidden dragons. Who can say? Who can say..."

  The back and forth ended on a good note with smiles rexing the tension on each other’s faces, but…

  He Guofu’s eyes remained sharp.

  "Hmm… It’s getting te. Daoist Fan, perhaps I could accompany you back to the main road. It wouldn’t do for someone of your standing to wander these parts alone."

  Ah… fttery alone wasn’t enough to rule out any suspicion.

  But, Bubai pretended to not notice the obvious hint.

  He looked up at the dark skies and noted the first hints of sun rays alighting the horizon. “Oh my, Daoist He is right. It’s almost dawn!”

  Turning back to He Guofu, Bubai offered a slight bow. “Thank you Daoist He for your offer, but I’m certain you have duties awaiting you, and I wouldn’t wish to take up more of your precious time.”

  He Guofu got the hint and nodded, his expression agreeable. "Small problem, small problem. But Daoist Fan is right, I should indeed be getting back to my patrol."

  Patting his pouch, He Guofu pulled out a hand-sized pque. With a toss, he sent the pque zipping over like a bullet!

  Snap. Bubai easily caught the pque aiming for his heart, immediately dispersing the Qi enveloping this makeshift weapon.

  This attack… if it was a normal cultivator in the Qi refinement realm, they would’ve suffered, not too lightly at that!

  But for the foundation realm, this was just a simple test of strength.

  Still, having a weapon, even if it was a blunt everyday object, thrown at his heart wasn’t something to be happy about.

  But Bubai never got the chance to hold the other accountable because as soon as he caught the pque, He Guofu stepped up to give him a step down.

  “Daoist Fan, this is a token for my family’s shop. Take it to He Hollow Emporium or any other store under the He Cn and Daoist Fan will receive a discount for one entire purchase. I hope Daoist Fan won’t be offended by Guofu’s impoliteness today.”

  Bubai gnced at the smiling man, a glint of approval in his eyes. Now, this was someone with tact in business.

  Not only can the small gift dispel any fellow disciple’s annoyance over the impromptu test, it can also earn his own cn a customer!

  A smart man like this, there was really no need to tear faces and offend over trivial matters.

  So, Bubai simply put away the gift into his pouch and politely saluted, “Much appreciated, Brother He.”

  He Guofu politely nodded. "Since there’s nothing else, walk slowly, Brother Fan."

  Bubai bid the man farewell with a salute. "Till we meet again."

  He Guofu courteously echoed his salute. Bubai then watched He Guofu toss out his bagua pendant and let it expand back into a disk.

  The man then re-mounted his bagua disk and shot off back up to the skies.

  The road block was gone and Bubai unhurriedly walked forward on the open road.

  On the surface, he appeared as if on a leisurely stroll, but beneath this calm facade, his senses were as sharp as a hawk’s.

  He could feel the invisible weight of scrutiny fixed on his back, as if a pair of eyes were shadowing his every movement from above.

  Without even looking, he knew He Guofu was still watching him from far above.

  Yet, Bubai continued proceeding toward his destination, ignoring the escort that tailed him all the way.

  It wasn’t until he crossed into the next district that the annoying fly finally went away.

  Bubai allowed himself a sigh of relief, the tension easing from his shoulders.

  Merlin’s beard. The patrols got really strict compared to before.

  Fortunately, this He Guofu seemed to have adopted a more issez-faire attitude of "as long as it’s not my district, it’s not my problem."

  In fact, many outer sect patrols probably followed a simir unspoken rule.

  They didn’t overstep into the jurisdiction of other fellow patrols because everyone jealously guarded their own territory for collecting oil and water.

  The patrol duty was a profitable job, and nobody wanted others to take a bite from their own cake.

  Otherwise, it might escate into a conflict between cns.

  Of course, there were always intriguing battles happening between cns, especially in special times like these, but... that’s someone else’s story.

  He was an honest man and certainly won’t dip his hands into these messy games of others in hopes of fishing for some benefits! He won’t! Really!

  Ahem. Let’s just mind his own business.

  With the tail finally gone, Bubai was free to get back on track with his original pns.

  He quickly found an empty shack and blocked it off to ensure privacy.

  A while ter...

  When Bubai stepped out, he was still draped in his windbreaker, but there was now a weimao to hide his identity.

  After passing through an alley, he emerged back on the streets, his previous bushy beard disguise already reverting back to his original Ah Niu image.

  For shady trips like these, it was best not to show his own face, but sometimes it was necessary.

  Masks were aplenty. So were materials required for the mysterious human mask potion.

  But just like his stash of spare tokens, they were essentially useless under the heightened security due to the little storm he caused.

  Too many eyes were watching in the dark. It’s too hard to hide his own itinerary in the inner sect.

  Thus, it was best to wear his own identity, honestly leave entry-exit records, and get changed in the outer sect.

  This meant another yer of cover-up is required.

  So, just as he had crafted an alibi for his role as a rumormonger, this outing required a legitimate justification.

  Well… Some excuses weren’t just purely excuses.

  Swinging his strung identity token around and around on his finger, Bubai eyed the guarded pyramid structure that stuck out like a sore thumb not far ahead.

  A pce that was really hard to miss. This was entrance to the fighting pits!

  "Time to see what level these scrubs participating in the competition are at."