Chapter 331: Well, well, you dare to play tricks in front of me?
Zhang Yangqing saw how eager this kid was, so he nodded and agreed to his request to join the team.
After all, when it came to ordering people around, Zhang Yangqing was quite skilled at it.
He was the kind of person who, if he could avoid doing something himself, would rather not lift a finger.
If a lackey was willing to solve problems for him on his own, why wouldn’t he be happy about that?
To put it plainly, the tomb raider was only with him for the benefits, so there was no need to lie to him. Zhang Yangqing could see that much.
Having a local as a guide was actually much better than fumbling around in this world by himself.
Just as Zhang Yangqing was about to head out, a thought suddenly struck him.
“Wait, this guy is only with me for the benefits, so that makes things easy.”
The audience saw Zhang Yangqing stop in his tracks, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
They knew that this Celestial Master Zhang was up to some clever trick again.
At this stage, the other Chosen Ones said goodbye to the tomb raiders and went out to search for clues.
Anyway, there was only one big river near the city, and that was how it was marked on the map.
They were given four hours. Surely little streams wouldn’t count, right?
So they wasted no time and hurried out to search.
Zhang Yangqing actually had the same plan. Even though he knew what Old Blind Man did, he still needed to see him first. Maybe he could trigger some kind of quest.
But why should he search himself? The rules didn’t say he had to search on his own.
With that thought, Zhang Yangqing said to the tomb raider, “You said earlier that you have a few friends, right?”
Generally speaking, tomb raiding was done in groups of three or four, so they could look out for each other with clear division of labor.
The reason the tomb raider Zhang Yangqing saved had been caught was because he got greedy while scouting.
“That’s right, boss. What are your orders?”
The tomb raider said with a flattering look on his face.
“How about this: gather all your companions here. I’ll be your employer.”
After hearing Zhang Yangqing say this, viewers familiar with him knew that Celestial Master Zhang’s old trick had come around again.
In the Strange Tales World, other Chosen Ones were doing quests, but Celestial Master Zhang liked to hand troublesome tasks to NPCs.
Searching for Old Blind Man alone by the river was such a hassle. Wasn’t there a ready-made tool right here?
Other Chosen Ones wouldn’t use them, but that didn’t mean Zhang Yangqing wouldn’t.
How do you make use of NPCs? How do you make sure an NPC won’t betray you?
You have to let them know what you’re capable of, and you have to know what they want.
Tomb raiders just wanted money and wealth, right? They weren’t cultivators from this world.
Coercion is worse than temptation. As long as there’s profit driving them, this Strange Tales World could actually be much simpler.
Also, you had to remember their identity here. They were tomb raiders. What did that mean?
It meant they were actually very familiar with the nearby area.
Any Chosen One who could think of this could find a way to keep him around.
It might not be useful in the final stage, but at this point, their usefulness was still great.
Before long, the tomb raider did as Zhang Yangqing instructed and called his companions over.
There were two of them, one quite fat and one thin as a bamboo pole.
When the two saw Zhang Yangqing’s eerie outfit, their eyes were full of caution.
It seemed that on the way over, the tomb raider had already explained the situation to his companions.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t waste words. He directly took out the bead from the dragon’s mouth of the tomb’s owner.
“I’m not one for playing games. As long as you do as I say, this is your payment.”
As tomb raiders, they naturally wouldn’t act without seeing a reward.
If they didn’t see any benefit, how could they possibly work for Zhang Yangqing?
As long as the stakes were high enough, they would obey.
But before they could even haggle, the other party directly gave them a surprise.
Something given by the owner of an imperial tomb—could it be fake? Could it be worthless?
The three tomb raiders’ eyes went wide. The fat one was even swallowing repeatedly.
They had been tomb raiding for so many years, yet this was the first time they had seen something so precious.
Zhang Yangqing also knew this thing was extremely valuable, but it couldn’t be taken away, so he wouldn’t feel bad even if he lost it.
The three tomb raiders knew they had met a big employer this time.
But the bamboo-pole tomb raider said, “Boss, this thing of yours is too precious. You’re not going to make us do something dangerous, are you?”
His words made the other two come back to their senses.
After all, the higher the reward, the greater the cost.
If the task was too dangerous, they would need to think carefully.
This treasure was nice, but if they lost their lives, it would all be for nothing.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he said, so he simply explained the task.
It was roughly that he had come here to kill someone, and before that, he needed to find an old blind man by the river. The old blind man was his “contact.” As long as he found the old blind man, he would know who to kill. That was all there was to it.
Actually, Zhang Yangqing had already figured it out, but he still went through the motions.
The bead in his hand was actually a top-grade cultivation item.
It contained enormous energy, but the energy had long since been absorbed clean by Zhang Yangqing. Now it was just an ordinary yet “extremely valuable” bead.
If Zhang Yangqing hadn’t absorbed it clean, then in human eyes, this thing would be “priceless.”
As for its use, there was naturally a rule hint for that.
[Rule 14: If you run into any trouble, you can go to the riverbank and find an old blind man fishing. If he’s in a good mood, he will answer part of your questions.]
Since the birth characters had appeared, then this old blind man was most likely also a fortune teller, and a skilled one at that.
The Chosen Ones needed his help, so if they wanted him to assist them, they had to put him in a good mood.
There weren’t many things that could put the old blind man in a good mood, and this bead was one of them.
But Zhang Yangqing had already calculated it himself, and he had no intention of giving it to the old blind man at all. He absorbed it clean and then made use of the waste to recruit some workers.
“I understand this commission, but the few of us don’t have much skill. If you want us to find something, that’s fine, but killing someone is beyond our ability. Still, we’ll do our best.”
The bamboo-pole tomb raider said seriously. They weren’t very good at killing and robbing, but the reward the other party offered was too high, so they couldn’t help but be tempted.
They had also heard about this employer’s abilities from the tomb raider Zhang Yangqing had saved.
Even the Red-Clothed Strange Entity feared him, so he was definitely not someone they could contend with.
Even if they found the strongest people to help, they still wouldn’t be able to take this person down.
Besides, hiring those big shots would require an enormous price.
That price would very likely be this bead, and maybe even one bead wouldn’t be enough.
But if they did that, wouldn’t they just be working for nothing? So the best option was to obey.
Zhang Yangqing smiled and waved his hand, saying, “I’ll handle the killing myself. You’re only responsible for helping me find him.”
Hearing Zhang Yangqing say this, the three tomb raiders discussed among themselves for a while, then agreed to his request.
After all, money makes the world go round. There were things they couldn’t help with, but this was still pretty simple.
It was now four in the afternoon. After looking at the map, the tomb raiders prepared to begin.
The other Chosen Ones moved through the city, all keeping their heads down and watching for patrols, carefully heading toward the river marked on the map.
Whenever a gaze swept over them, they felt a bit panicked.
After all, this place was unfamiliar, and they weren’t even normal people here. They were afraid of being caught.
But in the eyes of the audience, Celestial Master Zhang seemed to be here on vacation. He was asking about all sorts of things and even visiting various cultivation sites, so leisurely that no one could tell he had entered the Strange Tales World.
Actually, Zhang Yangqing wasn’t sightseeing. There was real meaning behind what he was doing.
His mind wasn’t only on the present. He was considering future matters.
As more and more resources were farmed in the Strange Tales World, the era of spiritual energy revival would arrive.
Blue Star had few resources, which was why very few people could cultivate.
Once resources became abundant, more and more people would be able to cultivate.
In Zhang Yangqing’s eyes, this world’s method of managing humans could be “borrowed,” because the order here was quite good, and the shops along the road even had all kinds of cultivation tools and equipment.
In the past, these tools and equipment were all aimed at the cultivation world, and very few people could possess them.
If resources became widespread, the entire Dragon Country could move in this direction.
On a small scale, how to manage and distribute resources was something every sect could do.
But on a large scale, how to avoid chaos—well, this world’s various rules and regulations really could be “borrowed,” because the management methods here were already very complete, with all types of cultivators.
Within human territory, that is, within this city, Zhang Yangqing could still see many professions that had been lost, or that he had never even seen before.
For example, the person passing by in front of him had connected a puppet mechanism to his back. His feet didn’t need to move at all. His whole body moved like a spider, relying on the puppet tentacles behind him.
Beyond that, there were even stranger cultivators. The hair and eyebrows on one person’s body were blazing with flames, yet he didn’t burn anything else, and there wasn’t any massive heat when he passed by.
One could only feel that his aura was somewhat powerful. His control was truly remarkable.
No wonder so many monsters and demons outside didn’t dare come in. It turned out the terrifying ones were all in here.
Zhang Yangqing had three guides with him, so he had the chance to go up and learn about them, and even talk with these human powerhouses.
But this behavior of his scared the three tomb raiders badly.
You had to know, the people Zhang Yangqing greeted were all famous big shots in this city.
They were powerhouses that ordinary people usually couldn’t even get close to, and these people were extremely aloof, always looking down on others.
What made them find it even stranger was that these big shots actually responded to their employer’s greetings.
Did they know each other? But the tone didn’t sound like it either.
Actually, they didn’t understand. The reason these big shots responded to Zhang Yangqing’s greetings was that Zhang Yangqing had also released some subtle energy, making them feel that this person was on their level, or even a bit stronger than themselves.
The lofty attitude of the strong was meant to be shown to the weak.
When facing people similar to themselves, they wouldn’t casually offend them either.
The three tomb raiders didn’t understand because they had always been muddling along at the bottom, enduring cold looks all their lives.
Now, by Zhang Yangqing’s side, they seemed to feel that even the passersby looked at them with respect.
This was treatment they had never enjoyed before.
Of course, Zhang Yangqing had switched to the righteous aura of a Daoist powerhouse here, which was why these people respected him so much.
If he had released corpse qi instead, then he would only face endless attacks.
Zhang Yangqing made adjustments according to whoever he was facing.
This was also the reason he had always been so smooth in the Strange Tales World.
Because he had been wandering around, Zhang Yangqing moved relatively slowly. It took him more than an hour to reach the river outside the city.
The other Chosen Ones all quickened their pace and reached the outside in just over half an hour.
Today’s weather was very gloomy, and this kind of weather was best for fishing.
Rahman was one of the faster Chosen Ones to reach the river. He walked upstream along the river and indeed saw many people fishing along the way, basically all men.
Fishing addicts always came to the better spots regardless of wind or rain, fishing for an entire day.
Even if their families objected, fishing addicts fearlessly picked up their gear and came to the river.
Rahman could tell that many people’s seats had become glossy from long use, yet they still wouldn’t move. Their main focus was complete calm and composure.
It didn’t matter if they couldn’t catch fish. They could go to the fish market and buy some. No shame in that.
But none of these were the target Rahman was looking for. He needed to find an old blind man.
After walking along the river for more than an hour, there seemed to be fewer and fewer people upstream. Just when Rahman began to wonder if he had gone the wrong way and should go downstream instead, he finally discovered a strange figure.
This person wore a hat and had a straw rain cape draped over his back.
His whole body was motionless, as if in meditation, blended into the surrounding environment.
He had a kind of presence that seemed to face the long river of time, with his back to all living beings, fishing alone through the ages.
Just one glance was enough to let the Chosen Ones know that this was a top-tier expert.
The old man had his eyes closed. To confirm whether he was the old blind man, Rahman stepped forward and politely bowed in greeting.
He knew that when facing such a powerful NPC, one had to be polite.
After all, he was asking for help. Without lowering his posture, it wouldn’t do.
But the moment he spoke, it seemed to break the atmosphere around them and scare away the fish that had been about to bite.
This made the old blind man show an unhappy expression.
However, he didn’t scold the Chosen One. He knew these people had come to find him because they definitely needed help.
Since they needed help, they had to give him a certain reward. That was the rule of this world.
The old blind man didn’t answer Rahman’s words. He stroked his beard lightly and asked, “What do you see swimming in the river?”
Although he didn’t understand what the old blind man meant, Rahman still did as he said. After all, he needed to put him in a good mood.
After watching for a while, Rahman noticed that in the not-so-clear river, there seemed to be a fish swimming.
So he answered truthfully, “Sir, there is a fish in this river.”
The old blind man nodded and continued asking, “Now look again. What is the road ahead like?”
Rahman continued following the old blind man’s instructions and observed for a while. He found that in the waters ahead there were many sharp branches and rocks. If the fish didn’t go around them, it would get cut.
Also, there were some birds circling in the sky ahead, which would also pose danger to the fish.
So Rahman described everything he saw.
The old blind man sighed and said, “Yes. The fish wants to go upstream, but the road ahead is long and full of dangers.”
Rahman seemed to understand something and said softly, “Please enlighten me, sir.”
The old blind man finally nodded and said, “One who comes with ill intent is not good, and one who is good does not come with ill intent. If this fish wants to keep swimming forward, it won’t do without help.”
This was the so-called mystification. He was only trying to tell Rahman that Rahman would encounter many dangers on the road ahead.
If you want to solve those dangers, then I have a way to help you. I am your aid.
But if you want my help, it depends on how sincere you are.
Saying it in this profound way would undoubtedly make ordinary people think he was capable.
As a powerhouse, he couldn’t just directly say, “I’m strong, give me money,” right?
That would be way too uncool, and he wasn’t that kind of direct person either.
And if he said it like that, people might even take him for a scammer.
Rahman was naturally sensible too. I’m not afraid of you wanting money. I’m afraid of you not wanting money.
Wasn’t it perfect that he had just gotten a bead from the imperial tomb? This bead was naturally useless to Rahman, so he treated it as payment and gave it to the old blind man.
After receiving this bead, the old blind man slowly tucked it into his robe, then smiled, with the look of “this one can be taught.”
The other Chosen Ones were the same. As long as the old blind man accepted the reward, he would naturally help them solve their problems.
It was no exaggeration to say that Zhang Yangqing was the last one to arrive here, but his speed in finding the old blind man wasn’t slow, since he had three workers helping him.
Before long, he arrived at the old blind man’s side.
It had to be said, this old blind man really did seem to have some skill.
Top-tier? Not quite, but he should be among the strongest group, at least on the same level as the Purple-Clothed Strange Entity.
Zhang Yangqing told the three tomb raiders to step aside. He first went up and went through the motions. He wanted to see what information this old man would give him.
Facing the old blind man’s question, he also answered simply.
When the conversation reached this point, the old blind man nodded as well and said, “One who comes with ill intent is not good, and one who is good does not come with ill intent. If this fish wants to keep swimming forward, it won’t do without help.”
Seeing the old blind man mystify things, the other Chosen Ones cooperated well, but Zhang Yangqing couldn’t tolerate it.
You old man, you actually dare to play this game in front of me?
I thought you were asking me all this nonsense because you had something to say, but it turns out you want me to give you money, right?
You should’ve just said you wanted money earlier. Waste of my time.
With that thought, Zhang Yangqing decided to teach him a lesson, and also show off a bit for the three behind him.
Zhang Yangqing raised his left hand and slightly opened it toward the upper reaches of the river.
In an instant, a monstrous momentum burst out ahead, almost tearing space apart.
That earth-shaking roar made the nearby mountains, rivers, and streams begin to tremble!
With a casual move, Zhang Yangqing seemed capable of shattering ancient mountains and sweeping across all things in heaven and earth!
The rocks were crushed into dust in the river, posing no danger at all.
The birds and beasts burst apart, falling into the river and flowing down like garbage.
Only the lingering aftershock of the tremor rippled outward like water waves, unable to settle for a long time.
This sudden surge of powerful energy made the old blind man’s expression change drastically.
He said to Zhang Yangqing, “What do you mean by this?”
Zhang Yangqing shrugged and said, “What I mean is, although the road ahead is long, everything that comes is garbage.”
Hearing this, the old blind man was stunned. The other Chosen Ones who came to find him all had favors to ask.
You came to find me, and you’re here to show off?
