Finally Found You

Baiyang City.

“Oh, life is as lonely as snow,” the chubby young man lamented, dressed in luxurious attire befitting a wealthy landowner. He had five or six ornate storage bags hanging from his waist and clutched a pile of dazzling high-grade spirit stones, walking down the bustling street with a frown.

“Yesterday, I was just a simple farmer toiling under the sun, but today a cultivator came to my house, claiming there was a spirit vein on my land! They bought my ten acres of good land and gave me all these spirit stones! What am I supposed to do with them? I don’t even know how many coins these stones are worth!”

He shook his head, speaking loudly as if afraid the people around him wouldn’t hear, perfectly embodying the image of a newly rich bumpkin.

“Heh heh, from now on, I’m a rich man too. I’ll trade these spirit stones for a golden hoe and a golden sickle! Even the emperor probably doesn’t have it this good. Farming will be so much more fun!”

The chubby young man laughed foolishly, showing off in public before slipping into a secluded alley. After repeating this a few times, he was finally cornered by three men, led by a Weapon Refining Realm cultivator.

“Hey, fat boy, I heard you’re selling spirit stones?” the Weapon Refining cultivator asked with a smile, stepping forward.

The chubby young man chuckled, “Yeah, these stones are treasures to cultivators, but to me, they’re just shiny coins.”

“I’ll buy them all,” the cultivator said, his smile widening. He gestured, and two Gathering Qi Realm cultivators produced several banknotes, placing them in his hand. “Here’s three thousand taels. More than enough for your stones. Consider the extra a bonus.”

The chubby young man was just a commoner, unaware of the true value of the spirit stones.

Three thousand taels for a dozen low-grade spirit stones was more than fair, but anyone could see that the chubby man’s pile of spirit stones was high-grade, rare, and invaluable.

“Only three thousand?” The chubby man tightened his grip on the stones, looking dissatisfied.

The Weapon Refining cultivator raised an eyebrow, smirking, “Not enough? Five thousand!”

The chubby man shook his head, “Are you trying to fool me, brother?”

“Eight thousand!” the cultivator sneered. “To be honest, those stones are only worth that much. If you get greedy, you’ll regret it.”

The chubby man sighed, “But the cultivator who bought my land said these stones could get me a Weapon Refining Realm wife to help me farm! He told me not to be fooled. I thought I’d get a wife to help with the farm and use my savings to marry a local girl…”

“Enough!”

The cultivator snapped, “What a waste of time. Xiao De, break his limbs and take the stones.”

“Yes, young master.”

A Gathering Qi Realm cultivator drew a sharp dagger, grinning wickedly as he approached the chubby man.

The chubby man’s smile froze, and his tone turned sly, “What are you doing? Business is business! I’m warning you, I’m not easy to bully.”

Xiao De sneered, “A mere mortal dares threaten us? You’re asking for it. We were just going to break your limbs, but now we’ll be less merciful.”

The chubby man thumped his chest, “Fine, if you can harm a hair on my head, I’ll take your name.”

At that moment, a figure in a green robe descended from the sky.

Qin Gou, smiling warmly, said, “You must be planning a robbery, maybe even murder? Well, aren’t you three the picture of heroism.”

The three men looked as if they’d seen a ghost.

Where did this guy come from? How did they not notice him?

“Let’s not make a scene, friend. We can split the loot,” the Weapon Refining cultivator suggested with a forced smile.

“Why choose? I’ll take it all!” Qin Gou grinned, drawing his sword.

The cultivator frowned, “Are you planning to double-cross us?”

Qin Gou and the chubby man exchanged a smile. The chubby man pulled a massive spiked club from his storage bag, his innocent grin replaced by a cunning look.

“What? You’re in cahoots?” The three men were shocked.

Qin Gou and the chubby man advanced on them with wicked smiles.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Help, we’re being robbed!”

“Where’s the law?”

***

The chubby man was the odd fellow Qin Gou had met at the Gu Yue City gate three days earlier. His real name was Chen Keshai. Having fled Gu Yue City with nowhere to go, he stuck to Qin Gou, finding him approachable and not a villain.

With no new tasks from the system, Qin Gou couldn’t return to Arc Moon Mountain. Seeing Chen Keshai’s natural charm and potential, he partnered with him to “uphold justice.”

After each encounter with evildoers, Qin Gou generously rewarded Chen Keshai with spirit stones, making the chubby man blissfully content.

Half an hour later.

Chen Keshai, who had been flaunting his wealth, now wore mourning clothes, sitting beside a “corpse” wrapped in white cloth, a sign around his neck reading “Selling myself to bury my father.”

Passersby were dumbfounded. They’d seen pretty young women doing this, but a chubby guy? What could he do, eat them out of house and home?

The real trick lay beneath the coins in the broken porcelain bowl before Chen Keshai—a high-grade spirit stone, waiting for its “customer.”

Suddenly, the bowl was kicked over, and the chubby man’s eyes gleamed. Qin Gou, disguised as the corpse, sprang up, sword drawn, shouting, “Who dares?”

A black-robed elder stared at Qin Gou, eyes gleaming as if appraising a rare beauty, letting out a grating laugh.

“Finally found you. I’m glad I didn’t give up.”