Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 368 Cold Dew
"Um...why don't you go back first?"

No answer.

"Then I'll go back first, you wait here for your master?"

Still no answer.

"Um, may I ask what your surname is?"

Still no answer.

Zhou You is now helpless and can only sigh.

"So what are you planning to do?"

However, the girl just stared at him, her expression not one of indifference, but rather one of bewilderment at the unknown.

It was obvious that after leaving her master, the girl didn't know what she should do anymore.

Zhou You only thought for two seconds before he understood what was going on.

He's still a child from the mountains after all.

He looked at the table full of food and wine, then at the girl who hadn't touched a bite, pointed, and said.

"Eat?"

Slowly shake your head.

"Then forget it. I'm planning to go out into the city to explore and get familiar with the area. Are you planning to come along?"

This time the girl did nothing else, but her quick follow-up steps proved her point.

Although the two unreliable masters were irresponsible, at least they settled the bill before leaving, so they weren't detained. Zhou You, with the little girl following closely behind, walked into Zhangping City.

A light, misty snow began to fall again on the streets.

According to past customs, at this time of year, families with a little wealth would stew a pot of greasy pork, pair it with a few ounces of wine, and sit in front of their own door, happily watching their children and grandchildren have a snowball fight.

Now, all that can be seen is silence.

The streets are no longer filled with the laughter of children; instead, they are filled with hordes of beggars—those who are wrapped in thin clothes and huddled in the wind, swarming around anyone who passes by like flies.

"Sir, please give me some money!"

We're starving! Please have mercy on us!

"Just a few coins will do, enough for us to have a full meal!"

"Please, have pity on me."

Now that Old Man Li was no longer interfering, the beggars had no more scruples.

But Zhou You frowned as he looked at the ragged crowd.

There are too many disabilities.

Indeed, times are tough these days, and the weather is extremely cold, with many losing their hands and feet to frostbite. But the proportion of disabled people among these beggars is far too high; seven out of ten are physically disabled, and many of them are even children.

And these cries of begging ceased with a few outstretched hands.

Those people cleverly concealed themselves among the beggars, and taking advantage of the gap when Zhou You and his companion were surrounded, they stealthily crept up behind him.

The target was simple: the girl called Hanlu.

Zhou You frowned, but before he could make a move, a fan was already swung out, accurately knocking down those hands.

The moment they saw the peach blossoms on the fan, the group exchanged glances, then hurriedly retreated, disappearing into the shadows of the street corner in the blink of an eye.

As they left, the beggars scattered as if they had received some kind of command.

Only then did the girl speak softly to explain.

"These people are evil beggars from the lowest of the low, unlike the legitimate beggars who only know how to beg and have no money left. They cheat, swindle, and commit all kinds of evil deeds. However, since their sect is spread over a wide area, it is best to scare them away and try not to fight with them."

Hearing this, Zhou You looked at the disabled man for a long time, and finally just shook his head and said to Han Lu.

"You look quite young, but you seem to know a lot about these things."

Hanlu was a little flustered, but still answered in a low voice.

“My master took pity on me, being all alone, so he did teach me quite a bit over the years, but it was only some basic skills to make a living, nothing much.”

After this experience, the shy girl finally started talking more.

While they were chatting, they took a detour through several streets and arrived at a market.

According to Hanlu, their sect needs a specially blended incense powder to perform magic. They had used up a lot of it due to some accidents a few days ago, so their main purpose in coming to Zhangping was to replenish their incense.

As for how he unexpectedly received the job of exorcising evil spirits and even met Zhou You's master, it was purely a coincidence.

—In the words of her master, Lady Hua, this was a damned, ill-fated relationship.

Zhou You didn't mind accompanying someone shopping. He just wanted to see the layout of the city and kill some time before Old Man Li returned. As the saying goes, it doesn't matter where you go—especially with a girl by your side, she's much more pleasing to the eye than that old geezer.

As for Zhangping's commercial district, it's located in the south of the city.

Fortunately.

When the two arrived, they were finally able to see some soldiers maintaining order.

Driven away by the soldiers, the beggars had vanished without a trace, and the corpses lying on the road had been mostly cleared away. Although the streets were still filthy, at least there were some signs of cleaning.

Hanlu led her into a shop. She first looked around at the shelves, and then, after seeing something, her face lit up with surprise. She then spoke to the old shopkeeper.

"Excuse me, shopkeeper, do you have Three Lives Incense and Yuan-Transforming Essence here?"

Hanlu rattled off a string of names, and the old shopkeeper, who had been somewhat bored, burst into laughter after hearing them.

"Young lady, you might not be able to find these things anywhere else, but we're a well-known, long-established brand, so we can definitely gather all of them."

Hanlu hesitated for a moment, then asked.

"The asking price for these items"

The shopkeeper said with absolute certainty.

"You can rest assured that we will definitely go with the cheapest option."

"Then I'll have to trouble the shop owner."

The old shopkeeper immediately smiled kindly. He turned around, laboriously picked up the goods from the cabinet, and spoke to the two men at the same time.

"Sigh, the world is getting worse and worse these days. To be honest, young lady, you're one of our first customers in the last ten days or so."

Zhou You leaned against the cabinet, idly saying...

"Business is so bad these days? No one has come in for over ten days?"

"Normally, it shouldn't be that bad, but given the current situation, who in Zhangping City would have the leisure to buy perfume? A few days ago, some merchants from the south came here to buy goods, but for some reason, they suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if they had vanished into thin air."

Zhou You hadn't paid much attention at first, but when he heard these words, he instinctively sensed something was wrong and then said something.

"Shopkeeper, the world is so chaotic these days, have these people been attacked by bandits or something?"

The old shopkeeper shook his head.

"That might be the case for ordinary people, but those merchants are all well-known experts. Even if something really happened, it would be impossible for them to disappear so quietly, and even the government wouldn't be able to find them."

"Where was their last known location?"

"Is it in Laiqingfang? But I don't know the specifics."

After saying this, the old shopkeeper brought out several incense boxes. After calculating the price, he quoted a price.

"Cheng Hui, thirty taels of silver."

Hanlu frowned upon hearing this.

"So expensive? When my master took me to buy one in Dongyuan the other day, it only cost less than fifteen taels."

Before she could finish speaking, the old shopkeeper sighed.

“Young lady, you can’t say that. Three months ago, I could have sold it to you for ten taels, let alone fifteen. But what’s the situation now? Trade routes are cut off, and bandits are everywhere. I’m already doing you a favor by being able to scrape together this much. If you think it’s too expensive, then go and look elsewhere.”

Hanlu was, after all, just a country girl. When she heard this, she was at a loss for words. Looking at the old shopkeeper's sincere face, she finally gritted her teeth and said.

"In that case, I'll go first."

But before she could take out the silver note, Zhou You stopped her.

Immediately, someone looked up and gave a bright smile.

"Hey shopkeeper, this isn't how you calculate the money, is it?"

The old shopkeeper frowned.

"I've been in this business for almost forty years, do I need you to teach me? Then tell me how to calculate it?"

Zhou You smiled upon hearing this, then went over and fiddled with the abacus for a few moments, producing a number.

What do you think of this?

The old shopkeeper only glanced at it before quickly waving his hand.

"No way, absolutely not! If we do it your way, I'll lose a fortune! I've already said, if you don't want to buy, you can go find someone else. You're haggling so hard, who would sell to you?"

Zhou You wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he moved closer to him, put his arm around his shoulder, and whispered a laugh in his ear.

"Look, since this thing's just sitting there anyway, why not..."

"No, it really won't work, I can't do it."

"But your pricing is really not good."

As Zhou You muttered to himself for a while, the old shopkeeper's expression grew increasingly grim, and in the end, he reluctantly settled on a price.

"Alright, the minimum is twenty taels. Let's do cash on delivery."

Hanlu was overjoyed, but she still couldn't pay this time—Zhou You took out a white cloth belt and gently placed it on the counter.

However, when the shopkeeper saw the simple and unadorned belt, his expression suddenly changed.

"Are you in the funeral business?"

Zhou You smiled without saying a word, but the old shopkeeper's face was already ashen—it was clear he wanted to send him away, but after looking at the white cloth and then at Zhou You's sunflower-like smiling face, he could only sigh helplessly in the end.

"Alright, fifteen taels it is. I guess I'm just unlucky to have messed with people like you."

The old shopkeeper shoved the items into Hanlu's hands, snatched the silver notes, and then respectfully and resolutely saw the two of them out the door.

Hanlu was still completely bewildered, and she murmured a question to Zhou You.

"Senior brother, what exactly did you do just now? Why did the shopkeeper suddenly make such a big concession?"

Zhou You casually stuffed the white cloth back into his waist pouch and then laughed.

"Actually, it's nothing. This is a method my master taught me for getting free meals before starving to death—the principle is simply to take advantage of the fact that the White Gate is hated by everyone except for funerals."

Hearing this explanation, Hanlu was clearly taken aback, but after thinking about the money her family had saved, she still bowed to Zhou You.

"Thank you so much for your help, senior brother. I will definitely find a way to repay you if I have the chance."

The person simply waved their hand magnanimously.

"It's no trouble at all, it was just a small favor. By the way, now that you've bought it, shouldn't you go back to your master?"

Hanlu was taken aback, then looked at the sky and hurriedly said in a panic.

"Then, senior brother, I'll be going now."

"go Go."

As Zhou You watched the little girl hurriedly leave, his smile gradually turned cold.

Admittedly, judging from her behavior, she was just a naive young girl who came from the mountains and knew nothing of the world; there was nothing unusual about her.

But how should I put it?
Under the influence of the Jing Shen's Food Potion, he could always smell a faint scent on the other person.

It's not exactly evil, but it's definitely not good either.

Strange, could it be because of their brothel-related martial arts techniques?

Zhou You scratched his chin, then shook his head and walked into the night.
-
into the night.

Zhou You returned to the inn and happened to see Old Man Li and Lady Hua returning, arguing loudly.

"I told you that thing wouldn't work, but you wouldn't believe me. Who moves those paper figures in broad daylight? Well, the city defense battalion has been mobilized. If I hadn't been covering for you, you'd probably have been shot to death by a hail of arrows by now!"

"And what makes you any better? You said you'd find a few acquaintances, and it would be a piece of cake. But what happened? Your acquaintances either left or were dismissed from their posts. Good heavens, you weren't even inside the government office before the gatekeeper kicked you out."

Seeing that the argument between the two sides was getting more and more heated, Hanlu could only follow behind, not knowing how to persuade them. Zhou You could only sigh and go to meet them.

"Master, have you found any clues this time?"

As a result, the two of them pointed at each other simultaneously.

"If it weren't for this woman/bastard causing trouble, I would have found the place long ago!"

Honestly, you two have a really good relationship, right?

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Zhou You had no choice but to forcibly take his master away. As for Lady Hua, she naturally couldn't stay in such a place, so after saying goodbye, she left with her apprentice.

Zhou You barely managed to drag his master back into the house, threw him onto the bed, and then plopped down on his own.

Even at this point, Old Man Li was still muttering to himself, unwilling to accept the situation.

"That bitch, I'll teach her a lesson sooner or later."

Seeing this, Zhou You said helplessly.

"Master, what grudge do you have against them? Why can't you stop now?"

"Enmity? My enmity with her is enormous. If it weren't for her, how could my junior sister have ended up like this?"

However, Old Man Li stopped talking halfway through his sentence.

"Forget it, there's no point in talking about this now. I have to get up early tomorrow to continue the bet. I should go to sleep now."

However, just before he was about to doze off, Zhou You seemed to remember something and said something.

"By the way, Master, I heard a rather strange rumor during the day. It's said that some merchants have mysteriously disappeared, and for some reason, the authorities can't seem to find them no matter what they do."

Who would have thought that such an ordinary sentence would make Old Man Li stop moving and then get up.

At this moment, his expression became extremely serious.

"Disciple, where did that happen?"

Zhou You scratched his head and then said.

"I remember it was Laiqingfang, right?"

(End of this chapter)