I'm in the Demonic Sect, but my cultivation techniques are being used for palace intrigue!

"If I ever need anything in the future, I will definitely contact you, my senior brother!"

Faced with Zhao Shigang's solicitous words, which carried a hint of mercenary arrogance and attempts to win him over, Zhu Jingguang did not show any obvious rejection, but instead gave a faint, indifferent response.

Then, just as Zhao Shigang, carrying the box containing Senior Sister Tan's remains, was about to turn and leave, Zhu Jingguang suddenly spoke again:

"Senior brother, please wait. I still have a question on my mind that I cannot understand no matter how hard I try. I hope you can enlighten me!"

"Of course! Of course!" Upon hearing this, Zhao Shigang paused in his steps and stopped leaving.

Then, Zhao Shigang turned around and looked the boy in front of him up and down with a bit of curiosity. He seemed to be surprised that the other party would have the leisure to ask him for advice after making a deal with him.

"When you knocked on the door earlier, how did you immediately determine that I had already killed Senior Sister Tan after hearing my answer?"

Zhu Jingguang stared intently at Zhao Shigang, laying out all the questions that had been on his mind.

"My answer at the time was clearly, 'My senior sister is currently in seclusion and cannot receive visitors!'"

"My answer was clearly a perfectly normal excuse, but judging from my senior brother's reaction at the time, he didn't seem to believe me at all, and even directly pointed out the fact that I had killed Senior Sister Tan..."

"What exactly went wrong with my answer that allowed you, senior brother, to immediately spot the problem?"

…………

To be honest, this question had been lingering in Zhu Jingguang's mind for a long time.

  

He genuinely couldn't understand what was wrong with his answer at the time.

After all, according to common sense, his answer did not have any major logical flaws. As a result, Zhao Shigang concluded that Senior Sister Tan was dead based on just one sentence. Wasn't this judgment too arbitrary?

"So that's what you were wondering about, junior brother."

Upon hearing Zhu Jingguang's question, Zhao Shigang was taken aback at first, then a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"Junior Brother has always been a menial disciple, spending his days with hoes in the spirit fields. Perhaps he doesn't yet have a clear and ruthless understanding of the ways of the Holy Sect members, especially the outer disciples..."

At this point, Zhao Shigang paused slightly, seemingly pondering how to explain some of the bloody truths within the Holy Sect to this novice in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

Having quickly figured out how to explain, Zhao Shigang immediately spoke again:

"To say something that might sound harsh to Junior Brother Zhu..."

"Within the Holy Sect, for outer disciples, menial disciples... are essentially just a kind of consumable resource!"

"Simply put, menial disciples are a resource we outer disciples use to improve our cultivation... equivalent to resources like spirit stones and spiritual energy!"

…………

After a slight pause, Zhao Shigang continued:

"In the Holy Sect, outer disciples regard menial tasks as worthless; in a sense, the two are no longer the same kind of beings!"

"Therefore, if Senior Sister Tan, this prodigy of the outer sect, were truly just in seclusion to recuperate, you, as a consumable resource, would have already been 'used up' by Senior Sister Tan. How could you possibly have the opportunity to speak to the outside world on behalf of an outer sect disciple?"

"So, when I heard your voice, Junior Brother Zhu, coming from inside the door, and especially when I sensed a hint of wariness in your questioning tone, tell me, shouldn't I think that Senior Sister Tan has completely messed up?"

…………

Zhao Shigang's words instantly made Zhu Jingguang realize what was going on.

He originally thought his answer was perfect, but now it seems he was just taking things for granted!

Furthermore, Zhao Shigang's answer gave Zhu Jingguang a deeper understanding of the "Holy Teachings".

"Does Junior Brother have any more questions? If not..."

Zhao Shigang glanced impatiently at the box in his arms, then gestured with his eyes to the open door of the stone chamber—if Zhu Jingguang had no questions for him, he would leave this place with this precious skeleton!

"Of course, I still have questions I'd like to ask my senior brother!"

Zhu Jingguang raised his hand and gestured for Zhao Shigang to calm down, while his brows furrowed slightly, as if he was organizing his thoughts.

After a moment, Zhu Jingguang spoke again—but this time, his gaze was much deeper than before…

"Senior Brother Zhao, there's something else I don't understand—were you deliberately showing me how much you cared about Senior Sister Tan's body when you were outside the door earlier?" Zhu Jingguang asked meaningfully.

"good!"

Zhao Shigang made no attempt to hide anything and readily admitted it, even sporting a smug look on his face.

Why?

Zhu Jingguang asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The business world is like a battlefield, and negotiations are even more so!"

"If you hadn't been so eager to show your determination to get your hands on Senior Sister Tan's corpse, but instead acted as if it were something you didn't care about, I might not have been able to offer such a high price because I felt guilty or was too eager to sell."

"In the end, you paid a higher price than expected to obtain Senior Sister Tan's body... Isn't that a miscalculation on your part?"

…………

In Zhu Jingguang's view, Zhao Shigang's behavior just now was simply a naked display of his mentality that "Senior Sister Tan's body is very important to me, and I urgently need it"—which is a major taboo in transactions!

"A miscalculation? Heh heh heh..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shigang let out a low laugh.

He shrugged slightly, and a kind of "wisdom of survival" gleamed in his narrow eyes.

"Junior brother, you're still too young!"

"Perhaps in ordinary transactions, haggling is the key, but in the Holy Church, a place teeming with bad people, sincerity is the most expensive luxury!"

Zhao Shigang took two steps closer, lowered his voice, and said earnestly,

"The reason I acted so eagerly, so greedily, even somewhat foolishly, was so that you—Junior Brother Zhu—could instantly sense my sincerity in wanting Senior Sister Tan's corpse!"

"Junior Brother Zhu, ask yourself honestly, now that you know how much I value Senior Sister Tan's corpse, haven't you relaxed a lot? Aren't you worried at all that I'll leak the fact that you killed Senior Sister Tan right away?"

…………

Upon hearing Zhao Shigang's words, Zhu Jingguang was stunned and stood there in a daze—it seemed... that was indeed the case!

"So!" Looking at Zhu Jingguang's expression, Zhao Shigang chuckled and tapped his chest, "Junior Brother Zhu, do you still think that my showing concern for Senior Sister Tan's corpse was a very foolish thing to do?"