Chapter 205: Chapter 196: Although I’m Usually Very Arrogant, I’m Not Stupid

Zhou Tianci’s arrogance vanished in an instant. He knew with perfect clarity what he had to do next: avoid any further entanglement with that guy named Lin, at all costs.

After all, given the man’s outstanding cultivation aptitude, he was very likely to achieve great things in the future, becoming a Tier Three or even a Tier Four Cultivator.

If he ignored the man’s final warning and foolishly provoked him again, then once that man became powerful, he would almost certainly come knocking on his door for revenge.

When that happened, the Zhou Family would be finished.

Zhou Tianci mentally replayed his recent encounter.

The tip his gatekeeper had received—that the man would be meeting someone at a pastry shop on Guangqi Road this morning—was clearly bait deliberately set by that Lin fellow to lure him in.

This vindictive nature, the kind that repays every grudge, only strengthened his conviction that he absolutely could not provoke the man again.

Even though he’d had his servants post missing person notices everywhere, his true intention was never revenge. He had only wanted to reconcile.

His actions had been mistaken as a hunt for revenge. He desperately wanted to explain, but under the circumstances, explaining things to the man face-to-face was no longer an option.

’Damn it... what kind of mess is this? I had people plaster notices everywhere and spent a fortune, all to find you and offer a hefty gift to make peace. But it all turned into this.

Everyone says I’m hot-tempered, but you’re just as bad, if not worse. If you had just been willing to exchange a few words with me, I might have been spared this beating.’

Zhou Tianci recalled the scene of that Lin fellow beating him senseless without a single word. Overwhelmed with frustration, he cursed inwardly and slowly closed his eyes.

...

TAP TAP TAP...

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed first, followed by a pretty waitress who quickly entered the courtyard behind the tavern.

"Boss, Mr. Lin is here," the pretty waitress said to Wang Gui, who stood in the courtyard gazing at baskets filled with pearls.

Wang Gui, who had been inspecting the large bamboo baskets filled with pearls, nodded at the waitress and immediately went to welcome his distinguished client.

A moment later, Lin Li, his face concealed by a bamboo hat, followed Wang Gui into the tavern’s rear courtyard.

"Mr. Lin, there are fifty baskets here in total, each containing two thousand pearls, for a grand total of one hundred thousand," Boss Wang said with a smile, gesturing to the dozens of large bamboo baskets that filled the courtyard.

’All this is money...’ Lin Li was overjoyed as he gazed at the flawless white pearls filling the large bamboo baskets. He smiled and praised Boss Wang.

"Boss Wang, your methods are truly extraordinary. In just a single morning, you’ve already prepared the hundred thousand pearls I needed."

Boss Wang was pleased to hear the praise from his distinguished client, but he replied with practiced humility.

"You flatter me, Mr. Lin. Preparing these hundred thousand pearls for you was quite the undertaking."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Lin Li walked over to the large, pearl-filled bamboo baskets and began storing them, one by one, in the Mysterious Small Island.

Even though Wang Gui already knew his distinguished client had awakened a Storage Space Superpower, he couldn’t help but look shocked all over again as he watched the man use it to make the dozens of baskets he’d prepared vanish.

’If only I could awaken a Storage Space Superpower like Mr. Lin,’ Wang Gui thought with envy. But at the same time, a question began to form in his mind.

’I’ve heard that when a Cultivator awakens this type of Storage Space Superpower, the space they get isn’t that large—usually around ten cubic meters.

These fifty large bamboo baskets in my courtyard easily exceed ten cubic meters when you add them all up.

How can Mr. Lin’s Storage Space absorb all these large bamboo baskets so easily?’

After a few minutes, once all the large, pearl-filled baskets had been stored in the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li turned with a wide smile to the spellbound Wang Gui.

"Boss Wang, I’ve got all the pearls. It’s been a pleasure. I’ll be back the next time I’m in need."

Wang Gui was still pondering the vastness of Lin Li’s Storage Space when he heard the man speak. He immediately snapped back to reality, pushed the question from his mind, and said with a chuckle.

"It’s almost noon, Mr. Lin. You haven’t had lunch yet, have you? I’ve had the kitchen prepare a meal for us. Please, stay and eat before you leave!"

"Oh, I’d feel bad about that!" Lin Li said politely, seeing that Boss Wang was inviting him to lunch.

Boss Wang chuckled and joked with his esteemed client, "Mr. Lin, please, don’t stand on ceremony. We’ll be working together plenty in the future!

Besides, it’s just lunch. To refuse is a slap in the face! It makes me sound as if I’m too stingy to even treat you to a meal."

"Ah... alright then! In that case, I’ll shamelessly impose on Boss Wang for a meal." It was hard to refuse such hospitality, so Lin Li accepted with a smile.

Wang Gui then led Lin Li to a private VIP room on the tavern’s second floor.

...

「In the afternoon.」

The blazing sun beat down on Dongwu City, relentlessly unleashing its heat. The willow trees lining the streets wilted under the blazing sun, looking utterly listless.

The lunch was a pleasant affair for both host and guest. Having eaten and drunk his fill, Lin Li ambled out of the tavern, personally escorted by a beaming Boss Wang.

"Take care, Mr. Lin. Do come again," Boss Wang said. Lin Li smiled, nodded, and headed for the street.

The afternoon heat was brutal. Walking the streets of Dongwu City under the blazing sun at this hour was a special kind of torture.

Lin Li decided to hail a horse-drawn carriage and have the driver take him on a tour of Dongwu City.

Bright sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling Lin Li’s face as he stood in the shade.

He had taken off his bamboo hat for the meal, and now, with the sun beating down on him, he was starting to feel the heat.

With a mere thought, he retrieved the bamboo hat from the Mysterious Small Island and placed it back on his head.

’Damn, it’s hot in Dongwu City today! Feels a few degrees hotter than Rongcheng,’ Lin Li muttered to himself, feeling waves of heat roll off the street as he waited for a carriage under a willow tree.

Suddenly, a procession appeared around a distant corner, immediately catching Lin Li’s eye.

’Prisoner carts?!!!’

Lin Li watched in surprise as the procession slowly made its way toward him.

’Holy crap, they really are prisoner carts! This must be what they call a public shaming parade—something that disappeared long ago!’

As the procession of prisoner carts that Lin Li had spotted rounded the corner and entered the street, Shopkeepers and customers poured out of the stores on both sides, pointing and murmuring at the sight.

The procession consisted of fifteen prisoner carts, each containing a fierce-looking brute in a flax-colored prison uniform. All of them bore injuries of some kind.

At the head of the procession rode an official in purple robes, mounted on a tall, powerful steed.

Flanking the procession were more officials, these in gray. Although they were also on horseback, their mounts were of a far inferior quality compared to the steed of the official in purple.

’Those must be the constables from the Dongwu City authorities. Yes, that has to be it. Otherwise, their uniforms wouldn’t be embroidered with the character for "Arrest"...’

Back on Blue Star, Lin Li had only ever seen constables parading prisoners through the streets in historical dramas. To witness it in person now felt incredibly novel.

...