"My name is Shi Gan," the old man said. "You can call me Old Shi―everyone does that."

"I spent my childhood in poverty. My mother...she was a prostitute. I never knew my father―it was my mother who raised me. After I was born, my mother's health began to decline. Due to her persistent health issues, her earnings kept falling, and soon we were forced on the streets. Just getting by was hard. To help my mother, I began to work as a stable boy in a cultivator family—I was only seven then…"

"One day, the master of the house was testing the aptitudes of the kids in the family. I was there by chance. On a whim, Master checked my aptitude as well and found I had the talent to become a cultivator as well…Master decided to train me. When I heard it, my happiness knew no bounds. It was the most exciting moment of my life. I rushed back home to share my joy with my mother, but when I returned home I came to know...Mother passed away…"

"After my mother's death, I focused all my efforts on cultivation. I wanted to break through these shackles of mortality. But once I started cultivating, it became apparent that my talent was barely average. The family no longer wanted to train me and asked me to go back to my previous chores—I didn't want to! I had a chance to be a cultivator. How could I be satisfied with living the life of a mortal? I didn't want to die like my Mother, weak and helpless. Naturally, I refused. Because of my insubordination, the family expelled me. And once again, I was on the streets. Only this time, my mother wasn't there to look after me..."

"I wanted to be a cultivator, but I didn't have the resources. I was angry at the cultivator family for expelling me. So a few days after they had expelled me, I sneaked back in and stole their cultivation technique and pills...They chased me, but I escaped. After my escape, they issued a warrant against me. I could no longer stay in the province. So I went to other regions and began my life as a rogue cultivator…"

Old Shi looked at the three of them, his eyes full of envy. "You guys, who have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth, will never understand how tough it is for someone like me to cultivate. The struggles I faced, the pain and desperation I suffered..."

As Old Shi told his tale, Xia Ping began to sob. Even Li Kun felt pity and regretted his earlier outburst.

But Mu Chen remained unmoved. "It's sad to hear what you had to go through, but what does this have to do anything with us?"

Old Shi sighed. "Today, my cultivation base has reached the peak of the Dividing Earth realm. It looks profound, but the truth is I've already exhausted my potential." He gave Mu Chen a deep look. "Do you understand? My body has started falling apart. If I don't break through the Heaven Opening realm soon, I will die. But with my talent, it's impossible to defy fate."

"T-that thing you want us to retrieve from the secret realm," Li Kun said, "Can it help one break through to Heaven Opening realm?" Thinking about it, Li Kun's eyes began to blaze with excitement. If they could get their hands on such a treasure, it wouldn't be a dream to reach the Heaven Opening realm.

But Old Shi shook his head, crushing Li Kun's fantasy. "The Heaven Opening realm is a moat that separates ordinary cultivators from true cultivators. Without comprehension, it is impossible to step over this ridge."

"If it's not a treasure that will enhance your cultivation base, then what is it?" Mu Chen thought of another possibility.

"It's something that's much better―especially for old people like me. It is something that can prolong your life." Old Shi's voice turned hoarse, "The fruit of Longevity."

"What?!" Li Kun and Xia Ping exclaimed.

Even Mu Chen was taken aback by the revelation. He came here to find a Heaven and Earth treasure and didn't expect to hear about longevity fruit. But he quickly recovered from his shock and said, "The longevity fruit isn't that rare. If you have enough wealth, you can get one at an auction."

"Do you know how many longevity fruits I've taken so far?" Old Shi sneered. "I've already eaten so many of them that the ones sold from auction don't have any effect on me anymore."

"You are kidding!" Li Kun's eyes widened. "Isn't eating just one longevity fruit enough to extend one's lifespan by a dozen years?"

Old Shi shook his head. "The ones that are sold at auctions rarely exceed the sixty-year-old mark―they can barely extend your lifespan by a couple of years," he said. "As for longevity fruit that can increase one's lifespan by decades―that's only true for fruits that have been bred for a long time. But they will never see the light of the auction. Cultivators like us don't have the opportunity to get them."

"So you think there is longevity fruit in the secret realm that can help you?" Mu Chen asked, but he already somewhat believed Old Shi's reasoning. After all, he himself was also pinning his hope on finding a Heaven and Earth fruit in the secret realm. If anything, chances of finding longevity fruit were much higher than a Heaven and Earth treasure.

"There must be!" Old Shi said.

"You believe that there must be a longevity fruit in the secret realm, but you can't enter the realm yourself." Mu Chen narrowed his eyes. "So you decided to imprison us and force us to get the longevity fruit?"

"Yes. I am sorry I had to put you through my selfish request." Old Shi looked at Mu Chen, somewhat apologetic. "But I don't regret it. Unless you are at the end of your life, you will never understand my desperation."

"I'm not interested in knowing how desperate you are," Mu Chen said. "I want to know, is there anyone else involved in this scheme of yours?"

"There isn't," Old Shi said. "I bribed the squad leader of the royal guards to arrest you—he is an old acquaintance of mine, so he agreed. As for the jailor here, the squad leader arranged for him to help me with my plan."

After Old Shi finished explaining, Mu Chen fell into silence for a long time. Li Kun was also thinking. Xia Ping fidgeted a bit but managed to keep quiet.

"So...what is it?" Old Shi seemed very uncomfortable with the silence. "Are you going to kill me or what?"

"We are not a group of bloodthirsty people," Mu Chen said. "But we also can't release you, after all your cultivation realm is much higher than ours."

"So are you going to keep me imprisoned?" Old Shi asked.

Mu Chen thought for a while and then said, "If you don't wish to be imprisoned, I can give you another choice."

"What choice?"

Mu Chen raised the Blood-oath scroll and waved it in front of Old Shi. "This contract...does it work like you said?"

"You―" Old Shi's face paled. "You want me to..."

"Yes, this is the only way we can trust you," Mu Chen said. "Ten years of servitude or a lifetime of imprisonment, which do you want?"

"T-ten years? That's horseshit! I am not even sure I can live that long." Old Shi cried out.

"Then what length of time do you think is suitable?" Mu Chen asked.

"S-six months." Old Shi said. "That's the same amount of time I had planned to force you into the contract for."

"Hmph! Just six months? What good is it?" Mu Chen snorted. "We might spend most of that time in the secret realm. Where will we have the leisure to order you around?"

"T-then, a year."

"Ten years." Mu Chen shook his head. "In addition, if we find a longevity fruit, we will give it to you. If you manage to break through to the Heaven Opening realm, your life span will increase by several hundred years. It won't be late to enjoy a life of freedom then. Ten years of servitude in exchange for hundreds of years of life―it's not a bad deal."

"This..." Old Shi hesitated. "Ten years is still a bit much—you can't guarantee you will definitely get a longevity fruit in the realm."

"That's the price you have to pay for acting against us," Mu Chen said.

Old Shi's expression turned bleak. "I, I need some time to think…"

"Good. Then we will come back tomorrow." Mu Chen agreed, but his expression darkened. But under the gloomy lighting of the cell, it went unnoticed. "Li Kun, Xia Ping, let's give the old man some space."

Mu Chen turned around and began to walk towards the exit, but paused. "Right, don't forget to lock the cell." His voice carried with it a trace of ridicule, reminding Old Shi that he was their captive.

Li Kun looked like he had something to ask. But hearing Mu Chen's words, he didn't hesitate anymore and locked the cell. He and Xia Ping followed Mu Chen upstairs into the lobby.

When they came into the lobby, both of them had wide grins plastered on their faces.

"Haha! That was brilliant, Brother Chen," Li Kun said. "I thought we would have to stay content with just some broken spirit stones and pills. But I didn't expect you would come up with such a trick." Li Kun rubbed his hands together. "If that Old Shi knows what's good for him, he should accept our terms. In future, once his cultivation breaks through...won't we have goon at Heaven Opening realm?"

"Ah! That would be amazing." Xia Ping was also excited and bobbed his head up and down.

"Amazing my ass!" Against Li Kun and Xia Ping's expectations, Mu Chen wasn't excited. Instead, his face had turned grim. "Hurry up, we need to leave this place right now!"

"Ah?" Xia Ping froze. Li Kun was also stunned.

"Brother Chen, what are you worried about? Didn't we just take care of everything?" Li Kun said.

Mu Chen raised his brow. "That old man, do you trust everything he said?"

"What?! He was lying?" Li Kun was surprised. "I couldn't tell."

"Rather than outright lying, I would say it was a mix of truth and falsehood." Mu Chen said. "The old man's story sounds plausible, but it doesn't match with what we know."

Xia Ping had butterflies swimming around his head. "Brother Chen, can you explain?"

Mu Chen narrowed his eyes. "He didn't tell us anything about his Lord. When he was talking with that jailor, I heard it clearly."

"I was wondering why you never asked him about this Lord guy. I thought you forgot..." Li Kun said, "Oh I see, it was deliberate. You were testing him?"

Mu Chen nodded and they resumed walking. "He didn't tell us anything about his current master. It means, either he is loyal or he is under control and can't switch to our side. Neither of these possibilities is good for us."

"You think he is really following someone's instructions?" Li Kun asked.

"He must be," Mu Chen said. "That old guy told us he was in a hurry and could only resort to such crude means. If he was really in a hurry, shouldn't he have already found someone else for his task? Why wait till there are only a few days for entering the secret realm?"

"This..." Li Kun frowned. "Couldn't this be a coincidence? Maybe he just picked us at random?"

Mu Chen shook his head. "Anything else could be a coincidence, but not this," he said, "Think about it, we are the last batch of entrants to arrive. Our city is at the edge of the Ming Dynasty's empire. It is already so far away from the capital, but our trip was delayed by the beast tide. As if that wasn't enough, because the number of participants who were under Spirit Gathering was high, we had to make several stops in between for refreshments and supplies. Compared to participants from other regions, we are very late. You think this old man could have sat still till we arrived?"
 
Li Kun and Xia Ping gawked.

"Brother Chen, you…" Li Kun and Xia Ping sighed with emotion and gave Mu Chen a thumbs up. Once they had succeeded in overpowering their enemies, Li Kun and Xia Ping became relaxed and lowered their guard. But Mu Chen was still so vigilant, making them admire him.

Mu Chen grinned at Li Kun and Xia Ping's gesture of praise. Because he had made a mistake, he had been careful this time, even after they managed to escape. Thinking about it, his expression turned grave once again. "These two points are already enough to doubt him," he said. "As for his story, even if it's true, I think he just told it to make us feel emotional and gain his sympathy, so we don't kill him outright. And when I asked him to sign the contract, he said he wanted time to think about it." Mu Chen shook his head, "Such an obvious choice, does he need to think? He must not have any intention to sign―he just wants to delay time."

"Delay time?" Li Kun understood why Mu Chen was urging them to speed up. "You think he might have made some arrangement?"

"We can't be sure," Mu Chen said, "So it's best to leave this place as soon as possible."

"Damn! Old ginger sure is spicy." Li Kun groaned and increased his speed.

"Out of all the crap he spouted, I think only his desire to live can be trusted." Mu Chen sighed.

"Then, should we just kill him?" Xia Ping asked as they came out of the prison building into the courtyard.

"No. In case I'm wrong, we would end up killing him for nothing," Mu Chen said. "Or it might alert the person behind him. I think that person must be waiting for Old Shi to report or something. If he doesn't contact him for a while, maybe he will...huh?" Mu Chen's eyes brightened. "Xia Ping, all of your pets are fine?"

"Uh-huh." Xia Ping nodded. It was the first thing he checked after he got their stuff.

"Can you arrange someone to monitor the cell?" Mu Chen clenched his fist, and his eyes became sharp. "Even if we can't retaliate, we must use this opportunity to find out more about our enemy, or we might end up dead without even knowing how."

"Got it." Xia Ping set out to work immediately. He patted on one of his beast pouches and a plump little mouse jumped onto the palm of his hand and squeaked. With silky multicolored fur and crafty red eyes that bespoke intelligence, it looked cute. Xia Ping communicated with the little mouse. It squeaked again, then jumped off and soon disappeared into the shrubbery.

"Brother Chen, it's done," Xia Ping said.

Li Kun stared in the direction the little mouse had disappeared. "Err…are you sure that mouse is suitable? Isn't it too flashy?"

"Haha. Don't worry, Brother Kun." Xia Ping's chest swelled as he said, "Hua Jin can not only hide his aura, he can even camouflage himself. With so many rats already in the cell, that guy is the most suitable."

"Excellent," Mu Chen said. "Alright, let's find a place to lay low while we keep a watch."