Chapter 318: Agreement and Design

Zhou You was slightly tempted by the conditions Liu Fengji offered, but it was only a temptation.

He already had a promise, and it was a promise from a Qiangwu Jiuzhongtian.

No matter how precious a promise from a member of the Liu Family might be, could it really outweigh the weight of a top-tier martial expert?

For noble families, true power lies in their monopoly over resources and hierarchy, but once it involves a top-tier martial arts expert, that doesn't hold up.

One might ask, in this world, who can compare to the existence of a Martial Saint? "As for the reward afterward, we must wait until we are alive and out of here!"

What Zhou You was considering was how to lead this master and servant out of here.

As everyone knows, in any situation, the complexity of an event doubles as the number of people increases.

One person is still within the realm of anthropology, but two or more people enter the realm of sociology, and the difficulty is not just ordinarily high.

In this territory that has fallen to the Witch Tribe, trying to hide one's tracks is hell-level difficulty.

There is no Secret Technique or martial art in the world that can completely cover the traces left by a living person.

Odor, temperature, hair, skin dander—any tissue shed by the human body can potentially be discovered; those Witch people have noses sharper than dogs and even keep all sorts of strange wild beasts.

Two living people, as long as they breathe, eat, and excrete—normal metabolism—will leave traces.

Once, Zhou You was discovered by Witch pursuers because his own shed scalp dander was licked off the ground by their hunting dogs, directly exposing his tracks.

Since then, Zhou You's control over Stealth has reached a higher level, becoming cautious to the point of being strict.

One cannot be too careful; negligence is a death sentence! "Speaking of which, you two, it really wasn't easy walking here from Zunyang City."

Liu Fengji, a late-stage Qi and Blood cultivator, carrying a little book boy who was practically a burden, full of flaws, yet able to walk here unscathed, made Zhou You doubt his own standards.

"Not at all, it was just good luck."

When Liu Fengji explained, he emphasized the word "luck" significantly, clearly hinting at something.

Yes, luck is also very important.

Zhou You chatted idly; although this avatar of his was taking a risk, it hadn't reached the point of life-or-death.

At worst, he could admit the mission failed, initiate the panel's projection recall, and leave.

However, with the opportunity right in front of him, if he could save Liu Fengji, he would treat it as an investment.

The Fucheng Liu Family held a higher status than the Xu Family and Qi Family of Gongliang City; if he could rely on this big tree after moving to Fucheng in the future, things would be much easier to handle.

Zhou You had seen with his own eyes how, after Su Cheng was destroyed, those Su Cheng immigrants were met with cold shoulders and exclusion locally, with nowhere to turn.

Even someone as strong as Bao Tiefeng, possessing the methods of an ambitious hero, barely managed to secure a foothold in the martial arts circle.

Gongliang City was xenophobic; would Fucheng be any different? To get along well, one must have connections locally; one might ask, what connection is more solid than a local noble family?

He was still seriously considering it, but Liu Fengji could no longer hold back and spoke directly, "Brother Lu, if you have a way to escape this place, why not sell me a favor?"

"My nature is such that I repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring."

"Hmm, this is not an exaggeration; you can verify the weight of that spring yourself in the future."

Zhou You rubbed his chin, seriously considering the other party's conditions.

The little book boy, Xiao Xu, couldn't help it and said pitifully, "If you are in a difficult position, you can leave me behind and take the Young Master away; would that be easier?"

Fearing Zhou You wouldn't agree, he swung his thin arms, "I still have a few pounds of meat on me; I can attract the Witch people's beasts."

Zhou You was amused by him and waved his hand, "There's no need for that!"

He had just thought of a method, which could be considered his final trump card, and it might just come in handy. The Hunger Pouch!

As it happens, some time ago, Zhou You obtained the skin of a martial artist from Golden Crane Mountain, and after 'Lu Zhigang' broke through to become a martial artist, he obtained another whole sheet; with ample materials, he worked overtime to make a dozen or so skin pouches.

After testing, the Hunger Pouch, when stacked with his talent, could not only store goods but also possessed the ability to store living things for a short time.

He had also tested it by putting unconscious pigs and sheep inside; they could be kept for up to 10 days and would be lively upon being released.

He hadn't tested it on a living person, but he figured it wouldn't be much different from pigs and sheep.

Unless absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to use this trump card.

It was just that the Hunger Pouch was too important; once exposed, it could easily invite a catastrophe.

At the very least, Zhou You had been inquiring and confirmed that within the range he could reach, there were no legends of so-called storage spaces.

In other words, his Hunger Pouch, if not unique in this world, was at least rare to the point of being impossible to pass down.

Therefore, this item could be used, and to great effect, but not a second person could know about it.

As for the pigs and sheep used in the living experiments, he had killed them afterward to silence them, chopping them up and stewing them in a pot until they were soft.

"If I say I have a way to send you two out of the territory, but the prerequisite is that you must enter a state of unconsciousness beforehand, can you agree to that, Brother Liu?"

Liu Fengji frowned upon hearing this; to be unconscious beforehand, wouldn't that mean handing his life and property over to the other party?

For someone of his extraordinary background, this was clearly unacceptable; it was too risky—what if the other party had ulterior motives? Seeing his hesitation, Zhou You breathed a sigh of relief; he didn't want to use the Hunger Pouch lightly anyway.

This skin pouch was a disposable item; regardless of how much it held, it would be ruined the moment it was used, even less durable than a trash bag.

To waste a Hunger Pouch for a single favor was something he had to weigh carefully.

Since the other party had doubts and wouldn't agree, Zhou You was happy to go with the flow and didn't have to put himself in a difficult position.

"..."

The book boy, Xiao Xu, suddenly sensed something and held up an object to alert Liu Fengji.

"Young Master, there are our own people nearby."

This was truly an unexpected joy! Originally, the master and servant were stranded in the wilderness, helpless, and had to ask for help from an outsider like Zhou You, yet they couldn't reach an agreement for a long time.

Suddenly, sensing that their own people had appeared nearby, they immediately had the hope of a drowning person being saved.

Liu Fengji's face showed joy, but his expression changed drastically immediately after, "No, this is a trap."

His Personal Guard had all been scattered, stranded in all directions, and caught in the encirclement and pursuit of the Witch army.

Even if some survived, they would only follow the original agreement to intentionally walk far away to attract attention, buying time for him to escape.

Appearing nearby at this time and intentionally drawing their attention was clearly problematic.

If it wasn't a traitor, then it was a trap faked by the Witch people to lure them out? Zhou You looked at Liu Fengji with a bit more respect; to be in a desperate situation and see hope, yet still remain calm despite the joy, was not something an ordinary person could do.

He also believed it was a trap, because on the map of the interface, apart from the three of them, there were red dots everywhere, and not even a single yellow dot representing a neutral faction.

Liu Fengji did not have an interface cheat, yet he sensed something suspicious through intuition alone; impressive!

But his trouble was also far greater than he had imagined.

This was for the best; since they did not trust each other, they could bid farewell later and each seek their own path to survival! Zhou You thought this, but then heard Liu Fengji's resolute words, "Brother Lu, I am willing!"

(End of this chapter)