"You are very alert."

The other person said this while completely shrouded in a cyan cloak, with even the hood covering his entire body in shadows.

Who are you? Zhou Yin didn't speak, just looked at him directly.

That person took off his hood, revealing his original appearance.

It was the man who had bought the Poxue hairpin that day.

"I want to make a deal with you."

Seeing Zhou Yin not respond, the man continued: "One hundred pieces of high-grade spirit stones, in exchange for breaking through the barrier with me to leave the city."

After a moment of silence, Zhou Yin cut to the heart of the matter with one sentence: "It was you who killed Sima Liang."

The first two encounters may have been coincidental, but this time, the other party was clearly seeking him out with purpose.

Now with the city gates tightly closed and the barrier strict, let alone cultivators, not even a fly could get out. Since he was in a hurry to leave the city, he must be related to this matter.

"That's right." The other party readily admitted it. His handsome facial features appeared cold and hard without a smile, and although his eyes were looking at Zhou Yin, they revealed a hint of arrogance.

What does it have to do with me? This message was silently conveyed through Zhou Yin's eyes.

The man seemed a bit irritated, as if he hadn't expected to run into someone even less talkative than himself. In front of a Core Formation stage cultivator, a little Foundation Establishment stage cultivator was actually calm and composed, showing no signs of panic.

He said: "Last time when you went to the shop, wasn't it to sell talismans in exchange for spirit stones? If you cooperate with me, you can get even more."

Zhou Yin asked: "Why me?"

"One, when I was in a confrontation with someone, they chased me to the vicinity of the inn. A restriction has already been set up around the area. If I go out, I will quickly be discovered. I need someone to cooperate with me."

"Two, there are a total of fifty rooms in this inn. Four are empty, twenty have ordinary people, and the remaining twenty-six have cultivators. But they are either not alone or their cultivation is too low, none meeting my requirements."

"Three, since you urgently need spirit stones and came here to participate in the treasure appraisal conference, it means you are either a rogue cultivator or just a disciple of a small sect, without sufficient spirit stone resources or power and background. You are destined to accept my proposal."

"If you agree, in addition to a hundred high-grade spirit stones, I can add a mid-grade magic weapon."

The man's voice was as deep as a cold pool. His tall and straight figure was concealed under the cyan cloak as he coldly stared at Zhou Yin, like a hawk that had already selected its prey in the darkness, ready to pounce at any moment, alert and sharp.

In comparison, with his hair loose, wearing only an inner garment, and bare feet stepping on the floorboards, Zhou Yin seemed slightly inferior in terms of imposing manner.

He was in no hurry to agree or refuse. Instead, he picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, then took his outer robe from the clothes rack and put it on.

"You are a Core Formation cultivator, I am merely at the mid Foundation Establishment stage. It shouldn't be difficult for you to break through the barrier alone, no need to add extra baggage."

A hundred high-grade spirit stones and a mid-grade magic weapon, such generous compensation was like a pie falling from the sky for a little cultivator.

But that person didn't expect that Zhou Yin would not be tempted by the conditions he offered. After a long pause, he said: "I'm a bit injured."

Zhou Yin raised an eyebrow.

With this, everything made sense.

Because he was injured, he had no choice but to find help. But he couldn't find a Core Formation cultivator, as he was afraid he wouldn't be able to control them and instead be schemed against.

That person looked at Zhou Yin, his cold gaze carrying a hint of mockery: "You don't need to entertain the idea of going to report me to the Yongning Marquis Mansion. What they can give you won't be more than me. At most they will just take out a few spirit stones to send you off like a beggar."

Zhou Yin's expression was blank. He seemed to ponder for a long time. Just as the other party thought he was going to ask questions like "What is your name", "Which sect are you from", "Why did you kill Sima Liang", he finally spoke.

Zhou Yin: "I don't need a mid-grade magic weapon."

That person: "??"

Zhou Yin: "One hundred and twenty high-grade spirit stones, no magic weapon."

That person: "...Okay."

Zhou Yin: "How long will the cooperation last?"

That person: "I need to heal here for two days. Until two days later when I can successfully leave the city."

Zhou Yin: "Why choose that time?"

That person: "Because the city lockdown can't last too long. After three days, the Nascent Soul cultivators from Qinggu Sect will come to investigate the cause of Sima Liang's death. The possibility of me being exposed will be greater then."

Zhou Yin made an "oh" sound, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

That person said coldly: "Well?"

He thought to himself, although he was injured, if Zhou Yin refused to agree, in order to silence him, he would have to kill him. But doing so would inevitably alert others and be more trouble than it's worth. If the two of them cooperated now, it would indeed be a win-win outcome.

But then he heard Zhou Yin say: "One hundred and sixty pieces. Pay half as a deposit first."

The man's eyebrow twitched. He really was money-grubbing to the extreme. "Fine."

Zhou Yin's earlier silence was just him weighing whether it was worth it to risk his life for these high-grade spirit stones.

The conclusion was...it was very much worth it.

If there were no mishaps, these spirit stones would be enough to support him until he reached the peak of Foundation Establishment and formed his Golden Core.

The more high-grade spirit stones, the lower the chances of running out of spiritual energy during closed-door cultivation, minimizing the risk of qi deviation.

Now that both parties had reached an initial agreement, for these two days, they were temporarily partners.

It's just that he had clearly misjudged the extent of Zhou Yin's stoicism. He didn't speak, and Zhou Yin also stayed silent, just pouring out all the deposit spirit stones from the pouch, scattering them on the table, and counting them one by one, over and over.

Click clack, one.

Click clack, two.

Click clack, three.

...

The sound of the stones rolling on the wooden tabletop made it seem like his wound was about to reopen.

"Yun Zong, that's my name." He finally couldn't stand it anymore.

Zhou Yin made an "en" sound, still focused on counting the spirit stones. "Zhou Yin."

Yun Zong said: "I need to heal these two days. If anyone comes, help me block them first."

Zhou Yin finally moved his gaze from the spirit stones to him, but Yun Zong felt that his assessing look made him seem like a piece of mobile high-grade spirit stone. "You need to change your outfit."

Yun Zong: "??"

Fifteen minutes later, he understood what Zhou Yin meant, but his originally icy expression became even colder.

"I have no interest in dressing up as a woman."

Zhou Yin said calmly, "You can't hide the aura on your body. Anyone with slightly higher cultivation can see that you are a high-level Core Formation expert. If you don't want to be targeted, this is the best way. A pair of male and female cultivators, born into a prestigious family, can minimize your suspiciousness to the greatest extent."

Yun Zong stared at him for a long time and sneered, "Why don't you dress up? You look more like a woman than I do."

Zhou Yin put the spirit stones back into the bag one by one, making a crackling noise again, looking completely unconcerned. "Because I'm not the one who needs to heal, I'm not the one who needs to escape, and I'm definitely not the one who killed Sima Liang."

Yun Zong: "..."

The result of the argument was naturally that Yun Zong could not outdo Zhou Yin no matter what. That was because he had not witnessed the painful experience of the furball, and vainly attempted to use his identity and aura as a Core Formation cultivator to suppress him.

Facts proved that this trick worked well on others, but Zhou Yin was the only exception.

After another hour, a female cultivator with a golden hairpin and silk dress, slightly tall but still beautiful, coldly stretched the corners of her mouth at her "Daoist partner" who was drawing talismans at the table.

It was a chilling smile with a hint of ferocity, twitching yet not lacking killing intent.

Zhou Yin looked up and glanced at her. "Not bad. Don't forget to put on some blush and make your expression more natural."

"..."

Much later, Yun Zong felt that it was a miracle that he could still tolerate this person with his identity, his temperament, and his cultivation.