In fact, Ye Anping heard the man in black when he yelled, but in line with the principle of putting the guests first, he finished the physiotherapy sessions, washed his hands, and went out.
It seemed that Bai Yuexin had been chatting with him all this time.
When Ye Anping walked back to the lobby, he saw that the man's complexion didn't look too good and wondered what they were talking about.
Seeing him come out, Bai Yuexin hurriedly came over and said, "Anping, this man is so strange. He came in and asked me if we were selling Vermilion Bird. Then, I asked him what Vermilion Bird was. He said it was a kind of tea. Then, I wanted him to tell me what kind of tea is that..."
Ye Anping sighed and said, "Sister Bai, do you usually chat a lot?"
"I don't... I was afraid he'd go away, so I was just making conversation with him."
"Well— it's quite late, Sister Bai, you should go back to the sect now. After finishing this last order, I'll close the shop for the day."
"Can't I stay overnight?"
"No."
"Why?"
"You hugged me in bed last night, and I didn't sleep well."
Ye Anping answered bluntly, then ignored her and went to invite the man in black into the back room.
The man in black had been listening to the conversation between him and Bai Yuexin, and after hearing "hugged in bed," he naturally thought of the matter of dual cultivation. Following Ye Anping inside, the surprise in his eyes never disappeared.
However, this was what Ye Anping intended for him to hear.
After all, he would give this man information about the entry selection and how to get into the Black Star. If he was asked how he got the information, he could naturally answer that Bai Yuexin told him, and it would not arouse suspicion.
After entering the inner room, Ye Anping waved his hand and locked the door with his spiritual power, then plastered his homemade soundproofing talismans around the room to show his professionalism.
When the man in black saw this, he nodded in praise and asked, "Little brother, who is that inner disciple of the Black Star?"
"She's just a silly girl who fell in love with me." Ye Anping shrugged and said with a smile.
"A... silly girl..." The man looked surprised. "I think she is in the middle stage of Foundation Building, and also a high-ranking inner sect disciple. Why are you..."
"I can rely on my face since my appearance is very popular among female cultivators. Who doesn't like a tender and handsome young gentleman?"
"..."
"Are you here to get news? Or to gossip about me?"
"Go ahead, little brother. Have you found out about the contents of the selection?"
With a smile, Ye Anping invited him to sit down, then got straight to the point and said, "The day before yesterday was the written test, yesterday was the sword test, and now, the physical test has started. It will last for six days and will take place on the mountain behind the Black Star Sect. If you want to take her away, this is the best opportunity. After that, there will be the test interview."
"Can you be more specific?"
"All those who pass the sword test will be assigned to walk about a hundred miles on foot on the mountain behind the Black Star Sect through a complex environment. There are mountains, jungles, snow-capped peaks, deserts, and some low-level monsters blocking the way. Those people will have their flying swords confiscated before entering, so they will not be able to fly and will not be accompanied by the sect elders during the process."
"So..." The man nodded, thought for a while, and asked again, "Since you said it's the best opportunity, then does that mean you have a way to help us enter the mountain? To bypass the defensive traps and patrolling disciples?"
"Us?" Ye Anping frowned. "How many people do you have? What cultivation level?"
"There are two at the early stage of Foundation Building, two at the middle stage of Foundation Building, and then there's me at the late stage of Foundation Building." The man did not hide anything and said honestly, "I heard that Feng Yu Die easily defeated a cultivator in the middle stage of the Foundation Building in the sword test, so I went to find some of my peers in the afternoon. With this team, no matter how talented she is, she will definitely not be able to escape."
Ye Anping frowned harder. He originally planned to show this man the way, but when he heard his confident words, he started hesitating.
It's not that he was worried about Feng Yu Die's safety, but if these people targeted her, his sister would also be involved. Feng Yu Die had the blood of the Holy Emperor, even her missing arms and legs could grow back after a while, but his sister's couldn't!
It would be bad if his sister got hurt.
After thinking for a while, he said, "It won't be a problem to send you in, but if you want to come out, you need to take me with you."
"Take you with us?" The man frowned and quickly declined. "You are only at the third level of Qi Refining, and you are the owner of a 'shop'. That's against the rules. If something happens to you, then..."
The 'shop' owners of the Seven Slayers Sect were not allowed to participate in bounty quests, and disciples were not allowed to disclose their identity and location if they were captured; if they implicated the 'shop' owners, they would be severely punished according to the sect’s rules.
This was the rule of the Seven Slayers Sect, after all, intelligence was the most important way for them to live and make money.
Ye Anping raised his hand to stop him and said, "I know. If I die, the Seven Slayers will question you. But think about it, you will sneak into the Black Star Sect. If you fail, you will be dead anyway. Think again... you can't get in without me leading the way. And even if you go in, you can't find Feng Yu Die. There are nearly ten thousand people in the back mountain of the Black Star Sect. Finding someone among ten thousand people, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack."
The man was silent for a while, then hesitatingly looked at Ye Anping and warned him. "We won't have that much spare power to protect you then."
"Don't worry. I have the means to protect myself. If something unexpected happens, I might abandon you and run away first." Ye Anping smiled and poured him a cup of tea. "By the way, if this is done, I want 30% of the bounty."
"20% at most. The reward for the Grand Master's storage bag is ten thousand spirit stones, and the reward for capturing Feng Yu Die alive is five thousand spirit stones, which I still have to split with the other four."
Ye Anping raised his eyebrows and asked, "Didn't you say that there was a total of ten thousand spirit stones this afternoon? Why is there an extra five thousand?"
"Just this afternoon, a new bounty was issued within the sect to capture Feng Yu Die alive." The man hesitated and said, "Little boss, I have a presumptuous request, and I hope you'll agree."
"Tell me."
"The other four people I called don't know that the storage bag of the Grand Master of the Magical Poison Sect was taken by that Feng Yu Die, so they only came for the bounty on her head. So, I hope that you can keep it a secret from them. How about this, I can give you two thousand more spirit stones after the matter is over."
Ye Anping was a little speechless, this man actually wanted to steal the reward secretly.
However, if calculated in this way, his 30% plus two thousand spirit stones would be five thousand.
That was not a small amount. If he had five thousand spirit stones, he could buy a lot of delicious food for his little sister and take her to the market to buy some girls' jewelry and stuff.
Since childhood, all her spirit stones had been used to buy medicinal pills. Now that Pei Lianxue had grown up, it was time for her to receive some beautiful jewelry and lipstick from her big brother.
Ye Anping rested his chin on his hands and began to think, not about whether the reward was reasonable, but about how to get more out of it.
Although this man kept saying that his team would definitely be able to catch Feng Yu Die alive, Ye Anping was still skeptical about this. However, if the team was really too powerful, he would definitely intervene to prevent these people from accidentally injuring his sister.
On the other hand, if this man couldn't catch Feng Yu Die, his reward would be gone.
We're talking about five thousand spirit stones!
It seemed that he would have to find an opportunity to talk to Feng Yu Die privately to see if she could let herself be kidnapped by the Seven Slayers Sect so that he could swindle the reward and then lure the people of the Black Star Sect to kill the Seven Slayers.
"Well, okay." Ye Anping nodded and asked, "How soon will you leave?"
"We're ready anytime. It's up to you to arrange this break-in."
Ye Anping looked out the window and saw that it was completely dark outside, so he said, "Then, let's go now. It's better to make a move while it's nighttime. May I ask what's your name?"
"Liang Zhu." The man replied, cupping his hands.
"Senior Liang, you're too polite." Ye Anping hurriedly cupped his hands in return, and said with a wicked smile, "I am Jiang Ziya."*