Lou Quan had already left the Sky Sword Sect. Now he was in Baihe Town, a city close to the sect's location. Lou Quan was walking through the town, scratching his head. Everything was happening too fast.
He had just woken up after years in a coma, now possessing two different sets of memories, had been attacked by Yu Hong, and was currently a fugitive from the Sky Sword Sect. Posters with his face were displayed in several spots around Baihe Town. Many people were looking at those posters, and many seemed interested.
"Are they stupid or what? Why does my face look like an idiot in the poster?" he complained. Lou Quan shook his head in disbelief. On one hand, he should be grateful because it would be hard for people to recognize him based on those posters. But on the other hand, he was annoyed because the face looked ridiculous. "If I find out who made this poster, I'll kill them."
Lou Quan frowned as his eyes locked onto one of the wanted posters stuck on a market wall. The drawing was so bad it barely resembled him.
The face on the poster looked like a child's doodle—eyes uneven, nose too big, and a wide smile that made him look foolish. His hair was drawn like a bird's nest, even though Lou Quan always kept it tidy. Even the caption below read:
"THIEF OF THE SKY SWORD SECT'S RELIC – REWARD 1,000,000 SPIRIT STONES FOR HIS CAPTURE!"
It was an enormous reward, but the accusation was false. Lou Quan couldn't believe it. "I'm being accused of stealing a relic? Are they hiding Yu Hong's death?" He tilted his head. "Why would they do that?" Lou Quan didn't understand the reason behind it.
"Who's this guy? His face looks like a dumb pig!" said a merchant, prompting laughter from others nearby.
"Look at that smile, like a monkey!" added an old woman, shaking her head.
Lou Quan wanted to retort, but he didn't. Instead, he chose to walk away after buying some food he needed. He kept walking aimlessly. None of this was planned, so Lou Quan had no idea what to do next.
As he continued walking, he noticed a crowd. Lou Quan headed over, and as he entered the crowd, he saw an old man selling various items. There were many things laid out, ranging from necklaces, rings, swords, bracelets, and more.
"This is a necklace once worn by the Snow Princess. If you buy it, you will live a long life," the old man declared, showing a purple-pendant necklace in his hand. "This is a relic of the… clan. You won't find this anywhere else. I'm offering it at a cheap price—only thirty thousand spirit stones."
Many people were interested. They began pulling out their spirit stones and started bargaining. The old man smiled. Lou Quan simply shook his head. He knew the item was fake. But he didn't say anything. There was no point—these people weren't friends or family. They were fooled by their own ignorance.
It had nothing to do with him. Lou Quan wanted to leave, but then his eyes landed on an item the old man was selling. He crouched and picked up a sword lying on display. But the old man quickly slapped his hand away.
"Young man, it's rude to touch someone else's belongings," he scolded, his expression sour. "If you want to buy it, I'll give it to you at a discount. You only need to pay me one thousand spirit stones."
Lou Quan stood up. "No. It's a fake," he replied.
The old man's eyes widened. He stared at Lou Quan for a moment before grabbing his hand. "Young man, I'll give you a special deal. Just pay one hundred spirit stones."
Lou Quan looked uninterested. He opened his mouth as if to say something. The old man clicked his tongue in frustration, then grabbed the sword and tossed it toward Lou Quan.
"Take it! For free." His face clearly showed annoyance.
Lou Quan shrugged, not understanding why the old man gave him the sword. He hadn't done anything. Still, Lou Quan didn't refuse. He picked up the sword and walked away. The old man looked relieved once Lou Quan left. He quickly regained his enthusiasm and resumed pitching his wares to the crowd.
Lou Quan squinted his eyes, holding the sword carefully, inspecting it closely. However, he didn't sense anything special about it. He wanted to throw away the rusty sword, but instead, he sheathed it and kept it.
"I thought this sword was special. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me," Lou Quan muttered.
Fortunately, he hadn't wasted any money on the worthless thing. He hadn't lost anything, even if it turned out to be junk. He didn't feel upset. Not long after, Lou Quan stopped in front of a restaurant. He went in and sat at an empty table.
He placed the rusty sword on the table and raised his hand. "Waiter, bring me two chickens and a jar of wine!" he ordered.
The waiter nodded and shortly returned to Lou Quan's table, placing his order on the table and heading back to the kitchen. Lou Quan was just about to eat when something happened. Suddenly, the door slammed open violently.
A group of men entered. They banged on tables, intimidating the customers. Lou Quan, who had just been about to eat, clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Troublemakers," he grumbled.
A few of the thugs stood beside Lou Quan's table. Their stares were sharp—clearly, they wanted him to feel scared and run. But that wasn't in Lou Quan's vocabulary. He grabbed the rusty sword from earlier.
"Leave or we'll beat you!" the gang leader barked.
Lou Quan stood, his gaze sharp. "What if I don't want to?" he challenged.
Elsewhere, the old man who had been selling goods smiled widely—he had just earned a lot of spirit stones by scamming people with fake items. As he was about to leave, suddenly three well-dressed men approached him.
The old man panicked, thinking they were victims coming to beat him up, but he was wrong.
"Where is the sword you sold? We'll buy it for five million spirit stones," said one of the men.
The old man's eyes widened, his heart nearly stopped. "Five million spirit stones?"
"Yes. We want to buy it because the sword is an ancient relic of great rarity. Do you still have it?" the man asked again.
The old man was completely stunned. "A young man took it."
One of the men grabbed the old man's shoulder. "Tell us where that young man went! Take us to him!" he shouted.
The old man nodded stiffly. "Alright."