Early the next morning, the area in front of Heart's Desire Hall was already packed like sardines.
Stewards and scions sent by various major families, accompanied by their guards, occupied the spots closest to the entrance.
The stewards, well-acquainted with one another, exchanged wary glances.
However, hindered by the six fourth-stage skeletons standing in silent vigil, they did not dare to actually push or shove.
Lone cultivators with lesser strength surrounded the outer perimeter, craning their necks and staring longingly at the tightly shut wooden door.
They couldn't compete with the numbers or the deep pockets of the major families.
But none of them wanted to easily give up on this potential chance to soar to the heavens.
Jiu'er stood far off on a street corner, looking at the dense crowd and sighing helplessly.
Behind him, a string of little sprouts still followed.
His young subordinates refused to leave him no matter what, even though they were now first-stage cultivators who could easily find a better path.
They had simply set their hearts on Jiu'er as their big brother.
"Big Brother Jiu'er, don't chase us away,"
Erya tugged at the corner of Jiu'er's tattered clothes, pleading softly. "We can help you beg for more food!"
Gouer also nodded vigorously. "Exactly! We have strength now; we can protect you! Wherever you go, we go!"
Jiu'er felt a warmth in his heart, mixed with a touch of sadness.
He knew these children were afraid he would starve to death alone or be bullied.
In this cold and cruel Lantao City, they were his only family.
He said no more, seeing that the day was still early.
He crouched down and used his sleeve to carefully wipe clean a small patch of ground in front of him.
Then, Jiu'er pulled out the bone carving given to him by the monk Ku Chan from his robe and placed it down properly.
Gouer also cautiously placed two wild fruits in front of the bone carving.
They had been picked from the trash heap in the market yesterday and hadn't completely rotted yet.
"Lord Bone God, thank you for saving Jiu'er and for giving my brothers and sisters a stroke of luck."
Jiu'er spoke in a low voice and bowed respectfully.
The other little beggars followed suit, kneeling and bowing with serious expressions on their small faces.
Jiu'er always felt he was lucky.
Even though he had mysteriously fallen into a deep sleep for two days, he instinctively felt that nothing bad would happen.
Perhaps he was just too tired; a long sleep would eventually end in waking.
But that didn't mean he wasn't grateful.
On the contrary, it was precisely because of this inexplicable luck that he occasionally received the incidental care of strangers.
Perhaps it was unintentional, but in this cold city devoid of mercy, he cherished these tiny acts of kindness immensely.
Jiu'er watched the dense crowd in front of Heart's Desire Hall, all of them driven nearly mad for the divine pills.
Silently tucking the bone carving away, Jiu'er divided the two wild fruits used as offerings among his subordinates.
"Eat up," he said with a smile. Watching the children joyfully share the sour, bitter fruit, he made a decision in his heart.
He had no possessions to speak of, nothing to give in return.
After the crowd dispersed today, he would go into Heart's Desire Hall.
He would look for the old man who looked fierce and spoke harshly, but who had given Erya half a duck to eat.
He didn't know how to repay him, but he actually held a secret.
No one knew it—not even his deceased parents, nor his closest friends Gouer and Erya.
This secret had been hidden in his heart for a long time.
...
A long time passed until the sun climbed high, and only then did the wooden doors of Heart's Desire Hall slowly creak open under the watchful gaze of the multitude.
Ku Chan's withered, dark, and thin figure appeared at the entrance. He scanned the dense crowd before the door, unsurprised by the sight.
"Grandmaster! Grandmaster!"
Someone immediately squeezed forward. It was a middle-aged cultivator with shrewd eyes and decent clothing.
He shouted loudly, "I am willing to offer eighty thousand low-grade spirit stones for a single divine pill that can help me break through to the third-stage inner demon stage!"
Ku Chan looked at him with a strange smile and shook his head. "This donor's heart is not sincere. You are not a destined person for my Heart's Desire Hall."
The middle-aged cultivator froze, his face flushing with embarrassment. He forced a smile and said,
"Why do you say that, Grandmaster? I am also willing to bow before the sacred image of the Bone God morning and night, offering my pious devotion. How could my heart be insincere?"
Ku Chan ignored him and shifted his gaze.
"Grandmaster, look at me!"
A man who appeared to be a family steward hurriedly shouted, "My Zhao family is willing to offer one hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones, plus half a year's output from a small mineral vein outside the city, just for three of the divine pills from yesterday!"
"I am ashamed to say it, but our Zhao family head has three good-for-nothing children. I hope the grandmaster can show some flexibility."
As he spoke, the steward tried to press a storage bag into Ku Chan's hand.
"Grandmaster! I am willing to sell myself to Heart's Desire Hall as a servant for ten years, just for one divine pill to cure my mother's chronic illness!"
A man in simple clothes shouted anxiously, his eyes rimmed with red.
He looked pitiful, but who among those present didn't know that this man was a famous rogue in the outer city district, fond of wine and gambling?
As for his mother, no one knew how many years she had been dead.
"Buddha Lord! I am willing to do anything, to go through fire and water without hesitation, if only you would grant me the medicine!"
...
Those promising great wealth, those willing to sell their lives, those pleading bitterly—various voices mixed together.
Ku Chan looked over each of them and then shook his head.
His smile remained unchanged, but he was secretly cursing in his heart.
Truly insatiable greed.
What the Bone God wanted was pure and unwavering faith—the fanaticism and piety brought by the only hope grabbed when one was at a dead end.
Most of these fellows before him had set their sights on the effects of the divine pills, wanting to use them for profit or self-improvement.
Their utilitarian motives were too strong. How could they provide high-quality faith?
Only for those truly in a desperate situation, whose lives were completely bleak, would the gift from a god be precious beyond measure, like a second life.
Only such faith would be as pure as gold.
Once he had the theatrical effect of helping the suffering, it would be convenient for him to widely propagate the Bone God's prestige later on.
"Donors,"
Ku Chan finally spoke. His voice was calm yet it suppressed the clamor.
"The bonds formed by Heart's Desire Hall do not depend on the amount of spirit stones or the weight of promises. It is a matter of sincerity, a matter of fate. It cannot be forced."
"Then what exactly counts as a sincere heart?" someone asked unwillingly.
"Exactly, Buddha Lord, give us a clear answer!"
Ku Chan simply stood there smiling, like an old monk in meditation. No matter how much they shouted below, he no longer responded.
In truth, he was also a bit anxious.
With so many people, was there really not a single suitable candidate, a good prospect that would allow him to stage a miracle?
The group of little beggars yesterday had such a great effect; he couldn't come up empty-handed today, could he?
Just as the crowd grew increasingly restless and several major family stewards exchanged looks, preparing to step forward together to apply pressure, a sudden commotion broke out nearby.
"Make way! Move aside!"
"It's the Lin family! People from the Lin family from the south of the city are here!"
"Which Lin family?"
"Nonsense, how many Lin families can there be in Lantao City? The Lin family whose son has that strange illness!"
The crowd instinctively parted to form a path.
Lin Zhixue appeared, accompanied by Fatty Qian and several guards with formidable auras, hurrying toward the hall.
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