Chapter 364: Chapter 364

Moreover, staying with these people would make cultivation inconvenient. Who knew if there would be internal conflicts among them? It wouldn't be good if he got caught in the crossfire.

Those two people last night were perfect evidence of this. There was a high probability that internal warfare would break out among them...

Traveling smoothly without obstruction, Xiaoyao and Guxing arrived at the edge of that river region. Going further would lead them into that complicated area.

At the outskirts, there seemed to be quite a few people. Among these people were those waiting for people like Xiaoyao - recruiters from the Huangpu Family who had begun recruiting disciples here.

"Pay your tuition fees. Reaching the Huangpu Family's main residence is your first test. Any method is acceptable! This will be recorded in your evaluation, so work hard. This will affect your future treatment."

A person from the Huangpu Family spoke to Xiaoyao and his companion in a mechanical manner, as if he had said this countless times before.

Xiaoyao didn't say anything and simply asked how much the tuition was. He then paid Guxing's fees and gave her all the remaining money, keeping nothing for himself.

In Xiaoyao's words, he would never starve to death, and he would earn money quickly anyway, so he didn't need any!

"Just one person?" the Huangpu Family person asked, though he was only asking casually. He had no interest in whether Xiaoyao wanted to come or not.

"Yes, I wonder if I can enter?" Xiaoyao pointed at the forest and asked.

"You can, but you cannot enter our main residence because you're not a disciple. To enter the main residence, you need a disciple token, which you can get by just paying the tuition fee. It's very cheap." The Huangpu Family person said this while trying to see if he could recruit Xiaoyao for the tuition fee - no, as a disciple.

"No need, I'm here to escort my boss." Xiaoyao shook his head, thinking to himself how much he wanted to despise this person for lying with his eyes wide open. How could this tuition fee be considered cheap?

One gold bar was already gone, and this was just one year's tuition. After a year, another gold bar would be needed. If it were ordinary people, how could they afford such fees?

"Over there is the map. You can memorize it, copy it down, or not look at it at all - as long as you can reach the Huangpu Family." The Huangpu Family person pointed to a notice board behind him, which seemed to have a complex map on it.

"Alright, boss, let's go!" After taking a glance, Xiaoyao led Guxing away.

"How interesting. I only said not looking was also fine, and you really didn't look. Don't blame me when you get lost. Don't think this is simple..." The Huangpu Family person thought to himself as he watched Xiaoyao's behavior.

Although the Huangpu Family wasn't located at the very center of this river region, it was still quite deep inside. To reach there, one had to pass through many complex terrains. Without a map, it would be impossible to arrive unless someone led the way.

Wait, could it be that this kid knows there are guides here?

"You two, do you want to reach the Huangpu Family smoothly? We can guide you and guarantee you'll arrive in the fastest time possible. You just need to pay a little silver."

When Xiaoyao and his companion walked to one side, several people immediately surrounded them, peddling their services. They were the ones who guided people here. Every year at this time, many people entered the Huangpu Family, and many of them were wealthy young masters who might give generous tips.

Some people's tips were enough for these guides to live on for several years, and this was only about ten days of work!

The Huangpu Family also allowed others to guide people, having stated beforehand that any method was acceptable, so naturally more and more guides appeared.

"No money, don't bother me!" Xiaoyao replied directly.

Those people fell silent for a moment, carefully examining Xiaoyao. They very much doubted whether these two really had no money.

"Young master, young miss, I'll guide you for just one tael of silver." One person said. One tael of silver was enough to live on for several months. If he guided this trip, he could guide one or two more times - it was worth it.

"No need, we really have no money. If possible, I'd even like to guide people to earn money myself." Xiaoyao waved his hand and then led Guxing away, ignoring those people's pestering.

"Not taking a guide, not looking at the map - could it be that kid has been here before?" The Huangpu Family person was somewhat puzzled and could only speculate this way, as only this would fit the explanation.

He would never believe that in just that brief moment, Xiaoyao had already memorized the entire map. Not only Xiaoyao, but Guxing had also memorized it. This point, Xiaoyao could know without even asking.

Xiaoyao didn't leave this small town immediately. First, he made some arrangements inside, finding people to gather information. Although Xiaoyao had refused these people's guidance, he would still try to understand the situation.

People who had seen Xiaoyao initially weren't very willing to chat with him, but this didn't stump Xiaoyao. He gradually opened up topics and didn't directly ask about the internal situation. He just talked about various things, and in these people's unguarded moments, they revealed information that Xiaoyao needed.

These people thought they hadn't revealed anything, but in reality, everything Xiaoyao wanted to know, he already knew. Even some things he hadn't originally planned to know, he learned about.

Next, Xiaoyao went to chat with the town's residents. Although these residents weren't the guides, in some ways, they knew more than those guides.

Because these guides would boast about their guiding earnings and the events that occurred, and the targets of their boasting were none other than these ordinary town residents.

After collecting intelligence, Xiaoyao compiled the safest route. Although it might not be the shortest route, it would definitely encounter the least trouble, naturally avoiding unnecessary time waste.

Regarding Xiaoyao's behavior, someone who was observing him took note of all this, feeling somewhat pleased.

This kid was quite promising - he knew to gather intelligence first. In military campaigns, intelligence was most important. Often, a single piece of intelligence could change the entire course of a war.

He said he was a servant, so did this mean he was following the orders of that girl called Guxing?

Xiaoyao's identity made people think that his actions should all come from Guxing's intentions. This was easily misunderstood and was the most natural assumption.

Thus, Guxing's evaluation began with a good start!!

Perhaps some people still didn't know that the Huangpu Family's requirement for people to reach their main residence on their own was a test. Everything you did along the way could be recorded in your evaluation.

This wasn't about whoever arrived in the shortest time winning. Many factors in between would be calculated. Later, the Huangpu Family would give a ranking based on the comprehensive consideration of all these things - a temporary ranking.

This ranking could be changed through future efforts, but having a good start would definitely provide certain advantages!!

Xiaoyao knew about this but wasn't very concerned, because no matter where Guxing ranked, there wouldn't be any problems!

Of course, he wouldn't deliberately do anything to make Guxing rank lower. He just naturally did things, indifferent to whether the ranking was high or low.

The next day, after Xiaoyao and Guxing had gotten sufficient rest, they advanced toward the Huangpu Family on foot. Inside, it was no longer suitable for riding horses, so they had already sold their mounts.

At first, Xiaoyao and his companion could still see quite a few people - these were also people heading to the Huangpu Family. Later, there were fewer and fewer people because everyone chose different routes.

Interestingly, after walking for half a day, there was still a group of people ahead of Xiaoyao taking the same route. The route this group chose was, so far, the same as Xiaoyao's.

This was a coincidence, Xiaoyao thought so, but the other party didn't think so!

"Why are you following us?"

Xiaoyao was questioned. Among that group, a handsome young master turned around to face Xiaoyao. They thought Xiaoyao was following them, wanting them to clear the path.

This behavior was despicable and made people uncomfortable!!

Previously, they had been enduring it, until one of them exploded. At this moment, the others also stopped, looking at the two of them, wanting Xiaoyao to give them an explanation. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novęlfire.net

"Excuse me, coming through!"

This was Xiaoyao's response. He directly passed those people, too lazy to explain that this was a coincidence. He believed they would understand later.

Walking ahead himself, he wasn't following them anymore. They could stay behind - whether they were following him would be clear at a glance.

Xiaoyao's behavior made those people feel even more annoyed. Was he ignoring them?

"Let them go ahead. I want to see what kind of route they take!" the young master said. He thought this was Xiaoyao's desperate behavior after being discovered.

As long as the two of them weren't following his group, the annoyance they felt before could dissipate.

For this reason, they deliberately slowed down, letting Xiaoyao and his companion get further ahead. As a result, they discovered that the two had been consistently ahead of them and were still on their route.

"Could it be that they're following us? Are they also taking the same route? No, impossible. This was carefully calculated by me - it took me a whole month!!" The young master thought this was impossible. It should just be a coincidence that they were walking together.

He wouldn't believe that anyone could calculate this route like he did. Even if someone calculated half the route, he thought it was impossible, because no one could match his wisdom.