Dual Cultivation God Returns - Chapter 1034 -

“B-Boss! I apologize for trying to speak out of turn… b-but how could we trust those cunning fo~eh~snake-like thieves?!”, Kwon Qianhong ran after Wu Long, asking with both apologetic and pleading tone, receiving a different, more urgent, warning gaze from Zhao Xieren toward the end.

“Didn’t you practice their Dao with that ‘advance loot’ thing?”, Wu Long raised his eyebrow at him.

“Tha-that’s different! That’s just efficiency of collecting loot from enemies you are defeating in real time, or a bit in advance. It’s time management!”, Kwon Qianhong argued with an aggrieved expression.

“Heh, what if I told you that if he works for us, whatever he steals will belong to us?”, Wu Long chuckled, as Kwon Qianhong froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning, left behind by Wu Long who continued walking.

“Is it alright to give him that choice now, Valley Master?”, Zhao Xieren voiced his concerns this time from the other side, “You only briefly mentioned that being your ally is beneficial. You didn’t really show him just how truly lucky he is to receive this opportunity. Opportunity of a lifetime as you called it is a massive, even criminal understatement!”

“Heh, do you think a man who only comes to work for us for opportunistic purposes of obtaining benefits I can provide, especially if they are rare and valuable, will be loyal if there comes an unfavorable situation in the future?”, Wu Long chuckled, “It is true that human relationships, especially working relationships are driven by risk-benefit ratio and analysis for the most part. There is nothing wrong with working for someone for profit – that is the basis of business and work relationships overall. But I am building a Sect, one that would have to embark on a long and thorny road, and flimsy relationships built on benefits alone may prove detrimental on such a path”

“I agree, but…”, Zhao Xieren hesitated a bit.

“Speak freely, I always told you that I value all opinions even if they are opposed to mine. In fact I urge you to express worry when you have it”

“I just think that perhaps he might form that kind of relationship later on, but won’t even have a chance to because he did not see the potential”

“Then it was not meant to be”, Wu Long shrugged, “We will find someone else instead. The world won’t end if he doesn’t join us”

Zhao Xieren suddenly realized how lucky he was to be in a position that he was the only option for Wu Long to choose from at the time they first began their cooperation.

“It is also a small test of character. I gave him a hint that there are benefits of working for me, but didn’t tell enough to know the specifics, that will also show if he will choose to take a chance on an uncertain oppportunity, or choose the safety of letting an opportunity go for a less risky option”, Wu Long added, and then to soothe some of the old man’s worry continued further, “Besides, I already showed him a bit of who I am by sparing his life and giving him that choice at all. If he doesn’t recognize how rare that is in this cultivation world, perhaps he is foolish after all, and we’ll avoid a catastrophe by not being joined by such a fool”

“Ah~, I see… that is certainly true. Hehe… as always, I cannot win against Valley Master”

“You won that game of chess didn’t you?”

“… only because Lady Fen Baihu was constantly messing with the board and distracting you…”

“Still, you won, did you not?”

“Is that even considered a win?”

Their voices continued to go into the distance of the corridor, until…

“B-Boss!!! I had an epiphany! An enlightenment! I see the light now! You have opened my eyes to the truth! Screw giving him a choice, let’s threaten him to work for us! No, wait! How about we recruit more?! Actually, how about we recruit everyone we captured so far as well? They might not be any good, but we can train them up, no? We can have an army of thieves! Boss! Old Man Zhao! Wait for me! Boss, Bo~ss!!!”

—

Qian Ying and Qian Lei sat in front of each other in silence after they both got tired of bickering about whether there was a white fox or not.

“Are you thinking of taking his offer?”, Qian Lei asked in a quiet voice, looking guilty as his bravado finally faded, and he was now too tired to try to deflect the whole situation with an uplifted mood.

“I… don’t know… I don’t know why he gave us a choice in the first place”, Qian Ying made a heavy sigh, a pondering expression on his face.

“Maybe it is a ploy to get you to do that job for him? We don’t know if he really will give you a different job if you choose differently…”

“What would be the use of that? Just to mess with us? He could just take you hostage and make me go do that job, I won’t be able to refuse. I genuinely can’t find a logical reason for him to lie. And even in my eyes that have seen much of the world, he seemed sincere… no, he is clearly giving us a real choice…”

“Well… he was clearly giving you a choice. I don’t think I have the qualifications to make that choice to begin with. Even though I got us into this mess…”

“Heh, rascal… don’t hang your nose yet. We’re still alive… and… maybe even been blessed with a stroke of luck”, the grandfather’s eyes and tone of voice turned softer.

“Stroke of luck?”, Qian Lei raised his eyes with a doubtful gaze.

“Hmm, do you know what a thief’s secret weapon is?”

“…”

“It’s intuition, child”

“…intuition?”

“A hunch, gut feeling… whatever you want to call it”

“What kind of secret weapon is that?”, Qian Lei’s eyebrow went up.

“Heh, a powerful one”, Qian Ying chuckled, “When you are in the middle of a tense and high-stakes situation. When all failsafes you prepared beforehand are exhausted and the walls are closing in. When it feels truly hopeless. When the situation is unclear, you lack not only information but even your five senses are limited, and your mind is numb from stress and cannot think straight…”

“So… kind of like now?”

“Hehehe, perhaps, child. Maybe even in situations as one-sided looking as now…” Qian Ying nodded with a slightly wry laugh, “In such a dead-end, intuition is the only thing that you can rely on. The last resort. It is like a guiding light that can show you the way out where you could see none without it. That is why any thief who wants to live long has to hone and sharpen it, nurture it, and learn to listen to it, attune your mind to be able to hear its voice. It is what saved this grandfather of yours countless times over my long life”

“And what is your intuition telling you now?”

“That I might be in front of a great opportunity”

“Opportunity? The one that man talked about? Is it telling you to trust that man?”

“Hehe, it’s not that clear-cut, child”

“Heh, some secret weapon it is…”

“You rascal, and you want a clear, simple answer? For a big glowing arrow to appear in the air saying ‘this way to safety’, or ‘this way is correct’?”, the grandfather laughed, shaking his head, “No~… it doesn’t work like that. Intuition only says: pay attention, there’s something here, there’s something you may be overlooking, there is more than you can see to things around you… But it won’t make decisions for you. You still have to do the work of thinking for yourself”

Qian Lei sighed, lowering his gaze again.

Thus they sat like that, grandfather and grandson, bound to chairs opposite each other.