"Brother, you desire longevity too, don't you?"
That rendered Noldrei speechless. What could he say?
Was he supposed to tell this guy that he would, in all likelihood, live even longer than a Xianzhou native?
Seeing Noldrei's 'heavy' expression, the man knew he had a sure thing this time with recruiting a new subordinate.
"We can offer outlanders like you a chance at longevity. Care to consider it?"
Noldrei began to doubt Hat Guy's recommendation. Was this really the darkest, dankest corner of the Xianzhou? Had he been tricked by Hat Guy?
"Let me tell you…"
Noldrei held up a hand to stop the man from speaking and retorted, "What about you? Have you achieved longevity?"
"Me…? Huh?" The guy immediately caught on and said, puffing out his chest, "Of course I have! How else could I be pitching this to others?"
Noldrei asked quizzically, "Then why not open up sales channels with interstellar companies and sell your product? You'd surely make more money and expand your influence that way, right?"
"I… but… what?" The guy scratched his head in confusion. "Don't you know the Xianzhou is hunting down the Abundance's abominations?"
Seeing his less-than-bright expression, Noldrei sighed. "The universe is a vast place. You could totally go somewhere the Xianzhou can't hunt you down to grow your business! Surely they haven't conquered the entire universe, have they? I don't think so. There are plenty of factions as powerful as the Xianzhou. You could ally with them to make money and build your power."
"Hiss… I… hiss… That seems… that seems to make some sense."
The guy listened so intently it felt like his brain was about to grow.
He quickly collected himself. "Wait, I'm the one trying to recruit you, right? Don't you want to live forever?"
Noldrei shook his head with a helpless look. "Didn't you just tell me the Xianzhou is hunting down some Abundance abominations? If I obtained the Xianzhou's secrets only to get hunted down, the loss would outweigh the gain. So why wouldn't I just advise you to flee the Xianzhou's sphere of influence?"
"…"
The outlander's wisdom was impressive, completely dumbfounding the young recruiter.
"You're already within the Xianzhou's sphere of influence and have the identity of a Xianzhou native. Just find a chance to slip out of their jurisdiction. Then you can hook up with people from other factions. With a joint effort from inside and out, couldn't you build up a force beyond the Xianzhou's control? It's a win-win-win situation. Why confine yourselves to the tiny Xianzhou Luofu?"
"Unless…" Noldrei figured it out. He pointed at the recruiter and said seriously, "Unless your leader has a reason they can't leave the Xianzhou! They themselves hold a high-ranking position on the Xianzhou! Am I right!"
The recruiter's face went pale with fright. He rushed forward and clapped a hand over Noldrei's mouth!
"You absolutely can't tell anyone! Please, don't say a word! We'll all be killed!"
Noldrei pushed his hand away and explained softly, "I won't tell anyone, don't worry. If I were going to, I would have just called for the Cloud Knights a moment ago. Besides, I never said I didn't want what you have, did I? Brother, you don't want to get caught and killed by the Cloud Knights either, right?"
This guy clearly wasn't used to high-stakes situations.
He nervously clasped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute. "My name is Green Hibiscus. May I ask for your esteemed name, brother?"
Noldrei mimicked the gesture and replied solemnly, "Following local customs, I've taken a Xianzhou name: Xuan Fu! Just call me Xuan Fu from now on!"
"I see! Please, follow me!" Green Hibiscus led Noldrei toward their temporary base.
---||---
Meanwhile, Fu Xuan was also trying to find an excuse to leave.
She knew this was a recruitment tactic of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, and she had no intention of getting involved.
But this woman clearly didn't know when to quit, still prattling on about the glories of longevity.
"I already told you, I'm not interested in this…"
Seeing how insistent Fu Xuan was, the woman was beginning to have second thoughts.
But soon, a development from another quarter changed the situation.
Her confidence suddenly returned, and she said to Fu Xuan, "Ma'am, you wouldn't want to disappoint your close friend, would you?"
"What?!"
Fu Xuan stared at her in shock, wondering when she'd ever acquired a "close friend."
"Your close friend has already left with my associate. As an outlander, he naturally hasn't given up on the idea of long life. What? Do you intend to live less than a hundred years before you pass on?"
Fu Xuan was stunned for two seconds before she instantly realized what that bastard Noldrei had done.
Her reputation as an innocent, unmarried maiden was being sullied right in front of these Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Who would be close friends with an asshole like that?
"Hmph, who knows who you're even talking about? One more word of nonsense and I'm reporting you to the Cloud Knights!"
Anger was already rising in Fu Xuan's heart. This made her even more certain that Noldrei was the "calamity" she had divined.
"Xuan Fu! How about that? Remember that name?"
"…"
That name instantly silenced Fu Xuan.
Fu Xuan could never have imagined Noldrei could be so shameless, stealing her name, flipping it around, and just using it.
"Let me be clear. I work for the Divination Commission. If you cause any trouble, you'll all have to face the consequences!"
Her words startled the woman somewhat.
But then she thought, 'So what if you're from the Divination Commission? Your friend is in our hands!'
"If you think there's a problem with us, go ahead and report us to the Cloud Knights. Your friend will just be politely escorted off the Xianzhou for prying into the secrets of longevity."
Fu Xuan took a deep breath to calm herself.
Honestly, after the mental pummelling from Noldrei, her spirit had developed a powerful resilience. At the very least, she no longer felt any anger at threats from people like this; she even found it a little absurdly funny.
'You people from the Alchemy Commission want to pull someone from the Divination Commission into your operation? Are you worried your internal problems aren't exposed enough?'
For a moment, Fu Xuan truly didn't know how to handle this.
These people were unbelievably brazen. Did they just grab random people off the street without even looking?
Could it be that the guy doing the recruiting was also an undercover agent planted by the General?
"Fine, I'll go with you."
Fu Xuan felt helpless. She was originally just supposed to keep an eye on Noldrei, and now she had to infiltrate the group herself.
"Then let me help you with those."
The woman spoke as she reached for the Star-Taro Bobas in Fu Xuan's hands.
Fu Xuan snapped fiercely, "Don't touch them! These aren't for you! Don't even think about touching the Star-Taro Bobas in my hand! Otherwise, we'll go our separate ways. I'd rather have him kicked out, and things won't end well for you either!"
The woman could only retract her hand resentfully.