When Apollo came back to his Beggar Spot, it was already nighttime.
"Damnit, those two guards are very persistent," he said in frustration. He only managed to get away from them by leading them to a red-light district, where they were immediately distracted by the beautiful ladies on the street.
He sat in the corner of the restaurant, where most people wouldn't notice him unless they purposely looked in his direction.
Thinking about it, he realized he was defenseless here. Just like what happened with the worker from the restaurant next door, he had been noticed and almost beaten up. If he didn't know any martial arts or hadn't cultivated the Simple Breathing Technique, he would have found himself black and blue.
"Store," Apollo muttered, and the store interface appeared in front of him.
"System, is there an item that can protect me here in my Beggar Spot?" Apollo asked. He had a Beggar Spot, but he still didn't know its significance.
"Yes," the System answered, and the store interface changed. A few seconds later, dozens of items he hadn't seen before appeared.
Apollo ignored the expensive ones and focused on the cheap items.
"Shield of Beggar - A shield will cover the Beggar Spot, protecting the Beggar from being attacked from the outside. The limit is two times stronger than the Beggar's cultivation. One-time use. Price: 100 Alm Points."
"Dilemma of the Passerby - This can make passersby ignore the Beggar Spot unless they purposely seek out the Beggar. Price: 80 Alm Points."
"Full Concealment - Once the Beggar enters his Beggar Spot, no one from the outside world will be able to see him. Effect: Permanent. Price: 200 Alm Points."
"So there are items exclusively for my Beggar Spot?" Apollo muttered while browsing the contents. He couldn't help but be amazed by the effects of each item. If he had these items at his disposal, he wouldn't have to worry about being bothered. The only problem he had was begging for Alms.
But glancing at his Alm Points...
Apollo smiled bitterly. Shaking his head, he went out of his Beggar Spot and sat on the ground with his hands above his head. He started cultivating his Simple Breathing Technique.
He decided to master this technique before buying another one. His experience in his previous life taught him to focus on one subject before jumping to another.
Apollo wanted to apply this to his cultivation journey. Only when he reached the bottleneck of the Breathing Technique would he learn battle techniques, movement techniques, and so on. He already had in mind what he should buy next.
Of course, he already knew the other techniques in the system store, and just thinking about them made him crave them, but his negligible amount of Alm Points dampened his excitement.
In the end, what mattered more was the Alms that he would get.
Sitting with his hands above his forehead, he breathed in and out according to the pattern of the Simple Breathing Technique.
His senses soon detected the qi around him, and it was absorbed through his mouth and nose. The sensation of his body being revitalized and getting stronger made Apollo smile. Although the process was slow, he still liked the feeling and didn't feel any urgency.
...
A thin man was whistling a tune he had heard from the city orchestra, his arms wrapped around two young ladies. They were laughing merrily, their faces flushed a deep shade of red.
"Where are we going now?" one of the young ladies asked, her finger tracing circles on the man's chest.
"Hehe, after all that fun, we should get something to eat," the thin man said, his hands squeezing their bottoms.
A yelping sound escaped from them, though deep inside they were disgusted by this man who couldn't even last a few minutes.
"Oh yeah, there's a new restaurant that just opened up a few days ago. We should check it out," one of the girls suggested.
"Aye aye, my lady!"
They walked for a while before they saw the sign for Filly Restaurant. From the outside, it looked like a simple establishment.
"What's so special about this?" the thin man asked with a frown.
"The owner of this restaurant is Filly from the north side of the city," one of the ladies said, admiration evident in her voice.
"Filly? That woman?" The thin man recalled the image of Filly Mideous, and his eyes turned red with lust.
The Mideous Family is well-known in the city, on par with the Leone family, who had just been destroyed. They have various businesses but are more invested in cultivation. Filly is the only young woman in their family who insisted on focusing on business. There's even a rumor that she had a big fight with the family's patriarch just to buy this restaurant.
Seeing those eyes, the two ladies knew what he was thinking.
"Let's go!" The thin man excitedly walked towards the entrance but stopped when he noticed a beggar boy beside the restaurant. This beggar is dirtying my goddess's restaurant! Unacceptable!
He decided to make the beggar go away so that when he met Filly and told her of his 'good' deed, she would begin to notice him. His delusion made him walk towards the boy.
"He is very pitiful," one of the ladies beside him couldn't help but mutter.
"Yeah," the other lady nodded in agreement.
Hearing this, the expression on the thin man's face stiffened. Damnit! Calm down, I have to act cool!
"Yeah, he's very pitiful," the thin man said as he walked in front of the boy. He took out a silver coin from his pocket and put it in the boy's hand. "Here you go, go get yourself something to eat."
Seeing this, the ladies looked at him with shining eyes.
That's the way you should look at me! the man thought with a smirk on his face. He coolly hugged the two girls and they walked inside the restaurant. But deep inside, he was fuming that he had to give that beggar a silver coin just to show off!
I will make sure not to see that beggar ever again! the thin man thought with cold eyes.