Lufan's current appearance was rather disheveled. While Little Night's powerful assistance had allowed Lufan to level up, he had still been through a lot to reach the coordinates of the divine-level treasure map, leaving him in ragged condition. And in the past few days, he had fought fierce beasts to hone his combat skills, so he was covered in blood and dirt, looking like a vagrant.
"Seems to be a material hunter," Gu Xiang frowned, eyeing Lufan. "But this is near the depths of the Stone Plain, he's all alone, doesn't he have any companions?"
It was understandable to mistake Lufan for a material hunter given his appearance. Material hunters weren't held in high regard, as many of them had resorted to killing and looting in the wilderness to make money, ruining the reputation of their profession.
However, Qiu Qiu's eyes lit up as she tugged at Gu Xiang's sleeve. "Uncle Gu, do you think we can temporarily recruit him to join us and make up the numbers?"
"That way we can enter the Fortuitous Secret Realm..."
"Recruit a material hunter?" Gu Xiang's frown deepened - he clearly didn't want much to do with material hunters.
Seeing Gu Xiang's reluctance, and Lufan already starting to walk away, Qiu Qiu quickly explained, "He's all alone, even if he has some ill intent, it wouldn't be easy for him to harm us."
"But opportunities to encounter a Fortuitous Secret Realm are rare. Maybe we can even find some golden-grade equipment inside! It would be such a pity to miss this."
Gu Xiang considered it. Lufan didn't seem too old or high-leveled. Even if he wasn't a good person, he wouldn't be too difficult to control. At most, Gu Xiang would just keep an eye on him in the Secret Realm and let him be a placeholder to clear it.
And with the Qin family's status in Jianghai City, what material hunter would dare to provoke them?
So Gu Xiang nodded. "You make a good point, Miss. Cai'er, go ask that material hunter, offer him 100,000 to join us and make up the numbers to enter the Secret Realm. See if he's willing."
"Okay." Cai'er nodded, using her rogue class skill Swiftness to greatly boost her agility, then dashed after Lufan.
Lufan's senses immediately detected someone approaching, and he stopped, looking back warily. "What do you want?"
Cai'er stopped about 10 meters away, raising her hands in a placating gesture. "Don't be nervous, little brother. I'm here on behalf of the Miss to discuss a business deal with you."
"What kind of deal?" Lufan asked.
"We want to pay you 100,000 to join our team and help us go somewhere. You don't have to do anything, just quietly follow behind us. After it's done, you'll get the money. For you material hunters, this is a pretty good deal, isn't it?" Cai'er explained with a smile.
"100,000 to just be a placeholder?" Lufan quickly deduced their intent. "You've found a Secret Realm that requires a certain number of people to enter, haven't you?"
Cai'er didn't answer, tacitly confirming it.
Lufan wasn't too interested in the 100,000, but was curious about the potential rewards from clearing the Secret Realm. He hadn't expected to run into a team short on members while coming to dig up a treasure.
Lufan thought for a moment, then said, "Who in your team has the authority to take me to see them?"
Cai'er seemed a bit displeased that Lufan wanted to bypass her and speak directly to Gu Xiang, but she had no choice. Gritting her teeth, she told Lufan, "Alright, follow me."
Cai'er brought Lufan to Qiu Qiu's group, and quietly whispered something to Gu Xiang and Qiu Qiu, likely saying that the material hunter seemed interested and greedy.
Gu Xiang nodded silently, then stepped forward, extending his hand to Lufan. "Hello, let me introduce myself, I'm Gu Xiang, the chief steward of the Qin family of Jianghai City."
"The Qin family?" Lufan looked at him, then recalled. "The Qin family of Jianghai City, the family of the city's mayor, Qin Shanhai?"
Gu Xiang smiled proudly. "That's right, the Qin family."