Kevin Baker picked up a talisman, flicked it casually, and as a gentle breeze swept by, the surrounding insect chirps instantly vanished without a trace.

Ethan Sullivan realized that it was a soundproofing talisman.

“In fact, I don’t know much about the Listeners either. Only the four chief officers of the Privy Council know the details.”

“You... don’t know either?”

“I only know that they can hear some... incredible things, such as secrets in this world that no one should know, or spells that have never been seen before,” Kevin Baker said slowly. “But more often, it’s completely incomprehensible babble. That’s also where the name ‘Listener’ comes from.”

“Babble?”

“It’s the kind of words that seem meaningless on their own, but together make no sense at all. So they usually don’t live long—either murdered or driven insane. But before they go mad, they’re capable of causing astonishing destruction. If an uncontrolled Listener were to appear in Great Qi...”

“What would happen?”

Kevin Baker gave him a deep look. “It could mean the fall of the nation.”

Ethan Sullivan couldn’t help but shiver.

He was starting to regret asking about this.

“Although anyone who can sense qi could potentially become a Listener, the likelihood is highest between the ages of ten and twenty—after all, most practitioners only learn to stably absorb and use qi during that period. That’s why the Privy Council starts monitoring from the scholar’s exam,” Kevin Baker fixed his gaze on him. “Do you understand now?”

“Yes! I will do my utmost!” Ethan Sullivan bowed.

“No need to worry so much,” the inspector patted his shoulder with a palm as big as a fan. “I’m just following protocol. As far as I know, there hasn’t been a suspected Listener in the past ten years, which is why the information ban has been relaxed. Keep an eye out, but focus on running the exam well.”

After hearing all this, Ethan Sullivan knew it would be hard to ignore now, and he smiled bitterly to himself. The only thing he was glad about was that he was already past thirty, so it was unlikely he’d ever go mad. But that short fellow...

He couldn’t help glancing at the other man—judging by his tone and age, he was probably under twenty, right in the high-risk range, yet from start to finish he hadn’t reacted at all, as if he didn’t care about the Listeners in the slightest. That kind of composure was beyond mere calm.

Who exactly was he?

After a moment’s hesitation, Ethan Sullivan finally pressed the question down in his heart.

Chapter 7: Venture Capital

At the moment the morning sunlight streamed through the window the next day, Brian Carter woke up.

Without the jolting of a carriage or the annoyance of mosquitoes, he’d slept especially soundly, and all the fatigue from his journey had vanished without a trace.

Even the fox demon from last night seemed like a dream—

Wait!

Brian Carter leapt out of bed, jumped onto the rickety wooden table, and craned his neck to look out the window.

He couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile.

The plate on the windowsill was now completely empty.

So it hadn’t been his imagination.

Since the braised beef had been taken, did that mean the other party had accepted the deal?

He suddenly found himself looking forward to tonight.

After putting on his robe and washing up quickly at the well in the backyard, Brian Carter went to the main hall and spent two coins of silver on a serving of steamed cornbread.

It wasn’t that he was being extravagant—ever since he’d learned to sense and channel qi, his appetite had grown a lot. His body hadn’t gotten much bigger, but the amount he ate had multiplied several times. If he didn’t eat his fill at every meal, his bodily functions and qi channeling efficiency would noticeably decline.

It was the same for other practitioners.

Brian Carter chalked it up to the law of conservation of energy expressing itself in strange ways.

“Good morning, Brother Carter!”

Someone suddenly called out from behind.

Even without turning around, he knew who it was.

Sure enough, William Grant’s familiar face soon appeared in front of him. “Mind if I sit next to you?”

“Not at all.” Brian Carter blinked. It seemed this fellow townsman hadn’t taken the theft of his beef to heart.

He also set down a large breakfast—besides cornbread, there was rice porridge, tofu pudding, and pancakes, all the essentials.

Brian Carter now understood how the other’s slightly chubby figure had come about—for a practitioner, it really wasn’t easy to get fat, given their energy consumption.

“Brother Carter, you were right. I thought about it all night and have made up my mind,” William Grant said seriously, not starting to eat right away.

“Made up your mind about what?”

“The Privy Council post... isn’t for me.” He paused. “I’m not saying that ridding the people of evil and protecting the land is bad, but just thinking about facing terrifying demons and monsters makes me lose my appetite...”

“Huh???” Brian Carter glanced at the lavish breakfast on the table... then what was all this?