"Big Brother!" Several of the loose cultivators eagerly crowded around the man as they tried to gain his favor.
"Big Brother, we've located some prime targets. We were just waiting for you to arrive and lead the harvest," one of them chimed in, gesturing ahead. "Big Brother, look! Those three kids up ahead have been buying a mountain of things, and they seem to have an endless supply of crystal stones. We reckon they must be carrying even more valuable treasures, and there aren't any adults with them, just the three of them. If we snatch them, we'll definitely make a killing!"
The brocade-clad cultivator, the toothpick still perched jauntily in the corner of his mouth, had been lost in his own thoughts. But when he heard his men's excited report, he glanced up and froze, a flicker of alarm crossing his face as he spotted the three children.
