Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Pyramid Schemes Are a Dead End

On the mountain path to the Heavenly Buddha Temple, customers were already climbing in the early morning before the sun had fully risen.

Many of Lu Wu’s customers were Cultivators. But these Cultivators weren’t like Ascetics, who retained powerful physiques even after forgoing their Spiritual Power. Since they didn’t want to fall behind, they started climbing early, all for a sip of milk tea.

"Hey man, you here for the milk tea too?"

The constant, monotonous climb was exhausting, so a talkative customer started chatting with the people nearby.

The person he addressed was Third of the three brothers.

"I..."

Third wanted to deny it. They were actually here on a mission today. They’d started climbing early to avoid Boss Lu, precisely so they wouldn’t be tempted by her milk tea.

’Why are Boss Lu’s customers so damn persistent?’

"Yeah, that’s right. We’re here for the milk tea too."

Seeing Third hesitating, Second Brother chimed in.

They had sworn off the milk tea, but they’d looked into Boss Lu’s background after returning yesterday.

Saying they weren’t here for Boss Lu in front of so many of her customers would be strange and might make people suspicious.

"I haven’t seen you guys around before. You must have only found out about Boss Lu because of the milk tea, huh? Let me tell you, you’ve missed out on so many classics. The milk tea is great, but her other food is even better."

"..."

The customer rambled on to pass the time, recounting the legends surrounding Lu Wu.

Every so often, he’d pound his thighs to relieve the soreness.

These customers were really giving it their all for a single sip of milk tea, forcing themselves to climb Demon Suppression Mountain purely on leg power.

The scenes the customer painted were so enticing that Third, the most simple-minded of the brothers, was captivated.

"Is all that food you’re talking about really that good?"

Third asked, having fallen into step with the customer, completely forgetting his brothers’ warnings.

Seeing Third stirring up trouble again, the eldest brother was exasperated. He wanted to yank him back, but Second Brother stopped him.

With a single look from Second Brother, the eldest realized that quite a few of the surrounding customers were glancing their way.

’Making a sudden move would be risky.’

The other customers chimed in, adding bits and pieces to the description of Lu Wu’s stall.

According to them, the food Boss Lu made was unparalleled in all of heaven and earth.

The customers talked until their mouths were dry. The one who started it all glanced at the longing look on Third’s face and chuckled. "Wanna try it?"

"I do!"

Third answered from the heart.

"You do, huh? Well, come on then! Join the Bun Sect! If you join us, you’ll get all the latest info on Boss Lu."

The customer sounded a little sheepish saying this.

There were plenty of bad apples in the crowd who wished they could keep Boss Lu all to themselves.

But it wasn’t a problem.

Because there were moles among the bad apples.

With so many customers now, the Bun Sect was growing larger by the day. As soon as any news about Boss Lu broke, it spread like wildfire.

No one could keep it a secret.

"I’ll join, I’ll join! I’ll do it right now!"

Third was completely swept up in the moment.

He pulled out his One World Communication to join, but then he heard a pointed cough from one of his brothers behind him.

"Er..."

Suddenly remembering his mission, Third gave the customer an awkward glance. ’If I back out now, are they going to beat me up?’

"Hey, you guys are together, right? You want to join too? Absolutely! Come on, we’re all family from now on."

The customer didn’t notice their hesitation and just assumed the other two wanted to join as well, so he extended a warm invitation.

Now the three of them were in a real bind.

Out of the corner of his eye, Second Brother saw the burning gazes from the surrounding customers. Their eyes seemed to say, ’If you don’t want to, let me!’

"Fine. We’ll join."

They had no choice but to go with the flow.

"Brothers, from now on, you’re my sworn brothers! But let’s get one thing straight: when it comes to Boss Lu, even family has to keep clear accounts."

"My name’s Xu Gu. What about you guys?"

As a customer who had been following Boss Lu since her days in Xiaohe Town, Xu Gu was practically a founding member of the Bun Sect.

He used to be a scalper but had since seen the error of his ways and become a loyal customer of Boss Lu.

Now he worked on the front lines, gathering and sharing news about Boss Lu. He was actually earning more now than he ever did before.

He couldn’t hide his joy as he watched the three of them join.

’The quota’s filled! I can get promoted to Inner Sect Disciple! Hell yeah!’

He’d heard that Inner Sect Disciples often received special perks from the Great Elder.

"Oh, right. You guys can recruit people in the future, too. The more you bring in, the better the rewards,"

Xu Gu added suggestively. The three brothers looked thoughtful.

If Lu Wu were here, she would have found this model disturbingly familiar. Wasn’t this just a pyramid scheme? And pyramid schemes were a dead end.

Xu Gu was overly enthusiastic.

He chatted with the three brothers the entire way up. But just as they were about to reach the summit, Xu Gu’s expression suddenly grew serious, his gaze turning deep as he looked at them.

That sharp look made the three brothers’ hearts skip a beat. ’Don’t tell me he’s found us out!’

"Brothers, get ready."

"Time to give it everything we’ve got."

The three brothers were still confused. Before they knew what was happening, Xu Gu’s words had barely faded when he suddenly accelerated, sprinting toward the summit.

Behind them, a group of customers who had been exhausted and complaining just moments before suddenly shot forward as if they’d been injected with adrenaline.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

The wind from the rushing crowd whipped at the three brothers’ robes.

They stared wide-eyed as the mob of customers charged ahead as if their lives depended on it.

"What are they doing?"

Third scratched his head.

"First! I’m first! HAHAHAHA!"

A moment later, a crazed laugh erupted from up ahead, where someone was dancing and flailing their arms in celebration.

"What do you mean ’first’? Didn’t you see all the monks who’ve been waiting here since forever?"

Someone who had fallen behind, unhappy with the man’s celebration, threw cold water on his parade.

"The monks have a home-field advantage. I’m not competing with them. Anyway, after they’re done buying, I’ll be the first customer to try the new item. You can all just be jealous."

The man wasn’t discouraged in the slightest. Instead, he just lifted his chin, looking immensely proud.

And in truth, it was something to be proud of.

Having made it into the top ten, Xu Gu breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t compete with those freaks, so he was more than satisfied with his spot.

"What are you guys doing down there? Get up here and get in line! More and more people are going to show up!"

This was the third day Boss Lu had set up her stall, so all the regulars would be showing up.

To avoid the purchase limits and risk not getting any milk tea at all, the customers frantically scrambled for a spot at the front of the line.

At this reminder, it dawned on the three brothers.

"Right, we have to get over there!"

Third couldn’t wait any longer. He grabbed his two brothers and dashed forward, managing to secure a spot in the top one hundred.

Up ahead, Xu Gu gave them a thumbs-up.

"Hehe."

Third grinned smugly. ’Good thing I was quick on the uptake.’

Behind them, more and more customers gathered until the end of the line was no longer visible.

But once they were standing in place and the initial rush faded, Second Brother’s reason returned.

"What are we doing in line? Did you forget we came here to..."

His words, though cut short, were enough to jolt the other two back to reality. They all fell silent.

’We agreed we wouldn’t buy milk tea today, so why are we in line?’

"Should we... just leave?"

the eldest asked.

He was afraid that once Boss Lu arrived, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to leave.

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