"You're wrong!" The person who interjected was a Rank 1 Gu Master. "The two of you may not know this, but I happened to see a portion of the fight secondhand via an Audio-Visual Gu. Fang Yuan is a dragon amongst men. He lost to Liu Nan not because he was weak, but simply because Liu Nan was too strong. Even fighting from a disadvantaged position of being two minor realms below his opponent, Fang Yuan managed to show his strength."
"Is that so? Fang Yuan is that strong?"
"All of you, shut up! Don't you know that Fang Yuan is Lady Shang Xin Ci's teacher? Perhaps you should stop badmouthing him right in front if you actually want to eat something tonight."
One of the beggars approached Fang Yuan and bowed lightly. "Lord Fang Yuan, thank you for saving us from those dogs."
"Oh, think nothing of it," Fang Yuan said. "After all, those dogs are mine."
Everyone's expressions froze.
"Indeed, I was the one who called the dogs here in the first place," Fang Yuan said, pulling out a gu worm from his aperture.
"That's Rank One Dog Enslavement Gu!"
Fang Yuan had purchased several of them with the help of Shang Xin Ci's resources but he had not used all of them. He handed the remainder to her. They could be resold later during the time when the Three King's Inheritance opened for quite a profit.
"What? So all of those dogs were actually Fang Yuan's?"
"So we were pinned here because of him? What exactly does he want?"
"I just came here for some food, I didn't want to piss off a Rank 5 Gu Master."
"Ah, is there any way to leave..."
"You're right, it's best that we make a hasty retreat..."
Even as a portion of them sought a way out, they found their paths blocked by the stray dogs from earlier.
"I'm sure all of you are waiting for my most beloved pupil, Shang Xin Ci, to arrive. However, she won't be coming this evening," Fang Yuan said.
There were cries of disappointment from everyone there.
"The reason that she won't be coming is because I told her that I would be handling these affairs today," Fang Yuan said. He glared at all of them with a cold look. "All of you, rather than working hard for your living, have been mooching off of my student's generosity simply to fill your bellies. Don't you all feel ashamed? Don't you all want to actually accomplish something rather than remaining as useless bums?"
His words felt like cold water being sprayed upon them. It was not the first time that many of them had heard such words. They could see that Fang Yuan had not brought any food with him. Was he just going to scold them?
One of them spoke up. "Lord Fang Yuan, it's not that we don't want to work. It's just that-"
"Silence!" Fang Yuan said. "I've heard enough of your excuses. Up until now, you have not managed to accomplish anything in life." He then paused. "However, that will all change from today. Under the umbrella of Shang Xin Ci's authority, today marks the start of a new sect within Shang Clan City."
"A new sect?"
"You mean like the Sunflower Sect?"
"I've had people there try recruiting me once. Ah, I ended up declining..."
"Well, yeah, I'd stay away from the Sunflower Sect if I were you."
Fang Yuan shook his head. "Don't worry, this sect will not demand that kind of sacrifice from its members. You all should be proud as you all will be the founding members of the newly-formed Beggar Sect."
The Beggar Sect or Beggar Clan was a staple of many stories back on Earth, which had given Fang Yuan the inspiration for this idea. In his prior life before using the Spring Autumn Cicada, he had no need for such an organization, but right now, he could see the utility in having a vast network of people who covered the area of Shang Clan City.
"The Beggar Sect?"
"Indeed," Fang Yuan said. "All of you, from now on, will be Shang Xin Ci's eyes and ears. You'll scatter across the city and relay information - anything that you happen to find, you will relay it back to us. Like any sect, of course, we will have our own hierarchy and support network."
He pointed to those who were wearing tattered clothing. "Those who are out in the field will belong to the lower ranks, doing most of the field work. We will, of course, have other people in place as well - those who wear proper clothing and can move about in other areas. Such as the Gu Masters."
One of the people raised his hand. "And what if we decline to join the Beggar Sect?"
"Oh, you can feel free to decline to join. Membership in the sect is entirely voluntary," Fang Yuan said with a cruel smile. "However, if you dare happen to pass by or try begging in any of the areas that we happen to control, we'll just be sure to give you a very quick and thorough thrashing."
The threat hung in the air. Some people wanted to say that Fang Yuan couldn't do this, but he was a Purple Thorn Token owner and a Rank 5 Gu Master, as well as being Shang Xin Ci's private teacher. No one wanted to provoke him.
Fang Yuan saw that he had their attention - now that he had shown them the stick, he needed to give them the carrot as well. He removed a storage-type gu worm from his aperture and the scent of freshly cooked rice permeated through the air.
"Of course, there are benefits to joining as well," Fang Yuan said. "Those of you who join will be under my protection, and on days where you are unable to accumulate enough primeval stones to feed yourselves, sect resources will be redistributed to all of you. You'll also have, of course, access to some of the prime areas in the city for the purpose of begging!"
Fang Yuan's terms hung in the air. It was certainly attractive to several of them.
"Just like any sect, we will maintain a strict hierarchy," Fang Yuan said. "You will all give a portion of your earnings to me which will then be redistributed to members who take tasks in less lucrative areas." Their faces fell at this remark. It was one thing to be given a safety net in case they couldn't feed themselves, but they had to also pay up for this privilege? It wasn't that they couldn't understand the rationale of such a thing, but rather, that they had so little that it felt unfair for Fang Yuan to take anything from them. "We will continue with our aggressive recruitment campaign in other parts of the city, obtaining new members that way. All of this is of course, for the benefit of our employer, Lady Shang Xin Ci. I hope you will all work hard for her sake. You all have filled your bellies on her dime, I think that it's only fair that you start working to repay that kindness."
"Of course, no intelligence gathering organization can openly air who or what it is," Fang Yuan said. "Our meetings will need to be covert. In order to identify ourselves amongst each other, we will each carry a special-colored pouch in the case of field agents, and a different one in case of those who occupy other positions. I will, of course, be the Supreme Leader of this sect, but you will no longer refer to me as Gu Yue Fang Yuan amongst yourselves. I'll be known under a code name in the presence of sect outsiders. You will all address me as... the Insane Reverend."