Chapter 202: Hidden Exchange
Another bright, burning sunshine greeted the occupants of the Titanfall Archipelago as they got busy with their daily tasks.
For Han Xuhan, the first priority was to retrieve Hai Yin Zhe from Yuen Zhou's house. However, when he paid her hut a visit....
"Papapapapapapapaaaaa!!!"
No. This was not the sound of an intercourse taking place nearby. This was the outcry of a petulant child, having taken a fancy to a toy it couldn't play with.
"Little Zhe, that's not papa's treasure. You can't take that, try to understand!"
Han Xuhan's patient tone did absolutely nothing to improve Hai Yin Zhe's loud tantrum.
"I want it! I want it! Papaaaaa!"
Han Xuhan was not very fond of such demanding children. The short life he had lived in the orphanage had weeded out the sympathy someone else would feel in this situation. He could only see a brat that needed some soft discipline. But how do you discipline an undead snake skeleton?
Should he try grounding Hai Yin Zhe inside his dao tower? That wouldn't even last 5 seconds. Hai Yin Zhe would come out immediately and scream louder.
"If you really want this, I can give it to you," Yuen Zhou said demurely. However, her eyes weren't looking at Hai Yin Zhe, rather, she was focused on its master.
Han Xuhan began to sweat upon being showered with the entirety of her attention. The nervousness didn't stem from romantic interests, rather, its source laid with the three skulls decorating Yuen Zhou's bedside table.
He was quite certain that those skulls were new additions to her bedroom decor; something that had only appeared after he had walked in on her crime scene yesterday. There had been enough blood on this floor to signal multiple fatal injuries...
Han Xuhan forced out those thoughts from his mind and focused on the conversation.
"Ahaha, how can that be? It's the treasure you picked up from the mysterious void zone between the spatial cracks. It's got to be a precious item! Little Zhe is just a child-"
"I'm willing to sell it, for an appropriate price."
"Ah, of course." Han Xuhan fell silent. That made sense...only if that teeth set really was useless like master Kong Ye had claimed.
Why else would she be willing to part with it?
Maybe she was wary of its source, the void?
"Is it a hazardous treasure?" he couldn't help but ask.
Yuen Zhou shook her head. "It's perfectly safe. It operates on simple, transparent mechanisms. I just have no use for the teeth set because as you can see, all my teeth are intact and healthy, and I wouldn't like to add anything extra."
She flashed him a wide smile to prove her claim. But the revealed neat rows of teeth only made Han Xuhan's stomach churn in dread. He felt like he was facing a friendly predator...
"What's your price?" he said, eager to end the conversation. Then he felt like his words had been a bit ambiguous. So he added with a jerk of his head,
"You know, for the teeth set, what's the price?"
Yuen Zhou narrowed her eyes and spoke in a measured tone.
"The map of the weight allotment scheme would be a decent price, I think."
Han Xuhan instantly felt his nervousness, his dread, and his suspicious chains of thoughts disappear with a BANG!
This was his business she was striking at! How could he let her do as she pleased?
Fear? Intimidation?
Those feelings could wait! He wouldn't compromise in front of money! He wouldn't compromise in front of a desperate customer!
"Hahaha!" he laughed uproariously. "Martial sister, that was a hilarious attempt at bargaining. Be more realistic, will you? How about 5 spirit stones?"
This time, it was Yuen Zhou's turn to be struck dumb.
The two shameless martial siblings bantered back and forth until the more desperate one gave up.
"Fine, fine. If you're willing to stoop that low with your pricing, I see no point in trying to reach a price that'll satisfy both of us. How about I add a favor to the deal?"
Yuen Zhou's proposal was just what he had been aiming for the whole time. Han Xuhan's eyes lit up like lightbulbs.
"I want the full volume of the Artificial Meridian Construction technique," he fired away immediately.
Yuen Zhou pressed her lips into a thin line, seeming dissatisfied.
"I've told you already before, the creator of that technique only cultivated the first three layers of the technique before his death. It's a stub-type cultivation manual with evil origins. How am I supposed to produce the next layers for you? You'll need guidance on seven more layers till you reach the peak of the Physique Transformation realm and experience the baptism of Heavenly Laws. That could possibly fix your body, and you'd need the technique will no longer. However, I can't magically conjure the instructions to reach the next seven layers for you."
This was an answer Han Xuhan had gotten before, and he expected her to repeat the claim. So, his response was ready at the tip of his tongue too.
"Then what about a similar technique? All I need is something that doesn't rely on meridians. That's all."
Yuen Zhou shook her head with a gloomy expression.
"You're a good friend of mine, martial brother. I'm aware that you're at the end of your ropes. If I had knowledge of any such techniques, I'd have given them to you for free. No bargaining would have been necessary. Unfortunately..."
She sighed. Han Xuhan felt his hope die a little. So he threw out his last card.
"I've heard that ghost cultivators do not need meridians for long..."
Yuen Zhou's gaze flickered towards his face like a bullet. The gloom and sympathy in her expression were gone, replaced by a sharpness and a hint of realization.
"Did Shangguang Ce tell you that?" She said curtly.
"....."
Han Xuhan took a moment to digest the twist.
How the hell did she know about Shangguang Ce? He hadn't told them his name when describing his adventures around the archipelago.
Seeing him silent, Yuen Zhou took out Hai Yin Zhe's coveted teeth set from her shelf and handed it to him.
"You can take it. As for our exchange deal, I'll add some advice as well.
"Do NOT trust your foreign friend. You're not the only person he has reached out to recruit more members for his clan. I'm not certain what his ulterior motives are exactly, but I can certainly predict that it's not something you want to be associated with. Not now, at least. That's all I'll say."
Han Xuhan listened with his full attention, plotting scenario after scenario in his mind with each of her sentences.
So many directions to follow, so little information to bank on...
"When did he contact you?" He finally asked in a level tone. He was now certain that Shangguang Ce and Yuen Zhou had had their own exchange at some point, unnoticed by everyone.
"Within the last 36 hours, I presume?"
Yuen Zhou grinned lightly and gave a short nod.
So that was why Shangguang Ce hadn't yet replied to the message he had left for him using Tun Shi Tian!
"He contacted you because I rejected his offer. I don't see why that is anything to be suspicious of." Han Xuhan explained his stance.
"Doesn't change what I said. Ghost cultivators aren't trustworthy people. Even I rejected his offer." Yuen Zhou's grin widened.
Han Xuhan sighed and said, "Heavens! You're more racist than I am! Is there any particular reason why? "
Yuen Zhou's brows furrowed in confusion. "What? Racist? I don't hate ghost cultivators, personally. They just have an ill reputation which entirely is their fault. And before you ask, NO, I'm not going to tell you why or how I know these things. It's a secret, and I'd appreciate it if you treat it like one."
"Never mind." Han Xuhan waved his hand and stood up from his seat. Little Zhe, who had been struggling to climb his legs from the floor screeched, forcing him to pick the snake up and hand over the teeth set to it.
"I appreciate the advice, martial sister. But switching to ghost cultivation seems like my only remaining avenue at this point if I wish to keep cultivating."
"I wish I could help. But there isn't really anything-"
"Oh wait, there's another business I need to take care of with you," Han Xuhan interrupted her midway.
Surprised, Yuen Zhou gave him a questioning look.
"You need to take care of a pest infestation problem for me."