Unscrupulous Beast (2)

"This is quite comfortable. What is this seat made of?" Bi Ji leaned against a single-seater sofa with Greeny on her lap. Her gaze swept the room around her. It was moderately furnished with the essentials fitted in like the table in front of her and all of them seemed quite plain in comparison to how this 'hut' has been this entire time. Her question was simply the first of the many that she intended to have clarity about if she was lucky.

"I took it from one of my many enemies. Although, I admit that killing weaker opponents is a waste since they can always get strong and return with more treasures," Ja Sun smiled as he set a tray in front of Bi Ji with two cups on it that held beverage.

Picking up her cup, Bi Ji closed Greeny's beak who wanted to sneak a sip, and narrowed her eyes, "Just like what you did with Fatty and his family, right?"

"Fatty?" Ja Sun looked puzzled before nodding, "Ah, yes. It was a fruitful trade."

"How is plundering a trade?" Bi Ji frowned.

"I got material benefits and they learned a valuable lesson related to strategic retreats," Ja Sun smiled and took a sip. Sighing with a refreshed expression, he inquired, "Sister Ji, may I ask you something." Over the tour, Ja Sun just began to call Bi Ji by her first name. The woman was a spirit beast and the same standards regarding formalities in addressing someone didn't affect Bi Ji that much.

"Please, do," Bi Ji nodded, finally taking a sip, too. She was pleasantly surprised... by orange juice.

Seeing Ja Sun observe her intently, Bi Ji alerted herself once again to not speak anything that a human shouldn't know.

"What's with the glasses?"

"Eh?"

Ja Sun pointed towards his own eyes, "Your glasses... I can't imagine a spirit beast of your caliber having troubles related to eyesight."

"These?" Bi Ji took off her glasses and looked at the pair with a smile, "A friend of mine once stayed among humans. Although she found the trip menial, she was attracted to this item and felt that it suited me, in terms of how human we tend to look, of course." She then put them on.

"Friend?" Ja Sun grew visibly interested but Bi Ji replied with a smile, "I believe this is the moment where we get to ask question after the other one has answered once, right? If so, it should be my turn."

"I... thought we were conversing as any two living beings would," Ja Sun blinked in surprise, "Maybe it was just me then."

Now it was Bi Ji's turn to grow silent. If Ja Sun was speaking the truth or not, she couldn't possibly know but she knew that gaining momentum in a conversation is what often leads to more opportunities grasped so, unfazed, Bi Ji added, "Maybe I will be more comfortable once a few of my doubts are cleared."

"What about my comfort?" Ja Sun didn't let go, however.

"Hmm?" Bi Ji grew puzzled as Ja Sun smiled, "Instead of being wary, I led you into my home and showed you the things I built. Instead of attacking the little Emerald Swan for the vitality the species is known for, I fed him and am even willing to trade treasures like Life Gold."

"But we haven't traded anything," Bi Ji replied. "A notion to do something can never translate to the action itself."

"Two-thirds, then," Ja Sun hummed, "But why should your desire to comfort be riddled with questions that serve to expose me?"

Bi Ji was stumped.

Indeed.

Why?

Even though more sensible than other spirit beasts and possibly kindest of them all, Bi Ji was still a spirit beast. In a world where strength mattered the most, she did instinctively take initiative when it was clear she was superior in some form or manner, and in this scenario was the comparison between their spirit cultivation. Bi Ji had never explicitly used her rank to do anything but she had simply grown accustomed to things is all that had happened yet her base desires and thoughts were challenged over a small cup of orange juice... not even a large glass but a small sake cup.

Mulling it over, Bi Ji finally formed her response, "It is because we are trading that my comfort matters, isn't that right? If I am comfortable, I may trade more. Resources that a beast passively gather for so long... can be an eye-opening for human beings."

"Oh, my eyes never were closed. I was simply taught by the best," Ja Sun chuckled, "But it is true, I want a good trade and if a prerequisite to such that is my desire revolves around your comfort, I would be happy to quench whatever information you thirst after, Sister Ji."

Nodding, Bi Ji questioned the most important question and the most glaring one in her situation.

"May I inquire the name and type of your Martial Soul, Brother Sun?"

"It's called the Three-eyed Silver Lion. I'm still not fully aware of its type since I get the feeling that despite all benefits, my martial soul is extraordinarily... incomplete."

"Martial Souls can be incomplete?"

"Only if you personally want more. That way, many things are left wanted and thus, incomplete."

Bi Ji nodded as she waited for Ja Sun to pose her question only for him to finally wave his hand.

"Don't worry. I like exploring my doubts and since I am going to stay here for the foreseeable future, I want to take my time with the inquiries I have."

Greeny rolled his eyes secretly but didn't chirp at this point.

"I see," Bi Ji smiled, "Then I will ask something else. How did you come across my strength and my actual age of cultivation?"

"I'm stronger than you in all terms but vitality," Ja Sun smiled.

Narrowing her eyes, Bi Ji continued, "Did you really form all these arrays? And does your martial soul have a spatial affinity?"

"I did form these arrays. I find the profession challenging and refreshing. And yes, my martial soul does have a tertiary affinity with spatial attribute."

Ja Sun noted a sense of wonder in Bi Ji's eyes that was retracted quickly as she grew silent for a moment.

"Is that all?" Ja Sun inquired with a confused expression.

"I feel comfortable enough and my other doubts... would also need to be explored slowly. You are staying here, right? If the deal is fruitful, I can help you avoid the harassment from other spirit beasts of my caliber, and then we can discuss how you entered the King's Lair and maybe, if we really get to know each other well, we may even find ourselves trading for the information of your source of life gold."

"I would like that," Ja Sun smiled, "So, let's discuss trade offered at the moment. A shard of life gold."

"For my feathers," Bi Ji smiled.

"However, the value of Life Gold is far greater than what your feathers hold for me," Ja Sun mused.

"A single feather of an Emerald Swan Monarch can add 10 years to a human's life," Bi Ji blinked, "I'd say I'm the one losing out in this trade."

"Because you are under the assumption that I want to live longer... by smoking some feathers?" Ja Sun's smile turned slightly wicked, "I don't. A longer life doesn't interest me. May I ask what is your most memorable moment... in how long you have lived?"

"It's... probably my breakthrough into cultivation of 100000 years of my cultivation..." Bi Ji mumbled.

"So, the most memorable moment in your entire life is related to your cultivation... then why would you think that I want more life in my lifetime instead of achievements that surpass my current self?"

Truly, Ja Sun couldn't give a rat's ass even for achievements but most of his attainments were directly related to his quest so they just followed him.

Closing her eyes, Bi Ji digested Ja Sun's words for a moment.

As Ja Sun always proclaimed. He needed to add little grains of honesty in colossal scams so he wasn't really afraid of revealing a more human and volatile side of himself.

"I see... then would I be right to assume that a longer life that stems from your own growth in cultivation is something that might interest you?"

"It would," Ja Sun nodded, "Why? Do you have some way? Given that I am in a bottleneck, there is only one way to continue on this path."

Now that he had divine intent, Ja Sun could mask his spirit souls appropriately. He was sure that quite a bit of his secrets was exposed to Qian Daoliu and probably other beings such as the two gods— Asura and Poseidon, and also to Evil-Eyed Sage Tiger that attacked him but was forced to retreat later on with a bit of its divine intent used for his own eventual breakthrough. This meant that at this point, aside from his spirit rank and breath of life gold, Bi Ji could sense nothing else about him.

"Yes, I know very well. Humanity's cultivation is as such to suppress the spirit beasts, I can tell you that much. But if I am not wrong, your martial soul must have some relation to spirit attribute, right?"

If it wasn't clear before then things couldn't be simpler at this point. Bi Ji must know something about the Three-eyed Golden Lion.

Ja Sun nodded and Bi Ji fell thoughtful for a moment.

She wanted this life gold.

She needed it.

'Even if I stay near that lake... almost all its effect is used by the unknown entity within. The slightest aura of life gold isn't useful in my current condition... but just the tiniest shard could further my cultivation by a great margin...' Bi Ji stared at Ja Sun and then recalled many things. Possible spirit beasts that may be compatible. Possible resources that may just further the bloodline of the martial soul... however, she couldn't give them up.

Sighing softly, Bi Ji added, "I can provide you three body's worth of feathers. Although you may not want to have longer life using this method, it may just help you get more resources from your side of life."

"No," Ja Sun shook his head, "I don't have much use of the feathers. I just need varying qualities of skins, feathers, and a few body parts from special spirit beasts with varying affinities."

Bi Ji's expression turned slightly dark, "Brother Sun, why not be a bit vaguer than you are already. Are you aware how little your demand narrows down to?"

Ja Sun traced his chin with a thoughtful look as he suddenly gained a great idea.

"Objectively speaking, even among the myriad species of spirit beasts, Emerald Swans stand out due to sheer benefits they leave with their deaths. However, if I was remotely a bloodthirsty scoundrel, I wouldn't have been able to propose a trade with a sane mind.

Let's do it like this.

I want skins or scales of spirit beasts of every quality present in King's Lair. For every 100-year-old spirit beast's shed, I will provide 0.001 grams of Life Gold. For every hide of a 1000-year-old spirit beast, I will provide you with 0.01 gram of Life Gold.

For every hide of a 10000-year-old spirit beast, I would provide 0.1 gram of Life Gold.

For every hide of 100000-year-old spirit beast, I would provide 1 gram of Life Gold."

Bi Ji's eyes widened.

"You have that much?!" She exclaimed in shock as Ja Sun extended his index finger.

"Never mind my stock. I have a few conditions. First, I will not accept the hide of more than one spirit beast of a certain quality. For instance, I already have the feathers of a 100-year-old Emerald Swan, 100-year-old Sabertooth Hippo, and 2 ten-thousand-year-old Sabertooth Hippo. I don't need more of these."

Bi Ji frowned and nodded with a difficult expression.

"Second, I know properties of many spirit beasts and their sizes so if I feel the slightest bit of trade in bad faith, I will pull back."

"Third, I would, of course, want you to leave Greeny here as collateral in case you decided to bring some spirit beast with you to attack me with the intention of plundering me."

"I would never!" Bi Ji gasped.

"As you said, trade done when comfortable it better. I feel comfortable if Greeny remains here," Ja Sun smiled, causing Bi Ji to bite her lips and nod nonetheless.

"Finally... the offer for trade will end in 2 hours and thirty minutes."

Bi Ji's eyes widened.

"That's unreasonable!"

"Please hurry," Ja Sun stood up, "Come on, Greeny, let me treat you to something even nicer than a cup of orange juice," he grinned as Greeny jumped down from Bi Ji's lap and chirped, following Ja Sun while wiggling its feathered tail.

On the other hand, Bi Ji scoffed internally, a little annoyed not only by the unreasonable time limit, Greeny's 'betrayal', but also how Ja Sun would treat Greeny to something better than he would treat the Monarch of their species— her.

"I still haven't agreed to anything!" Bi Ji called out once again as Ja Sun waved his hand.

"Then aren't you lucky? You've got more than 2 hours to think and make the best of this opportunity."

As Ja Sun left the room, the woman stomped her foot in clear frustration and stormed out of the large hut.

---

Within King's Lair, a lone Emerald Figure could be seen dashing from one location to another. The figure carved out some barks from a few varying species of trees, she would cover a few reptile species in an emerald glow until they naturally shed their scales and grew new, healthier coverings. The figure entered some caverns before emerging with exhausted sighs and then continued to move around.

By now, Bi Ji had truly caused a ruckus but when confronted by a few mental sweeps and communication, she quickly placated the concerns of the spirit beasts that have lived here for the longest time... before actually stopping in front of one of such a beast and then requesting for their scales, too.

"What?! You want my scales?" A gorgeous woman lazily lying on one of the tree branches gazed at Bi Ji with a strange expression. The woman swept her dark purple hair back, revealing her body to not be covered by clothes but scales similar to Liu Erlong's spirit transformation. The purple-black spirit scales looked brilliant and caused Bi Ji's eyes to glow in an eerie manner that stunned the woman.

"You have the same look as human men would when they saw me during my trip to human cities..." the woman pouted as Bi Ji rubbed her hands with an ingratiating smile touching her lips that caused the woman to cringe.

"Zi Ji~ Come on. I don't have too much time... you know what, follow me but keep a distance of 10 kilometers. I will explain everything."

That was all the woman needed to hear from Bi Ji before reluctantly agreeing, "I'm only doing this because you've helped me quite a few times."

"I know, I know. Just, hurry!" Bi Ji stated with a slightly frantic tone as the woman named Zi Ji frowned and followed, causing an Emerald and Purple Figure to dash around at a quick pace.

Even now Ja Sun wasn't truly aware of their status, but as he stated, he would rather take his time now since he was already going to scam one spirit beast. In time, he will find his objective but before that, he might as well squeeze out the benefits from any individual he may come across. Of course, the thought of plundering the spirit beast off of its spirit bone did come in Ja Sun's mind, however, unlike Ah Yin, he was on a more cultured path where he would rather try and find a more all-round use of the beast.

After all, Ja Sun now swam within his swimming pool while Greeny floated around him as Bi Ji did all the grunt work to collect material for his project... for a scam!

'This is the first time manual labor is included in a scam... I do hope the eventual ranks sets higher than B.'

Ja Sun looked at his current quest panel.

[Objective: Scam the Emerald Swan Monarch Bi Ji and pump your fist in an enclosed location privately.

Mission Rank: Based on the Completed Objective.

Rewards: Based on the Completed Objective.

Time Limit: 3 hours]

*Chirp*

The swan swam around Ja Sun once again with a pleased expression as he scoffed.

"Don't be such a brown noser... at least, Caihong and Olivia knew that much... and they were literate..." He mumbled while leaning against the floor of the pool, missing the loveable, brightly feathered owls.

***

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