Negotiation

Eddie's grin became even more sinister as he looked at the satisfied smile Zoran had. Hook, line, and sinker. This new customer of his was as clueless as ever and scamming him was as easy as taking candy from a baby.

But, then he heard something come out of Zoran's mouth that he hadn't heard in a long time.

"Eduardo, you think of me as a fool?"

Eddie scratched his eyebrows nervously. A blast from the past. He didn't think that someone would ever utter that name again since he hadn't told anyone of his real name in this town. He didn't expect it, especially from an unassuming teen who looked to have lived in a secluded forest all his life. He racked his brain as he examined Zoran's face closely, trying to see if he recognized him from anywhere.

"How do you know my name?" Eddie asked tensely, but Zoran didn't answer his question and went back into the main topic.

"10,000 Liongs is not even enough for a normal Diamond. Do you think I'll give up the Silver Bleeding Diamond for that little? The price of these things skyrocket in an auction."

Eddie was unnerved. First, Zoran knew his name, then next, he knew the real value of the gem he was holding. He thought Zoran was a mere ignorant fool who had used up all the luck in his life to obtain the Silver Bleeding Diamond, but it looked like he was more knowledgeable than he thought. He was not dealing with an amateur.

The nervous tapping on the table indicated that Zoran's tactics were working. Eddie's agitated state was on purpose, brought about by Zoran when he mentioned Eddie's real name. By letting the question, 'how does he know my name,' linger in his thoughts, then Eddie's focus wouldn't be on the bargaining aspect. This was Zoran's advantage.

"20,000 Liongs," Zoran offered.

"Are you kidding me? That's way too high!" That was his reflexive reaction, something that he always said to his customers whenever they tried to sell something, regardless of the price. This was a tactic of many merchants; they always reject the first offer.

But as quickly as he said it, the regret came rushing in. 20,000 Liongs was the bargain of the century. He knew that the Silver Bleeding Diamond would be priced so much higher than that, especially if it was in an auction. The Silver Bleeding Diamond would be sought after by everyone, especially by the wealthy braggarts in this town.

Zoran smiled as he heard Eddie's quick rejection. Just as he expected. He used Eddie's tactics against him to make him even more agitated, tipping the balance of scales towards Zoran.

"Wait, I acce—"

But before Eddie could correct his mistake, Zoran had another counter-offer. This time, it actually made Eddie's face as red as a tomato from the building anger in his body.

"30,000." Zoran offered.

It was not about the price, but because Eddie knew what Zoran was doing. He was dictating the tempo of the game, not letting him have a word in so that he could raise the price even higher. He realized that Zoran was even more of a master at negotiations than him since he felt like he was being backed into a corner. But still, 30 thousand Liongs was still within his margins so he said,

"A steep price, but I'll acc—"

"40,000"

Zoran interjected once again, raising the price by another ten thousand. This was no longer just plain old bargaining between buyer and seller; this was bullying. Eddie was getting beat so hard in his own game that he could not even get a word in to protest. He was too dumbstruck because he didn't think that a country-bumpkin like Zoran, who looked like he had never read a book in his life, could outwit him like this. It was infuriating.

Zoran smiled. The more angry Eddie got, the better for Zoran. And it looked like Eddie was getting near his breaking point. His fury rose to the point of physical violence as he smacked the table with his fists. Splinters flew all around, ricocheting off the glass walls. At this point, Zoran knew that Eddie was really angry since he broke his very expensive 10,000 Liong mahogany table that he bragged about in his previous life. He even told Zoran that the table was much more valuable than Zoran's pathetic life.

"Enough!" Eddie growled. "50,000 take it or leave it."

This was his final offer, thought Zoran. Eddie always took off his top hat whenever he was really done negotiating; there was nothing more that could raise that price. Zoran opened his mouth, about to say something, but Eddie interjected.

"And before you say anything else. Remember that I am just one shout away from the police," he threatened.

Eddie smiled to himself. Zoran wanted to play dirty, well two could play that game. He knew that if there was one thing more that scared beggars than a winter night—it was the police. They would run at the mere mention of those uniformed officials, especially when they were in risk of having their name attached to a 'thief' because those people were hanged in the plaza. Zoran would be no different, he thought.

Zoran gave him the biggest smile, not caring about the warning, and said,

"I'm disappointed, Eddie. 50 thousand? I'll have to take the Silver Bleeding Diamond somewhere else."

Although 50,000 Liongs would give him five 10-year cultivation pills that he needed, he knew that the Silver Bleeding Diamond could fetch for so much more. He didn't need to be rich, but he couldn't let Eddie profit off him again.

Zoran turned around and left the store for good. He didn't turn back even as Eddie thrashed around his own place with what could only be described as a 'temper tantrum'. Glasses broke and precious ornaments were thrown around haphazardly as if a storm had taken over.

"You Fucker! Do you think I won't go to the police and tell them you stole that from me?!"

Zoran looked back at him and said, "we both know you're too greedy for that," and opened the doors and left.

He knew that Eddie wouldn't get the police involved because they would only confiscate the Bleeding Silver Diamond instead of giving it to Eddie. After all, the police were as corrupt and as greedy as the most depraved scammers in the Royal District.

Eddie's hands bathed in red blood as he crushed pure glass in his hands. The extreme pain from the cuts only served to further engrave into his brain the agony and torment Zoran did to him. It motivated him and helped him focus his brain into one thing; revenge. That Silver Bleeding Diamond was rightfully his, and a fate worse than death only awaits thieves like Zoran.

He took out a monocle from his pockets and observed Zoran. The monocle had magical properties embedded into the very glasses themselves to turn the invisible Yi ripples that cultivators radiated, into a quantifiable figure that even mortals like him could understand.

Eddie saw a faint white empty circle that covered Zoran's torso. It was barely visible and even the monocle could barely pick up any energy. Eddie scoffed. A mere 1st stage cultivator dare to enrage him like this? Zoran would get what's coming to him.

"Shadows, attention."

Suddenly, four figures draped in black clothes that hide their faces except their eyes showed up behind Eddie. They didn't bow their heads to him and instead stood still and awaited his orders.

"Follow him and get that Silver Bleeding Diamond. Oh, and give him an extra special serving of love, won't you?" Eddie looked back at the clothed figures behind him.

With his monocle, he saw all of them have the same circle around their torsos. But unlike Zoran, theirs were brighter and thicker than Zoran's—evidence of their abundant Yi energy compared to Zoran. Not only that, all of them had two concentric circles instead of one like the rings on a tree. These 4 were on the 2nd stage of cultivation, enough to kill Zoran a hundred times over.

Just you wait, Zoran. You'll be begging for mercy once these four get their hands on you.