The Map

They went through the giant halls of the building, made their way through an inner courtyard, and arrived at the administrative building of the Trading Company. Inside, hundreds of workers were busy with scrolls, record books and communication jades. They went up a floor and went through a wooden bridge going over the giant hall, from here the workers below could be observed without standing in their way.

The bridge was overseeing the worker hall on one side, and was adjacent to a wall on the other side, with offices of executive level personnel going in order of importance and seniority all the way up to the office area of the owner in the end, with the door directly facing the bridge passageway. As they passed through reception that had an adjacent waiting area for guests to wait in line, the attendants there bowed to them while they entered the office that stretched over the hall perpendicularly from the bridge, connected to it only by the reception. So it was possible to see the bridge from the office windows, and see the office windows from the bridge. From the office there were several open windows that also oversaw the hall below, and there was a wide passageway to a balcony that looked over the trading company territory.

There were all kinds of perception shielding formations arranged on the room and balcony, so that nothing could be seen from the hall below or the bridge, or outside the balcony, it was normal since there were always confidential business discussed here.

Wu Long looked at the office with appreciation and a fun idea came up to him when he saw the wide open windows with wooden fences overseeing the hall with so many people. The formations prevented anyone from seeing anyone on the inside, but while standing before the window it did not seem any different than being in plain sight of all the people below. He highly appreciated this office, in his own way of course.

Sui Luxiao gestured to a side of the office with a few armchairs and a low table for negotiations, and Wu Long sat down, facing the Sui family.

"I must apologize for any offense my son may have caused with his behavior, it was my negligence" she first decided to smooth over the situation before. She could more or less understand what had happened there.

There was only politeness in her tone though, and no goodwill. Even if it was her son's fault, it was not pleasant that an outsider behaved so freely in her territory. When Wu Long nodded, it was basically brushed off as a minor incident, and they could now discuss the main topic.

"So, I understand that you are offering to sell the recipe for the Qi Condensation Pill?" she started, deciding first to confirm the information she had received.

"Before we start, I would like for the unrelated people who cannot make decisions on the matter leave" he said calmly.

This instantly ignited the temper of all of them, Sui Luxiao showed the least on the surface, only frowning, while her husband and sons stood up with anger.

"Dear, this scoundrel is really here just to mess with us! I will make sure he is never so brave again"

"Mother, let me deal with him, wasting our time is akin to robbing us!"

"You bastard, are you looking down on our Sui family?!?!"

The three of them shouted with indignation and prepared to launch at him, but Sui Luxiao raised her hand and the three of them stopped, giving her the opportunity to speak. They did not stop glaring at Wu Long though, still breathing heavily from shouting before.

"You should not test my patience, I may have given you some courtesy before, but you have yet to do so to me, not to mention the questionable reality that you have the recipe" she said with a frown and a sharp look.

"I am not trying your patience, Madame Sui, but the reality of the situation shows, that they are only in the way of the two people who really are negotiating to speak. They decide nothing so they cannot act, but they also prevent you, who can make that decision from thinking and talking with all their shouting. I simply wish to speak without three idle statues that occasionally speak and interrupt the conversation, as I do not enjoy such situations, do you?" he said with the same tranquil attitude.

For a moment, Sui Luxiao raised her brow, as there indeed was logic in his words, just now, if they really had any say they would have already dealt with him, instead they just shouted, basically throwing a tantrum, while waiting for her to decide, and when they were shouting, she was not able to speak or even think straight.

"Haa… leave"

She deeply sighed, placing a hand on her temple, and slightly massaging it. This action did not escape Wu Long's watchful eyes as he was even more certain in his success. She then said one word.

"Dear!"

"Mother!"

"Mother, you cannot be serious!"

The three looked at her with wide eyes, not daring to believe what they were hearing. But it only took her opening her eyes and looking at them for them to shut up and dejectedly leave, throwing menacing and hateful gazes at Wu Long as they did so.

There was a mocking light in his eyes as he watched them leave, and he did not hide it at all.

Once they left, Sui Luxiao looked at him with eyes that seemed to pierce a hole in his head. Clearly, she made too many concessions for her to be comfortable, but the allure of the pill recipe was just too great.

"I have removed the obs… I did what you asked, now, are we ready to talk?"

She said impatiently, a dangerous light in her eyes. He nearly laughed when she almost called them 'obstacles' as he clearly saw her attitude towards them.

"Yes, thank you for your sincerity, it is time I showed you mine. I have the recipe for it. As you know, it will be extremely hard for us to verify the authenticity of this recipe, so I am willing to make a concession" Wu Long nodded, and said in a tranquil voice.

"..." Sui Luxiao, looked at him with watchful eyes trying to detect what trick this young man was playing.

"I will give you the recipe right now, you will know it is genuine when your alchemists will start producing the pills" he said, dumbfounding her.

"What?!?!" she nearly shouted. What kind of negotiation was this? He was going to give away his only bargaining chip for free, without any guarantees?

"I will give you the pill recipe, as it is the bait to get to the negotiation table with you. I have even better business to discuss with you, but you will only know I mean what I say after you ascertain that the recipe is real" he said truthfully, completely tranquil in contrast to her.

Sui Luxiao came out of her shock, nodding.

"If you really have better business and the pill is real, we just need to check the pill. So your words can be easily proved"

Wu Long smiled, and placed a scroll he took out from the spatial ring on the table.

"This is a pill recipe. I will give your alchemists a day, so I will return the day after tomorrow at roughly this time. Do not try to follow me as everyone sent to do so will die" he said, standing up from his spot and not giving her time to completely digest the situation.

"I will be leaving now, until next time"

He said, as he turned around and went to go out of the office, but stopped midway.

"Ah, I almost forgot, the girl who reported to you, your son will try to retaliate against her when he comes out of it. I hope you know what to do, as if next time I visit I do not see her doing well and rewarded for dealing with the situation, the next business is going to be off" he said, while turning only his head sideways, and left without turning back again.

Sui Luxiao sat and looked at the scroll on the table in a daze, she then reached with a slightly trembling hand and took the scroll, pondering about Wu Long's origins, motives, if the recipe is real, and if that is so, what is the better business he has.

Wu Long went out of the office to be greeted by three pairs of eyes that would kill him 3000 times over if looking could kill.

He chuckled in their faces, and went on his way.

When he arrived at the place Yu Huan wrote on the map, he was dumbfounded to be greeted by a middle aged man who looked drunk.

He checked a few times with the map, and went to the Alchemy Tower, finding the receptionist from yesterday. He told her that he needed her to pass on two scrolls to Yu Huan, and handed over two scrolls sealed with talismans.

One was a message, saying that she should contact him with a communication talisman when she receives the message, and another was the map she drew her address on.

—

Yu Huan arrived at her home in a furious mood.

"The audacity! I should contact him? How about he keeps the appointments!"

Bi Rui looked at her fuming with a smile on her face. Yesterday, despite waiting for the whole day Wu Long did not show up, causing Bi Rui to tease her the whole time.

"So, he contacted you?" she asked

"Hear this out! He told me to contact him instead!"

"So? Are you going to do it?"

"... haaa… yes, I still owe him for the scrolls"

"Hm? He gave you new scrolls?" Bi Rui noticed two scrolls in her hands.

"Ah, this? No, they're the message from him and the map I drew for him"she said absentmindedly, as she was already preparing to use the communication talisman.

"Map?" Bi Rui suddenly asked with a strange look on her face.

Since her voice was in a strange tone and a tiny bit louder than a normal reaction would be, Yu Huan looked at her with a question in her eyes.

"Could you open this map for me?" Bi Rui said with a suspicion that almost made her want to facepalm creeping up.

"Hm? Here" Yu Huan simply opened up the map scroll, and showed it to her, seemingly puzzled.

"Haa, I should have known this when you said you told him where you live… Huan'er… this is not where our house is…"

"..."

"..."

A silence filled the small courtyard.