Advanced Cultivation Civilization

ACC Chapter 32 Prologue; Golden Merchant

I played with my fingers as I gazed at my visage within the mirror. Nervousness colored my features, especially my eyes and hands which couldn't stop shaking. I was a Nascent Soul for fucks' sake!

Then there was the stormy sandy locks of my hair, which even with my control, refused to settle into a neat pattern. This was one of those times that I started regretting having chosen to form a sandstorm core.

Why the hell had I been chosen to meet with the Golden Merchant? Was there something wrong with the man's habits or temper? The others had passed on the opportunity like it was a hot potato or something.

There was absolutely no use in worrying about such thing, but I still couldn't let such worries out of my head. Even deep steadying breaths weren't enough.

At least I had managed a decent attire. Even I, was happy with it. This was the one one thing I was absolutely sure that I hadn't or wouldn't mess up.

The white robe, its true name being Thawb, had matched me to a tee. The premium Malbas store hadn't dissappointed. Maybe I would patronise on them more in the future.

I sighed upon looking down onto the keffiyeh resting upon the table to the side. I hadn't wanted to wrap it around my head, but since my hair was rioting, it had to be imprisoned.

The thing I was supposed to deliver to the Golden Merchant, the richest man in the world, with a personal net worth over 3 trillion credits and the head of a company valued at 17 trillion credits, was an invitation.

Even a normal person, were they in my feet could smell something afoot. Why? Because the previous President, Mr. Taylor hadn't made such aggressive moves. The news had already broken out into the web. How every tycoon worth their while was being invited to a summit.

And there were also rumors about an ultimatum that made it so that, sending heirs or descendants wouldn't cut it.

I scoffed. This woman was playing with fire. Did she really fathom the power of those at the top of the pyramid? There had been three previously, and now a fourth had made it, Mr. Mumaso Reed.

It was satisfying that my idol had finally gotten the place they deserved. I hadn't had the privilege of using the Auto-Cul as I had been a Core Formation when it had been created. But it had gone a long way into allowing my sons onto the path of cultivation without the need to waste too many resources.

With a final sigh to clear my head, I stepped out of the opulent men's room. There was no use dawdling. I just had to get it over with. The Golden Merchant had been in seclusion long before I had even joined the company. The fear that I might disturb him gnawed at me, but there was no use. There was no one else I could push this responsibility to.

On walking out of the room, familiar walls greeted me. Ones that I loved to gaze upon minutes on end, and hours if I could get the time. They were made of a dull gold, with array lines filled with glowing golden liquid flowing through them.

What made them mesmerising was the permutations of the liquid gold, which by my senses should have been attuned spiritual energy within the core of a person, and yet, the array master had managed the herculean feat of creating the aspect.

"I heard you were going to meet the big shot. How exciting? Can I go along with you?" Out of the corner, came a figure, her feet practically gliding upon the brown floor as she stopped right before me. The gleam in her eyes and the way her aura pulsed, were troublesome things to be at the receiving end of.

"Mao Mai, how did you learn of this? Its way above your pay grade." I narrowed my eyes. I could smell something afoot here. A mere Bronze merchant wouldnt have come across this without some imbecile's meddling.

"I wanna tag along, please...!" She leaned in, enlarging her pupils in a way that made her look cute. Sometimes I wondered why this woman was in this line of work. She should have been in a brothel, maybe then, she would have become far richer than having to deal with deals as a merchant. Though, when you witnessed a woman over 100 years acting like a toddler, getting the thing up would be hard, unless you had peculiar fetishes.

"I know the Golden Merchant adores you, but it has been over a century, and am on official business."

I hadn't been around at the time, but apparently, the big shot treated her like a true daughter. The man had never had any children or even a spouse. He had even once quoted that, 'Money is better than love or emotional human attachments. It won't desert you unless you are incompetent.'

"Don't worry, my dear Al-Wāa. I am not going there to put you in a difficult position. Besides, I have been sneaking in for as long as I could remember. He won't be grumpy about it."

My gaze must have contained an immense amount of disbelief for her to scoff at me so.

"I don't lie. You know that, right?"

I nodded before proceeding to move along. That conversation had wasted a few precious minutes. There was still plenty of work to be done. If I wasted my day delivering an invitation, I would be losing millions of credits I would have otherwise been earning.

After passing through winding corridors that ultimately fed into another larger one, which was entirely deserted, we reached a door at the end, one composed of not just a single piece, but two doors, with golden rings attached on each side. There was nothing remarkable about them when viewed with just the naked eyes, but when my divine sense made contact, there was a heavy feeling that enveloped me.

It was akin to gazing upon a solid tall mountain. There was an unshakeable quality to the doors that made me feel that any attempt at breaching them would be akin to trying to dig through a large rock mountain with bare hands.

And then, just at the doors, it hit me. How was I supposed to get into the room? The others hadn't told me how?! 

I panicked for a moment, but then, my eyes fell onto my other companion, the childish woman who had insisted in tagging along. Since she had revealed her secret, maybe she had a way of bypassing this powerful security measure?

I looked to her with hope, and she didn't dissapoint, pulling out what looked to be a card.

It was black with golden edges that shined like the sharpened edge of a blade in the light. It was beautiful how the deep black contrasted with the golden edges, but in order not to appear discombobulated, I averted my gaze.

She didn't even register the fact that I might have lacked the means of opening these doors as she inserted it into a slot on the right door without any hesitation.

Maybe if I had the same background as her I wouldn't be so calculating...? No! I couldn't afford such thoughts. A merchant who can't even calculate is a disgrace to the profession. Besides, there was no use in getting overly greedy.

When the doors opened, I felt my breath leaving me, with my mind playing tricks on me. My body was fine, but my mind, through the fact that my divine sense was in contact with another, started giving me the feeling of suffocation.

This...this was some monstrous divine sense!

"Oh! You brought a guest this time, Nina? Could he be your fated love?"

"What are you yapping about grandfather?! Why would I get myself a man when I am still this young?!"

"Hahahahahaha..."

My mind was jolted and jostled with every single sound that came from within the room. The weighty divine sense shrouding mine was too heavy.

I coughed, with both my hands cradling my throat, as if I really was about to drown in a pool of water. Tears formed in my eyes... It had been a very long time since something had managed to make me cry, yet here I was, feeling as if my life was on the line. And that was why I was about to cry, because of the sadness I felt about those who were going to live without me.

And then just as it appeared, the shroud vanished, leaving me drenched within my own sweat, which I hurriedly reabsorbed into myself, all the while wishing for some portal to swallow me whole.

I was very certain that Nina was definitely holding back a chuckle even as she tried to pull an innocent expression directed at me. My face was red, that I was sure of too. And that was the reason I stared straight ahead into the room, making sure to give the impression that I hadn't noticed her gaze.

A man, THE MAN, sat there, on a cushion. A golden robe, that looked like molten gold that had somehow been turned into cloth shrouded his body, leaving behind only a head of golden hair streaked with white.

White pupils, somehow capable of dragging me in, like a pair of abysses, regarded me with coolness and some indulgence, which I was certain was being directed to Nina beside me.

Because of my nervousness, the rest of the room was a blur to me even as I sat near the man. There was something that prevented my eyes from leaving him, as if he was the most important attraction in the room.

His face was a normal squarish one, with a few wrinkles here and there, but for some reason, my eyes were locked onto him instead of wandering the opulent room.

"So, an upstart brat has decided to try and flex a bit of her muscle..." He started. The words had already given insight into the fact that he had already parsed through the contents of the letter. But as is with decorum, I presented it to him.

Nina had plopped herself down beside the man, who was now parting her head slowly, drawing out an expression of pure bliss from the woman.

"You can go back and say, I will be there. I wanna see how much of a bite she has myself."

For a moment there, I thought I saw a feral grin. Could I have imagined it?