NOVEL SIMPLE
Chapter 544 - Transaction
Clink~
Li Huowang and Hong Da toasted before emptying the contents of their cup.
The table was a mess after their meal, and Li Sui had contributed a lot to the mess.
Li Sui ate with relish and to her heart's content.
“Er Jiu, do you know why I’m helping you?” Hong Da asked with a flushed face.
“Because we are brothers in the Surveillance Bureau.” Li Huowang toasted him again.
“Hehe, but we were also on good terms with Xinchi. What happened to him now? I actually knew that you were someone genuine and sincere after you saved us from the Muddled One. I’ve decided to befriend you from that moment onward because it’s very rare to find someone like you these days.” Hong Da sighed and revealed a hint of sadness in his eyes. “But since you’ve decided to get close to the imperial family, I fear that we will be meeting less and less. Once you've become successful, you better not forget about me, all right?”
Li Huowang looked at Hong Da’s Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings before answering, “That might not be the case. Once I’m done here, I will still go back to the Surveillance Bureau.”
“Hm? Why are you going back?”
Li Huowang looked at the tattered rags of Qiu Chibao.
“I have time to kill, and it would be a waste if I just left my techniques to rot. It'd be great to lend my power to the world.”
Li Huowang wasn’t sure whether the events in the Qi Kingdom would happen in the Liang Kingdom. No matter what, he decided to deal with it on his own accord because he didn’t feel safe letting anyone else do it. He didn’t mind becoming a true Surveillance Bureau member if necessary.
“Hoho, I had no idea that you were so kind. I thought youngsters like you loved power and money, so you helped the imperial family.”
Staring at the drunk Hong Da, Li Huowang decided it was time to ask something important, “Brother Hong, is the Chief inside the Surveillance Bureau right now?”
He wasn’t asking out of curiosity. Now that he had the means to locate Shai Zi, he needed to find someone strong enough to defeat one.
Of course, Li Huowang's first candidate was the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau.
Time was running out. The faster the Shai Zi was dealt with, the better it'd be for him.
Hong Da was already here, so he saw no harm in asking.
“Which Chief? We have two now because the Si Qi’s Surveillance Bureau has decided to join us.”
Li Huowang was secretly happy to learn that. He now had another person to help him kill Shai Zi.
“The Liang Kingdom’s Chief.”
“Why do you want to know their whereabouts? I haven’t been here for long, so I don’t know either. But you can ask Liu Zongyuan if you want that information. Even if he's not in Shangjing, the Moongate, which he joined, has a ton of information.”
Li Huowang nodded. “Of course, how could I forget him? Come, let me toast you another cup.”
The two chatted until it was late.
While Li Huowang and Li Sui were on their way home, Li Huowang found himself thinking about the issues he was facing on the way back home. He looked at Zhuge Yuan and asked, “Senior Zhuge, should I use Shangji Guankou to find where Miaomiao is? Is it better to save her first? I fear that I might not be able to find her even after killing Shai Zi.”
Zhuge Yuan shook his head. “No. You have to kill Shai Zi, or you will not be able to save her. Even if you somehow managed to save her, you would still have to worry about Shai Zi taking her away again. You can’t keep your guard up all the time. Also, Shai Zi already has his sights on you, and he’s stronger than you. If you don’t get rid of him now, you will never know peace.”
“Sigh, you are right.” Li Huowang pushed the door open and brought Li Sui into the house.
Even though Hong Da said he'd try, Fo Yulu and the others were clearly interested in the deal because they visited Li Huowang the next day.
“Ten years,” said Fo Yulu.
Hong Da could only shake his head at Fo Yulu's decision.
“You mean I can only use the sword for ten years in exchange for a Strayed One’s corpse? Are you crazy?” Li Huowang frowned, patting the big jar next to him.
“What? Do you really think that a Strayed One's corpse is enough to trade for a Twisted One's corpse? A Twisted One is even rarer than a Strayed One! Also, don’t forget that you stole that sword from me! You have no right to haggle with me!”
“And why can’t I haggle with you? A hundred years...”
“You fucker!” Several thumb-sized golden Buddhas crawled out of Fo Yulu’s robes.
“Lord Ji Xiang, we must not fight here. We are here to negotiate. We can talk it out.”
Hong Da became the mediator and stood in between them.
Both parties respected Hong Da and never fought even though it was tense.
Under his mediation, they both compromised, and a deal was made. Li Huowang was going to borrow the spine sword for twenty years in exchange for a Strayed One’s corpse.
Fo Yulu had used the Surveillance Bureau as the witness to make sure that Li Huowang would return the weapon.
Back in the hall of screens of the Surveillance Bureau, Li Huowang stamped his thumb on the red ink before stamping on several papers. Fo Yulu smiled at the sight, and Li Huowang instantly realized that she had profited more from this deal than him.
However, Li Huowang didn’t really care. Twenty years was more than enough time for him to complete his cultivation.
He took his copy of the papers and thanked Hong Da. “Thanks, may we meet again soon.”
Hong Da smiled bitterly and followed Fo Yulu out.
Li Huowang was the only one left behind the screen. He took the spine sword from his back and inspected it.
Good, now I can use it officially. No need to hide it any longer.
He was about to remove the strips of cloth when he felt someone near him.
Li Huowang swung his sword toward the left. However, two long fingernails clamped the tip of the sword, stopping it.
Li Huowang frowned. “How’s everything?”
It was the old eunuch from the palace; he was Ji Lin’s helper as well.
The old eunuch let go of the sword and said, “Ah... you've become important to our Lord, so how could you just disappear like that? We've been looking for you, but we haven't been able to find you at all until now."
“Ji Lin is looking for me?”