"Well…." Bai Shuo hesitated, only to see the disciple behind Nan Wan step forward, hand on his sword, ready to strike.
"Certainly!" Bai Shuo quickly fastened the qiankun pouch to her waist, smiling servilely. "I appreciate your generosity, Your Excellency. This humble Daoist is of modest talent, so I would be of limited use in an Immortal Sect. However…."
Noticing Nan Wan’s furrowing brows, she quickly rubbed her fingers together. "However, as for the fee…."
Nan Wan’s brows relaxed slightly, and he replied calmly, "Rest assured, Daoist, you’ll be rewarded handsomely. How much do you require?"
"Not much, not much. Just ten thousand spirit pearls!" Bai Shuo held up a single finger, grinning.
The street fell silent. The disciple behind Nan Wan nearly dropped his sword in shock. "How much?" he exclaimed.
Ten thousand spirit pearls—that was almost half of Yun Xiao’s treasury! This scruffy Daoist really had some nerve!
Even Nan Wan’s face twitched slightly.
From his lack of objection to the disciple drawing his sword, Bai Shuo guessed that declining was not an option. Clearly, Nan Wan was determined to acquire the Wu Tong artifact and would likely resort to force if she refused. Since she had no choice, she might as well ask for an exorbitant fee and secure her profit!
"Your Excellency, no one’s forcing you," Bai Shuo said with a wry smile, about to continue with some stinging remarks, but Nan Wan interrupted her.
"Fine, I agree."
"Half in advance!" Bai Shuo didn’t miss a beat, pressing her luck.
"You…!" The disciple’s face turned green as he readied his sword, utterly scandalized by such shamelessness.
Bai Shuo quickly jumped up, ducking behind Fan Yue, peeking out with just half her face visible. "Your Excellency, this humble Daoist is risking life and limb to assist you…."
"Fine," Nan Wan said, exhaling deeply as he gestured for his junior to hand over the advance payment.
Reluctantly, the disciple conjured another qiankun pouch and tossed it her way. Bai Shuo barely managed to catch it, and after peeking inside, her eyes formed happy crescents.
These young disciples of the Immortal Sect were so easy to fleece. With all these spirit pearls, she and her apprentice would no longer need to scrape by, hawking fortunes on the street.
Understanding the true purpose of Nan Wan’s visit, Bai Shuo prepared herself to follow him to the foreign city. After all, without a senior immortal present to oversee the search, who knew what underhanded tricks the other disciples would resort to for the Wu Tong artifact? Since Ah Shuo was so straightforward, he’d likely end up suffering if left alone. Mingling among them might allow her to look out for him as well.
"Good disciple," Bai Shuo said, handing over the two heavy qiankun pouches to Fan Yue and patting his shoulder. "Go home and wait for me. I’ll come find you as soon as I’m finished."
She couldn’t take him with her, as the journey was fraught with danger, and Fan Yue, lacking any form of protection, would be at great risk if Nan Wan’s people detected his demonic aura.
"Let’s go," Nan Wan said, not even sparing Fan Yue a second glance as he noted the time and started to walk away.
Bai Shuo was about to follow him when a hand pulled her back. She turned to see her disciple, brows tightly furrowed, protesting, "I’m not going home. I want to go with you, Master."
Fan Yue’s hand clamped down on Daoist Bai like a fiery iron, holding her firmly in place.
“Be good and listen. Go home,” she whispered sternly, trying to pry his hand off.
“No. Wherever Master goes, I go,” Fan Yue replied, lips pressed in a firm line, unmoving.
Not far off, Nan Wan noticed she hadn’t followed and looked back, his gaze briefly lingering on Fan Yue.
“Daoist Bai?”
The other disciples gathered around, wary that the swindling Daoist who had just extorted half of Yun Xiao’s treasury might seize this chance to escape.
“Oh, I’m coming, I’m coming! Your Excellency, my apprentice usually assists me with minor readings. Perhaps it would be better to bring him along?” Daoist Bai, realizing she couldn’t sway Fan Yue, gave in. Hastily, she nudged her apprentice behind her, hoping to avoid drawing Nan Wan’s attention to him.
Only when she agreed to bring him along did Fan Yue let her go.
0 Comments