11 It’s just power play (2/2)
The person before me, definitely dares to kill me, is able to kill me…
Oh heavens! Why did I come and provoke this kind of devil?!
Shen Cui’s heart was full of remorse. At this moment she longed to turn and flee. But right now she was still on his lap; she did not dare to run away, not even able to pluck the courage to do any action.
The muscles on her entire body were tense, her gentle stature trembling. Her face was as pale as white paper and she could not utter a single word.
“Since you as a personal servant girl, have been serving me for so many years, I won’t kill you this time. Since you want to escape from slavery, go and find my little brother, he’s stupid and naïve.” Fang Yuan retracted his smile and patted her cheek, his tone plain like water.
With a sigh, he finally said —-
“You can leave.”
Shen Cui was as dumb as a piece of wood as she walked out obediently. She was afraid out of her wits, and did not know how she managed to leave the side of the devil called Fang Yuan.
The men hidden in the shadows looked confused when they saw Shen Cui come out looking so shaken.
“They actually arranged such a beautiful trap, its even more innovative than my previous life. Hehe, Aunt and Uncle, this kindness of yours I will remember deeply!”
Not long after Shen Cui left, Fang Yuan stood up and left as well. No matter what, he could not stay at this residence anymore. A wise man sees and mitigates foreseen risks, what more to say for a devil? When there is insufficient strength, only a fool would put himself in danger.
“Innkeeper, do you have any rooms available?” Fang Yuan came to the only inn in the village and asked for the price.
“Yes, yes. There is room on the second floor and third floor. Not only is it cheap, the rooms are also tidy and clean. The first floor is the cafeteria; guests of the inn can come here and eat. There is also service for asking the inn workers to bring up food to your room.” The innkeeper was full of hospitality as he entertained Fang Yuan.
This inn was the only one in the village, but the business was not very good. In fact it was somewhat deserted. Only when the annual merchant caravan came by to trade on Qing Mao Mountain, the inn would be full of people.
Fang Yuan was a little hungry, so he passed 2 full round pieces of primeval stones to the innkeeper. “Give me a good room for me to stay in, and prepare 2 jars of wine, 3-4 different dishes, return me any excess balance.”
“Done.” The innkeeper took the 2 pieces of primeval stone and asked, “Would you like to eat in your room, or dine in the hall?”
Fang Yuan looked at the sky. The rain had stopped and it was nearing evening. He could simply eat in the lobby and set out straight for the outskirts of the village when he was done, continuing his search for the treasure of the Flower Wine Monk. Thus he replied, “I’ll eat in the hall.”
The inn had a dining hall; there were a dozen square tables, four long benches surrounded each table. In between the tables were huge and thick pillars that were supporting the inn. The floor was covered with big tiles of marble, but it was wet; it was hard to conceal the moisture of the mountain.
There were 3 tables seated with people. Seated by the window, an old man was drinking wine, gazing outside at the sunset, being all alone. In the middle of the cafeteria was a table seated with 5-6 hunters. They were discussing about their hunting experiences in loud voices, and at their feet were a pile of different kinds of mountain prey, like pheasants and hares.
In another corner was a table with 2 young people, seemingly discussing in secret. Their figures were hidden in the darkness, it was hard to see them, and harder to know their gender.
Fang Yuan decided to sit by the table nearest to the door. Soon after, the dishes were served on the table.
“With my C grade talent, to refine the Moonlight Gu I would need to borrow primeval stones. If my luck is good and this Moonlight Gu does not have a strong will, I would only need 5 pieces. But if it is stubborn that I’d be in trouble, probably need around at least 8 pieces.”
Gu are living creatures, so it is natural for them to have the will to survive.
Some have a strong will and would always resist the refinement process; some Gu have weak will, all throughout refining they helplessly surrender; once there was no resisting, the refining process would become relaxing.
“Right now I only have 6 primeval stones on me, but I gave 2 to the innkeeper so I’m left with 4 pieces. There’s not enough.”
In this world primeval stones are the local currency, and the buying power is very strong. A normal family of three would spend at most 1 piece of essence stone in a month. But when it came to a Gu Master, the consumption of primeval stones was greater. Take Fang Yuan for example; just by refining Gu alone he would need an average of 7 primeval stones or so. And this is just on a Moonlight Gu, if he really did find the Liquor worm, just to refine it with Fang Yuan’s grade talent, he would need at least a dozen more!
“In other words, right now my situation is – Even if I find the Liquor worm, I don’t necessarily have the primeval stones to refine it. However I still need to search around, because there is a huge possibility that the Flower Wine Monk’s treasure has a huge abundance of primeval stones.”
This was not a difficult deduction. The Flower Wine Monk was a Rank five Gu Master after all. For such a famous strong warrior of the Demonic Faction, how could he not have primeval stones, which are the must-have item in a Gu Master’s cultivation?
(1) Power play – tactics exhibiting or intended to increase a person’s power or influence.