Chapter 438: List

Wu Jinliang didn't like hearing that. He retorted, "What's wrong with selling to nine families? If we don't sell to them, will they just let us go easily?"

The meaning was simple: since it was like this anyway, they might as well make a move first.

Shi Chun actually meant the same thing; their thinking in this situation aligned.

However, Shi Chun gestured for Wu Jinliang to stop and asked Young Master Nan, "Are you afraid of the Ten Great Sects?"

Young Master Nan stroked his goatee at the question. "Honestly, I don't know how to answer that. It depends on the context. In terms of strength and influence, I'm certainly not their equal. But if they dared to provoke me without cause, they might not gain much either."

Having known him for so long, Shi Chun was naturally aware of his background. He knew Young Master Nan wasn't exaggerating, as his ancestors' prestige still commanded respect, and some people would indeed show deference when necessary.

It was precisely because of this that Shi Chun resolutely said, "Help me swallow it."

Young Master Nan's eyes widened, almost popping out. He waved both hands frantically. "You think too highly of me! I wouldn't dare provoke any of the Ten Great Sects. One might be manageable, but ten of them practically represent the entire artifact forging world! Even someone like Gan She, whose family still holds high positions, suffered losses at their hands. Who am I to compare?"

"What are you looking at? Keep copying!" Shi Chun first reprimanded Tong Mingshan, who had stopped writing to listen, then turned to Young Master Nan. "Here's the thing: we'll settle the accounts face-to-face. If they want to reclaim the items, they'll come after me, not you. The reason I want you to be present is precisely to prevent them from acting maliciously, relying on their power.

"Simply put, my transactions with them are between me and them. After I've exchanged money for goods with them, I'll hand the items over to you in front of them, stating that I owe you money and you're taking these items as payment. This way, they'll know the items are now yours. In reality..."

He pointed to himself, implying, "You understand."

Young Master Nan, who dealt with such financial schemes, immediately understood. He stroked his goatee and murmured, "Ah, I see..."

Shi Chun added, "We won't let you help for free. We'll put in more effort on our end to help reduce the Heavenly Refining Sect's chances of winning the championship."

Young Master Nan liked hearing this. If they had just met, he might have thought Shi Chun was boasting, but now, the words carried genuine weight.

He smiled broadly, but then his eyes darted around, and he pointed to the list Tong Mingshan was copying. "With such a large quantity of items in my possession, and the Ten Great Sects witnessing that you owe me, aren't you worried I might just swallow it all up?"

Shi Chun replied, "Given that Brother Nan personally came to the Divine Fire Domain to get us out, we'd accept it even if you did swallow it. The Ten Great Sects are bullies; I'm unwilling to not fight back when I can."

Young Master Nan was actually much older than Shi Chun, but they had become close friends, transcending their age difference. They called him 'Brother Nan,' and he called them 'Chuntian' (Spring) and 'Jinliang' (Weight).

Hearing this, Young Master Nan laughed heartily and pointed at Tong Mingshan, who had looked up. "Copy quickly, quickly!"

He then patted Shi Chun's shoulder. "Don't worry, as long as we can stop the Heavenly Refining Sect from winning, and as long as my own affairs don't fall apart, I'll definitely help you secure these items once they're in my hands. However... are you sure you want to do this? Making such a huge profit might feel good for a moment, but it's somewhat reckless. Once they find out you've sold to nine different sects, they won't let you off easily."

"We've already killed people from the Ten Great Sects; we've already made enemies," Shi Chun said lightly, glancing at Wu Jinliang. "Jinliang is right. If we don't do this, will they just let us off? We've never expected that being 'honest' would prevent them from crushing us, so we have no desire to be 'honest' either.

"If we just wait, things won't get better. If we can truly hurt them, they might even show us some respect, and then there's a chance things might pass. Brother Nan, our lives are cheap; we don't have the luxury of waiting around. We've always had to fight for what we get."

Wu Jinliang nodded in profound agreement. He had no intention of giving up on this matter; he was determined to fight to the end.

There was no alternative; his killing of Black Tiger from the Extreme Fire Sect was no secret. Because of that, he knew very well that the Extreme Fire Sect would never let him off easily. It was better to accumulate more capital for the struggle first.

"Sigh, this is my fault too. I shouldn't have gotten you involved. And as for the Star-Gazing Pavilion, I truly have no influence there. I just hope everything turns out alright," Young Master Nan sighed. He couldn't fathom how these guys managed to get into such massive trouble everywhere they went.

Speaking of the Star-Gazing Pavilion, Shi Chun asked, "When will the Mother-Child Talismans be able to connect again?"

He asked this because of Mulan Qingqing. He had no leverage against the Star-Gazing Pavilion itself, but its leader was Mulan Qingqing's father. If things went south, Mulan Qingqing was the only person he could think of to ask for help.

As for whether Mulan Qingqing would agree to help, he wasn't sure.

However, even without certainty, he had to try his best. It was merely a matter of finding more persuasive words. Other than that, he truly couldn't think of any other way to sway her. In terms of knowledge and talent, he was certainly no match. As for wealth, he was a joke in her eyes. And when it came to family background, he was even worse off. His only remaining advantage was probably his good looks.

Not using an advantage was akin to being a fool.

Chasing Mulan Qingqing had another benefit: even if Xiang Lan'er found out, it wouldn't matter. As long as he explained the reason, the Demonic Dao would probably be pleased.

In other words, he could continue pursuing Xiang Lan'er as well, killing two birds with one stone.

Young Master Nan pointed upwards. "Once the two-realm passage closes and the Divine Fire Spirit Gate concludes, the Mother-Child Talismans will function normally again."

Shi Chun said, "Brother Nan, please send someone out to find someone for me."

Young Master Nan replied, "No problem, who are you looking for?"

Shi Chun said, "Mulan Qingqing. She was on the island before, but I don't know if she's still there now..."

"Oh, her," Young Master Nan chuckled. "She's here. She's been on the island the whole time; she was still here before I came in. There's no reason she'd stop watching now that the Divine Fire Covenant competition is about to conclude."

He guessed that Shi Chun wanted Mulan Qingqing's help and knew that the two had dined together on the island before.

And he had to admit, it might actually work. When dealing with someone like Mulan Jin, traditional "face" or influence meant very little.

After that, he added, "By the way, you two still have Mother-Child Talismans for direct contact?"

Shi Chun nodded slightly, feeling a little worried. He had practically forced the talisman on Mulan Qingqing before, and she hadn't replied to any messages he'd sent since. He truly didn't know if she still kept it.

While they were talking, Tong Mingshan put down his brush, picked up the last sheet, blew on it, and stood up, saying, "Boss, it's all copied."

"Good." Shi Chun casually pulled a sheet from the table, turned, and walked directly out the door.

Everyone in the courtyard turned to look, as did Gu Lianni and Yuan Yao, who were waiting on the steps. Shi Chun went straight to them, handing a list to the two. "Please deliver this list to your sect leader."

The two were suspicious. Gu Lianni took it and saw it contained various artifact forging materials, with a large sum of money listed at the end. She couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"

Shi Chun replied, "My price."

Gu Lianni was puzzled. "Your price?"

Shi Chun countered, "Doesn't your sect want to know the origin of that item?"

Gu Lianni's heart jolted; she instantly understood. She immediately re-examined the list closely, having only glanced at it moments before.

Yuan Yao also couldn't hold back. Disregarding the distinction between men and women, he leaned in to look at the details on the list.

It was better they hadn't seen it clearly; once they did, both gasped sharply. Gu Lianni looked up in shock. "Such a huge amount of items, aren't you afraid of bursting your stomach?"

Shi Chun said, "This is a mutually agreed-upon transaction; no one is forcing anyone. I came to you first out of our acquaintance. If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to take it; I'll go to other sects." With that, he reached out to take back the list.

Yuan Yao immediately reached out and held his arm.

Gu Lianni quickly put the list behind her back.

What a joke! Neither of them was foolish. Even if they found it expensive, they couldn't let such a thing easily fall into someone else's hands.

"I can't make decisions on this. I'll report to the sect immediately. Wait for my news," Gu Lianni said, then ran off. As she left, she glanced at Young Master Nan, who was stroking his beard with a smiling face, and Wu Jinliang, who was grinning mischievously.

Yuan Yao cupped his hands and also hurried off after her.

Xiao Sheng, guarding the door, nodded in acknowledgment to the departing guests.

From the side room, Tong Mingshan emerged, having put away the eight copied lists. He saw Shi Chun, Young Master Nan, and Wu Jinliang standing in a row on the main hall steps, watching the guests leave.

The group in the courtyard was looking around curiously.

Young Master Nan suddenly mused, "I'm thinking, aren't there a bit too many items listed on that inventory? Nine sects... won't that be too many artifact forging materials, more than they can use?"

Shi Chun, however, was calm. "Not too many, it's fine. Artifact forging sects mainly have a lot of forging materials, which are also the easiest for them to gather quickly. Once we get the items, what we can't use, we can sell. Selling them and then buying other things is the same. I can't let them owe me, can I? Who would collect the debt later?"

His gaze and thoughts were somewhat distant as he spoke. He wondered if An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin had returned to their respective sects. If they hadn't, and instead returned here, how could he let Zhu Xiangxin's divine fire talent go to waste? He would definitely have to make Zhu Xiangxin pick up his alchemy skills again.

Alchemy alone was an extremely expensive pursuit, especially for those whose skills were not yet perfected. They would inevitably have to experiment through countless failures, requiring immense sums of money to pile up.

He also had to support so many people; the cultivation resources for all of them would cost money.

Where would all that money come from? This was the only way he could think of to earn it.

"Hmm, that's true. If they owe it, it might be unrecoverable," Young Master Nan nodded slightly in agreement.

At the provisional encampment of Hot Spring Mountain, a group of high-ranking officials immediately huddled together after hearing Gu Lianni's report, crowding around Gu Yanduo to examine the list.

"Thirty thousand catties of Purple Mother Essence, ten thousand catties of Red Meteorite, five thousand catties of Sky Curtain Silk, fifty thousand pieces of Ghost Slumber Crystal..." Elder Tu mumbled, reading through a large portion of the list, then couldn't help but snort. "What an appetite! He really dares to ask for so much!"

Gu Yanduo, who had scanned the list, was silent for a moment. After a while, he looked around and spoke without preamble. "Everyone, pool whatever you have on you. Whatever you contribute, the sect will reimburse you later."

Elder Tu was surprised. "Really give it to him? Does he even deserve to do business with our Hot Spring Mountain?"

Gu Yanduo retorted, "Then should we let other sects give it to him instead?"

Elder Tu was immediately speechless.

Another elder said, "What he's asking for is extensive and varied. We might not have enough on us, and sending people back to the sect to gather it might not be quick enough. If we're going to trade, we need to do it before the Star-Gazing Pavilion takes him away. Otherwise, who knows what will happen once he's there."

Gu Yanduo said, "Other things might be hard to gather, but these materials are a minor issue here. A multitude of artifact forging sects wouldn't be unable to gather this much. Our Hot Spring Mountain still has enough influence to borrow some items. We'll pool what we have first, borrow from the Blazing Fire Sect if it's not enough, and make up any deficiencies from other sects."

This was the final decision. Thus, the high-ranking officials of Hot Spring Mountain began rummaging through their pockets, consulting the list.