Chapter 548: Make a Friend

The two brothers suddenly thought of the same thing: among the relics of Jin Zhan in the Moon Sea Secret Realm, there seemed to be a pile of tickets marked "Six Realms Universal Exchange."

They couldn't recall the specific patterns on the tickets, but the words "Six Realms Universal Exchange" had left a deep impression. Being inexperienced, they had only ever seen such an inscription on those tickets.

Now, with the black-faced general pulling out another ticket, they weren't quite sure if it was a form of currency for transactions.

The tickets from Jin Zhan's relics were likely ancient currency, so what was the deal with the ticket the black-faced general held?

This type of ticket certainly wasn't used within the Heavenly Court's Four Great Continents. Even if this was indeed the Underworld, it had only been sealed eight hundred years ago, and such ancient currency would likely have been out of use long before then. For a self-isolated Underworld, what good was a "Six Realms Universal Exchange"?

The concept of the Six Realms dated back to a very, very long time ago.

Thus, the two were a bit confused about the situation.

Looking at the denomination on the ticket in the other party's hand, they saw the character "拾量" (ten liang). In ancient times, currency used "liang" as a unit. By current standards, the ticket in the general's hand was likely equivalent to ten units of sandalwood gold.

Then they recalled the tickets Jin Zhan had left behind; one seemed to be worth a million liang. The difference was quite substantial.

Wu Jinliang leaned his head close to Shi Chun and whispered, "Are the items still there?"

He was asking about the pile of ancient coins from Jin Zhan's relics, which had long lost their monetary value. He was worried Shi Chun might have casually disposed of them.

However, they hadn't been disposed of. The Qiankun Bracelet had ample space, and an extra box was of no concern.

Shi Chun lowered his sleeve to conceal his hand, secretly casting a spell to access the bracelet. He found the box, opened it, pulled out a single ticket from a stack, pinched it between two fingers, and, with a flick of his sleeve, revealed it, asking tentatively, "This one?"

Wu Jinliang immediately brought the sandalwood gold flame in his hand closer to the ticket, intentionally allowing the other party to see it more clearly.

The patterns on the two tickets were clearly different. The one in Shi Chun's hand was intricately patterned and colorful, conveying a sense of vastness, while the other party's was noticeably simpler, even slightly smaller in size.

Upon seeing the ticket in Shi Chun's hand, the black-faced general's gaze instantly fixated, his jaw dropping as if it couldn't close. He stood there, gasping with an open mouth.

What was happening? Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang exchanged glances again, somewhat bewildered by the other party's reaction, wondering if he would explain himself.

At the same time, Shi Chun had to divert his attention to maintain the spell gripping the bundle of golden threads. He didn't know how long he could forcibly control them, but one thing was certain: the longer this dragged on, the higher the risk of complications.

After a while, the black-faced general swallowed hard, his voice slightly off-key. "Money worth a million liang is rarely circulated nowadays. Are you two perhaps joking with me, trying to fool me with counterfeit money?"

Shi Chun didn't bother arguing with him. He simply cast a spell and flicked the ticket over.

He had plenty of them anyway; one more or one less made no difference.

The black-faced general grabbed it, first flapping it around, which caused a faint green glow under his spell. Then he sniffed it, put it to his nose, and finally licked it. His eyes immediately lit up, and he looked uncontrollably excited, his hands trembling slightly as he exclaimed, "It truly is a 'million liang' coin containing a million!"

What did that mean? Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang exchanged glances again, somewhat perplexed and filled with uncertainty. Could it be true? Were Jin Zhan's ancient coins actually useful here?

However, neither of them dared to voice their doubts. Being in an unfamiliar place, revealing their ignorance might not be a good idea, especially concerning money.

Moreover, if this truly was the sealed Underworld, and news broke that someone could enter and exit it, the two brothers might not be able to bear the severe repercussions.

The black-faced general, having finally composed himself, suddenly held up the large-denomination money, his eyes showing reluctance. "I can't make change for this highest denomination."

Highest denomination? The brothers exchanged another glance, shocked. Jin Zhan's ancient coins were truly useful?

Shi Chun confirmed again, "Is this 'rule' still acceptable?"

The black-faced general's eyes instantly widened with surprise. He tentatively asked, "Are you perhaps giving it all to me?"

Shi Chun had many questions but dared not reveal his hand easily. So he countered, "That depends on whether you, my friend, understand the 'rules'."

The black-faced general hurriedly said, "Easy to talk about. The previous soul theft, which seems to have followed the same pattern as this one, must have also been your doing, right? Don't worry, I'll report it as a loss to my superiors. I'll erase both incidents for you, as if they never happened."

Report as a loss? Erase? Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang couldn't help but ponder the meaning of his words, as they were unfamiliar with the local customs.

Seeing their prolonged silence, the black-faced general assumed they were dissatisfied and looked a bit troubled. "You've given a considerable amount of money, but to completely clear this matter, I'll also need to manage things up and down the chain, won't I? Or, if you truly need these souls, I can let you take a few more?"

Shi Chun finally understood. It seemed the value of a million was not low. Not only could it clear this matter, but it could also allow them to take more souls. He wondered how many "some" referred to. In the outside world, a million units of sandalwood gold might not be enough to make a high-level Earth Immortal violate rules in such a chaotic manner.

At the very least, this million was enough to make a high-level Earth Immortal reveal an unworldly demeanor.

"Hehehehe..." Wu Jinliang chuckled.

After gradually figuring things out, they realized the black-faced general before them was quite a character. He had just declared soul theft a grave sin against reincarnation, yet a payment could resolve it in an instant.

Shi Chun then tentatively asked again, "Are you sure you can handle this matter?"

The black-faced general replied, "Don't worry, the 'value' contained within this million is enough for ten people to have a good reincarnation. Who doesn't wish for themselves and their family to have a good cycle? Brother, how many more souls do you want? Give me a number quickly. The sooner we deal with it, the better. Delaying will only bring more unnecessary trouble."

Shi Chun glanced at the golden threads still struggling in his hand, vaguely sensing that he couldn't maintain their suppression indefinitely. He immediately said, "No more. Today, I merely wish to make your acquaintance. May I ask your esteemed name?"

The black-faced general hesitated for a moment, but then thought that his name would be easily discovered if someone inquired, so there was no point hiding it. Besides, they had paid generously. He immediately cupped his hands and said, "My name is Laoxi. And you two are...?"

Before he finished speaking, he realized the impropriety of the question. They were criminals; how could they possibly reveal their true names to him?

Shi Chun, however, replied straightforwardly, "Wang Ping."

Wu Jinliang immediately understood what he should be called and added, "Gao He."

"Wang Ping, Gao He..." The black-faced general mumbled, making a mental note. However, his gaze towards them was tinged with suspicion. Criminals usually didn't volunteer their real names, so he doubted the authenticity of the names given.

Shi Chun suddenly asked again, "I forgot, what realm is this?"

The black-faced general paused, then replied, "Wandering River."

Shi Chun uttered an "Oh," and with a flip of his hand, tossed something over.

The black-faced general subconsciously reached out to catch it. Upon seeing what it was, he realized it was half of a mother-child talisman.

Seeing his ordinary reaction, Shi Chun knew that the mother-child talisman functioned normally here. He immediately said, "Brother Laoxi, if there's another opportunity for cooperation, we'll contact you again. It might be me personally, or I might send someone else to negotiate with you. Either way, you won't be mistreated, so please don't decline."

The black-faced general understood what "won't be mistreated" meant and immediately replied cheerfully, "As long as one understands the 'rules', everything is negotiable."

He held up the mother-child talisman in his hand, accepting it on the spot.

Shi Chun said, "Then we'll be withdrawing now. We hope Brother Laoxi won't pursue us."

The black-faced general extended his hand amiably, "Please do."

Shi Chun immediately signaled Wu Jinliang, then released his magical suppression. His body was pulled back to the mountain by the retracting bundle of golden threads.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, he once again cast a spell, using rings of green qi to suppress the golden threads. Only after Wu Jinliang, who was covering their retreat, returned and retrieved the three-in-one magic artifact, did Shi Chun grab Wu Jinliang's arm, and together they followed the large bundle of golden threads as they retracted into the black hole.

Looking back, they saw the exit of the passage behind them vanish like a ripple.

After waiting for a moment, the black-faced general finally flashed to the mountain to look around. He saw nothing; the people had vanished without a trace. Still, he stroked his sideburns and mumbled, "These two fellows have quite strong yang energy on them."

As he spoke, he pulled out the large-denomination ticket to look at it again, becoming uncontrollably excited. He couldn't help but kiss it several times, then held it to his chest, groaning blissfully, "I'm rich!"

After finally composing himself, he glanced around and swiftly flew away.

On the other side, Shi Chun, who had abruptly emerged from the black hole, released the restriction on the golden threads the moment he landed. He and Wu Jinliang simultaneously looked up as the black hole above them dissipated and vanished. Then they looked at the dirt wolf, into which the light speck had entered; indeed, it shuddered and came back to life.

Wu Jinliang asked, "Was that the Underworld?"

Shi Chun replied, "It should be. Their cultivation methods are not from the mortal realm."

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "They don't care who you are, they just boldly demand bribes. That's not courage, Chun; it seems the rules in this Underworld are a bit chaotic."

Shi Chun said, "Let's go up first, then we'll talk."

"What about this guy...?" Wu Jinliang pointed at the dirt wolf, which had revived and was now growling hostilely.

"It's already abnormal. Leave it. Let's go." Shi Chun paid no mind to the life or death of such a creature. However, a corpse brought back to life was indeed unnatural.

Wu Jinliang, having once accidentally killed something by kicking it, merely asked if it was still useful. Since it wasn't, he left it. He immediately used his earth-tunneling spell to take Shi Chun away, burying the dirt wolf alive underground.

Emerging from the ground once more and seeing the sunlight, Wu Jinliang stretched his arms and chest with a sigh of emotion. It felt somewhat dreamlike; he hadn't expected to suddenly visit the Underworld.

Shi Chun, after a brief moment of thought, took out a mother-child talisman and summoned Chu Jingting and Lao Changtai.

When the two arrived and didn't see Xiao Sheng, Chu Jingting asked, "Where's Old Xiao?"

Shi Chun replied, "Never mind him. There's an important matter I need you two to handle. Are you up for it?"

Chu Jingting couldn't help but sigh, "We've done our fair share of life-threatening tasks. Tell us, where's the adventure this time?"

He almost said that he was already used to it.

Shi Chun calmly uttered two words: "The Underworld!"

Wu Jinliang, who had been admiring the grand landscape, turned back in astonishment. What was going on? The boss was sending two people to the Underworld?

Chu Jingting and Lao Changtai, however, were startled and instinctively stepped back defensively.

Lao Changtai, his expression tense, said, "Boss, that's not a funny joke. We haven't done anything to offend you, have we?"

Chu Jingting also nervously asked, "Boss, is there some misunderstanding?"

To say they weren't scared would be a lie; they knew they were no match if it came to a fight.

Seeing their reactions, Wu Jinliang knew they had misunderstood and couldn't help but hold his head and laugh. It wasn't hard to understand, though; nowadays, the Underworld was a one-way street, a place one could only go after death.

Shi Chun also smiled. "You're overthinking it. I'm not sending you there to die, but I can open a passage to send you. Jinliang and I just went there. Now we need people to mingle there and help us understand the situation. It feels like a place where money can get things done easily. I'll provide you with money. You can inquire about some of the local rates, for example, how much it costs to hire experts to fight."

"Uh..." A strange sound came from Wu Jinliang's throat. He turned to stare at Shi Chun as if looking at a monster. Pay people to fight?

He now somewhat understood why Shi Chun had exchanged contact information with the black-faced general earlier.