Star Gate

Chapter 582: Bluffing Too Much (II)

The Steadfast Duke was the overlord of the east. He wouldn’t be able to run if he robbed this little minor monster spirit—he could only do so if he gave up his family property. That was not up for debate. He would never relinquish two centuries of Xu accumulation for simply Water of Life.

Not only could he not seize anything from the monster spirit, but he had to protect it well. He scanned those on the scene when his thoughts traveled here.

“All of you are the pillars of my household, so I do not wish to witness any disappointing developments. Water of Life is precious, but there will be plenty of other opportunities to obtain it in the future. If we strike a full alliance with the Kui Mountains, I believe that we will not lack for this resource.

“Do not relinquish longer term benefits for the sake of profits at hand. If we can reach an agreement, I trust that something carried by a minor monster spirit will not be too costly to trade for.”

The group found the wisdom in his words after thinking it over. Someone immediately began a string of flattery.

“This is evidence of Your Grace’s prosperous fortunes! Your name has moved the Kui Mountains to the point where they send the descendant of an ancient monster spirit to discuss an alliance.”

Xu Qing smiled without a word, but was naturally very proud of himself. However, there was a troublesome detail in the way—the Windchaser Boots!

Indeed, the Windchaser Boots.

That was what the monster spirit wanted and his greatest point of contention. If it was anything else, truly anything else, he would hand it over without a second thought in order to partner with the Kui Mountains and their ancient monster spirits.

But the treasure of the eight families...

The Steadfast Duke was highly conflicted. One had already been seized, leaving just one behind. He wasn’t sure what to do. That these ancient existences all wanted the Windchaser Boots meant that they were indeed an incredible treasure. One he was unable to use. As incredible as they might be, he was unable to transform it into battle strength or any other benefits.

As various thoughts floated to the forefront, he decided to wait a bit longer. “You go first.” He looked at his son. “Try to satisfy whatever demands it has. If it mentions the Windchaser Boots again, tell it that the treasure will be available when I emerge from seclusion. It cannot be shown now.”

“Understood, father, I will be off then.” Xu Xing quickly departed.

“We need to placate this ancient monster spirit first.” The duke looked at the rest when his son returned to the front hall. “Stay on your toes, the grand ceremony begins at daybreak. We need to be on guard against the rest of the region delegates. We’ll intimidate them if we can, but if not...”

He looked at the golden monster spirit in the image and pondered, could he make use of this monster spirit? Although their partnership was not set in stone, it wasn’t out of the question to borrow the Kui Mountains name to subdue the four corners.

......

In the Hall of Visitors.

The second steward was quite resigned by Li Hao raising a fuss in wanting to see the treasury. The man was enormously relieved to see Xu Xing appear.

The second master was completely distracted from the task of setting up for the ceremony. The jug of Water of Life was the only issue on his mind. “Where would the envoy like to go?” He beamed brightly at Panther.

“Your treasury. Your servant dare refuses...”

“A misunderstanding, that was all a misunderstanding! The envoy is a lofty descendant of an ancient monster spirit, what is a mere treasury worth? Steward Ming doesn’t understand any of this, which is the cause for this misunderstanding.” Xu Xing smiled fawningly. “I will take the envoy there. It’s just a collection of trinkets that are not worthy of attention. It would be our honor if the envoy is interested.”

Hidden in Panther’s stomach, Li Hao cackled silently to himself. As he thought! Although it’d been a risk he’d taken, it wasn’t that much of a risk when he faced the smart and ambitious. If he was up against someone like He Yong, Li Hao would never proceed in such a brazen manner. That would absolutely spell his doom as He Yong would smack Panth to death and seize the jug of Water of Life.

As for the trouble that would create, what did that have to do with him? If the Kui Mountains waged an expedition against the royal family, he might even stay to watch the show.

Therefore, different strokes applied for different folks. Li Hao had made the right moves with the Steadfast Duke. When it came to people like He Yong, they needed to be served with a punch!

Li Hao snickered to himself and continued to play the role of a brash monster spirit. “That’s true, how can you have anything good? Any that exists was dug up from the ground. But sometimes, you don’t recognize the value of what you’ve found and don’t know how to use what you’ve discovered.

“This king loves hunting for treasure. What you don’t understand, this king might. That will be this king’s fortune then! How about giving me some of what I set my eyes on?”

“That’s but a small matter.” Xu Xing nodded with a smile. His father had said to satisfy this descendant of an ancient monster spirit as best he could, so of course he would have no other opinion. Not to mention, only subpar items were stored in the treasury. Would the actual treasures be placed there?

Storage rings weren’t vases for show. The real treasures were all in his father’s storage ring. Not even Xu Xing had the right to touch them.

The second young master led Panther to the depths of the rear yard without further word. Panther looked around as they walked; Li Hao unleashed his mental strength without reservation and probed everywhere he could. He was so presumptuous that it was like this was his territory instead.

Xu Xing pretended he didn’t register the monster spirit’s actions. It could do whatever it wished—it didn’t look like it was gathering information, in any case. Rather, it demonstrated the curiosity of entering the human world for the first time.

In reality, Li Hao and Panther were truly curious. As the young man investigated, he sent out another mental ripple. “Ah right, what is your name?”

“Xu Xing.” As affronted as the man was, he had to answer.

“Oh I see, Little Xing... That’s a good name!” Li Hao complimented. “Little Xing, this place isn’t good...”

What now? Xu Xing heaved an inward sigh.

“This king has been uncomfortable since arriving,” Li Hao commented casually. “Like there’s something staring at me. Have powerhouses decided to target your family?”

Xu Xing’s heart shook. The monster spirit could sense even that? It was the descendant of an ancient monster spirit, alright! Its senses were so keen that it perceived something overlooked by the many powerful Novas that visited the complex.

Shifting awkwardly, Xu Xing didn’t say anything. This was a difficult matter to explain. This little monster spirit might erupt in a rage if he said anything, thinking that the duke had purposefully offended him.

Li Hao was only asking a test question, but swiftly gathered some conclusions when no response was forthcoming. After probing the surroundings, he realized it might not be an ordinary system surveilling him, but a treasure.

It wouldn’t be so inconspicuous otherwise. The Steadfast Duke possessed many treasures, given that he hailed from a family with two hundred years of history. In this day and age, two hundred years of heritage made the Xus a large clan, even an old and well-known clan. No wonder Xu Feng had been so cocky that day and so sure that Li Hao would not dare kill him.

A few humans and a dog appeared beneath the massive attic of a building after taking a few turns.

“This is the treasury of my family...” Xu Xing introduced.

Li Hao sent his mental strength outward again, assessing decent defenses for the treasury. There were two Solars secretly holding down the fort. It was a strong level of defense for this part of the treasury, since anyone who could find their way here meant that the complex had been breached. Whether it was Solars or Novas on duty here... it didn’t make a difference.

“This treasury is one whole, made from the strongest refined steel. Ordinary superhumans will not easily break it.” Xu Xing walked up to the door and took out a key from his storage ring. There was a golden lock on the door. “The treasury is not usually open to others. Only my father and I can unlock it...”

“These scraps of metal can be broken with a tap of a claw,” Li Hao commented indifferently.

“It can be readily broken by force,” Xu Xing chuckled. “But this is the manor of the Steadfast Duke. While it may not compare to the imperial palace in the Kui Mountains, this is a heavily fortified and guarded place in the human world. You’ll have to bear with us, envoy.”

The lock opened with a click; Xu Xing pushed the door open.

Panther’s nose twitched as it caught a whiff of some delicious scent. Li Hao hurriedly erupted with mind intent when the dog was about to drool. Don’t be so embarrassing, alright!

Xu Xing didn’t mind and walked forward with Panther. “There are three levels to the treasury, but they may not be filled with anything particularly precious to the envoy. The first level is storage for our reserves of mysterious power stones and mysterious power cubes. There are one hundred storage rings here, all filled with stones and cubes...”

There were only a few shelves on the first play with storage rings neatly arrayed on them. Li Hao’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head! Storage rings could not be stored inside each other, so each ring occupied a certain space. Regular people wouldn’t carry so many storage rings on them.

One hundred storage rings... and were they all full? How many stones would that be?! It boggled the mind!

“Do you Xus have an energy mine?” Li Hao asked offhandedly.

Xu Xing blinked. Energy mine?

“Does the envoy speak of the energy mines recorded in the ancient books?” he laughed ruefully after a while. “That we do not. We have this as a result of our findings in the ruins.”

“Oh, I see! I’ve seen some humans use those before, but all that is trash. Is that what you have here?”

“The trash that the envoy speaks of... I do not know. You are free to inspect them for yourself.”

Li Hao directed the dog in grabbing a storage ring and probed it with his mind. The dog then casually threw it back on the rack, like it didn’t care at all. It was as if the rings were less than trash.

In reality, the young man sucked in a sharp breath!

The storage ring was crammed full of mysterious power stones. There were at least ten thousand stones inside!

My word, what does this mean? Are there millions of mysterious power stones stored here? No way??

Li Hao had thought he was asking for the moon when he demanded thirty thousand from Silver Moon. The province had almost gone bankrupt, yet here the duke had more than one hundred storage rings in his treasury. If they all contained ten thousand at a minimum, didn’t that make for one million stones at least?

“This is all trash!” Li Hao denounced, despite his shock. “Is that all there is in the other rings as well?”

Xu Xing smiled awkwardly. Anyone who entered the family treasury would be overawed, but now they were being held in contempt. And by a monster spirit, nonetheless!