âItâs good if you die, I will buy firecrackers for your funeral. See, at least there is still someone who cares enough for you.â Li Qiye smiled.
âAnd I appreciate it.â The old man chuckled.
Meanwhile, the girl thought that these two didnât sound like friends, just acquaintances. All in all, their attitude was very confusing to outside listeners.
âIs it that thing?â The old man looked at the wooden box.
âThree leaves, just so that you can have a smell. Thatâs how you found your way here, right?â Li Qiye smiled.
The old man looked up and stared at Li Qiye for a long time before nodding: âYou do have it, I see. Iâve been searching for a long time but couldnât get it due to various constraints.â
âYouâre just fishing, donât call it searching for a long time.â Li Qiye said.
âAre you the fish? Or maybe youâre the fisherman and Iâm the caught fish.â The old man smiled.
Li Qiye laughed and didnât comment on this.
The old man picked up the wooden box and opened it for a look. Meanwhile, Bai Jinningâs neck seemingly stretched quite a bit. She was very curious about this so-called priceless treasure.
She thought that Li Qiye wouldnât be able to produce something of that level, at least based on his appearance.
The old man saw three leaves inside, as green as can be. A majestic aura struck him in the face.
Bai Jinning also felt as if she was inside an ancient forest with boundless life forces. However, she didnât get a good look before hearing a pop - the old man closing the box tightly.
Despite not seeing them well, the aura just now left a deep impression on her. The three leaves were equivalent to three forest worlds.
A question popped up in her head - are these three leaves really priceless? They didnât look like immortal alchemy materials.
âThis is it, these three leaves are right. I will bring them back so others can take a look and celebrate this great news.â The old man nodded.
The old man recognized that these leaves came from the Three Immortals Tree, unlike Jinning. Li Qiye let them out in order to draw him here.
âMmm, Iâm waiting for my payment.â Li Qiye smiled.
âWhat do you want? Or rather, what must I do?â The old man looked at him.
âHmm, hard to say.â Li Qiye rubbed his chin in response: âHow about this? What do you guys have? Let me pick something suitable so I wonât go overboard, just to be reasonable.â
âIâm pretty sure you will try to extort us.â The old man didnât hold back.
âHaha, I was a little embarrassed and didnât want to do so, but now if I donât do it, Iâll be letting myself down. After all, you three have been setting up this net for too long and far. A fish such as myself deserves something sweet for biting, right?â Li Qiye smiled.
âThis isnât a good place to talk. Weâre just speaking without any proof, why donât you come to our place and weâll take our time there?â The old man pondered for a bit before answering.
âYou want a three-on-one? Itâll be a desolate place so what am I going to do if you decide to rob me?â Li Qiyeâs eyes narrowed with a smirk.
âYouâre afraid?â The old man smirked back.
âNo, your group should be the ones afraid.â Li Qiyeâs smile grew wider: âYouâre in a tough position right now so can you spare the effort to deal with me? Iâll be one taking everything mercilessly.â
âIs that so?â The old manâs eyes narrowed.
âCertainly. I donât mind taking on three at the same time since I want to see the apex of this world. Plus, I donât need to hold back in Three Immortals, unlike you three.â Li Qiye remained relaxed but his words were quite imperious.
He still sat there without posturing but Bai Jinning felt as if he was the ruler of the entire world. Everyone else crawled next to his feet like ants - including progenitors and emperors. He would only need to stomp to decimate them all.
She felt suffocated by this strange feeling. Li Qiye had turned into a completely different person.
âIâm immortal in Three Immortals all the same, but you three? Letâs pretend that weâre on even-footing, it still wonât end well for this world.â Li Qiye said.
The old man remained silent against the threat.
âYou think such a thing will happen?â He eventually smiled and said.
âWho knows? I just like items and thereâs no point in taking you down anyway, I donât benefit from it or feel accomplished.â Li Qiye smiled back.
âWeâre not your targets.â The old man said.
âThen letâs continue this transaction?â Li Qiye asked.
âLook at me and my pitiful cultivation, I donât have anything good. You have to come to our place for them.â The old man said.
âSo you still want me to visit your place.â Li Qiye smiled.
âWhy not? We wonât let you come there and leave empty-handed.â The old man became friendly right away: âPlus, Iâm sure youâll cross the ocean anyway even without this transaction, am I wrong here?â
âWhether I go or not is a different issue. Of course, the trip is not a big deal either.â Li Qiye said: âBut keep in mind that due to recent events, the path is very chaotic and itâll be harder. Donât you think the fare should be double, no, ten times the normal rate?â
âYou want to raise the initial price?â The old man didnât like this.
âNo, but the fare has to be ten times more than normal. Otherwise, how can I get to your place?â Li Qiye was blunt.
âHas anyone told you that youâre a merchant with no heart?â The old man said but didnât look angry at all.
âNo, you should be thanking me for being so nice by just raising the fare, the nicest man in the world, in fact. Iâm sure there are those who would pay more for what Iâm offering.â Li Qiye smiled.
âI donât think anyone can afford it.â The old man shook his head.
âReally? Thatâs true in the past but now, I know that some will be more than willing to pay a sky-high price.â Li Qiye added.
The old man had no response.
âYou would trade with those existences? Your targets should be them.â The old man eventually said.
âNo, theyâre not my targets.â Li Qiye shook his head: âOf course, Iâll be sweeping through them in the future, but itâs still fine to do business with them right now.â
âI doubt it.â The old man didnât believe it.
âYou think too highly of me, more than I do myself.â Li Qiye couldnât help but laugh.
âI donât think highly of you, just your dao heart. It told me everything I need to know.â The old man smiled back.
âThatâs why you three cast such a wide net to reel me in.â Li Qiye said.
âArenât you doing the same thing, trying to catch some big fish too. Otherwise, you wouldnât have come to us in the past.â
âFine, I will have to make do with this loss then.â Li Qiye nodded: âYou have my words, I will bring it to your place.â