Chapter 76
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Chapter 76: The Young Man’s Naïve Scheme
“He hides very well. Eight years ago, a girl in Tianlai City suffered from a terminal illness, and many cultivators were helpless, yet this deadly disease gradually healed.”
Li Hui casually found a place to sit down; the beggar community held sway in their territory. When he gave out money and food, he mentioned that a disciple training in the way of meditation was seriously ill, and that disciple had offered most of his wealth to do good deeds, hoping the heavens would grant him a few more days of life.
With over a hundred people around, there were all kinds!
Many came to Tianlai City to beg; some of the older beggars had been there for thirty years. Since he had spread some kindness, he would definitely receive a response.
The information was merely a collection of keywords strung together, like a necklace of pearls. As long as one was careful and willing to put in the effort, success was within reach.
But Li Hui had no time; the information was far too scant. That girl, after recovering, had been taken in by a cultivator and had left Tianlai City over seven or eight years ago.
“Medical sage, why are you hiding so deeply? It’s a pity the drunken talismans have a limited range; otherwise, I could easily intoxicate the entire city to find someone.”
With a flash of thought, Li Hui quickly shifted his approach and attempted to locate this high-level cultivator. However, the clues were simply too few. He considered deliberately pretending to be a special patient to lure them out, but he dismissed the idea at once.
If one were to be played for a fool, why then turn to the one who deceived them for help? It would only prove one thing: your intention was to poison the person deceiving you…
While Li Hui contemplated, he suddenly heard someone say, “Is this the monk? Go ask him if he wants to buy useless artifacts. Hahaha, if he does, I’ll get rich!”
In front of him stood several people, with a young man in fine clothing leading the group, walking with an air of arrogance.
With a couple of casual tosses, Li Hui threw out two bags of treasures, saying nonchalantly, “Fill them up first before discussing the price. This poor monk will leave tomorrow; finding another monk to collect artifact fragments won’t be easy.”
Though the young man was short, he was quite clever. His eyes lit up, and he pushed aside his companions, crouching down close to whisper, “Master, could you teach me the method to forge a convenient linked shovel from artifact fragments? I’m willing to pay a high price.”
At this, Li Hui regarded him with newfound respect, pondering for a moment before muttering, “I can tell you; it’s simply for convenience. You need to refine metals to forge various artifacts and blend them together. However! There’s a little trick; it requires a large number of lava talismans. This type of talisman is crucial, and fortunately, I know how to draw them. If you can gather as much blank talisman paper as possible for me, then I’ll teach you the talisman methods.”
The young man’s eyes blinked, filled with doubt, as the situation seemed too easy. Who discloses their secret recipe after just a simple inquiry? Seven or eight times out of ten, it’s a scam. He immediately changed his demeanor, sneering, “Oh, so the monk is setting a trap for people to fall into. Each piece of blank talisman paper costs money. Don’t you even check who I am? The master craftsman at Guanglu Pavilion is my grandfather! Who would be foolish enough to buy broken artifacts?”
“Alright, you have some brains!” Li Hui pointed to the bags of treasures on the ground, saying, “Open them and see what’s inside. I won’t hide it from you; I offended a high-level demon cultivator and killed Qiu Jiutian’s lover. I have no leisure to play with you. If you obtain the recipe, you can forge more convenient linked shovels and gain merit for this poor monk.”
The highest form of a lie is saying the truth: having a name, a reason, and evidence, along with one crucial factor—having money!!!
Yes, indeed, it was about the money!
The young man opened the bag, took a quick glance, then hurriedly tied it up again, bowing deeply at what felt like the fastest speed of his life: “Master’s noble intentions are greatly appreciated! This deal, I accept! I will return the bags within two incense sticks.”
Li Hui nodded absently, and the more aloof he was, the more the young man felt there was great potential.
What kind of monk is highly respected? Each person sees a different kind, yet the young man thought that a monk pursued by a high-level demon cultivator, planning to forsake all his wealth for a final fight, was the most respected of all.
That was someone who truly viewed wealth as worthless, believing one cannot take anything with them in death, so “sincerity can open even the hardest stones”—he should aim to empty the monk of his monetary assets.
But the young man was still too naïve; in foreign speak, it’s a child’s innocent scheme! The monk could have gone anywhere but sat right under the nose of Guanglu Pavilion, wasn’t it a bid for the willing to approach?
Yet conversely, compared to the young man, Li Hui was indeed the one willing to bite the hook; he too had his own goals but didn’t know where to latch on, needing to find the bait himself.
In under two incense sticks, the bags filled with artifact fragments were placed before the monk. However, the young man was shocked beyond measure when the monk produced five bags of treasures and casually waved the others away.
So collecting artifact fragments was measured by the “bag of treasures”? After opening the bags, the young man truly believed in the master before him. Inside the bags were various odds and ends, with some items evidently from demon cultivators.
There was little ordinary gold and silver, but there were more than twenty pieces of frost silver and dragon scale gold, yet there wasn’t even a single silver money symbol or money symbol in sight, indicating the monk still had supplies remaining.
“Hey, let’s hurry back and meet the master’s needs.”
The young man beamed, feeling giddy, for as the sole grandson of the master craftsman at Guanglu Pavilion, all the caravans had to show him respect. Thus, no one dared approach him to trade with the monk.
“Good! I initially thought a hundred or so pieces of artifact fragments would be the limit; I never expected the demand to be this high. My grandfather’s accumulated junk may not be enough; I’ll need to go out and gather a large quantity.”
Li Hui understood the reality that money is power; he simply sat there, staying put and steadily working toward his goal, transforming his clutter into urgently needed items piece by piece.
The young man returned with all five bags filled to trade, yet the monk still didn’t touch them. Instead, he tossed out fifteen bags of treasures all at once, startling him and making him exclaim: “Master, even if I emptied Tianlai City of all the artifact fragments, I couldn’t fill these bags. However, I’ve managed to collect some blank talisman paper and have already stored it in the bag.”
“It’s okay, do your best. Just bring the items by tomorrow noon, and I’ll gift you an exotic treasure.” Li Hui said as he got up, levitating away with the already filled bags of treasures, blending into the night illuminated by street lanterns.
“An exotic treasure for me?” The young man’s eyes sparkled with excitement, believing his opportunity had arrived. Coming back to his senses, he hurriedly opened the bag the monk left behind and was instantly overjoyed, inwardly cheering: “I’ve caught a big fish! Hahaha, look at all these alchemy pills, chain bags, spirit talismans, along with silver and money symbols. Even if the spirit talismans aren’t high-end, they must be worth more than those artifact fragments! I wonder how many cultivators this monk has harmed killing that demon cultivator.”
