Chapter 360: Unfair
Translator: Novel Saga Editor: Novel Saga
Zhong Xiu and s.h.i.+ Mu returned to their residence after almost half-an-hour.
“Miss Xiu, what’s wrong?” s.h.i.+ Mu had noticed a hint of melancholy on Zhong Xiu’s face on the way. So, he asked with a frown when they got back home.
“Big Brother s.h.i.+, take a look at it.” Zhong Xiu said while handing s.h.i.+ Mu the jade slip that contained the detailed list of the goods for the auction.
s.h.i.+ Mu took the jade slip, and released his spirit sense to explore it. He looked at Zhong Xiu a moment later, and said, “If I remember correctly… some of these things are the same goods that we have just escorted here. These things can be regarded as high-ranked items if they are displayed at some ordinary auction. However, it might be impossible for you to defeat Elder Zhao if you only depended on these things. After all, these things are just some middle-ranked products out of that large batch of goods.”
“I think the same. Big Brother s.h.i.+, you must have been very tired during this period of time. So, you take a rest here for some time. But, I have something on my mind. So, I need to go out,” Zhong Xiu nodded in agreement. Then, she stood up, and said.
“Okay, be extra careful,” s.h.i.+ Mu said.
Zhong Xiu nodded, and walked out of the courtyard.
s.h.i.+ Mu sat down cross-legged, and looked around a couple of times.
However, Cai didn’t seem to be in the courtyard at this time. And, s.h.i.+ Mu had no idea where he had ran-off to play. But, this was the Rising Sun City. So, he was confident that nothing would happen to Cai. After all, Cai was very clever.
He heaved a sigh of relief at this thought. Afterwards, he took out a middle-ranked fire-attribute spirit stone, and clenched it in his hand. Then, he began to absorb the pure spiritual energy of this stone.
He had fought through many fierce battles in a row over the past few days. Moreover, he had been constantly on the move during this journey. This hectic journey had caused severe damage to his magic power as well as Real Qi. So, he was seizing this opportunity to recover his strength.
A series of fine red wisps flew out of the spirit stone, and started to blend into s.h.i.+ Mu’s body in a continual manner…
Time slowly pa.s.sed.
s.h.i.+ Mu realized that it was approaching dusk when he opened his eyes… The color of the sky had started to darken gradually.
He then threw away the spirit stone that he had held since it had lost its l.u.s.tre. There were already seven-or-eight red spirit stones around… including the one that he had just thrown. All of them had lost their spiritual energy by now…
s.h.i.+ Mu then stood up. He felt refreshed at the moment since his physical weariness had been swept away. Moreover, his Real Qi and magic power had been restored in his lower abdomen to the fullest. Furthermore, he could sense some obvious improvement in his strength. This feeling filled his heart with gladness.
s.h.i.+ Mu had started to try this way of strengthening his magic power and Real Qi through direct absorption of the spiritual energy of the spirit stone in the recent days. He would previously use this process only to restore his magic power and Real Qi at the time of crucial battles. In fact, he would use this way only to meet a contingency.
After all, spirit stones were considered a kind of important resource and trading currency in the Eastern Continent since they were in a very short supply there. In fact, n.o.body would generally choose this option even though there were many people who knew that spirit stones could be used for practice.
There was a time when s.h.i.+ Mu had slaughtered several Xian Tian as well as Earth-ranked powerhouses. And, he had had very small wealth at that time. So, he hadn’t been able to build up the courage to use his spirit stones for practice when he had self-examined himself at that time.
However, he had eventually experienced the sweetness of this process after having gone through it several times over the recent days. In addition, he had understood the reason why people were so desperate to earn spirit stones.
The spiritual energy in a spirit stone was a very highly concentrated form of the energy that was present in the surroundings. So, it would automatically transform into the purest stream of Real Qi and magic power after being absorbed into one’s body. Then, that Real Qi and magic power would flow throughout the veins and muscles. And, they would eventually merge into the person’s Real Qi vortex and Qi palace in the lower abdomen. This kind of absorption speed was much faster than that of absorbing the spiritual energy from the surroundings. And, it would grow faster with each subsequent practice.
s.h.i.+ Mu had also discovered that the result of practicing through spirit stones was comparatively better at the time when his Real Qi and magic power were completely exhausted.
The practicing speed of martial warriors and magicians of the Western Continent was much faster than those of the Eastern continent. And, this clearly had a relations.h.i.+p with the abundance of spirit stones here.
Sounds of footsteps spread from outside the courtyard at this moment. And, this interrupted the train of s.h.i.+ Mu’s thoughts.
The courtyard’s door was pushed-open after some time, and Zhong Xiu walked in. Her facial expression didn’t look so good at this time.
“Miss Xiu, what’s the matter?” s.h.i.+ Mu asked.
“Big Brother s.h.i.+, I just made some discreet inquiries related to this issue,” Zhong Xiu’s words were accompanied by a sigh.
“Is this matter concerned with the goods for the auction?” s.h.i.+ Mu asked again.
“Yes, I have already inquired about it properly. City Lord Linghu has allocated goods for this auction to the Chamber of Commerce. However, almost all precious goods have been taken away by Elder Zhao.” Zhong Xiu said in an indignant tone.
“It seems that this matter is somehow related to that man w.a.n.g Rui Kun,” s.h.i.+ Mu said.
“You’re right, Big Brother s.h.i.+. This matter has indeed received Vice President w.a.n.g’s tactical consent. I’ve just found out that Elder Zhao apparently has some family relations.h.i.+p with Vice President w.a.n.g.” Zhong Xiu said.
“So, that’s the case. That man w.a.n.g Rui Kun seems to be a person of integrity and fairness. Who could’ve thought that he would stoop so low?” s.h.i.+ Mu said.
“In fact, he’s still fair to a certain extent. The things that have been allocated to me are just ordinary goods. However, they are comparatively larger in quant.i.ty. In other words, the goods a.s.signed to me are almost the same as Elder Zhao’s if they are compared on the basis of their market value,” Zhong Xiu added.
“This is the shrewdness of this old man. No one can get hold of any evidence against him due to his prudent move. You must know that the value of ordinary products won’t show major fluctuation at the auction. However, you can’t say anything with accuracy as far as the high-value products are concerned. This problem is still not alarming. However, we can’t rely only on these things for the auction. We’ll have to think of another plan,” s.h.i.+ Mu pondered for a moment, and then said.
“It’s not all about the goods for the auction. I just went to the auction site that is situated in the western part of the city… The peripheral environment and popularity of that site can be considered much better than that of the black pavilion,” Zhong Xiu said.
“This crafty old man has indeed gone too far!” s.h.i.+ Mu couldn’t refrain from clenching his fist tightly when he heard these words.
s.h.i.+ Mu had heard Zhong Xiu saying something before the distribution of the venue. He then recalled the righteous appearance that w.a.n.g Rui Kun had displayed before the people in the morning. He couldn’t help but sneer inwardly as these thoughts tumbled in his mind.
However, a pair of soft little hands suddenly grasped s.h.i.+ Mu’s fist, and left him dumbfounded for a moment. s.h.i.+ Mu had been in a foul mood. But, his mood instantly returned to normal as a result.
“Miss Xiu, this situation seems very disadvantageous for you if we are to connect these two matters together, you…” s.h.i.+ Mu looked at Zhong Xiu, and said in a rather sympathetic tone.
However, he knew that Zhong Xiu appeared to be a delicate girl on the surface, but was a very strong-minded person on the inside.
“Big Brother s.h.i.+, I have thought about it deeply on my way home. I have two months of time for the preparation of this auction. The source of goods and popularity can be pulled back with the help of other means. I’ll try my best and fight for it despite the fact that the situation seems very unfavorable for us at the outset.” Zhong Xiu took a deep breath, and the expression in her eyes gradually became resolute.
She would never give up in front of s.h.i.+ Mu no matter what. After all, she didn’t want to become a burden to s.h.i.+ Mu. She rather wanted to take this opportunity as a pretext to do something for s.h.i.+ Mu.
“That’s good, Miss Xiu. You just rest a.s.sured; I will also render full support to you in this field of endeavor. There are some things in my possession that can also be put up for the auction in the name of the Chamber of Commerce,” s.h.i.+ Mu felt a flush of warmth in his heart when he heard her words. He then waved his hand, and took out five-or-six spirit tools… as well as a small jade box.
Zhong Xiu was stunned to see these things. She then swept a cursory glance over those spirit tools. And, she was overwhelmed with exultation…
The quality of these spirit tools was exceptionally good… so much so that they were far better than the spirit tools that w.a.n.g Rui Kun had transported in that batch of goods.
“Big Brother s.h.i.+, you don’t need these spirit tools? Don’t do this for me…” it seemed as if Zhong Xiu had thought of something. She then asked with some concern.
“It’s no big deal. After all, I don’t even use these spirit tools. In fact, I had been looking for a chance to sell them off. And, this is a perfect opportunity to do so. Therefore, it can be considered as a master-move that can help us achieve two things at one stroke,” s.h.i.+ Mu replied with a smile.
“Well… then I will take Big Brother s.h.i.+ to sign the entrustment agreement tomorrow,” Zhong Xiu felt relieved when she heard his reply.
She then picked up the jade box that was beside the spirit tool, and opened its lid. A small and fiery-red stone was kept in it; it was almost the size of a fingernail. It actually a Star Stone!
s.h.i.+ Mu had grabbed two Star Stones from Di Feng’s clutch on that very day. One of them had been handed over to the City Lord Linghu Kuan, while the other one was here.
“Big Brother s.h.i.+, this… this Star Stone is excessively precious. You do know that Liu An and the others have their covetous eyes on these Star Stones? They are scheming very desperately to plunder these stones. So, I think it ought to have some wondrous usage. You’d better keep it. It’ll be very regrettable to put it up for the auction,” Zhong Xiu’s facial expression looked solemn when she said.
“What’s so regrettable about it? It’s merely a Star Stone. It’s not worth a penny compared to Miss Xiu’s freedom. This stone can be treated as the final-show-case product at the auction,” s.h.i.+ Mu beckoned with his hand, and said in a casual manner.
There was still a much bigger Star Stone in s.h.i.+ Mu’s possession. So, it was much superior to this small Star Stone in every aspect.
However, s.h.i.+ Mu was unlikely to bring that Star Stone out in any case. It wasn’t because he was reluctant to do so. Instead, it was because he thought that Zhong Xiu might get caught up in an unexpected situation if he took it out before her.
He knew that a small piece of Star Stone could lead to a bloodbath anywhere… regardless of whether it was the Eastern Continent or Western Continent. So, there was a higher probability that a fist-sized Star Stone could trigger a catastrophic situation once it was taken out.
“Big Brother s.h.i.+, thank you.” Zhong Xiu looked at s.h.i.+ Mu, and a faintly sparkling and translucent thing rolled down her beautiful eyes.
“Well, there is no need to thank each other between us. After all, I’m counting on you to take me to the Rising to the Heavens Mountain Peak for a stroll!” s.h.i.+ Mu caressed her beautiful hair as he said with a smile.
There had been a tensed expression on Zhong Xiu’s face this entire time. But, that taut face finally melted away by s.h.i.+ Mu’s words. She then moved a few steps forward, held s.h.i.+ Mu in an embrace, and buried her head in his chest.
s.h.i.+ Mu felt warm and fragrant arms around him… like soft jade. In addition, the faint aroma of a maiden’s body lingered around his nose. Consequently, his heart couldn’t help but flutter. Simultaneously, his breathing also became a bit louder.
Zhong Xiu had apparently felt the subtle changes in s.h.i.+ Mu’s body. Therefore, a flush of shyness rose to her cheeks. But, she still didn’t push him away.
“Wow, I can see that the two of you are taking advantages of my absence, and embracing each other again!” an ear-piercing voice resounded at this moment.
It was Cai’s voice, but it couldn’t be said where he had come from. He flew over, and landed in the courtyard. He then made a playful expression when he saw them hugging each other.
s.h.i.+ Mu’s brows creased. He then turned his head, and shot a dreadful glare at Cai.
Cai moved away from his line of sight, and pretended like he hadn’t seen anything.
However, Zhong Xiu’s cheeks turned bright red, and she quickly loosened her hold on s.h.i.+ Mu.
“Big Brother s.h.i.+, I’m going to take a rest,” Zhong Xiu’s voice sounded like the sound of a housefly. Then, she lowered her head, and went towards her room at lightning speed.
s.h.i.+ Mu glared at Cai in a ferocious manner once again, and lifted his hand. But, Cai fluttered his wings and flew away into the distance before s.h.i.+ Mu could do something.
s.h.i.+ Mu didn’t pursue him. He simply took a deep breath, and tried to pacify his somewhat agitated mood for a moment.
He then came to the courtyard in spite of returning to his house. Then, he jumped onto the roof.
A crescent moon was slowly rising above the horizon.
s.h.i.+ Mu sat down with his legs crossed, and a.s.sumed a posture with his hands raised skyward.
s.h.i.+ Mu hadn’t practiced the Moon-Swallowing Art for several days. So, he needed to make up for it now.