Chapter 100: The Deal Is Sealed

Faced with this sudden benefit, He Song’s eyes immediately sharpened with caution.

This man—what exactly does he want?

Is he trying to round off the price in reverse?

Or perhaps he intends to show a slight favor to me, using this opportunity to cultivate a closer relationship?

But why?

I merely sold some spirit rice; what’s there to cultivate closeness over?

Those twenty-two thousand pounds of spirit rice represent only the two-year yield of ten acres of spirit fields, which is not much by any standard.

Moreover, the two thousand spirit stones do not need to be paid out of Jiang Jun’s pocket.

Purchases of spirit rice and medicinal herbs are always covered by the Spirit Herb Pavilion itself.

Jiang Jun’s role in receiving me is merely procedural; these spirit stones have nothing to do with him personally.

If that is so, then why would Jiang Jun raise the price somewhat?

What is his intention?

Yet, as He Song’s mind brimmed with suspicion, a possibility suddenly dawned on him.

Could it be that this man wants a kickback?

Given Jiang Jun’s responsibilities in acquiring spirit herbs and rice for the pavilion, the only place for him to earn illicit income would be here.

He could slightly inflate the purchase price and then split the difference with the seller.

In this way, both parties gain: the buyer gets the goods, and Jiang Jun pockets some extra spirit stones.

His motive for raising the price now seemed clear in an instant.

With this realization, He Song’s gaze toward Jiang Jun took on a strange hue.

“Daoist Han, please hear me out,” Jiang Jun said smoothly. “Your spirit rice is truly excellent—plump grains filled with abundant spiritual energy, truly top-tier quality.”

“The price I offer comes with conditions.”

“If Daoist Han agrees to come to me for future sales of spirit rice, then I will purchase all your spirit rice at a fixed price of two thousand spirit stones.”

“What say you, Daoist Han?”

As he spoke, a small slip of paper appeared in Jiang Jun’s hand.

A trace of spiritual power flowed from his fingertips, inscribing neat lines of characters onto the paper.

When he finished speaking, Jiang Jun waved his hand, flashing the paper before He Song’s eyes.

Cultivators have keen eyesight, and He Song immediately read the words on the slip.

“Daoist Han, these twenty spirit stones will be split fifty-fifty between us. Ten spirit stones are yours to place into your small cargo storage pouch.”

At a glance, He Song felt enlightened.

His gaze toward Jiang Jun grew even more peculiar.

As expected, nearly every mid-level administrator within the Immortal Workshop had their own sources of illicit income.

Jiang Jun was no exception, nor was Zhao Lin, and He Song himself benefited similarly.

The methods varied: Jiang Jun manipulated purchase prices to net ten spirit stones per transaction; Zhao Lin profited by recruiting cultivators into the workshop; while He Song himself skimmed off losses in the herb garden, earning a dozen or so spirit stones annually.

He had never before considered that Jiang Jun’s illicit income came from such means.

Judging by his familiarity, Jiang Jun’s earnings from this were no small matter.

“Very well. If I have spirit rice to sell in the future, I will surely seek you out, Brother Jiang.”

Seeing no hostility—only a desire to profit—He Song pondered briefly and then agreed without hesitation, even addressing Jiang Jun as “Brother Jiang” to foster camaraderie.

He took up a small cargo storage pouch nearby and, with a thought, placed ten spirit stones inside.

Meanwhile, Jiang Jun’s smile briefly flickered away.

Opportunities to pocket ten spirit stones like this were rare; if not for the quality of He Song’s spirit rice, he might never have found such a chance.

“In that case, I shall await your arrival, Brother Han. When the opportunity arises, I will surely invite you to drink three hearty cups!”

With the deal concluded, both parties received what they desired.

Naturally, the atmosphere was cordial; they toasted with tea instead of wine and soon ended the transaction.

One thousand nine hundred and ninety spirit stones were now in He Song’s possession.

He bade Jiang Jun farewell and hastened to the guesthouse of the Spirit Hare Immortal Workshop.

Every Immortal Workshop had several guesthouses; itinerant cultivators lacking a fixed place to stay, who did not wish to leave the workshop overnight, would reside there temporarily.

However, the daily lodging fees at guesthouses were considerably higher than renting rooms outside the workshop.

One spirit stone was required per day.

Unless one was wealthy and unwilling to linger long, few cultivators chose to stay in guesthouses.

Renting outside the workshop cost just ten spirit stones per month, while staying in the guesthouse cost thirty per month.

In other words, if wandering cultivators could grit their teeth and endure a while, they'd rather rent outside.

Guesthouses were not intended for ordinary wandering cultivators.

Inside, the spiritual energy was rich, nearly matching that of the inner workshop, and protective formations concealed everything within the rooms, ensuring no disturbances.

Naturally, the presence of formations justified the higher cost.

After renting a room and renewing for five days, He Song quickly entered his chamber and activated the guesthouse’s concealment formation, hiding all traces of his presence.

He then ignored the simple decor and stripped off his black robe.

With a flicker of flame, the black robe he wore instantly turned to ash.

Simultaneously, He Song employed his object control technique, channeling spiritual power to cleanse himself and the two storage pouches he carried.

Once he had thoroughly purified his entire body and possessions, leaving no trace or tracking marks, he retrieved another black robe and cloaked himself once more.

Then, his figure vanished beneath the ground, swiftly bursting out of the guesthouse and rapidly departing the Spirit Hare Immortal Workshop, heading west toward the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Workshop.

This was the escape plan He Song had carefully prepared in advance.

After completing the spirit rice transaction, he could not guarantee he wasn’t being watched.

But if he stayed in the guesthouse, those watching would be forced to wait outside.

Slaughter was forbidden within the workshop, especially inside guesthouses.

Therefore, there was no need to fear security threats.

Upon entering the guesthouse, he immediately activated the concealment formation, hiding all traces of his aura.

Thus, even if he vanished underground the next moment and fled swiftly using his earth-escape technique, maintaining his aura’s concealment spell, no one would detect his subterranean presence.

(End of chapter)