"Nice doing business with you. I will visit you next time, when I'm in town and have something to sell," the blacksmith said and stood up to leave. He reached out his hand for a last handshake. Manager Fu did not react and only gave him a business smile.
"I'm afraid there won't be a next time," a rotund man said as he stepped into the garden, outside the pavilion. His robes looked incredibly tacky, using gold thread, colorful fabrics, and jewels in intricate, gaudy patterns. The only purpose of these garments was to look expensive, not good.
"We will keep the money and the gold. " It would be best if you leave your spatial treasure, too," the gold ball said confidently with a puffed-up belly. Seth sighed. He didn't have the time to deal with this spiel. He just wanted to get some money for their journey and let the girls wait at the carriage.
One smooth gesture of his hand was all it took to completely change the premise. His giant's Rod was pulled from the inventory, and the blacksmith cast the beginner magic, Earth Bind. The well-maintained bushes surrounding the pavilion, as well as a couple of trees in the distance, suddenly exploded.
Hand of stone had erupted from the earth below, breaking through the shrubbery and capturing the ten warriors trying to hide their presence in the surroundings. They had appeared while Manager Fu was getting the money.
There was no point in their attempt to die, as they could escape his
Miser Peng and Manager Fu jumped in shock at the sound of exploding shrubbery. Their eyes were ripped wide open as they witnessed all of their men get caught in an instant and slammed to the ground. The ten figures in dark cloaks were neatly lined up outside the pavilion, encased in shackles of stone.
"What if I don't want to? Then you will never leave this place alive. We will see about that. Men, get him! bla bla bla. Was that how you imagined this would go?" The bard recited the text of the scene emotionlessly, taking both of their roles.
"How could this be! These are the best one can hire in Konan! They are experts at the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm! How could this happen?" he exclaimed, trying to understand what was going on, as panic slowly set in.
"The peak?" Seth blurted out in slight confusion. The lv.47 guy, maybe, if he was generous. But the rest? "Maybe that one guy, but the rest, definitely not. These guys can barely be called cultivators," the bard shamed them mercilessly.
"Step back, Master Peng," Manager Fu suddenly said decisively and stomped his foot on the floorboard of the pavilion. With the sound of a screeching flock of birds, poison needles rained from the ceiling on the wooden structure.
To the horror of Miser Peng, only Manager Fu was turned into a porcupine. The smiling man's valiant sacrifice was nullified by Seth's
Seeing Manager Fu's fate, Seth was glad he didn't decide to tank it. Forget the robes, the man literally started to liquefy before his very eyes. It wasn't like being eaten away by acid or something, bit it was like his inside became liquid, while his skin became like a container for the slush.
"What the fuck is this shit?" the blacksmith asked, about to throw up. It reminded him of a lesson about how spider venom would liquefy the insides of its victims, so they could suck it out... The image that came with that thought didn't help him. Poison in the system was a status effect. It could cause pain, it could kill, but it was rarely this...graphic.
In an instant, manager Fu was engulfed in pale blue flames, turning the wailing sack of dissolving flesh into a pile of ashes. This was proper body horror, and Seth didn't sign up to see this kind of shit during his honeymoon.
"You!" The finger that just incinerated a person in the blink of an eye was now turned to Miser Peng, who jumped in fright. All the arrogance was gone from his attitude. The man was soaked in fear of who he had just offended.
"Spear me! Please spare this one's worthless life," the man screeched and threw himself off the ground. The expensive robes were rubbed in the dirt, as he begged for his life, face pressed in the dirt of his destroyed garden.
"You'd better fork out everything you have to make up for this," the blacksmith said sharply. His words were like a razor, sharpened by
"Yes, my Lord. Of course, my Lord! Please follow me, my Lord," he muttered over and over. He didn't dare stand up and stayed on all fours as he crawled ahead, his belly rubbing the expensive robes on dirt and floor.
The blacksmith frowned. He didn't appreciate the view of a man's fat ass. It was made worse by the fact that Miser Peng seemed to have pissed his pants...
Seth packed away the gold ingots and a couple of those needles before hesitantly following the money lender inside. He climbed the stairs to the study, where Miser Peng activated a mechanism that opened his secret vault filled with valuables.
For a moment, Seth expected he had activated another trap, but the man didn't seem in the right state of mind to even scheme anymore. The rotund man sat on the floor beside his desk like a dog, while the bard entered the vault.
There was nothing spectacular. Miser Peng was just a mortal man after all. There were another 10 000 Taels in paper bills, as well as two boxes of peculiar gold ingots in the shape of little ships. Ordinary jewelry, expensive art, and other clutter were stuffed into Legion's Space. In the end, his inventory had gotten fuller instead of emptier...
The one surprising find in the hoard of the money lender was a nice-looking sword. The sword, although forged of common steel, was one of the rare examples that the XiGuang Province had at least some proper craftsmen.
It was a slender, straight sword with no guard worth mentioning. It was light and well tempered. The guard hilt and scabbard had simple, tasteful engravings connecting them. This design didn't fit the gaudy money lender. He probably only owned it because others could appreciate the artistry and skill.
The blacksmith liked the design, so he decided to take it along. Since it was an ordinary weapon, it would make a usable prop for their disguise. On the other hand, if he had to use it in a fight with a cultivator, it would hold for a long time. Maybe a little inconspicuous upgrade wouldn't be a bad idea?
Miser Peng flinched when Seth looked at him. The blacksmith walked over, crouching down to be at eye level with the older man. Peng whimpered and avoided his gaze as if he could curse him with a glance.
"I will be honest with you. I intended to give you a taste of your own poison and leave," he said, holding one of the poison needles in front of Miser Peng's face. The oily, dark poison at the tip of the needle glinted in the light from the window. The money lender's eyes focused on the liquid.
"But I will offer you an alternative. How does eternal life sound to you?" the infernal scald asked, offering the greedy pig a deal it wouldn't decline.
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