Chapter 1215 Equal Exchange
“Why did you do that?” the old man questioned with a tone containing mixed feelings.
“I’m sorry. Master, I planned to go look for the life-saving medicine for you. But I was afraid that I couldn’t make it back. I was also worried about Uncle Wang and the others, for Uncle Wang wouldn’t be able to take care of more than 80 kids by himself. Thus, I decided to take action and leave them with crystal stones.”
“There are differences between a good deed and a bad deed.”
The old man heaved a sigh and said, “To you, you did this out of kindness. That place is, after all, the place where you grew up. However, to the one who has lost the crystal stones, what you did is bad. You shouldn’t have done this. As your master, I will fix this for you. My injury is already incurable. This is the last time I woke up. From today on, the world is your oyster. However, you must bear one thing in mind. No matter what, you must live up to your conscience, live up to your heart, and do things without any regrets or guilt. That is the correct path.”
“Master, I’ll engrave your words on my mind. But is, is it true that you can never recover?” Qin Changxiao said sadly. The rims of his eyes were slightly red as if he was about to cry.
“Your name is Qin Changxiao, which means you’re expected to laugh however life is. Don’t cry in front of me. That’s not what a man does,” the old man scolded.
Qin Changxiao gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and didn’t say anything.
Mengmeng and the others seemed to have cottoned on.
“Are you talking about an orphanage? Did you give the crystal stones you stole to the orphanage?” Mengmeng asked.
“Orphanage?” This was the first time that Qin Changxiao had heard this word. But after thinking about it, he thought that it seemed to be the right word to describe that place. “Yes, it’s an orphanage.”
“Oh, if it’s true, then, we won’t arrest you,” Mengmeng said.
“With your ability, you could have earned crystal stones through legitimate means. Why did you have to get the crystal stones by theft?” Felina asked in a frigid tone.
“To earn crystal stones, I would have to travel. But I couldn’t leave Chaos City,” Qin Changxiao said.
“Your words are self-contradictory,” Mengmeng suddenly said. “You just said that you would leave the Dragon Base Star.”
“I only made that decision lately,” Qin Changxiao lowered his head and said.
He did not want to stay here, waiting for his master to wake up for the last time and pass away. He hoped he could go out and fight for the opportunity to cure his master. Unexpectedly, his master woke up before he left.
The so-called waking-up referred to the recovery of consciousness. At normal times, the mind of Qin Changxiao’s master was in a muddle. Qin Changxiao rarely came to visit him, as his master might injure him. As the promising disciple his master trained in person, Qin Changxiao was only safe here when he had the identity token with him.
Just then, Qin Changxiao felt he could not fend off Felina’s strike. Helplessly, he entered the area where his master was.
“He is coming. How powerful his might is! How potent his ability is!” the old man suddenly remarked.
Everyone turned their heads and saw a flickering black dot in the distance. Every time it flickered, it leaped across a long distance. In a few seconds, it was already right in front of them.
This was the power of the connection between the Seven-star Sword and the Space Portal.
With this power, one could leap across the entire Sea Central Star Area, let alone the Dragon Base Star.
This time, Zhang Han only employed the space power of the Seven-star Sword. Coupled with a secret skill, this trip consumed merely a small amount of the Space Portal’s energy. It didn’t have much impact on the Space Portal and still enabled Zhang Han to get here speedily.
“Daddy,” Mengmeng called out from afar.
“I’m coming,” Zhang Han said in a soft voice. In a flash, he appeared beside Mengmeng, calmly casting his eyes at those ahead.
Mengmeng thought of how powerful her father was. If he thought she had been wronged, he would probably attack right off. Thus, she immediately said, “Daddy, they didn’t bully us.”
“Why is this just a wisp of a soul?”
Zhang Han’s eyes flashed with two thunderbolts, and a large amount of soul sense poured out of his body. Suddenly, he said, “Oh, you are dying. Your soul is damaged, and your body is about to perish. It seems that you have been trapped here like this for a thousand years.”
“Rustle!”
The old man’s figure shuddered a few times. Seconds later, in a bitter voice, he said, “You are good. You knew what happened to me at a glance.”
“A thousand years ago, were you at the God Transformation Realm Last-Stage or the Peak-Stage? Or perhaps in the Void-refining Realm? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Why did you call me here?” Zhang Han asked straightforwardly.
“Then I’ll get to the point,” the old man said. “I’m well aware of my situation. I’m about to die. This boy is my only disciple. I’m worried about him. Earlier, he was hunted by your daughter and the other girls. I noticed that the strike your daughter launched carried the aura of the Elemental Source of Fire. I have a kind of Alien Fire that I’d like to give to her.”
“Alien Fire?” Zhang Han’s eyes narrowed.
He was a little surprised. He never thought the old man could offer his daughter the Alien Fire.
The energy of Elemental Sources was the energy that had been absorbed by a substantial object in the world. For example, the Thunder Yang Tree possessed the Thunder Yang Elemental Source. But the Alien Fire was not a spirit treasure. It should be categorized as a Profound-grade treasure. It had a material form. After being absorbed and refined, it could be even stronger.
The Alien Fire that the old man spoke of was equivalent to a Profound-grade treasure.
All Profound-grade treasures were at or above the seventh tier. This meant that the old man was offering Mengmeng a gift that was at least as valuable as a seventh-tier spirit treasure.
Zhang Han narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, “What’s the catch?”
“I only have one request.” The old man said, “My disciple grew up in… I think it should be called an orphanage. He has never left the Dragon Base Star, so he doesn’t know much about the Cultivation World. I want to exchange the Dark Cold Fire for your taking care of him for three years. He will follow you people and travel in the Cultivation World for three years.”
“Master! I’m not leaving you.”
Qin Changxiao was on the verge of having a mental breakdown.
Zhang Han looked ahead and pondered for a while before saying, “Can’t believe you want to exchange the Dark Cold Fire, which is in the second echelon of Alien Fire, in this way.”
“Your name is Changxiao. You should be laughing instead of crying. Don’t shed tears in front of me,” the old man criticized again. “There is one more thing. My disciple has stolen 400,000 crystal stones from the Heavenly Group…”
“Daddy, I just promised them not to look into this matter,” Mengmeng whispered.
“Well, okay.” Zhang Han petted Mengmeng’s head. Then, he looked ahead and said with a smile, “Since my daughter has asked me to let this go, I’ll forget it. I find your words acceptable. As for the three years’ traveling, let’s forget about it, too.”
“This is… just a small favor to you. Can’t you agree to it?” the old man said.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I’ll give you something equally valuable in exchange for the Dark Cold Fire!” Zhang Han said lightly. “I don’t like to take advantage of others.”
“What are you talking about?” the old man asked, a little stunned.
“He’ll give me something of equal value?
“I’m a dying man. I don’t need loads of treasures anymore.
“I just want him to let Changxiao stay with him for some time. Is it really that hard to accept my term?”
However, when the old man saw the little fish gleaming on the tip of the Seven-star Sword held up by Zhang Han, his entire soul couldn’t help trembling.
“Night, Night Spirit?” the old man exclaimed.
“Yes, it’s a Night Spirit.” Zhang Han made the Night Spirit fly around his palm as he said, “It’s God’s will that we met today. I just got this Night Spirit. Right after that, I came across you. This shows that you’re not destined to die.”
“Are you really going to…” the old man said in a stunned voice.
“Yeah, I’ll give you this Night Spirit.”
Zhang Han waved his hand, and the Night Spirit disappeared into the old man’s soul.
“Swish!”
All of a sudden, the field was engulfed by thick fog.
The aura of the old man’s soul was growing strong rapidly.
“I’ll also give a formation—”
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
In an instant, 18 kinds of formation flags flew into the crater of the volcano along with 99 top-grade crystal stones and formed a formation in the cultivator’s abode that was a hundred meters away below the magma.
“—and three medicinal pellets,” Zhang Han added.
Three medicinal pellets also flew into the cultivator’s abode.
Zhang Han’s power was not impeded by the Heaven-earth Formation and all kinds of other formations set up near the cultivator’s abode. It was as if the formations didn’t exist.
The old man couldn’t be more shocked by how potent Zhang Han was.
The medicinal pellets melted into various kinds of energy and spread across his body.
An aura of ever-lasting vigor spread out.
“Is it enough to give you all these and save your life in exchange for your Dark Cold Fire?” Zhang Han asked.
The Night Spirit, the medicinal pellets, and the formation could not compare with the Dark Cold Fire in terms of value. However, these three things combined saved the old man’s life.
“How can I ever pay off your grace of saving my life with material things? I owe you a vast debt of gratitude,” the old man said in a shaky voice. No one wanted to die if he had a choice. The old man still had many unfulfilled tasks to do and many regrets to make up for. On this very day, the man before him descended from the sky and gave him the chance to make up for his regrets.
“Hahaha, yes.”
Zhang Han was pleased to hear this answer. He chuckled and said, “Go back. I’ll wait for you to deliver me the Dark Cold Fire.”
“I will… will definitely deliver it to you in person,” the old man said solemnly.
As soon as he finished speaking, it appeared that he was unable to control himself. The thick fog dissipated, and the surging soul energy returned to his body that was in his abode.
When the fog disappeared, the Heaven-earth Formation and the other formations in the abode all returned to normal.
His body was tied by nine chains.
Obviously, he had been suppressed in this place for a thousand years. The Heaven-earth Formation was so advanced that even a God Transformation Realm cultivator could hardly detect it.
But for Zhang Han, discovering it was just a piece of cake.
“Let’s go.”
Zhang Han took Mengmeng’s little hand, turned around, and flew to Blue Butterfly with the other three girls, who were in a daze.
“Wa-Wait,” Qin Changxiao suddenly called.
“Eh?”
Zhang Han glanced at the boy.
“About the more than 300,000 crystal stones, I just handed them to Uncle Wang. My master is right. I can’t keep the money I stole. I want to give it back to you,” Qin Changxiao said.
“Oh.”
Zhang Han waved his hand. Next, Qin Changxiao was brought to his side as if grabbing him was as easy as grabbing a chicken. Seconds later, Zhang Han took Qin Changxiao back into the Blue Butterfly.
After that, Qin Changxiao said excitedly, “Senior, can my master live like a normal person now?”
“Yes.” Zhang Han nodded slightly.
“Oh my…”
Tears streamed down Qin Changxiao’s face. He attempted to kneel and pay his respects.
Zhang Han cast his soul sense to prevent him from getting to his knees.
Then, he said calmly, “This is a deal I made with him. It has nothing to do with you. You’re his disciple, and you are still young. You shouldn’t be overburdened.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much, senior.” Qin Changxiao did not know what to say, so he thanked Zhang Han again and again.
After returning to the Blue Butterfly, Yue Xiaonao, Nina, and the others all relaxed.
Qin Changxiao sat next to the girls with anxiety, not daring to say anything. The Blue Butterfly was heading for Chaos City.
But minutes later, Qin Changxiao’s mood abruptly picked up. He became excited and happy, grinning from ear to ear.
Seeing his gleeful face, Yue Xiaonao thought of the chase they just had. “This boy must be taught a lesson.”
Thus, she complained, “Uncle Zhang, this boy flirted with us before. He also called Mengmeng ‘chick’ and asked her to stop pursuing him! I now suspect that he has feelings for Mengmeng.”
“Pfft…”
Nina almost choked on her saliva. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for Qin Changxiao.
“Huh?” Mengmeng was taken aback.
When she turned her head, she saw her father’s face was a little stern.
Zhang Han looked at Qin Changxiao and said in a low voice, “Is that true?”
The smile on Qin Changsheng’s face froze. He hurriedly said, “No, no!”
The vigilant Zhang Han couldn’t help but say, “If I ever catch you doing that, I will kill you and your master.”
Zhang Han had to scare Qin Changxiao to prevent what he worried about from happening.
Qin Changxiao had never been threatened like this. He immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
“No, I really, really didn’t do that,” he emphasized repeatedly.
However, Mengmeng’s pretty face darkened. “Oh, Daddy, what are you doing?”
“Cough.”
Zhang Han pretended to cough, then said, “Well, we’ve arrived in Chaos City.”
This scene left Nina and Felina in a daze.
In just a few seconds, Zhang Han changed from a composed old man to a fierce bully. But when Mengmeng snorted, he became as mild as a cat again.
His attitude changed too fast.
“Here we are. Please wait a moment.”
When the Blue Butterfly came to the orphanage, Qin Changxiao quickly jumped to the ground, retrieved the Space Ring, and gave it back to Zhang Han. Then, after saying goodbye, he hurriedly ran away as if he didn’t want to face Zhang Han.
This was because he was under immense pressure when he was around Zhang Han.
When Qin Changxiao returned to the factory, Uncle Wang looked at the smiling boy and said, “Is your problem solved?”
“Yes, it’s solved.” Qin Changxiao nodded.
“The people in that aircraft are not ordinary people, am I right?” Xiaojiu asked curiously.
In the face of this question, Qin Changxiao remained silent for a while.
Then, he answered, “I don’t know the details. Anyway, they should be high-ranking members of the Heavenly Group. They’re very powerful.”
“Changxiao, you know some higher-ups in the Heavenly Group? Wow, we’re truly going to get rich!” The others all showed envy in their eyes.
“No, I don’t know them. They had a misunderstanding. It’s just been resolved. Everything is fine now,” said Qin Changxiao, who tried to gloss over this matter.
“Did you get into trouble?” Uncle Wang asked.
Qin Changxiao shook his head and said nothing.
But he was very thrilled and prepared to have a hearty dinner this evening.
For Zhang Han and Mengmeng, this was just a small episode in life. But for Qin Changxiao and his master, what happened today changed their lives.
Mengmeng sat on the sofa next to Zhang Han, swaying her long legs, and muttered, “Alas, we failed the very first mission.”
“That’s true. That Qin Changxiao is really annoying.” Yue Xiaonao snorted. “We no longer have the 100% success rate. He should pay a price for it.”
“That’s not necessary. We can just tell the Mission Hall to delete that task,” Zhang Han said with a smile.
“Yeah.” Yue Xiaonao’s eyes lit up. “We can just delete it.”
“But wouldn’t that mean that we resorted to extra help?” Mengmeng blinked her big eyes and said hesitantly, “Daddy, didn’t you say that we shouldn’t get extra help when taking missions?”
“Exactly. Getting extra help is cheating,” Chen Chuan echoed. “A real man can’t do that.”
“Pfft!”
Hearing this, Nina couldn’t help laughing.
“This boy is really funny.”
“You didn’t cheat,” Zhang Han said seriously. “Well, it may count as cheating if we delete the record of this mission. But the mission has been completed, hasn’t it? We even got the stolen crystal stones back.”
Zhang Han contacted Zhao Feng right away and briefly explained how the mission had been completed.
“Jingle.”
Two minutes later, Mengmeng’s communication bracelet vibrated, which showed the message “Mission Completed”.
“Well, I still feel that I’ve used extra help.” Mengmeng pouted.
“It’s not like that,” Zhang Han said. He leaned back on the sofa, put his left arm around Mengmeng’s shoulder, and said, “Don’t forget to have fun when you carry out missions. It doesn’t matter which level you can get.”
“Okay. We’re taking those missions for fun after all. It’s very interesting.” Mengmeng happily pouted her lips at Zhang Han.
“Good. You’re my daughter after all. Like me, you also love adventures.” Zhang Han couldn’t help laughing. “When you reach Level S, I will give you a reward.”
“What reward?” Mengmeng’s eyes shone with excitement.
“To take you on a trip, of course,” Zhang Han said.
“Where will we go?” Mengmeng asked.
“Let’s go to another Star Area and visit some fun places,” Zhang Han replied.
“Hahaha. Mwah!”
After hearing that, Mengmeng was in a very good mood.
The Blue Butterfly flew straight back to Mount Double Moons.
Mengmeng and the others did not want to take more missions today. After taking a rest on the back hill for a while, they all ran to the Game Capsules.
The next day, Mengmeng’s team accepted a Level A mission and set out again.
By this time, the company’s second round of training had finished.
Many people had heard about what happened to Yin Ze.
The girl with a horsetail who had looked down on him back then even felt a bit pleased after hearing the news.
“Well, I found that the man was not a good guy a long time ago.”
Mengmeng and the others carried out missions for a whole week.
“Finally, we’ve reached Level S!”
Mengmeng ran to Zhang Han, waiting for his praise.
“Amazing…”
After Zhang Han commended Mengmeng profusely, the little girl was finally satisfied.
It was noon.
Nina, Mengmeng, and some others were sitting in the pavilion, drinking juice.
Zhang Han, Zi Yan, Zhou Fei, and Chen Changqing were sitting on the side.
“We’ve completed enough missions. Mengmeng, my father and mother have come back. Some higher-ups of the Dark Elf Clan are also visiting the Roland Star. Felina and I have to go back,” Nina said.
“Oh, okay.” Mengmeng nodded slightly. “If you two leave, our team can’t complete more missions.”
“Don’t you still have Dahei and Little Hei to help you?” Nina said with a smile.
“They can’t. They’re external help. I can’t ask for their help all the time,” Mengmeng muttered.
“Huh?”
Zhang Han was taken aback.
He felt that Mengmeng’s words didn’t really make sense. “How could Dahei and Little Hei be external help? Aren’t they our spirit pets?”
“Uncle Zhang,” Nina said, “My father obtained some fine wine from the Dark Elf Clan. It’s said that it tastes great. If you have time, you’re welcome to go back with us and taste the wine, or I can also bring you some when I come to visit Mengmeng next time.”
“I heard somebody talk about fine wine as soon as I arrived!”
Gai Xingkong’s laughter came from afar.
He was walking toward the pavilion with Zhang Guangyou and the others.
“Dad, Mom, how was your trip?” Zi Yan asked with a smile.
“It was quite good. There are a lot of interesting places in the Sea Central Star Area. The science and technology here are too advanced. There are many things I can’t get used to,” Rong Jiali said, smiling.
“Yes. When I saw those people who were very familiar with everything, I felt like I’d grown old,” Rong Jiaxin echoed.
Recently, Zhang Mu, Zhang Guangyou, Deep Flame, Gai Xingkong, and some others had all had a tour in the Sea Central Star Area. As the Star Area with the most intensive development of science and technology in the Sea Dragon Star Area, many places were eye-openers for them.
“Grandpa, if you hadn’t come back, we’d leave without you,” Mengmeng said.
“Where are you going?” Zhang Guangyou asked, “My granddaughter has grown taller again. You are getting prettier day by day.”
“It owes to my great genes,” Mengmeng replied.
Hearing those words, Zhang Guangyou couldn’t stop smiling.
“It owes to our genes? I’m so flattered!”
“Don’t overthink this. The main reason is still that Zi Yan is incredibly beautiful,” Dong Chen said from the side.
Zhang Guangyou was rendered speechless.
“Dong Chen, what’s with you?”
