Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen looked at each other. To be honest, they thought that Qi Yun’s words were not without reason.
They still had too little experience. The two tiger cubs were raised by Yan Tianhen like his own sons, so they didn’t lack food and played around every day. They could do whatever they wanted. Ah Bai and Hu Po were also brought up by Yan Tianhen. As the saying goes: pets resemble their masters. The two cubs and Yan Tianhen were somewhat similar in nature. They were both too lazy to cultivate. If no one forced them, they would continue being lazy.
In the Demonic Beast Institute where they were hurled into, the tiger cubs had indeed managed to force out their natural potential and improve greatly. But, since then, after leaving the Demonic Beast Institute, the cubs recovered from their scars, forgot their pain, and continued to live idly.
“Things really can’t go on like this.”
After seeing Qi Yun’s beast form and speed, Yan Tianhen felt the power of the demon tiger clan. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of crisis, worrying for the two tiger cubs’ future.
“What? Don’t you trust me?” Qi Yun noticed Lin Xuanzhi’s hesitance.
“I haven’t cooperated with you before, so I’m not sure whether you’re reliable or not.” Lin Xuanzhi didn’t say polite words but simply expressed his concerns.
Qi Yun raised his eyebrows, “This is why I don’t like dealing with your kind. Doubting this and that all day long. It’s too tiring.”
Lin Xuanzhi was unmoved, “There must be a foundation to establish trust. If we had cooperated several times before and were familiar with each other’s styles, I would consider giving Ah Bai and Hu Po to you.”
His implication was very clear. In this situation, where both sides don’t know each other, he would never give Ah Bai and Hu Po to a stranger.
Qi Yun snorted, “Whatever you want. I’m not in any hurry to take them with me. It’s just that I met some of my kin and it’s difficult to see them acting so cowardly like this, so I wanted to take them in. Otherwise, I’m so busy every day, how could I spare time to worry about them?”
Yan Tianhen nodded, “You’re right. Why don’t we cooperate a few times first and try it out? Maybe we’ll mix up, and I’ll let you train them with your own hands.”
It seemed that Qi Yun liked Ah Bai and Hu Po very much, since it’s not easy for a beast to let other beasts ride on them.
Qi Yun was also a frank person. He was probably in a good mood when he met his kin, as he did not say much nonsense and directly said, “For the sake of these two tigers cub, I won’t take much this time. You can just directly give me money. Say, what do you want to hire Cloud Summit for?”
“Do you know that there is a shop under my father’s name that sells spiritual herbs, named Serene Herb Manor?” Lin Xuanzhi also did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
Qi Yun nodded, “I know. I have helped transport several batches of spiritual herbs for them.”
The value of spiritual herbs was high. It was only natural that specialized personnel were needed to transport the goods to a place suitable for the plant’s growth.
Lin Xuanzhi secretly thought, That makes things much easier.
He added, “Now, this Serene Herb Manor has changed its name. Do you know something about this?”
Qi Yun immediately smiled, “I definitely do.”
Qing Zhu asked, “What do you know?”
Qi Yun picked up Ah Bai and brushed his fur with one hand as he lazily replied, “I heard that since Lin Zhan was killed, someone started to have ideas about his shops. Serene Herb Manor was affected the most since it was the most profitable. As far as I know, the people who wanted to fight over Lin Zhan’s properties were not just from one or two families, but it wasn’t long before Serene Herb Manor was completely destroyed by some powerful person. Every day, the shop faced heavy losses, so the guys who were swarming to fight for it stopped.”
Qi Yun smiled, “Hey, actually, Serene Herb Manor was quite famous with the big families back then. Lin Zhan had some skills. He only went for top-grade goods and didn’t go for ordinary bargains. Hence, why most of his customers were well-connected. These people were generous with their money and were willing to pay the high price. Most importantly, after the business had matured, the income was still very stable.”
Lin Xuanzhi absorbed the news that he had never heard of before. He had many thoughts in his heart.
Lin Xuanzhi said, “Can you find out who is behind Serene Herb Manor now?”
Qi Yun replied, “I knew you’d want me to investigate this, but it’s really not very easy.”
Lin Xuanzhi nodded, “I know.”
According to Qi Yun, when Serene Herb Manor had been at its peak, the supply of spiritual herbs was always stable and the customers weren’t small. If Serene Herb Manor suddenly fell, it would inevitably damage the interests of many parties, and those customers would probably not take it lightly.
But when the Serene Herb Manor fell overnight, those who were affected did not say much. Even those who thought of snatching Serene Herb Manor shrank back. If there was a person or a family who wanted to let the Serene Herb Manor fall, they must be a giant in society.
Qi Yun casually said, “You know ah? That’s good.”
Yan Tianhen looked at Qi Yun, “It can’t be that you think it’s too difficult to check, so you don’t want to take the job?”
Qi Yun sniffed, “Although it’s difficult, it’s just a challenge for me. It’s much more interesting than digging spiritual herbs in remote mountains and old forests, and looking for demonic beasts. I just want to say that since it’s so difficult, the price cannot be lowered.”
Lin Xuanzhi asked, “How much do you want?”
Qi Yun held out his fingers and counted them.
Qing Zhu’s face darkened, “It’s just one thing, yet you dare to ask so much money?”
Qi Yun leisurely withdrew his hand and stared at him with his head cocked, “We mercenaries make a living by putting our lives on the line. This business is not easy to do. If we don’t do well, we might offend people we shouldn’t have. To ask for so much money is to give you a little discount for Lin Zhan’s sake.”
Qing Zhu took a deep breath, wanting to refuse, but Lin Xuanzhi took the lead.
“Sure.” Lin Xuanzhi answered flatly, ” But I will only give you half of the money first and the other half when the matter is settled.”
Qi Yun nodded, “That’s the usual rule. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll refund it all back to you.”
“How long will it take?”
“A month at most and not much longer.”
“Alright. Then I’ll wait for further news.”
Lin Xuanzhi threw a card at Qi Yun. Qi Yun raised his hand and caught it. He looked at the card, smirked and tossed to Lin Xuanzhi a blue Bone Whistle.
“This Bone Whistle can be used to contact me. If you want to find me, just whistle it.”
After he finished speaking, Qi Yun roared at Ah Bai and Hu Po, who were still rubbing up against his leg. Suddenly caught off guard, the two cubs squatted down on their butts in fear. Satisfied, Qi Yun turned into his beast form and ran off.
Yan Tianhen curled up his lips wordlessly, “This Qi Yun is really childish.”
Qing Zhu felt the same and nodded, “He’s really naive and looks very childish, but he’s not a brainless person.”
“I just didn’t expect Qi Yun to be a demonic beast.”
Demonic beasts that could transform themselves must be able to reach a certain level.
Even the East Post Golden-Eyed Leopard from the Demonic Beast Institute in Qing City could only speak so far and was already taking the lead when compared to most demonic beasts. He didn’t know why Qi Yun was mixed in the Cloud Summit mercenary group considering the skills he had.
Ah Bai howled twice and Yan Tianhen’s expression became a little strange.
“What’s the matter?” Lin Xuanzhi asked
Yan Tianhen replied, “Ah Bai said that Qi Yun was only a half demonic beast and his blood wasn’t pure.”
Lin Xuanzhi immediately realized, “If he’s only half demonic beast, that explains everything. Since childhood, no matter what realm he reached, he could already transform into a human form, or from a human form to a demonic beast form.”
Yan Tianhen nodded thoughtfully and looked at Ah Bai and Hu Po. “Dage, Ah Bai said that he wants to learn and gain experience from Qi Yun.”
Lin Xuanzhi thought for a moment, “In fact, this is a good method, but we still don’t know much about Qi Yun’s character. I dare not give them to an unfamiliar person. Let’s talk about it later.”
Yan Tianhen thought the same thing. Glancing at Ah Bai, who was licking his fur, he sighed, “When will my family’s tiger cubs be as powerful and domineering as Qi Yun?”
Lin Xuanzhi smiled, “One day.”
Since discussions with the Cloud Summit mercenary group were over, Lin Xuanzhi brought Yan Tianhen with him to the Purple City to look for the Zhang family and ask some things. They were originally going to let Qing Zhu rest first in Profound City, but Qing Zhu refused, saying that he didn’t feel secure in letting these two younger generations go without permission.
Lin Xuanzhi had no choice but to let Qing Zhu tag along.
In case of a fight, Yan Tianhen took Ling Chigu with him on the road.
On that day, they arrived at Purple City, which was close to Profound City. Lin Xuanzhi and the rest did not stop and headed straight for the Zhang family.
The Zhang family was a local powerhouse in Purple City. Although they were only a second-class family, the Zhang family took control of the whole city since there were no first-class families to compete against them. The Zhang family had great influence and its organizational system was comparable to that of a first class family.
Lin Xuanzhi was stopped by someone when they arrived at the door. The doorman’s attitude was somewhat dismissive, but when he finally heard Lin Xuanzhi’s position, his face changed and he hurriedly went in to report.
Before long, someone came to bring Lin Xuanzhi and the others in.
Lin Xuanzhi saw the Zhang family’s Master who was a person of great importance in the Zhang family. Zhang Xiaoyin cheerfully played Tai Chi with Lin Xuanzhi for a while, pulling out topic after topic for a long time. When Lin Xuanzhi noticed that it was almost time for dinner, he finally decided to cut to the chase.
Lin Xuanzhi didn’t make a fool of himself. He bowed to the Zhang family’s Master, “Elder Zhang, I came here to ask some questions about the Serene Herb Manor.”
The Zhang family’s Master nodded, “Serene Herb Manor hasn’t been doing well these past two years. It has gone down. When it used to be prosperous, one year’s income was equivalent to that of the Zhang family’s Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion’s one month’s income.”
Lin Xuanzhi, “…”
Was this showing off the Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion’s might?
“Don’t think I’m bragging or belittling the Serene Herb Manor,” Zhang family’s Master smiled. “Nowadays, the income of Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion is growing fast. It wasn’t only the source of stable spiritual herbs, but the price was also cheap, even if the buyer was rich. Basically, it’s not about the price. I’ve heard before that Serene Herb Manor was completely overrun by insects in a single night. I don’t know what kind of wicked person would harm others and spoil so many spiritual plants. “
Qing Zhu couldn’t help but look at the Zhang family’s Master. The way the old man put this made it seem like he wanted to absolve the Zhang family of any blame in this matter.
However, the Zhang family was still among the list of suspects who had destroyed the spiritual herbs.
“After all, given the situation of the time, even if the spiritual herbs were not destroyed, Serene Herb Manor would have to be run down eventually,” The Zhang family’s Master said, “Some people specially want to deal with the Serene Herb Manor and have spent a lot of effort. Those people gave us the source of our customers and the source of our spiritual plants, and they even gave us the methods to raise spiritual plants. Sigh!“
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