Chapter 28: The Price of Ambition and an Unforgettable Negotiation

This day would forever be etched into Lin Hong’s memory.

For years, he had basked in the Lin family’s prestige, wielding power and influence, yet Lin Hong knew, deep down, he was merely a scapegoat, expendable at their whim.

Born a commoner, his parents were but outer sect elders of a minor branch, their authority pitifully small. This humble background had instilled in Lin Hong a nature of subservience from a young age.

In his eyes, the main family’s young masters were nothing more than arrogant fools. He believed that by diligently flattering and appeasing them, he could avoid his father’s fate, potentially even carving out a glorious future within the Lin family.

Thus, from childhood, he actively sought out these young masters. Through constant flattery and obsequious deference, he quickly gained their favor, earning their trust far sooner than his peers.

Indeed, his efforts bore fruit. He ascended to a management position within the Lin family’s illicit ventures, his status far surpassing that of his father.

Yet, every ambition comes with a price. As a member of a minor branch, Lin Hong’s rise to such a crucial management position was met with considerable controversy, despite Lin Yunxi’s strong endorsement. Many secretly scorned his sycophantic climb.

But Lin Hong cared little for their disdain. He had achieved his goal. He would rise above all others, just as he envisioned, even if it meant resorting to dishonorable methods.

However, fate is fickle, and dreams often diverge from reality.

Then, Lin Hong’s father died.

Indeed, he was killed by a member of the main family—by Lin Yingnan, Lin Yunxi’s own father.

This news struck Lin Hong like a bolt from the blue. The man, who had been riding high in the eyes of many, froze completely.

A brief silence followed, during which no one could fathom his thoughts. For days, Lin Hong locked himself away, refusing to leave his home, neglecting even the illicit enterprises he managed. Whispers claimed that passersby had heard heart-wrenching sobs emanating from his dwelling.

When Lin Hong finally reappeared before the Lin family, his gaze had transformed entirely. The fawning, subservient figure they once knew was gone.

In his place stood a decisive, ruthless man who brought order to the chaotic underground casinos and brothels. His management of the Lin family’s illicit network proved so effective that he quickly became their most promising asset, astonishing those who had initially opposed his rise.

Only Lin Hong understood the necessity of his actions. The cries of families ruined by his hand were a torment, yet he had no choice. He had to continue the Lin family’s sordid dealings in the shadows if he truly wished to avoid his ‘foolish’ father’s tragic path.

But then…

“Release me at once! Do you have any idea who I am? If you truly understood, you’d all be dead! The Lin family will never let you go!”

Slap!

“How dare you strike me?! I’ll have you torn limb from limb, your body shattered into a thousand pieces!”

Slap!

“I’ll kill you! Kill you!”

Slap!

“Big Brother, I was wrong! Please, spare me!”

Someone once said that people are inherently perverse; if one slap isn’t enough to make them behave, then two will do the trick.

Under Lan Wu Xi’s Spartan-like, direct method of education, the once arrogant Lin Hong dared not utter another threat. After all, his very life lay in their hands. What right did he have to be so belligerent?

“Spare you? Weren’t you just threatening to tear me limb from limb, shatter my body into a thousand pieces?”

“No, no, no! You must have misheard! I meant to say I’d enshrine you, offer you the finest food and drink! Those inhumane words, I absolutely did not utter them, absolutely not!”

“Heh heh, you must know that Lin Yunxi from your Lin family, right?”

“Does Your Excellency know Young Master Lin?”

“More than just know him…”

“That’s wonderful! I’m actually—”

“I slapped him just like this not long ago.”

“I don’t know him at all! Absolutely not!”

Well then. Only now did Lin Hong realize the formidable individual he had provoked. This mysterious cultivator was, in all likelihood, Lan Wu Xi himself. After all, the incident of Lin Yunxi being publicly slapped was widely known throughout the region.

Moreover, the news of Lan Wu Xi defeating Yun Tianqi, the Third Prince of the Yunxiao Royal Family, had also spread like wildfire. It was said that even Lin Yingnan, the Lin family patriarch, was so shocked upon hearing it that he crushed the armrest of his chair.

Unbeknownst to Lan Wu Xi, this very battle had made him famous throughout the Yunxiao Kingdom, transforming him into a distinguished, albeit minor, celebrity.

“Spare me, Big Brother! I truly understand my mistake!”

Kneeling on the ground, his hands clasped in supplication, Lin Hong pleaded with Lan Wu Xi, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Truly, those who live by wickedness shall perish by it. He had merely assumed these impoverished slum dwellers would readily hand over their daughter with a simple threat. Who could have foreseen such rotten luck?

“Spare you? Weren’t you just saying you’d send this family’s daughter off to some important figure?”

“I… I was merely joking with you all…”

Lin Hong’s eyes darted nervously from side to side as he swallowed hard, his voice trembling. He knew he had to play the victim now, but he vowed to seek out the Lin family’s experts later, to reclaim every ounce of humiliation he was enduring.

“A joke? Heh, was injuring my father also a joke?”

Xiao Xue’s shoulders trembled with rage. In a fit of fury, she lunged forward, grabbed Lin Hong, and delivered a forceful punch to his face.

The punch was far from light. Though Xiao Xue’s cultivation remained at Qi Condensation Level One, her strength surpassed that of an ordinary person. The blow knocked out one of Lin Hong’s teeth, and crimson blood welled from his mouth. He looked so pathetic and wronged that one might have mistaken them for the aggressors.

“Hey, don’t look at me with those eyes. I wasn’t the one who struck you.”

Seeing Lin Hong glare at him, clutching his bruised cheek with tear-filled eyes, nearly made Lan Wu Xi gag. It wasn’t ‘his’ hand that struck the blow, though he admitted he’d been tempted to.

“Young Master, Young Lady, you’ve already beaten your humble servant and knocked out my subordinates. Surely, we can call it even now? Let’s just let bygones be bygones. I promise never to trouble you again.”

“Hmm… what do you think?”

Lan Wu Xi shrugged indifferently. To him, the life or death of such a blatantly villainous, plot-fodder character was of little consequence. If eliminating him could boost the protagonist’s favorability, he wouldn’t mind playing the executioner.

“Spare me, please! I truly wouldn’t dare again! I can compensate you, truly!”

Upon seeing this, Lin Hong hastily shifted his pleas to Xiao Xue, completely abandoning his earlier arrogance. His behavior was uncannily similar to Lin Yunxi’s—truly, master and servant, indeed.

“Compensation?”

Xiao Xue had indeed harbored a desire to kill Lin Hong out of spite. However, a second thought made her reconsider. If she acted rashly and killed him, she would undoubtedly incur the Lin family’s wrath.

With her current abilities, merely protecting herself would be a challenge, let alone safeguarding her family from the inevitable repercussions. Therefore, Lin Hong could not die today, at least not here.

“Yes, yes! If you’re willing to spare me, all our previous grievances will be wiped clean.”

“Just wiping the slate clean is enough?”

Xiao Xue’s gaze slowly turned cold, frightening Lin Hong so much that his voice began to tremble, his heart leaping into his throat.

“Then… how about I offer fifty spirit stones as compensation, everyone?”

“Fifty spirit stones?”

Lan Wu Xi, standing nearby, couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. ‘Oh, it seems I’ve caught myself a fat sheep,’ he thought. Fifty spirit stones just like that! He knew that even as a core disciple, his monthly resources barely amounted to a few dozen. This was indeed no small sum.

“Fifty spirit stones!?”

Xiao Xue, too, gasped in astonishment, her body trembling with barely contained excitement. As a mere outer sect disciple, she only received a few spirit stones each month. Fifty spirit stones were enough to sustain an average family for nearly a year!

‘Look at you, so excited over a mere fifty spirit stones. You’re disgracing me! Wealthy noble families used to offer millions of spirit stones to marry me, and I turned them all down,’ a voice echoed in Xiao Xue’s mind.

Despite the scolding voice in her head, Xiao Xue’s heart was already surging with waves of excitement. To cure her grandfather’s illness, she absolutely had to enlist the help of renowned alchemists from the royal capital.

However, these alchemists were notoriously ill-tempered, and their fees were exorbitant. Without several hundred spirit stones, it was virtually impossible to secure their services. All the physicians who had examined her grandfather’s condition had been helpless, stating that only an alchemist could offer a chance. Thus, her grandfather’s illness had lingered untreated.

It was only when her grandfather’s condition worsened dramatically that her father had been forced to take out a usurious loan from the Lin family to buy medicine to suppress the symptoms.

‘Fifty spirit stones… this fellow clearly has some connections. His standing in the Lin family must not be low,’ Lan Wu Xi thought.

Taking a deep breath, Lan Wu Xi mused that he had indeed reeled in a big fish.

“No, no, no, wait, wait! I’ll offer eighty spirit stones! Don’t kill me, please don’t kill me!”

At this, Lin Hong suddenly changed his offer, even increasing the number of spirit stones, which somewhat puzzled Lan Wu Xi.

Lin Hong had noticed Xiao Xue’s breathing becoming more rapid. Being meticulous in observing people, he surmised that Xiao Xue’s quickened breath was likely due to anger over his paltry offer. After all, trying to buy his life for a mere fifty spirit stones was indeed a fool’s errand.

“Eighty spirit stones!?”

Xiao Xue was stunned by this unprompted increase. Her pupils slightly dilated, and her mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came out.

“One hundred! One hundred spirit stones! I’m nothing but a dog, just forgive me!”

This further increase nearly made Lan Wu Xi jump. Xiao Xue’s mother and father exchanged astonished glances; in all their lives, they had never seen so many spirit stones.

Lin Hong, once again, perceived a subtle facial expression from Xiao Xue: a harbinger of fury! She must be enraged by his ridiculously low compensation. He absolutely had to change her mind before she uttered words that would seal his fate.

“What did you say?! One hundred… one hundred spirit stones… Are you joking?”

Xiao Xue’s entire body began to tremble, her chest heaving. Her eyes were fixed on Lin Hong, as if warning him not to joke with her, lest she truly kill him!

“I was wrong, I was wrong! I truly wasn’t joking! Don’t kill me, please don’t kill me!”

For the first time, Lin Hong truly understood the message in Xiao Xue’s eyes: a warning not to trifle with her. To offer a mere hundred spirit stones for his life was practically mocking her. She would absolutely kill him…

“I… I don’t understand this anymore, System?”

“*Beep!* System alert: This is a negotiation between masters. Host, please observe with utmost care.”

“Sister!”

As if on cue, Xiao Xue’s younger sister suddenly ran forward and leaped into Xiao Xue’s embrace. With a gentle, maternal expression, the latter scooped her up. It was truly inappropriate for her sister to witness such a bloody scene, and while Lan Wu Xi was the one who acted, they were the instigators.

Furthermore, if Lan Wu Xi hadn’t been present, she would have had to fight, and whether she could even win was an unknown. To defeat two Xuan Realm cultivators with a single punch—Xiao Xue admitted she couldn’t do it. Even that person had praised Lan Wu Xi’s earlier attack.

Xiao Xue gazed at Lin Hong with a complex expression. Though she yearned to kill him, he had thrown out such a tempting offer. No matter how furious she was, she had to endure it today. Moreover, she couldn’t touch this man herself today. So, Xiao Xue forced herself to calm down, holding her breath before slowly speaking.

“Since that’s the case, then…”

“Wait! I’ll offer two hundred spirit stones!”

“Cough, cough!”

Lan Wu Xi suddenly burst into a fit of coughing, completely bewildered. Why the increase again? And a double increase at that! Had the two of them engaged in some unknown communication in that brief moment?

It turned out that when Xiao Xue looked at Lin Hong after picking up her sister, the latter’s body stiffened, and a flicker of terror crossed his eyes. He finally understood: this was a master… a true master!

He had dominated underground casinos for years, priding himself on his experience in negotiation and reading people. His years of flattery and keen observation made him particularly attuned to others’ every move; even a subtle gesture could convey a message to him.

In that fleeting moment, Lin Hong saw the complex, inexpressible emotions in Xiao Xue’s eyes. Then, glancing at the sister in her arms, he finally realized the idiotic mistake he had made.

He had just threatened to offer her sister to a prominent family figure. Now, Xiao Xue holding her sister and looking at him was surely mocking his overestimation of himself, wasn’t it?

And the timing of the sister’s actions was too coincidental. Clearly, this seemingly young girl was using this very point to warn him. Leaving aside the matter of injuring her father, openly insulting her sister to her face was enough reason for him to die a hundred times over.

This was an unmistakable reminder that if he didn’t show more sincerity, his life would be forfeit. Thus, Lin Hong dared not hold anything back and immediately revealed his entire fortune.

After all, money could be earned again, but a lost life meant truly losing everything. He still wanted revenge on *that* person…

With that, Lin Hong began kowtowing repeatedly, so vigorously that one might have wondered if he would bash himself to death before they even laid a hand on him.

“I truly have no more money! Please, Your Excellencies, be magnanimous! This is all my family’s fortune!”

Lin Hong’s face was etched with despair. Two hundred spirit stones had indeed practically emptied his family’s coffers. If they remained unrelenting, he could only resign himself to fate.

“Alright, I forgive you.”

In an instant, Lin Hong felt as if he had been liberated. He spread his arms, ready to soar towards the heavens of happiness. Truly, effort pays off! He had actually succeeded, saving his life for only two hundred spirit stones. It was such a bargain!

Little did he know, he had completely orchestrated a solo performance for everyone present through his self-serving interpretations. If he were to learn Xiao Xue’s true thoughts, would he be so enraged as to commit suicide on the spot?

‘Two hundred spirit stones! Grandpa is saved this time!’

Not only was Lin Hong overjoyed, but Xiao Xue’s outwardly impassive expression concealed an excitement no less profound than his own. She could finally treat her grandfather’s illness! It was truly a case of ‘when it rains, it pours,’ but in this instance, a fortunate delivery had burst through the door.

This time, they truly had Lan Wu Xi to thank. He had helped them immensely.

At this moment, Xiao Xue even showed a hint of goodwill in her gaze towards Lan Wu Xi, though he didn’t notice it.

“Two hundred spirit stones… Husband, I didn’t mishear, did I?”

“It’s true, it’s true! Father is saved!”

Of course, the most excited were Xiao Xue’s parents. These two had worked diligently and honestly their entire lives, their monthly aspirations merely for enough to eat. They had never imagined seeing such a vast sum of spirit stones. This day, they believed, would be the most unforgettable of their lives.

Indeed, it was for everyone involved…

Lan Wu Xi watched, dumbfounded, almost wanting to slap himself to confirm if what had just happened was real. ‘Is this what a negotiation between masters looks like?’ he wondered. Only now did he understand the true meaning of such a negotiation. He even imagined an entire psychological battle unfolding in their minds, finding it utterly brilliant!

Though he had been completely bewildered throughout, he could discern Lin Hong’s relief and Xiao Xue’s triumphant smile from their expressions. This was a negotiation between masters, truly terrifying in its subtlety!

A master, this was a master!