The Devil Sword Swordsman
Ch. 162 - Negotiation with Xu Ming
In the awkwardness that had occurred since earlier Xu Ming finally opened his voice, "Come on don't suddenly speak like that Lian'er..."
Xin Fai was unable to recognize who the person who spoke earlier, her voice was extremely unfamiliar. Not knowing what to answer she chose silence.
A little warm food is thrust in front of him, the smoke from the sauce presented with a strong aroma. Xin Fai had not eaten food like this for a long time, usually eating only grilled meat or at least electric eels every day.
After eating the food, Xu Ming told the children sitting nearby to leave the room because they had to talk alone.
"So how? About the information I'm about to give you, are you willing to give me a hundred gold pieces?"
Xin Fai reached into his pocket and only got the twenty pieces of gold still left there, thousands of gold coins belonging to him used to be deposited in the Lotus Temple sect to be safe and only bring as necessary when participating in the tournament first.
Seeing the amount of gold pieces that Xu Ming put on a disappointed look but after all he currently needs money even though little for the sake of paying for his residence and living expenses with the children who live here.
"Yes, I'll answer your question but only sober because the amount you gave was only twenty gold pieces..."
Before that Xin Fai first asked, "The ones living in this place, are they all your children?"
"Huh? You think so?" Xu Ming chuckled. "No. They're not my children, they're slaves that are traded on the black market and I buy them so as not to be tortured by those rotten people."
Xu Ming poured the tea in his cup slowly, though not quite knowing how the man was feeling yet Xin Fai realized he was doing it willingly.
"I guess you used to be a rich merchant? Is that true?" Xin Fai said back to making Xu Ming again dissolve in his laughter.
"Hahahaha that's right, because buying slaves I have to pay a lot. But I have no regrets after this because at least my life was a little bit useful to them."
Somehow this sly and tactically-looking Xu Ming still had a conscience in order to free the slaves, Xin Fai remembered the one slave who lived with the man.
"Which spoke to me earlier... May I know what his name is? There's no way she'd suddenly get to know me for nothing."
"Oh, you mean Mei Lian?"
Xin Fai was stunned to hear the familiar name, she remembered a little boy who had once escaped alone in the middle of the forest as her village became a land of slaughter.
"His escape that day." Xin Fai smiled slightly, she was somewhat relieved to hear that. "Thank you for saving him."
Instantly Xin Fai moved his hand and came out about fifty electric eels beside Xu Ming in a sudden.
Xu Ming stood in shock when he found the rare electric eel, one tail alone cost around ten gold pieces. If multiplied the total sales of all electric eels reached 500 gold pieces.
Xu Ming's eyes quibbled to look at Xin Fai as if in disbelief, his lips trembling watching the electric eel that was famous for its prowess. "Are you from the sect that sells these electric eels?"
Xin Fai did not reply and instead shifted the topic, inevitably in order not to offend the young man Xu Ming replied to him. From the beginning he thought Xin Fai was just an ordinary young man but what he saw now made himself stand sculpted. Xin Fai was not an ordinary person as she expected, her attitude became even more polite after that.
"Tell me who's the concocter of the poison in the Blood Devil Man organization."
Recalling Xu Ming stroking his beard, he replied later. "Wei Xinxin, he's the fourth senior in the group."
"If you want to meet him it will be very difficult, but I happen to have one way of dealing with it..." A sneaky smile appeared on the frail man's face.
"The next two days, earlier this month the Blood Devil Man will recruit new members. They were recruiting in a wilderness in Sanmin City. That city isn't too far from here if you can master the Light Steps."
Xu Ming called for someone to bring him a stationery, he described something on it. Xin Fai who had just realized the man was drawing something on paper immediately held him back.
"Just be free, Uncle Xu. I can't see what you're drawing..."
Xu Ming stopped moving with a look of wondering face. "How come? I'm sure you can see, you just walk around don't need a stick."
Xin Fai explained that he could still walk by relying on his sharp hearing, at least from the sound he could get a picture of the place around him. But not by reading or looking at a picture.
Still unable to believe Xu Ming raised his hand and raised his middle and index fingers. "Now I'm showing you a number?"
"Two?"
"You can see!"
"Haha..." The young man laughed funnyly, he was eager to see how this old Xu Ming looked. "I'm just guessing your head, and I really can't see. That's why I had to find an antidote for the poison that made my eyes fail to function like this."
Xu Ming presumably began to understand the location of this red thread, he flicked his finger shortly after. "Well, since you've given me a lot of electric eels I'll give you one big secret."
The change in Xin Fai's face changed, Xu Ming was confident this information could be said to be on par with what the young man had given.
Before speaking Xu Ming paid attention to the surroundings and made sure no one else heard him.
"In their underground headquarters, I've seen a treasure room. Not just the tens of thousands of gold coins you can get there, but some antidote to all poisons, peerless books and other heirloom swords."
"Where do you know all that?"
Xu Ming scratched the stem of his nose wrongly, he was like embarrassed. "When I was young I liked to find out a lot of things. It almost went into that dark organization. But unfortunately my martial skills were very weak and I was not accepted there, fortunately after that I learned a lot of their secrets and I think this will all be useful for you."
The man continued. "If you manage to do so I'm sure they will be in great ruin! Ahhaha!"
Xu Ming's sly and arrogant style indeed attracted Xin Fai, he thought of establishing cooperation with this man.
"If I manage to do so, I'll buy other information from you later."
"By pleasure, Young Swordsman."
Both of them were cunning, completely full of stratagems.
***