“Nothing much. You know, most of the guests there were from affluent families, I’m nothing compared to them. Oh right, how about my sword, did anyone buy it?” Xu Yi replied.
“Yes! I have sold the sword for 150 gold coins. I never expected that this sword was made of aged iron. Previously, that old guy, er… I mean, the one that wished to buy it, only accepted a deal for 100 gold coins. However, after I had touted the sword in the main hall, that guy was afraid someone else would take it, so he reluctantly paid me 150 gold coins. Honestly, this price was the ceiling price.” Qinghua replied in a sharp voice, as he was enraptured.
Soon, he took out six gold cheques – one of them was worth 100 gold coins and five of them were worth 10 gold coins each. At the same time, he also gave Xu Yi a transaction note, which was the evidence of the completed deal.
“Well done, my friend. You deserve it!” Xu Yi didn’t even count it before he hastily tucked a cheque worth 10 gold coins into Qinghua’s hands.
“A million thanks! Boss, you are the most generous customer I’ve ever met ever since I took this occupation.” Qinghua said, as he was rejoicing his good fortune.
“You deserve it. Ok, I have to go now. See you later.” Xu Yi felt that Qinghua was a very reliable guide. Perhaps he was a little bit greedy, but he was far from being evil.
“Wait a moment. Boss, don’t you require any heavy weapons?” Qinghua slyly asked Xu Yi.
“After seeing so many precious items in the auction room, I’m afraid I’m not interested in any ordinary items.” Xu Yi coldly replied.
Actually, Xu Yi was financially restrained after he had invested the majority of his money on the Long’er Scalp. Adding the 150 gold coins for selling the sword, the total amount of money left in his pocket was approximately 350 gold coins, which was supposed to be reserved for the making of his protective clothing.
Since Xu Yi had participated in the auction, it had certainly opened his horizon. He understood that, with only 350 gold coins, he couldn’t buy any high-quality heavy weapons.
As soon as Xu Yi stepped forward, Qinghua followed closely.
“What do you want from me? The deal is over, can’t you see? Fuck off!” Xu Yi raised his straight eyebrows, as he was slightly annoyed by Qinghua’s excessive enthusiasm.
Qinghua embarrassingly explained: “Boss, I propose that we form a long-term employment relationship. It won’t cost you much, say, 20 gold coins on a monthly base, no…15 gold coins!”
Indeed, being a guide wasn’t a decent occupation. for Qinghua, for example, it only barely made ends meet. Sometimes, he wouldn’t even find any customers for days, so life was quite hard for him. Today, however, he met such a generous customer, he definitely wouldn’t just let go of this golden opportunity.
Qinghua’s annual earning was merely 60 to 70 gold coins, so it was fair to categorize him in the grass-root class. In Eastern City, living expenses were costly. Plus, he was addicted to gambling, which is where most of his salary ended up.
“No, I can’t afford to employ a long-term guide!” Xu Yi immediately declined the offer.
For Xu Yi, it made no sense to hire a long-term guide. He was not a profiteer, who would shuttle back and forth the street all day long. There was no job to offer Qinghua, except as a housekeeper.
“Boss, I project that one day you will be an earthshaking hero and you need a lackey to assist you in that process. If you hire me, you don’t have to purchase these things yourself; I will do it for you. Of course, you may doubt my credibility to do this job, for instance, what if I steal your money and flee. Don’t worry! I will sign the Bloodcursed Treaty with you, which serves as a guarantee for my loyalty. Er…I can do almost anything, like purchasing medicines, spying on your enemies’ situation, gathering information and more! Please, rest assured! I will never betray you under the restriction of the Bloodcursed Treaty.” Qinghua sophisticatedly marketed himself.
“What is the Bloodcursed Treaty?” Xu Yi had never heard of such a thing. Actually, Xu Yi was a little bit tempted by the enemy spying and information gathering skills that Qinghua could offer, so he inquired the details.
“The Bloodcursed Treaty is based on a mutual-oath between the two parties. A drop of blood is required from each side to activate the curse, if any party betrays what is stipulated in the treaty, he or she will be cursed and find an early demise.” Qinghua rummaged through his pocket and took out a piece of red paper and a piece of a transaction note.
Xu Yi guessed that this red piece of paper must be the Bloodcursed Treaty. As for the transaction note that Qinghua showed, it was most likely meant as circumstantial evidence for the authenticity of the Blood Cursed Treaty.
Indeed, Qinghua had bought this treaty from the Exquisite Pavilion soon after he had sold the sword.
Touched by Qinghua’s sincerity, Xu Yi found it hard to decline. He kept walking forward, pondering on the pros and cons of this deal. Eventually, he walked on a bridge and looked far into the distance. Here, he found two candidates who were fighting with each other in the big arena they had passed before. The flag had been changed from white to black [1], and the amount of spectators had more than doubled since the previous fight.
Looking at the fierce battle, Xu Yi instantly made his mind up and decided to hire Qinghua. He had so many things to prepare for before his fight with the Black Dragon Palace, which left him with very limited time for cultivation. Now, Qinghua was the best choice from him to outsource some trivial errands.
“Ok, Qinghua, I’m glad to have you working for me!” Xu Yi confirmed to Qinghua.
With only 350 gold coins in his pocket, Xu Yi felt that he was extremely poor. Considering the cost of making the protective clothing and the medicines he had ordered from the Exquisite Pavilions, he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to afford all of it anymore.
Moreover, after realising the magic of the refined iron, he decided to forge a piece of weapon out of it, which would probably also cost him a lot.
The money he had stolen from Junior Zhou’s family was almost used up. He had to think of new ways to earn money. As he knew, either in his previous life or this one, money acted as the lubricator that propelled things to go smoothly.
Therefore, Xu Yi planned to earn some quick money in Guanan through gambling.
Xu Yi decided to gamble under the name of Qinghua, in other words, he would use Qinghua as his puppet, reducing the risk of revealing his true identity.
Xu Yi and Qinghua further negotiated on the terms of the treaty. Soon after, they finalised the details. Qinghua invited Xu Yi to his house, where they both recited an oath and offered a drop of blood from their index finger.
Qinghua’s oath encompassed the duration of the employment, how he would be loyal to the employer through and through, even after the treaty had expired. He was bound by this oath to not reveal any information about his employer during, and after, their cooperation.
Meanwhile, Xu Yi was also restricted by this treaty, he vowed to pay Qinghua the correct amount and at the agreed time. No breach was allowed from either side.
Soon after the oath process, Xu Yi focused all of his strength on his index finger, where extremely thick blood gradually oozed out until it formed into a drop. When the two drops of blood met with each other, the Blood Cursed Treaty set itself on fire, sending out blood-colored rays.
After this ceremony, Xu Yi told Qinghua his current address and bid him farewell.
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