Transaction

"Yo, you want benefits too?" Ge Ye stroked his beard and smiled, but no one could see what he was truly thinking.

"I'd be an idiot if I turned down benefits."

Xiao Han smiled faintly. "Indeed. Perhaps without me, even if Xiao Zhan were unwilling, under the pressure of your Yunlan Sect, he would have had no choice but to agree to break off this engagement. But after that, your Yunlan Sect would bear the stigma of using its power to bully others! Those idle busybodies would surely badmouth your Yunlan Sect before and after every meal!"

"Er!"

Ge Ye's smile faded. He stared at Xiao Han for quite a while, inwardly admitting that he had underestimated him. He had not expected Xiao Han, a mere minor, to see matters so clearly. Stroking his beard, he asked, "Tell me, then. What benefit do you want?"

"I want Qi Gathering Powder!" Xiao Han smiled slightly, knowing that he had persuaded Ge Ye.

"Qi Gathering Powder?"

Ge Ye was briefly stunned, then nodded. "Not bad. You're a child with plans. Fine. If you can keep people from speaking ill of our Yunlan Sect, I, Ge Ye, will give you one Qi Gathering Powder afterward."

Xiao Han shook his head and raised three fingers. "One isn't enough. I want three!"

"What? Three? You might as well rob me!" Ge Ye panted heavily and glared at Xiao Han. Yet the latter's expression did not change in the slightest.

A single Qi Gathering Powder was worth several hundred thousand Gold Coins.

It was worth mentioning that Ge Ye came from the Yunlan Sect, and the Qi Gathering Powder in his possession had been refined by Pill King Gu He. In other words, its price could be multiplied several times over. Three Qi Gathering Powders would be worth at least over a million Gold Coins.

Seeing that Xiao Han continued to smile so calmly, Ge Ye said with a bitter expression, "Kid, Qi Gathering Powder is an extraordinary medicinal pill. Only a Rank 4 Alchemist can refine it. This old man only has one such pill on hand!"

"Cut it out."

Xiao Han curled his lips and suddenly turned around. "It seems you aren't being honest. In that case, this deal need not be made. After all, if others speak ill of your Yunlan Sect in the future, they won't be speaking ill of the Xiao Clan; if they speak ill of Nalan Yanran, they won't be speaking ill of me, Xiao Han. The one who may suffer emotional scars in the future will be your Young Sect Master, Nalan Yanran. It certainly won't be me, Xiao Han."

"Er..."

Upon hearing Xiao Han's words, Ge Ye could no longer sit still.

During cultivation, one's mental state was also extremely important. If the engagement were forcibly dissolved and people criticized Nalan Yanran behind her back, it would also leave a wound on her heart.

For a Dou Zhe, purity of heart was extremely important. If this truly planted a heart demon within Nalan Yanran, it would definitely not be a good thing for the Yunlan Sect.

If the matter of the engagement could truly be resolved perfectly, it would indeed be a tremendous blessing.

Thinking this, Ge Ye hurried forward several steps and stopped Xiao Han. "Kid, three Qi Gathering Powders will do. But only if things are truly resolved as perfectly as you said, without leaving even the slightest negative impact on the Yunlan Sect, will I give you three Qi Gathering Powders."

"Three still won't do. Your dishonesty has made me very dissatisfied. On top of that, you must compensate me with one hundred thousand Gold Coins!" A sly glint flashed through Xiao Han's eyes as he spoke with a smile.

"Er!"

Ge Ye grew suspicious. The look in Xiao Han's eyes made it seem as though he already knew that Yun Yun, Sect Leader of Yunlan Sect, had given Ge Ye three Qi Gathering Powders when they descended the mountain and instructed him to settle this matter at the Xiao Clan.

Ge Ye shook his head. Sect Leader Yun Yun had personally arranged this matter. Aside from Nalan Yanran, no fourth person knew about it. Xiao Han could not possibly know.

Afraid that Xiao Han would raise the price again, Ge Ye agreed, "Fine. One hundred thousand Gold Coins it is."

Xiao Han smiled faintly. Three Qi Gathering Powders and one hundred thousand Gold Coins were practically his already. "Mm, you should have been this straightforward from the start!"

Ge Ye asked curiously, "All right, kid. Tell me, how will you help us get what we want?"

Xiao Han smiled. "As for that... once we reach the Xiao Family's Council Hall, just do what you came to do."

After Xiao Han had taken two steps, he suddenly stopped and turned his head toward Nalan Yanran behind him. "Oh, right, Miss Nalan. The last person to enter the Xiao Family's Council Hall will be Xiao Yan, the one betrothed to you since before birth. Since you have an engagement, I assume you wouldn't want to see your fiancé sitting with a beauty his own age, would you? Oh, and that guy even peeped at Xiao Yu while she was bathing."

"Er!"

Nalan Yanran was slightly startled and looked at Xiao Han. However, he had already left the corridor.

By the time Xiao Han arrived at the Xiao Family's Main Hall, the Xiao Clan's Patriarch, Xiao Zhan, and the Three Great Elders were already seated at the head of the hall. Below them sat the clan's influential elders, those with both strength and authority.

Beside those elders of the Xiao Clan sat the outstanding juniors of Xiao Han's generation.

"Han'er, come here quickly!"

The moment Xiao Han stepped into the Xiao Family's Main Hall, his mother, Chen Susu, beckoned to him. As soon as Xiao Han sat down beside Chen Susu, the juniors around him began discussing today's gathering.

"Every member of the third generation of our Xiao Clan has been summoned to the main hall today. A gathering like this only happens during the New Year. What exactly are we discussing today?"

"I don't know. I asked my father, but he said he didn't know either. The other two clans in Wutan City haven't made any major moves lately, and the Patriarch and the Three Great Elders haven't said anything about it either. I can't figure it out. What exactly are we discussing today?"

"What's so hard to guess about that?" Xiao Han suddenly interjected.

As soon as Xiao Han spoke, the other youths his age looked at him curiously. They asked in surprise, "What, you know?"

"Of course."

"Quick, tell us. What is it about?"

"Want to know?" Xiao Han gave them a mischievous smile.

"Yes!"

Several youths, including Xiao Ning, nodded repeatedly.

"If you want to know, fifty Gold Coins per person."

"What? Fifty Gold Coins? You might as well rob us!"

"Of course, if I'm wrong, I'll pay you back double." Xiao Han smiled faintly, his gaze brimming with confidence. "In other words, it's a bet. Not only do I know who is coming today, I also know why they are coming!"

"Han'er, don't make trouble!" Xiao Long frowned slightly and rebuked him softly.

There were nearly twenty youths of the same generation around them.

Even Xiao Long, the only son of the Xiao Clan's Third Elder, did not know why everyone had gathered here today. How could Xiao Han possibly know?

Moreover, if he lost the bet, he would have to pay one hundred Gold Coins to each person. With more than twenty people, that would be over two thousand Gold Coins.

Xiao Long could afford more than two thousand Gold Coins, naturally. But that money was what he had set aside for Xiao Han to marry a wife.

"Double the payout!"

This was extremely tempting to the carefully cultivated disciples of the Xiao Clan around them. Those who could become key disciples of the Xiao Clan were certainly not lacking in intelligence.

Xiao Ning quietly asked the middle-aged man beside him, "Father, do you know why everyone has gathered today?"

"I heard an important guest is coming!"

"An important guest? Who?"

"I don't know. Even your grandfather didn't tell me who it is."

The middle-aged man paused, glanced at Xiao Han, and a crafty gleam appeared in his eyes. In a voice only the two of them could hear, he whispered, "If you want to bet with that good-for-nothing Xiao Han, then do it. One hundred Gold Coins is neither much nor little. Since he is handing it over to us himself, why shouldn't we take it?"