"I naturally know that, but the goods the Guild Master gave me are ultimately a little different, so for these three century-old cultivation stones, I also want to ask the Guild Master for a guarantee." I looked toward Jing Ci.
She looked astonished. Although she knew that I wouldn't have brought out goods of unequal value without a reason—after all, no one here was a fool willing to lose money—and this involved her, it still exceeded her expectations.
Only then did the other merchant association members show expressions of understanding. Merchants naturally liked to compare whether the benefits were equal.
"Friend Zi, please speak," the Guild Master said with a nod, though he could not help feeling uneasy.
After a brief pause, I said solemnly, "Since the Guild Master has already given Jing Ci to me, I hope that in the future, when I take her to reclaim that region of space belonging to her family and recover the association's Heavenly Origin Artifact, the association won't ask me to return it. After all, the Heavenly Origin Artifact did indeed originally belong to the association. However, since it was already put up as collateral, that means the two sides entered into an equal wager: there are losses and gains. Since the association lost, when I win it back, you cannot say that it was collateral I pledged to the association. You must return it."
The Guild Master's eyelids twitched sharply when he heard this, and just as he was about to say something, the other association members spoke first.
"You mean that you're using three century-old cultivation stones to exchange for our association's Heavenly Origin Artifact!?"
"Even if these three cultivation stones are expensive, they can't possibly be worth more than a Heavenly Origin Artifact!"
"Exactly! With a Heavenly Origin Artifact,