Inside Changlin Merchant House, Chief Steward Master Xie's red beard trembled, his face dark as water. Old Geng sat across from him, his expression even more frighteningly gloomy.
From time to time, trusted disciples entered to report a few words, then quietly withdrew.
And when they reported, they were incomparably cautious, using Soul Transmission directly. Even if they had handled today's matter seamlessly, if even half a word leaked out, heads would roll.
Their master never lacked people under his command, but what he hated most were those fellows who reached where they should not.
Then again, weren't all masters cut from the same cloth?
The entire Changlin Merchant House seemed shrouded in shadow. Everyone hunched over their own tasks; even those with nothing to do did not dare say half a word.
This bustle continued until the bright moon hung overhead before gradually coming to a stop.
Yet Master Xie, whose full name was Xie Lue, looked even more somber.
They had begun scrambling from the moment his disciple Ling Huang's soul scattered in the first arena battle early that morning. All the treasures they had treasured for years had been dumped onto the market and sold off in the shortest possible time.
By afternoon, he and Old Geng had even each copied down one of their exclusive Secret Arts and sold them off to make up the shortfall in Spirit Stones.
A residence that his master had once rewarded him with, a property now impossible to buy at any price on the market, had also been pawned away.
They had asked every old friend with whom they shared life-and-death bonds whom they could appropriately approach. Every mouth that could be opened had been opened, every favor that could be begged had been begged, yet they were still short