Blood Curse

Xu Yi said, "What could I have gained? The people who got to sit in the inner room were all wealthy magnates. What was my little bit of money to them? By the way, did you sell my green blade?"

"Sold it, sold it! I never expected that little green sword, forged from Geng Iron and all, would fetch one hundred and fifty gold. The old geezer buying it first offered only a hundred, trying to cheat me. So I took it and waved it around the hall, and the old geezer couldn't take it anymore. He called me back, and after a lot of back-and-forth, he finally agreed to one hundred and fifty. That was already the highest price I'd privately heard."

Yuan Qinghua beamed with pride as he reported his success. As he spoke, he took out six gold notes—one worth a hundred gold and five worth ten each—along with a transaction receipt, and handed them to Xu Yi.

"Nicely done. Thanks for the effort!"

Xu Yi didn't even look at the notes. He took them, plucked out one worth ten gold, and slapped it into Yuan Qinghua's hand.

Yuan Qinghua was delighted. "Boss, you're generous. I've been in this line of work for years, and I've never met a patron as generous as you."

Greedy but not dishonest, Yuan Qinghua had made a better impression on Xu Yi. Smiling, he said, "You earned it. No need to thank me. All right, get back to work. I have things to do, so I'll be off."

"Wait, Boss! Weren't you looking for a heavy weapon?" Yuan Qinghua asked urgently.

"I saw too many treasures at the auction just now. Ordinary goods probably wouldn't catch my eye, so there's no point in looking."

It wasn't that he didn't want to look; it was that his pockets were light. After buying the Dragon Crocodile Hide, he had only two hundred gold left, which he planned to spend on having the hide made into armor.

He had hoped the green blade he'd entrusted to Yuan Qinghua would fetch a high price, but it had brought in only a little over a hundred gold.

Added together, he had only three hundred and fifty gold. Having seen true treasures, Xu Yi knew that even all that money together might not buy anything he really wanted.

With that, Xu Yi started walking, but Yuan Qinghua followed close behind.

"What's this? The deal's done. Are you planning to latch onto me now?" Xu Yi raised an eyebrow.

Yuan Qinghua waved his hands repeatedly. "Boss, don't get me wrong. How could I presume to do that? I wanted to ask whether you'd be willing to hire me long-term. It wouldn't cost much. Just twenty coins a month—no, fifteen gold coins."

Yuan Qinghua worked as a guide and intermediary, a truly lowly trade. His earnings were meager; sometimes he wouldn't get a single job for several days straight. Meeting a generous patron like Xu Yi today was like having a pie fall from the sky.

He earned only sixty or seventy gold a year. After paying the steep cost of living in the eastern city and keeping up with his cultivation, he was, in truth, among the very lowest rung of the eastern city's residents.

"I can't afford to keep you."

It wasn't that he couldn't afford it; it was that there was no point. Xu was hardly some trader who spent all day darting between markets. Was he supposed to hire Yuan Qinghua to serve tea and pour water?

Yuan Qinghua said, "Boss, don't try to fool me. I could tell you were no ordinary man. You're bound to make a name for yourself in Guang'an one day. How could you get by without someone at your side to lend a hand? Take your trip to the eastern city this time. If you'd had a follower like me, why would you have needed to trouble yourself with the journey? And I know what you're thinking: 'If I let you take so much money out with you, how can I trust you?' What you don't know is that if I'm willing to place myself in your service, I'll make sure you have no reason to worry. I can sign a Blood Curse with you. From now on, whether you need medicine bought, errands run, enemies investigated, or information gathered, I can handle it all. With the Blood Curse as a binding oath, you won't need to worry that I'll harbor any improper intentions."

"Blood Curse? What's that?"

The words "enemies investigated" and "information gathered" caught his attention, and Xu Yi suddenly felt that there was some use in hiring this fellow.

Yuan Qinghua said, "A Blood Curse is a blood talisman. It takes both parties' vows as its foundation and seals them with blood. Once the Blood Curse is activated, anyone who breaks their vow will have their heart devoured by the curse and die." As he spoke, he pulled two sheets of paper from his pocket. One was scarlet as blood; Xu Yi recognized the other as a transaction receipt from Linglong Pavilion.

Xu Yi had already guessed that the scarlet sheet was the Blood Talisman. As for the other sheet—the transaction receipt for the Blood Talisman—Yuan Qinghua had brought it as supporting proof, in case Xu didn't trust that the Blood Curse was genuine.

Xu Yi had guessed right. Yuan Qinghua had decided to work exclusively for Xu Yi as soon as he sold the green blade. He had bought the Blood Talisman then.

Seeing how sincere Yuan Qinghua was, Xu Yi found it even harder to refuse. He weighed the pros and cons in his mind but kept walking. Before he knew it, he had reached the same arch bridge he'd crossed on the way here. Gazing west into the distance, he saw two fighters still leaping about on the arena stage, exchanging blows with swords and blades. Only the white flag beside the stage had been replaced by a black one, and a much larger crowd had gathered below.

Suddenly, Xu Yi had an idea. "Since we've come this far, I'll hire you!"

Xu Yi was desperately short of money. He had only three hundred and fifty gold left, and turning the Dragon Crocodile Hide into leather armor would certainly cost a great deal.

On top of that, he'd asked Linglong Pavilion to help gather medicinal ingredients, which would cost another one hundred and twenty gold.

Together, those expenses would likely wipe out every last coin in Xu's purse.

And that wasn't even counting the money he'd need to spend on working the Iron Essence, now that he'd seen its wonders.

Having lived two lifetimes, Xu Yi was shrewd and seasoned. He knew well that a man didn't grow rich without a windfall, any more than a horse grew fat without extra feed at night. As the saying went, a golden belt came from murder and arson—and where else had Xu gotten his windfall of two thousand gold but from murder and arson?

He couldn't get away with murder and arson in Guang'an City, but there were still ways to work the angles and make quick money.

Xu Yi's eyes were on the bets being placed beneath the arena stage.

He was about to enter one fight—or perhaps many. Lose, and he'd die, so there was no use saving money. Win, and he'd make a fortune. Wouldn't it be foolish not to place a bet?

Since Xu Yi had set his sights on betting, he naturally wouldn't forget Yuan Qinghua.

When it came to this sort of thing, how could Xu Yi match the well-seasoned Yuan Qinghua?

Making Yuan Qinghua his puppet was the real reason Xu Yi had finally agreed.

Once they'd settled things, Yuan Qinghua led Xu Yi to his cramped dwelling in the eastern city. He opened the blood-red talisman, bit his index finger, and dripped a drop of blood onto it, then recited a vow.

The vow simply stated that while employed, Yuan Qinghua would loyally serve his employer, and that even after the employment ended, he would keep all secrets concerning his employer.

After Yuan Qinghua finished reciting, Xu Yi followed his instructions and recited his own passage, agreeing to pay the stipulated amount of money on time and not to break the contract.

Once they had sworn their vows, Xu Yi's finger split open of its own accord at a thought. A drop of blood, thick as a solid bead, floated out and landed precisely on the Blood Talisman.

The two drops of blood merged. In an instant, the talisman burst into fierce flames and shot a streak of bloody light straight into both their chests.

With the oath sealed, Xu Yi told Yuan Qinghua where he lived and turned to leave.