Steward Xie shook his head. "That's the difference between a blade of grass and a piece of gold. If you take out a blade of grass, even if the inspectors find it, they'll likely turn a blind eye out of consideration for our relationship. But if you take out a blood artifact and it's discovered, everyone in the Guili Room, from top to bottom, will suffer. How could they dare let you pass?"
Xu Yi understood. It came down to the same thing: it wasn't about whether they dared, but whether the profits were worth the risk. In other words, once the profit reached a certain level, someone would take on even the greatest risk.
"I'll cover the deposit for the blood artifact. On top of that, I'm willing to pay three thousand gold as a gratuity. I wonder if Steward Xie has the guts to take a chance."
Xu Yi dropped all pretense and laid the gold coins right in front of Steward Xie.
As expected, Steward Xie, who loved money as dearly as his life, couldn't hold out. His face flushed red, his eyes glazed over, and even his knees went weak. He collapsed onto the couch, his fists clenched as if he were steeling himself—or fighting off temptation.
"Five thousand gold! I imagine you'll have plenty of strings to pull, Steward. I can't let you sweat and risk your neck for nothing!"
Xu Yi gave Steward Xie another shot of adrenaline. Before he could consider it, Xu Yi immediately said, "Forget it. This is too risky. I won't drag you into it. I'll go ask someone else. And please keep this to yourself." Xu Yi made as if to leave.
The mix of soft and hard tactics finally shattered the dam that had already been crumbling in