Terms of the Deal

"Xiao Lin?" Xun Er was puzzled at first, then after a moment of stunned silence, she shrank back, gently covered her mouth with her small hand, and said in a slightly trembling voice:

"You... no... you are Xiao Yan Gege's grandfather, the Old Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Lin?"

"That's right." Seemingly satisfied with Xun Er's reaction, Xiao Lin said with a wicked grin.

"But shouldn't you have passed away?" Xun Er was shocked.

Xiao Lin had passed away a long time ago, and the entire Xiao Clan believed so. So when this happened, even Xun Er, who was quick-witted, was a little confused.

"This is just a smokescreen," Xiao Lin said casually. "Didn't your Ancient Races often use this trick too?"

Many veterans of various factions, if they want to extricate themselves and switch to covert protection, either gradually diminish their presence or stage a fake death to quickly disappear—old tricks.

This is precisely why some long-established forces are filled with old monsters, and no one can figure out their true nature.

Xun Er gradually came to her senses and regained her usual composure. Somewhat nervously, she changed the subject, saying, "I wonder what Grandpa Xiao wants to see Xun Er about?"

This is Xiao Yan Gege's elder, so we absolutely cannot be impolite.

However, the next moment, Xiao Lin's words caused Xun Er's expression to change drastically.

"Little girl, your Gu Clan sent you here to find our Xiao Clan's Tou She Ancient God Jade, right?"

Xun Er's small hands clenched suddenly. This shouldn't be the case. She hasn't shown any obvious inclination, has she?

Xun Er was filled with many thoughts, but more than anything, she was worried. Now that the Xiao Clan knew that her arrival was for ulterior motives, what would they think of her?

Seeing Xun Er's nervousness, Xiao Lin chuckled, "Don't worry, since I've said it, it proves that my Xiao Clan doesn't care about this matter."

Xiao Lin's words seemed to have a magical power, quickly calming Xun Er down. She asked in confusion, "Then I wonder, Grandpa Xiao..."

Before Xun Er could finish speaking, Xiao Lin interrupted, "Little girl, can you represent the Gu Clan and make a deal with my Xiao Clan?"

"A deal?" Xun Er, puzzled.

"Yes!" Xiao Lin nodded, "Regarding the transaction of the ancient imperial jade of my Xiao Clan 'Tou She Ancient God Jade."

"The Tou She Ancient God Jade?!"

Xun Er's voice suddenly grew louder. She didn't believe that the Xiao Clan knew about the Tou She Ancient God Jade Ancient Jade were unaware of its meaning. Even a fragment of a piece of jade related to the Ancient Emperor Cave Abode was enough to drive countless people crazy.

Now, the other party is actually saying they want to make a deal!

However, Xun Er didn't care about any of that; she only cared about one thing. "How will the transaction be conducted?"

She asked expectantly.

The Tou She Ancient God Jade is a huge bargaining chip; if Father knew, he certainly wouldn't refuse.

"Well..." Xiao Lin drawled, "My Xiao Clan hopes that the Gu Clan can help us solve some problems."

Xun Er regained her original intelligence, her eyes sparkling. She naturally guessed that the problem Xiao Lin mentioned was probably not small, otherwise he wouldn't have used such a large piece of fat meat Tou She Ancient God Jade to dangle in front of the Gu Clan.

But...

Xun Er took a deep breath. For the sake of the Tou She Ancient God Jade, she would fight to the death!

"What could be the problem?"

"My Xiao Clan hopes that the Gu Clan can hold off the Soul Clan for ten years, so that they will not interfere with the development of my Xiao Clan."

Xun Er thought she was mentally prepared, but Xiao Lin's words completely caught her off guard.

Xun Er frowned and asked, "Has the Soul Clan discovered what's going on with the Xiao Clan?"

The intelligence network of the Soul Clan is surprisingly strong, only a little over ten years behind that of their Gu Clan, the race most familiar with the Xiao Clan.

But that's not the key point right now; the important thing is...

"Grandpa Xiao, you think too highly of our Gu Clan. Xun Er I can't fulfill this request."

In Xun Er's view, although their Gu Clan was indeed slightly stronger than the Soul Clan, the difference was limited. How could they possibly have the ability to completely stop the Soul Clan's power? That would be tantamount to launching a direct war between the two clans.

If this condition is relayed back to the Gu Clan, it would be better to just seize it directly!

But Xun Er didn't want to let this great opportunity slip away, so she took the initiative to suggest:

"Our Gu Clan can use resources to exchange for the Tou She Ancient God Jade with the Xiao Clan, even if it's just Ninth Grade Pill."

Ancient Races like the Gu Clan have no shortage of money. If they could exchange resources for the Tou She Ancient God Jade, no one would dare to object.

However...

Xiao Lin shook his head and said, "Our Xiao Clan might have the life to acquire these resources, but not the life to enjoy them!"

The implication was clearly disagreement.

Xun Er said with difficulty, "Grandpa Xiao, our Gu Clan really cannot agree to this. Could we change the terms?"

Xiao Lin pondered for a moment, then finally sighed, "What's the maximum extent that your Gu Clan can achieve?"

Now it's time to negotiate a lower price, Xun Er started to bargain. "My Gu Clan can only intercept the Soul Clan's five-star or higher Dou Sheng, we are powerless against the rest."

On the surface, Dou Sheng is much more difficult to deal with than an ordinary nobody. In fact, only top-tier experts are the best targets to stop them.

The reason is simple: there are too few people!

The Soul Clan, with hundreds of thousands of official members. There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. If these people wanted to infiltrate, it would be too easy for their Gu Clan to discover them.

However, the Advanced Dou Sheng of the Soul Clan were different. The powerful members of the Gu Clan had been keeping an eye on this group of people, basically using a man-to-man tactic. As long as the other party made any unusual moves, the Gu Clan could immediately detect it.

Such conditions were essentially nonexistent for the Gu Clan.

Xiao Lin reluctantly offered his final condition. "How about this, my Xiao Clan won't make things difficult for the Gu Clan. As long as the Gu Clan can stop all the Soul Clan's Dou Sheng Expert, my Xiao Clan will offer up the Tou She Ancient God Jade with both hands within ten years."

"How?"

Xun Er frowned in thought. This condition was indeed much easier than before. The Gu Clan were originally opposed to the Soul Clan, so this kind of thing was much easier than she had imagined.

However, it was also troublesome. If the Xiao Clan hadn't used the Tou She Ancient God Jade as a bargaining chip, the Gu Clan would have been unlikely to agree.

Moreover, Xun Er doesn't have the authority to make decisions regarding matters involving Dou Sheng Expert.

Finally...

Xun Er gritted her teeth, raised her head and said, "Xun Er needs to contact the clan. Could you please ask Grandpa Xiao to wait a while? Xun Er will give you an answer in seven days, okay?"

"No problem!" Xiao Lin had no objection. This matter was far-reaching, how could a little girl make the decision? He was just passing on the conditions to the Gu Clan through her.

Now, Xiao Lin and even the Xiao Clan can only gamble, betting that the Gu Clan or Gu Yuan is willing to use this method to peacefully trade the Tou She Ancient God Jade.

Otherwise, the Xiao Clan would probably have no choice but to flee.

"In that case, Xun Er will take her leave now." Today's events had a huge impact on Xun Er. With the business concluded, Xun Er did not linger, even though the person in front of her was her future grandfather.

Watching Xun Er's departing figure, Xiao Lin felt heavy-hearted. This feeling of waiting for judgment was truly unbearable, but there was nothing he could do. After all, the Xiao Clan was too weak at the moment!

"Time to go see my grandson!" Xiao Lin suddenly smiled and disappeared.

I was a little excited. I wondered how that kid would react when he saw his grandfather.