"Father!"
"Sheng'er!" One wept bitter tears; the other's aged eyes streamed with them. What a melodramatic father-and-son reunion. They cried for what seemed like an age before finally mastering their grief. Bai Ru took his son's hand, stepped forward, and bowed to Luo Qian. "Thank you, young friend!" Luo Qian smiled. "No need. I take a man's money and spare him his troubles. Only right, only right." He rubbed his fingers together at them. Bai Zisheng looked at his father.
Bai Ru was a little embarrassed. He had left in such a hurry that he had brought little money, and only now remembered that Luo Qian had not done the work for free. With an awkward, apologetic smile, he said, "Young friend, I'll certainly pay you, but I didn't bring it with me today. Could you perhaps..." Luo Qian stroked his chin, looking every inch the petty-minded man. "You didn't bring it? Surely one of the Twelve Stewards can come up with a trifling six hundred thousand?" "Six hundred thousand?" Hadn't they agreed on three hundred thousand? Bai Ru was puzzled.
Bai Zisheng hurriedly pulled his father aside and said a few words. Luo Qian said, "Lord Bai, there's still the outstanding balance of three hundred thousand, but that was only the fee for rescuing your son. We never guaranteed he'd survive afterward. The antidote had to be purchased separately. I'm sure you're a reasonable man, Lord Bai, so I needn't say any more. Heh..."
Bai Ru cared nothing for such a sum. "Of course, of course. As soon as I return home, I'll send someone over with six hundred thousand Superior Saint Stones." Luo Qian was still stroking his chin. "Ordinarily, we ought to take Lord Bai at his word. But these days, you never know what lies beneath