Sun Jincheng gathered his thoughts and began recounting what had happened. "Two years ago, someone came to our Celebrated Treasures Pavilion with six Pine Monkeys. He wanted a hundred million taels of silver for each one and offered us a twenty-percent commission.
"At first, we thought he was mad, but those six Pine Monkeys understood people very well. They were gentle, sweet, and adorable.
"We invited people from the various lineages to view them. Everyone loved the Pine Monkeys, and before long, all six had been reserved.
"After that, he brought us a batch of spirit beasts every month, all monkeys or apes, priced between a hundred million and three hundred million taels.
"That amount of money means little to the major sects, so sales have always been good."
"What's this man's background?" Tang Yan asked.
Sun Jincheng shook his head. "He only said his name was Qian Hun. He never revealed anything else. In our line of work, we've always valued our clients' privacy, so we didn't press him."
"You aren't their only sales outlet, are you?"
"I don't know." Sun Jincheng shook his head again.
Tang Yan asked another crucial question. "Then do you know... that these monkeys aren't actually spirit beasts? They're all living people."
"No."
Hearing Sun Jincheng's answer, Tang Yan's desire to kill the people of the Celebrated Treasures Pavilion diminished considerably. They were merely merchants who knew nothing of it.
But Sun Jincheng still had an important role to play, so Tang Yan was in no hurry to withdraw the Soul-Thought Gu. "If he comes again, remember to send me a signal," he instructed.
"Yes!" Sun Jincheng agreed.
"Find me somewhere secluded," Tang Yan said.
Sun Jincheng nodded and led Tang Yan to an out-of-the-way room. "This room has been vacant all along. In