Intermediate Rune Crafting Methods

After pondering for a long time, Su Changsheng finally agreed to the Fox Woman Little Four's proposal.

At that moment...

Seeing the white snake before her nod in agreement, the Fox Woman quietly sighed with relief. A smile returned to her taut face, and even her voice grew clear and lilting. "Xi, how much stock do you have on hand?"

Su Changsheng thought for a moment. "Fifteen! I saved these up last month and planned to exchange them all for blood food."

"At the current market rate, twenty-eight jin apiece. If you can take that many this time, I'll trade them all to you."

Apart from keeping a few in reserve, he planned to trade away all the Concealment Runes he had in one go. His asking price was reasonable, too, leaving the Fox Woman some room for profit.

"Deal!" The Fox Woman gritted her teeth and continued, "But I don't have that much blood food. How about I make up the balance with a few rune crafting methods?"

"How much blood food do you have?" Su Changsheng asked. Blood food was still his greatest priority, and the quantity couldn't be too small.

"Two hundred and eighty jin! That's all my stock. If you want everything paid in blood food, give me a little time. I'll have to arrange for more."

"That'll do. Let's trade!" Su Changsheng nodded his agreement. That was a considerable amount of blood food.

Besides, he had already intended to buy a few new rune crafting methods, so he continued, "You have rune crafting materials here too, right? Count those toward the balance and give me some."

"Yes!"

The Fox Woman nodded, finally breathing easy. She had been afraid Su Changsheng would refuse the trade. High-quality Concealment Runes were far too useful right now, and she wanted nothing more than to get her hands on them immediately.

Of course, the Fox Woman hadn't brought these things with her. She left briefly and soon returned. A little later, a Lesser Yao led two Half-Demons over, carrying everything they needed.

That Lesser Yao was none other than the Eagle Yao. Upon seeing Su Changsheng, he gave an awkward smile, then hurried away with the other two Half-Demons as soon as his task was done.

Su Changsheng wasn't angry. He merely gave the Eagle Yao and the Fox Woman a long, searching look before inspecting the blood food, rune crafting methods, and rune materials.

There was nothing wrong with the blood food. It was very fresh, with some coming from wild yao and some from Mutants. There was even a fair amount of Rat Demon flesh, which suited his tastes nicely.

All the blood food had been packed into a bag stitched from beast hide. Stuffed to the brim, it looked quite sizable.

There were fewer rune crafting methods and rune materials. To cover the remaining balance, the Fox Woman gave Su Changsheng two intermediate rune crafting methods and some talisman-making materials.

"Of these two intermediate rune crafting methods, one is the Little Venomous Dragon's Shedding Talisman, and the other is the Healing Art. The former is a gift; the latter is priced at a hundred jin. I'm not cheating you. Ask around yourself-intermediate rune crafting methods generally cost between fifty and a hundred jin of flesh."

"And the Healing Art is one of the few intermediate runes capable of treating injuries among our demon race. Its crafting method has always cost more than a hundred jin of blood food, and even then, money alone won't get you one."

"As for the Little Venomous Dragon's Shedding Art, it comes from a pureblood Lesser Yao's innate rune and hasn't been modified at all. It's extremely difficult to study. I'd advise you not to devote all your attention to it."

The Fox Woman spoke while pointing at the rune crafting methods on the table.

Su Changsheng nodded, a little delighted. He had never expected to obtain another intermediate rune crafting method besides the Little Venomous Dragon's Shedding Art.

More importantly, it was a healing rune.

At the intermediate level, rune crafting methods cost more than ten times as much as low-level ones. This wasn't merely because their effects were exceptional, but also because the beast hides bearing intermediate rune crafting methods couldn't be resold.

The learner had to infuse demon power into them, slowly exploring and understanding them, studying through resonance. Once used, the crafting method became mixed with the user's demon power and was essentially ruined.

Moreover, even after learning a crafting method, engraving it anew was extraordinarily difficult. Without strength at level seven or eight or above, it was virtually impossible.

There were a great many restrictions.

That showed just how precious the Fox Woman's Healing Rune crafting method was. She truly hadn't cheated him.

Still, Su Changsheng couldn't figure out how a mere level three Half-Demon had come to possess a rune crafting method of this caliber. Had she found herself a wealthy patron?

Some powerful yao were especially fond of Half-Demons like the Fox Woman. After all, they really were seductive little vixens.

But that was naturally none of his business.

After packing up everything from the trade, declining the Fox Woman's offer to deliver it to his home, and agreeing on an approximate time for their next exchange, Su Changsheng slung the enormous bundle onto his back and left without hesitation.

He was carrying a fortune, and a long night invited troublesome dreams. He had no desire to browse any further. Leaving the Yao Market directly, he raced toward the various secluded areas of the Yao Stronghold.

Only the Fox Woman remained behind, watching him leave in silence.

"Aren't we following him?"

"I can keep an eye on him from the sky the whole time. I'm sure I can find his hiding place."

The Eagle Yao had appeared beside the Fox Woman at some point and spoke in a low voice.

"Follow him? What for? Find his den, then drag him back to make runes for us?"

"How many times have I told you? We're respectable business yao. We don't swindle or cheat. What did that human book say? As a person... pah, as a yao, you must act with integrity. That's how you build a stable trading system."

"Don't fixate on the profits right before your eyes. The situation in the Yao Stronghold is complicated, and the Great Yaos' attitudes are unclear... besides, you might not actually be able to keep track of him. That fellow doesn't strike me as simple."

The Fox Woman's expression was complex and unreadable.

Hearing this, the Eagle Yao's heart sank slightly. The Fox Woman had said a great deal, but her final remarks were the real reason they weren't making a move.

Even the Fox Woman, a level three Half-Demon, couldn't gauge the depths of that Half-Demon white snake.

Thinking about it, that was only natural. After all, who knew how many more trump cards someone capable of producing so many high-quality Concealment Runes might have?

Elsewhere...

Su Changsheng didn't return to the Half-Demon Grounds. Instead, he made a wide circuit around the outskirts of the Yao Stronghold.

He deliberately chose secluded, quiet places devoid of yao. His route twisted and turned enough to leave anyone following him dizzy.

As the sky began to darken, Su Changsheng stopped at the edge of a forest surrounded by towering fir trees.

"Still following me?"

"If you don't come out now, I'm heading into the woods!"

Su Changsheng gave a cold snort.

Yet no yao answered. Only fierce winds laden with heavy snow kept howling through the trees.

"Hmph!"

"Still hiding? I've already seen you. Come out! Isn't this blood food what you're after? I'll spare you a portion as a toll, and we can all avoid souring relations. How about it?"

His voice echoed through the woods.

There was still no reply.

After a long while, Su Changsheng's face relaxed slightly. Taking a deep breath, he muttered to himself, "Whew, all clear! So no yao were following me. Maybe I shook them all off."

"What a lucky break."

"Forget it. I'd better hurry. The boss must be getting impatient by now. If I lose all this blood food, he'll tear me apart."