Getting Fleeced

"Three hundred spirit stones per use of the Demon-Capturing Net, plus a five-hundred-spirit-stone deposit, for a total of eight hundred spirit stones?!" Lin Qingyang read through gritted teeth. Nobody had told him he had to pay to use his own sect's things!

"If you haven't brought enough money, Elder Lin, I can send a disciple to fetch it from Clear Wind Pavilion," Jin Buhuan offered considerately, all smiles.

"Eight hundred spirit stones? Has Golden Spirit Court taken up robbery?" Lin Qingyang said, at a loss. Although he had only arrived recently, he had some sense of what money was worth. Eight hundred spirit stones equaled a year's salary at the Nine Skies Sect.

Jin Buhuan was not annoyed. Instead, he smiled. "Elder Lin, five hundred of those spirit stones are only a deposit. As long as the Demon-Capturing Net is returned undamaged, they will be refunded."

Lin Qingyang sneered. Naturally, he had studied the Demon-Capturing Net. It was a consumable, and especially liable to damage when used against a great demon like Chimei. Chances were he would never get the deposit back. Jin Buhuan was openly trying to fleece him.

"I remember a new one only costs two hundred spirit stones, doesn't it?" Lin Qingyang asked through gritted teeth.

"That's true, but Demon-Capturing Nets are complicated to make. Orders usually have to be placed six months in advance, and there are none in stock. If you aren't in a hurry, Elder Lin, you could wait," Jin Buhuan said with a smile.

"Are you serious? Even if my trip to Greenstone Mountain isn't for the sect leader, I'm still ridding the people of a menace! And you're taking the opportunity to extort me?" Lin Qingyang said irritably.

Jin Buhuan waved his fan. "It can't be helped. Managing the household isn't easy. Please be understanding, Elder Lin."

Lin Qingyang looked at Jin Buhuan suspiciously. "You aren't singling me out to fleece, are you?"

Jin Buhuan nodded frankly. "Indeed I am."

"Have I offended you somehow?" Lin Qingyang asked.

Jin Buhuan waved his fan. "Not at all. It's just that over the past ten years, as an elder, you haven't taught disciples, handled Immortal Sects affairs, or dealt with pleas for help from the common people. You've done practically nothing, yet collected eight hundred spirit stones every year. If the sect leader hadn't insisted, I would have cut off your spirit stones long ago."

For a moment, Lin Qingyang had nothing to say. Indeed, besides teaching disciples, the other elders of the Nine Skies Sect all had their own duties. Only the original owner of his body had stayed holed up in Clear Wind Pavilion all day, attending to nothing. He had spent ten years on paid leave, and the only work he had done was poisoning the sect leader.

But that had been the original owner's doing! What did it have to do with him? Ever since arriving, he had practically been a model worker. For the first time in his life, Lin Qingyang felt unable to defend himself, no matter what he said.

Smiling, Jin Buhuan held out a writing brush. Lin Qingyang stared at the sheet of paper, his face full of reluctance. In all his years as a lawyer, he had never signed such a disadvantageous contract! The sword in his hand vibrated twice, urging him to let it go. After weighing it up for a long time, he finally took the brush and signed in humiliation.

Jin Buhuan put away the booklet and gestured with a smile. "This way, Elder Lin."

Lin Qingyang followed him through a corridor and a garden to an enormous red iron door. An intricate array was drawn on it. As the two approached, the array began to emit white light, and Lin Qingyang felt a powerful, imposing presence.

Jin Buhuan traced a few gestures with his fan. The array before them flickered and stopped glowing, and the oppressive pressure vanished completely. Then Jin Buhuan stepped forward and tapped several places on the door with his fan. A series of clicks sounded as locks opened, continuing for quite a while before finally stopping. Only then did Jin Buhuan push the door open.

Inside was an entire cavern chamber hewn from the rock face. At its center stood an enormous, oddly shaped stone platform, displaying all sorts of rare magical artifacts. Each was enclosed in an exquisite, transparent array and gave off a faint spiritual light.

Lin Qingyang walked around the display platform, admiring the items. One fan, called the Phoenix-Cry Fan, had a golden phoenix embroidered on its surface. Unfurled, it looked like a phoenix spreading its wings. Its ribs were light and transparent, yet contained powerful spiritual power. Farther to the left were the Fire Luan Bells, a pair of exquisite golden bells with red markings. Flame-like patterns flickered faintly across them, just like real fire. Beside them was the Seven-Star Shield, the size of a bronze mirror. Seven gemstones of different colors were set into its face in the shape of the Big Dipper, each gleaming with spiritual light. Lin Qingyang kept circling and looking.

"The ones in the middle are all first-grade magical treasures. The Demon-Capturing Net is over there." Jin Buhuan pointed toward the stone wall to one side.

Only then did Lin Qingyang notice that niches of varying sizes had been carved into the stone walls all around the cavern. These also held various types of magical artifacts, but compared with the ones he had just seen, they looked much more ordinary and had no protective arrays.

While Jin Buhuan searched for the niche containing the Demon-Capturing Net, Lin Qingyang suddenly noticed a pink, teardrop-shaped jade pendant in another niche. Its color was delicate, its surface translucent, smooth, and rounded. Curious, Lin Qingyang picked up the white one to examine it.

But the instant he took it in his hand, he suddenly felt dazed. Then his vision went black. When it brightened again, he found himself standing in the bedroom at Clear Wind Pavilion. Thick curtains covered the windows, leaving the room dim.

Lin Qingyang felt as though his head were splitting. Looking down, he discovered a curved blade in his hand. Then, beyond his control, his hand slashed the blade across his arm, once, twice. Bright red, sticky blood flowed, and an agitated, despairing feeling lingered in his chest. Then, looking at the blood-covered blade, he suddenly felt an urge to plunge it into his neck. The next moment, his hand actually moved to do it, the blade drawing slowly toward his throat.

No! No! Lin Qingyang tried to shout, but no sound came out. Then pain struck his chest, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Elder Lin? Elder Lin?" When he opened his eyes again, he saw Jin Buhuan looking at him with concern.

Lin Qingyang gathered his wits and realized he was still in the Treasure Pavilion. His mouth tasted of blood. He raised a hand to wipe it, feeling lingering waves of dull pain in his chest.

"Brother, how are you feeling?" Lin Yao hovered around him, asking with concern.

"To think your sword has already cultivated a sword spirit. This is the first time I've heard a sword spirit call someone 'Brother.' How interesting." Jin Buhuan looked at the Windflower Sword as he spoke. He had always been very interested in magical treasures and divine artifacts like these.

Lin Qingyang was in no mood to banter with him. Instead, he turned toward the jade pendant, which had already been put in a cabinet. Looking at it now, he saw that the jade had changed from its earlier pink to a deep red.

"That's the Bewitching-Heart Jade. It traps people in their most painful memories. In severe cases, they may even become trapped by their inner demons, unable to escape," Jin Buhuan explained.

Lin Qingyang frowned. But what he had just seen had not been his own inner demons. Could they belong to the original owner again?

"So what did you see just now?" Jin Buhuan asked curiously.

"I saw you fleecing me out of eight hundred spirit stones," Lin Qingyang said as he stood up.

Jin Buhuan smiled and did not press him further, handing him a folded net. Lin Qingyang took it. Looking at this net, which neither glowed nor had any special effects, and remembering the eight hundred he had spent, he felt the loss even more keenly.

Then he heard Jin Buhuan say with a smile, "One use of the Bewitching-Heart Jade costs a hundred spirit stones."

Lin Qingyang's fists clenched abruptly. He had never wanted to punch someone so badly!

At the entrance to Golden Spirit Court, Lin Qingyang left with a thoroughly disgruntled expression.

"Take care, Elder Lin. You're welcome to come again." Jin Buhuan saw him off with a smile.

Not far away, Mo Yan watched from behind some rocks, muttering to himself, "What did he come to Golden Spirit Court for?"

Lin Qingyang had been behaving far too strangely lately, and had repeatedly protected that demon slave. If not for his profound spiritual power, Mo Yan would have suspected that a demon had bewitched him. The more he thought it over, the more he felt Lin Qingyang might really be connected to the case involving the sect leader.

Behind Mo Yan, Xue Lanyuan crouched in a tree, watching him from afar.