I'll Buy Him

Back at Clear Wind Pavilion, Feng Shu and Feng Yi were practicing their swordsmanship in the courtyard. Only when they saw Lin Qingyang return did they stop and greet him.

Lin Qingyang frowned at them. "If you're going to put on an act for me, at least change your moves. It's been so long, and every time I look, you're doing the same move."

Feng Shu and Feng Yi exchanged an awkward glance. Lin Qingyang continued, "I'm testing your swordsmanship tomorrow. If you can't last ten moves against me, neither of you is going to this year's Immortal Alliance Ceremony." With that, he headed to his room, leaving Feng Shu and Feng Yi looking as though they had been struck by a bolt from the blue.

"Didn't Master never bother with us before?" Feng Yi said.

Feng Shu frowned. "Stop talking and get practicing!"

Lin Qingyang entered his bedroom and threw himself onto the soft couch. Deliberately ignoring the irritation in his chest, he took the books out of his Qiankun Bag and set them beside him, then picked one at random to read. After turning two pages without taking in a single word, he irritably snapped it shut and tossed it aside, grabbed a piece of fruit, and bit hard into it.

"Actually, his leaving is better for everyone." Lin Yao's voice rang out. At some point, the Windflower Sword had floated over beside him.

Lin Qingyang said nothing. Of course he knew this might be the best choice for now. They were neither family nor friends, and he had already helped him a great deal. He had no obligation to take responsibility for him for the rest of his life. Besides, his temperament was still unsettled, and his methods were ruthless. Keeping him here was too great a risk. Lin Qingyang counted off the reasons in his mind. Everything was clearly logical, well reasoned and well founded, yet he felt no relief at all.

"Where will he be sold?" Lin Qingyang couldn't help asking.

"That's hard to say. Jin Yao Workshop has plenty of clients. Any of the major Immortal Sects, high officials, or nobles are possible," Lin Yao said, then sighed. "But with that temperament of his, I'm afraid he won't have an easy life wherever he goes. I suppose that's a villain's fate."

Lin Qingyang frowned, seemingly already imagining the little ingrate's miserable future. His gaze fell on the Curved Saber on the table, which had been stolen from him earlier, and his expression grew even more conflicted.

In the reception hall of Golden Spirit Court, Hua Jin took an elegant sip of tea. "I remember selling him to you for only a hundred Spirit Stones back then. You've got some nerve asking me for six hundred."

"How old was he back then? Raising him all these years cost money too. Besides, what were prices like then? Even the price of land in town has doubled over the years," Jin Buhuan said, fanning himself from the opposite seat.

"Three hundred. Triple the price is generous enough," Hua Jin countered.

"Boss Hua, who bargains like that? Cutting the price straight in half." Jin Buhuan smiled.

Hua Jin chuckled. "It's not my first day in business. With looks like his, would you sell him if there weren't something seriously wrong with him?"

"Calling it something wrong is going too far. You know his temperament. He's simply impossible to control," Jin Buhuan said.

Hua Jin glanced at Qi Mo, who stood to one side. His face was expressionless, his eyes fixed on the tightly shut door ahead, as though he didn't care at all what they were saying.

"He's older now. He might not be easy to sell," Hua Jin said.

"Five hundred. If you're still unhappy with that, Boss Hua, I won't insist," Jin Buhuan said.

Hua Jin took a sip of tea and did not bargain further. Instead, she rose and walked over to Qi Mo, looking him up and down. Qi Mo raised his eyes and stared coldly at the woman before him, ferocity seeping into his wolfish eyes. Hua Jin struck his face hard with her fan. His head snapped to the side, a red mark left on his cheek, but his gaze only grew colder.

"Still the same damned attitude," Hua Jin said through gritted teeth.

She had raised this Wolf Demon for several years back then, thinking his good looks would fetch a fine price. Who would have thought that a mere touch would make him nearly bite a customer's hand off? If no amount of beating could have made him submit, she would never have sold him cheaply to the Nine Skies Sect.

"Fine. I'll take on the trouble and bring him back to train him slowly," Hua Jin told Jin Buhuan.

"How generous of you, Boss Hua," Jin Buhuan said with a smile.

Hua Jin looked at the Wolf Demon before her again. She had to admit that after several years apart, his looks had grown even more striking. She lifted his chin with her fan and turned his face back toward her, saying teasingly, "Those looks really are wasted in the Nine Skies Sect." She chuckled, then patted his face with the fan. "Don't worry. I'll find you a good place."

Jin Buhuan glanced over while drinking his tea, then withdrew his gaze and continued drinking.

Qi Mo stared coldly at him. The ferocity in his eyes faded, leaving his deep gaze unreadable instead. Hua Jin gave a disdainful snort and turned to Jin Buhuan. "Sorry for the trouble, Elder Jin, but please adjust the Demon-Locking Ring."

But the moment she finished speaking, pain suddenly shot through the arm whose hand held the fan. Hua Jin screamed, and the bone fan fell to the floor. Qi Mo had sunk his teeth into her forearm.

"Boss Hua!" Jin Buhuan exclaimed, yet he did not rise or even set down his teacup.

"You beast!" Hua Jin cursed in pain, beating Qi Mo with her other hand, but he refused to let go.

Hua Jin's face twisted with pain. Gritting her teeth, she channeled her Spiritual Power. The ring on her other hand suddenly lit up, and she struck the back of Qi Mo's neck with Spiritual Power. After a wave of pain and numbness, Qi Mo lost all strength and fell to the floor.

Cradling her bloodied arm, Hua Jin turned deathly pale from the pain. Qi Mo raised his head and glared viciously at her, then spat a scrap of flesh from his blood-filled mouth.

"Beast!" Hua Jin cursed furiously. Her face, pale from pain, flushed red with anger. She picked up the bone fan from the floor, and it instantly lengthened in her hand, becoming a bone whip covered in spikes. The spikes were so sharp that a single lash might tear away a large patch of flesh.

Jin Buhuan frowned. Just as the whip lashed down, the wooden door burst open with a bang. A gust swept past, overturning the teacup in Jin Buhuan's hand.

Then a streak of azure light flashed in front of Qi Mo, blocking Hua Jin's bone whip. The force drove Hua Jin several steps back. Only after steadying herself did she see that the person standing in front of Qi Mo was none other than Lin Qingyang.

Lin Qingyang glanced at Hua Jin's arm, then at Qi Mo kneeling on one knee at his feet and the blood covering his mouth, and understood what had happened. Somewhat helplessly, he lowered his voice and said to Qi Mo, "You really know how to cause trouble! I leave you alone for a little while, and you've bitten someone again!"

Qi Mo wiped the blood from his mouth and looked up at Lin Qingyang, then actually turned his head away and ignored him. Lin Qingyang was speechless.

Seeing the way the two were acting, Hua Jin demanded angrily, "Elder Lin, what is the meaning of this?"

Lin Qingyang turned to Hua Jin. "You're injured, Boss Hua. You should tend to the wound first."

"There's no hurry. I'll teach this beast a lesson first!" Hua Jin said through gritted teeth.

Lin Qingyang glanced at the bone whip in his hand. "That thing could kill someone."

Hua Jin sneered. "I've already bought this Demon Slave. Even if I beat him to death, that's on me."

Lin Qingyang smiled. His tone was courteous, but his words nearly made Hua Jin cough blood. "You haven't paid yet. How can you say he's yours?"

Hua Jin snapped furiously, "What, are you trying to back out of the deal?"

Lin Qingyang looked at Jin Buhuan, who sat beside the table. "What price did you just agree on?"

"Five hundred," Jin Buhuan said, fanning himself.

Lin Qingyang nodded, then declared imperiously, "I'll pay ten times that. Him-I'll buy him!"

Qi Mo froze, finally raising his head to look at Lin Qingyang, as though he couldn't believe what he had heard.