Published: March 2, 2025
Chapter 202: Subtle Machinations
“Junior Brother Xie, Junior Brother Liu has come with utmost sincerity.”
“They are all fellow disciples; why not help him out a bit?”
As soon as Liu Yu spoke, Yan Hongyu chimed in, her implications quite clear.
Hearing their back-and-forth, Xie Junjie’s eyes revealed a flicker of understanding. So, this Junior Brother Liu was here for the Huang family's alchemical heritage.
He wasn't an alchemist and had no intentions of learning alchemy; aside from exchanging this alchemical heritage for resources, he had little use for it.
“Granting a favor to two people shouldn't be an issue, but the price... heh.”
Xie Junjie thought this to himself, not rushing to speak. Instead, he feigned deep contemplation, appearing to be in a struggle, looking quite troubled.
Copying a formula wasn’t a problem, but he intended to raise the price. He had already made up his mind to dramatically increase the cost.
As for the so-called brotherhood?
That was just talk; when it came to interests, everything had to give way.
Xie Junjie was already far beyond the age of valuing feelings or passions; he understood deeply how important resources were on the path of cultivating immortality. Otherwise, why would he have fought so hard to capture the elder of the Huang family's alchemy hall? It was undoubtedly because he coveted the man's wealth, and he had even sustained some injuries in taking him down.
All that talk about feelings and righteousness was just empty; only tangible benefits were real.
He noted that Liu Yu had immediately taken out spiritual stones, indicating his sincerity in the exchange. Otherwise, if they were to indulge in empty talk, he would have long since sent him away with a cup of tea.
“Senior Brother Xie, what do you think?”
Halfway through a cup of tea, seeing that Xie Junjie still hadn't spoken, Liu Yu didn't want to drag this out any longer and asked proactively.
“As far as I know, Junior Brother Xie is not an alchemist, right? The alchemical heritage doesn’t hold much value for you.”
“The price Junior Brother Liu offered is not low; Junior Brother Xie should consider it carefully.”
Yan Hongyu commented lightly to Xie Junjie.
One must admit, this woman played her role as a middleman quite well. Liu Yu cast a grateful glance at her.
“Senior Sister Yan, Junior Brother Liu has to mention that although I am not an alchemist, I do have a very close friend who is an alchemist.”
“My friend once entrusted me to inform him if I came across any formulas or the like; he would pay a high price for them.”
“Since I have already made an agreement with this friend, if I were to copy a formula for Junior Brother Liu and then sell it to my friend, wouldn’t that be quite unfair?”
“How would others perceive me? The fellow cultivators in the cultivation world would see me as a greedy rogue.”
“A gentleman loves wealth, but acquires it through the right means; how could I be a greedy person?”
Xie Junjie appeared troubled, racking his brain to concoct a fictitious “friend” in an attempt to raise the price.
By the end of his speech, he wore a righteous look, as if he would never bow for a mere five measures of rice.
“Not that kind of person? I have a friend?”
Liu Yu inwardly sneered; this was merely an excuse to drive up the price.
He was about eighty percent sure that this person was just holding out for a higher price.
Liu Yu saw through everything; it all came down to the word “interest.”
However, he still wanted the alchemical heritage and had to play along in this act.
“Senior Brother Xie’s integrity humbles me, truly admirable!”
As Liu Yu spoke, he bowed deeply, seemingly moved by such character. Then, he shifted his tone and sighed, “But I am currently at a bottleneck in alchemy and need to refine new elixirs to break through.”
“I must earnestly request Senior Brother Xie to copy a formula for me; otherwise, I don't know when I’ll be able to progress further in alchemy.”