Chapter 22: Reluctantly Going to Take a Look [4K]
The man spent a few minutes explaining his intentions in detail to Huaxie Yu. Afterward, Huaxie Yu let out a small breath, her face revealing a look of sudden realization.
“I understand now. You want to run a scam, and you want me to be the one to lure in the marks, right?”
As she spoke, she picked up the beer placed at the edge of the bed, opened it, and drank more than half of the can in one go. Without hesitation, she reached into the convenience bag in the man’s hand, grabbed a handful of peanuts, and stuffed them into her mouth.
“You should have said that earlier! Doing all this spooky stuff, it could scare someone to d*ath!”
Oh, right! That foreign devil you dealt with earlier, it was you who took him out, right? Because of him, I lost a big chunk of money, and you’d better make it up to me!” Knowing that the man needed something from her, Huaxie Yu’s attitude immediately changed.
Though not yet brazenly arrogant, she was completely free from the submissiveness she had shown just moments before.
The man looked at the self-assured Huaxie Yu and then at her small hand reaching for peanuts again, slightly furrowing his brows, and asked, “So, does that mean you’re agreeing to work with me?”
Huaxie Yu rolled her eyes and spoke disdainfully, “Can I refuse? This kind of thing is too unethical. I worry that if I have a son in the future, he’ll only have those types of eyes!”
The man pondered for a few seconds and stated straightforwardly, “The reward is quite substantial.”
He had reviewed Huaxie Yu’s background and knew she valued money above all else; even her spirit patterns were money-related. For someone like her, using financial temptation was the simplest and quickest method.
Huaxie Yu shook her head, “This isn’t just about money; what do you take me for?” “I will compensate you for your previous losses with that Romanian.”
“That was always my loss!” Huaxie Yu thundered.
“Plus five hundred ounces of gold.”
The man didn’t mention a massive sum, considering Huaxie Yu’s personality and his words’ credibility at that moment. A larger amount could actually cause her to suspect him.
Five hundred ounces? About a million dollars? In an instant, Huaxie Yu made the conversion, gasping in excitement, her spirit patterns also stirring.
However, seeing that the man opened with such a large sum, this might not even be his bottom line, right? Should she try to push it further?
“I also have my bottom line.”
“One thousand ounces.” The man said casually, as if adding “another five hundred joy beans.” In reality, even if he offered Huaxie Yu more as a reward, he felt it wouldn’t matter; after all, it would be Phoenix who would be paying.
He was just a corporate worker who, after paying for social security, utilities, and phone bills, barely had enough left for rent and meals—where would he find such a large sum of money? Furthermore, once Huaxie Yu succeeded, it would not take long before any additional wealth would become meaningless.
Hearing his second offer, Huaxie Yu’s eye twitched as she stuttered, “Uh, a bottom line is set by people, and it’s not impossible to adjust it.”
“Hey, seeing you so sincere, why don’t we discuss the details again? If it doesn’t work out, we can both take a step back. I help you to attract marks, and you shouldn’t make things too difficult for them; after all, a person should leave a little leeway!”
“Two thousand ounces.”
Upon hearing this, Huaxie Yu felt a wave of dizziness, her vision going dark as she experienced for the first time what it felt like to be stunned by money.
But why is it me?
Someone who could afford this level of reward could definitely hire a stronger and more capable temptress. So why come to the Fragrant Lady Cave to find me?
Is there a conspiracy in this? Huaxie Yu thought.
“It must be you.” The man looked at Huaxie Yu and stated, “The specific reasons are inconvenient to explain.”
As he spoke, his eyes bore into hers. In those listless eyes, Huaxie Yu felt an undeniable force that left no room for rebuttal.
It was like a rule—I would starve to d*ath without food. “But…” Huaxie Yu avoided the man’s gaze, hesitating to speak. “Those kids…”
As soon as the man mentioned the kids, Huaxie Yu’s expression changed dramatically. In less than a second, she pulled out a new blade from somewhere on the bed and pressed it against the man’s neck.
“Business is business, but if you dare to touch them, I’ll d*e here today, and I’ll take half of you with me! If you don’t believe me, feel free to try!”
The man blankly stared at the furious Huaxie Yu, silently sighing, and raised his hand to gently push the blade away from his throat.
“I already said, don’t be impulsive; I have no intention of harming them.”
Seeing Huaxie Yu’s reaction, the man suddenly understood how to convince her.
After a pause, he continued explaining, “What I want to say is that for this task, you might have to leave for a while. When you can come back, I can’t say for sure.”
“I’ll arrange for someone to take the kids away and help take care of them.”
“You can take them away and help take care of them? Get lost! This is their home; they’re not going anywhere!” Huaxie Yu fiercely interrupted.
“Not going anywhere?” The man tilted his head, “Is that really what you think?”
“I mean, keeping them in this dark place, eating nothing nutritious every day, and receiving no proper education, at best they’ll just become like you.”
“I have a friend who could be considered a charitable educator. If I ask for his help, each of these kids could have a life better than most of their peers and receive the best education.”
The man was not lying.
Those factions under the Solar Eclipse Society siding with the president had several educational charities, disbursing a large number of scholarships to students from prestigious schools around the world every year and funding many scientific research projects.
This was a method to attract talent.
It was one of the reasons the man could surpass the Elders’ Council in a short amount of time after succeeding the Solar Eclipse Society’s presidency.
Even if only one percent of those who received aid could be useful to him, and out of that one percent, only one percent could make a breakthrough in certain spirit energy technologies, it would significantly boost the strength of the Solar Eclipse Society.
Phoenix’s Black Sun Brothers Tech Society had set up a Brother Tech Fund as well.
After all, Phoenix had to fund so many people; it should be no problem to spare a dozen spots to support the kids from the Fragrant Lady Cave, the man thought.
Huaxie Yu stared at the man, speechless for a long time.
The man was right; what she could give those kids was at most a shelter and one meal a day, and nothing more guaranteed.
If they continued to stay in the Fragrant Lady Cave, the only outcome would be that they would end up like her. Even if they were a bit better than her, they would mostly still engage in those murky dealings.
However, if given a chance, they certainly wouldn’t be inferior to other kids, right?
Aitian might become an excellent engineer; she was the one who repaired that video game console, and Fei Liang was very clever; he could remember the names of the stars after seeing them just once. Baby Baboon sang no worse than those stars.
d*mn it, why do I feel a bit uncomfortable, a bit reluctant to let go? It should be them who can’t live without me!
Thinking this, Huaxie Yu lowered the blade in her hand, pressed her forehead with one hand, blocking her slightly reddened eyes, and sighed silently, “Fine, you really moved me.”
“But how can you prove that everything you said is true? After all, you look… quite ordinary?”
Huaxie Yu, “Not just ordinary; I’m practically a defect.”
“There’s a reason for that; it’s a complex explanation.” The man swallowed a mouthful of beer, speaking lightly.
“If you’re not at ease, you can wait until the deposit is in hand, and a portion of the kids are taken care of, then see if what I said is true before starting the action.”
“Moreover, during this time, no one will trouble you again. I’ll ask someone to notify the Sun Gang.” There’s a saying, my vassal’s vassal isn’t my vassal.
To get the Sun Gang to act, Phoenix had to notify his subordinate organization, which would then inform the Sun Gang, which was quite troublesome.
If he directly approached the Sun Gang, he might be kicked out, the man thought.
An ordinary corporate worker casually showing up claiming to be the president of the Solar Eclipse Society would probably not be taken seriously.
“You can actually get the Sun Gang to help? They’re quite a formidable bunch,” Huaxie Yu said in surprise.
Clearly, the man being able to mobilize the Sun Gang shocked Huaxie Yu just as much as the generous reward did.
“Maybe I can?” The man scratched his cheek.
“Can you or can’t you?”
“I can.”
“Alright!” Huaxie Yu said, “Then I’ll work with you on this task, but before we start, there’s a small request.”
“You say it, and I’ll try my best to satisfy you,” the man replied.
“Let me see first who this unfortunate soul is that you have your eyes on.” Huaxie Yu pouted, “I at least need to know what he looks like, right?”
“Fair enough.” The man nodded, took out his phone, and searched for a photo of Luxianbei, handing it to Huaxie Yu.
After glancing at the photo, Huaxie Yu’s eyes lit up, “It’s him? I thought the target was some middle-aged loser like you! Turns out he’s a young wolfdog? You should have said so earlier!”
The boy in the photo had a handsome face, not effeminate, with a few rebellious streaks etched between his eyebrows—he was already close to being Huaxie Yu’s ideal type.
Whether he slept with me or I with him, it seemed like neither would lose, right? Plus, there’s a reward involved; it would be a major profit! Huaxie Yu thought.
Seeing the look in Huaxie Yu’s eyes, as if she couldn’t wait to strip Luxianbei and throw him onto the bed, the man had a string of question marks floating in his mind.
He suddenly felt that he probably, maybe, truly didn’t understand women.
———
Tangcheng, Peach Blossom Road.
It was already late at night; deep inside Chunfeng Residence, intermittent shouts and curses could still be heard. “How dare you challenge me to an offline duel? The young people are getting more arrogant!”
“Yuan Ye, Yuan Ye! In five minutes, I want all the information on this [you’re in trouble] guy. I’ll fly over and bless him with a buff!”
Looking at Jumeng, who was wearing an oversized white T-shirt that read “Hope for the Whole Village” and pink cat ear headphones, shouting angrily and smashing the keyboard, Yuan Ye, who was fiddling with the tea set, helplessly reminded, “East Master, just let it go?”
“You are the deity of fate and offspring. Always relying on your power to let people who anger you in the game d*e alone, getting unwanted offspring and such, is of no benefit to your powers. Be careful not to fall into becoming an evil god over time.”
“Then I’ll still be fighting against bad luck with money! I let him play the game, not making mistakes, and never running out of stock should be fine, right?” Jumeng retorted.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Ye felt a slight tightening in his hand that held the teacup, and two veins bulged on his forehead.
Every time he heard this description of powers, he had an impulse to smash Luxianbei’s head.
He didn’t know what he was thinking at that time, to be swayed by that guy and let the East Master’s powers be tainted with such inexplicable things.
Yuan Ye thought, opening his mouth to persuade Jumeng not to be impulsive, when suddenly, Jumeng’s face changed, letting out a light gasp.
“Oh no, something’s not right! Someone is messing with that dog’s fate!”
“Dog?” Yuan Ye asked in confusion.
“It’s Luxianbei!” Jumeng explained.
“Oh?” Yuan Ye looked at Jumeng sideways, raising an eyebrow as he leisurely sipped his tea, “East Master, you’ve been keeping an eye on that guy’s fate? What are you planning?”
“I was just thinking, what if…” Jumeng replied casually, but halfway through, she suddenly realized something was wrong and turned slightly red.
“What if one day he chokes on the red thread of fate, and I get to mock him!”
Yuan Ye, “Or what if one day a certain partner unexpectedly passes away, the red thread breaks, and you get the chance to move in?” Does Jumeng’s feelings for Luxianbei go unnoticed by others? Yuan Ye, who was always by her side, still knew nothing.
He watched her every day!
During this time, whenever Jumeng was alone, she would suddenly sigh or giggle foolishly as if possessed.
However, from a certain perspective, Jumeng was indeed the biggest curse in Tangcheng.
But this was clearly not normal! In the present moment, if it weren’t involving that guy, how could the East Master possibly be caught in Old Turtle’s words? Yuan Ye considered.
“Moreover, that guy is practically tied up in the red thread of fate. It’s an extremely rare case; observing more would help solidify my powers, wouldn’t it?” Jumeng said.
“Oh, that makes sense,” Yuan Ye nodded and took another sip of tea, casually asking, “Then East Master, would you like to observe up close?”
Jumeng’s eyes brightened slightly, her thin lips parted, but she quickly swallowed back the word “want” that was about to escape and waved her hand.
“Though I’m a bit interested, I’m so busy, how could I find time to watch that kid?”
“520 is just around the corner; the tourists in Peach Source will increase soon. I need to be busy connecting those lovers and spreading pregnancy luck! I can’t be away, can’t be away!”
“Really? What a shame,” Yuan Ye shook his head, sighing, “Such a rare case, and to have one’s fate disturbed is even rarer. Not being able to observe up close is indeed a regret.”
“I was thinking, I could help ease your worries, giving you the opportunity to observe and learn! But since the East Master can’t get away, then forget it?”
At this point, Jumeng squinted at Yuan Ye coldly, saying, “I can tell you’re teasing me, Old Turtle? You’re trying to stir trouble, aren’t you?”
As soon as Jumeng finished speaking, Yuan Ye felt a slight swelling in his abdomen, which was definitely not just from too much tea, causing his face to turn pale as cold sweat dripped down.
After successfully operating the “Peach Source Peach Blossom Festival” event, Jumeng’s powers, which she had just concentrated, had gotten significantly more stable, and she was becoming more skilled in their use.
At the moment when Yuan Ye was about to become a high-risk father, Jumeng released the power surrounding him, snorted coldly, and said, “Hmph! Since you insisted, I can reluctantly send a doppelganger to take a look; it’s not impossible.”
You really just want to go, right? Yuan Ye silently cursed but did not dare to say it out loud.
