Volume 14, Chapter 885 – The Trade Begins

“What’s this? Too short for your liking?”

Qi Huang feigned surprise, then continued, “Ah, right… Didn’t someone just say they wanted to join me, the National Preceptor? Thirty years does seem short… how about fifty? Or maybe a hundred?”

At her words, the surroundings fell into silence. The smiles on many of the evil spirits’ faces froze in place.

“National Preceptor, if you can return my mother to me, I’m willing to plant flowers and grass for you for the rest of my life.”

Just then, a child’s crisp voice rang out.

Qi Huang’s spirits lifted instantly. She followed the voice and saw a twelve or thirteen-year-old little zombie. He was missing one ear and an arm, his body thin and frail. He looked extremely pitiful.

Qi Huang felt he looked familiar. After studying him carefully, a memory suddenly surfaced. Wasn’t this the little zombie who had asked her for his mother outside the gates of Ziji City three years ago? His ear and arm had been severed by the Immortal soldiers back then. And now, he was the first to step forward and accept her offer… What a filial child.

Unwilling to speak down to a child from a lofty height, Qi Huang slowly descended, then gently asked, “Little brother, is your mother still alive? What’s her name?”

“She was killed by those immortals!”

The little zombie’s face filled with sorrow. Then he added, “But even so, I still want to bring her back. I don’t have any family left. As long as I can see her every day, that’s enough.”

Qi Huang’s pupils trembled slightly at his words. She forced herself to stay composed and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely return her to you. But there are simply too many ghosts in my spatial ring. Since she didn’t step forward to claim you, I’ll have to release them one by one. When it’s her turn, just call out to me, alright?”

“Thank you, big sister!”

The little zombie wiped his nose as he spoke.

After sending the child away, Qi Huang swept her gaze over the countless evil spirits in the crowd and said, “Did you all see that? That is true filial piety. We are ghosts. Our bodies may be cold, but we still have flesh and blood. Don’t let others look down on you.”

“I’m willing… I’m willing to plant flowers and grass for fifty years.”

“I’m willing too! For the sake of my father, even a hundred years, I’ll do it. I won’t let some kid look down on me.”

“A hundred years and you’re proud of that? Your filial piety is only worth a hundred years? If your father knew, he’d be fuming. For my mother, I’m willing to plant flowers and grass for the National Preceptor for life!”

“Whoa! Now that’s a devoted child!”

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“Honestly, it’s hilarious. He’s an orphan, where’d that ‘mother’ come from? Out of thin air? I think he just wants to stick close to the National Preceptor forever and live the good life.”

“Exactly. He’s trying to make the National Preceptor his new mother.”

A small group of evil spirits vied to express their loyalty, but the majority remained silent.

“Enough,” Qi Huang said, cutting them off. “Let me repeat myself. You won’t be planting flowers and grass for me, but for your own future. And that place I mentioned? It’s extremely safe. No Immortals will ever disturb you there. Don’t act like you’re being taken advantage of.”

“Really? There’s such a place in the Immortal Realm?”

“That can’t be. The entire Immortal Realm is under the Immortal Alliance’s control. Where would be truly safe?”

“National Preceptor, we’re willing to help you… no, I mean help secure the future of the ghost race by planting flowers and grass. But thirty to fifty years is just too long. Could we shorten the time?”

“Yeah! Or maybe we can trade something else. Do you need anything?”

“National Preceptor, I have a bottle of Heaven-Deceiving Water here. That should be worth thirty to fifty years of labor, right?”

Most evil spirits still preferred trading items over labor.

“You all better think carefully. Miss this chance, and there won’t be another.”

Qi Huang gave a token warning, but didn’t wait for their deliberation. She continued, “I’m not an unreasonable person. If you’re unwilling to labor, I won’t force you. If you want to barter instead, that’s fine too.”

“Thank you, National Preceptor! You’re so understanding!”

The evil spirits let out a collective sigh of relief.

“But like I said, I’m not greedy for wealth. So forget about gold or treasures. Each of you must bring ten thousand ghost tomatoes in exchange for your loved ones. Seeds are fine too, consider it your contribution to the future of the ghost race.”

Qi Huang offered a new trade option.

“Ghost tomatoes? Why would the National Preceptor want those?”

“Didn’t you hear? It’s to improve our living environment. Seems like the National Preceptor really is planning for our future.”

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“But ten thousand is way too much.”

“You dummy! Can’t find them yourself? Then buy them from someone. The National Preceptor isn’t being unreasonable. You should be grateful!”

“The National Preceptor’s noble character is admirable, but honestly, who carries ghost tomatoes around for no reason? Who are we supposed to buy from?”

At this, another awkward silence fell over the group.

“National Preceptor, we came in a hurry. None of us brought ghost tomatoes. Is there any other solution?”

One of the evil spirits asked.

“No problem. You can write IOUs ¹ I Owe You aka an informal document acknowledging debt . Just repay them by the due date.”

Qi Huang responded generously.

“Long live the National Preceptor!”

The evil spirits erupted into cheers. The way they looked at Qi Huang now… it was as if she were their savior.

“What is this National Preceptor from Minghou Planet thinking? She’s accepting IOUs? The Immortal Realm is vast, doesn’t she fear we’ll all just default?”

“Default? I’m not even giving my real name. Let her chase the wind.”

“Why don’t we all just claim a few extra ghost corpses? No need to pay anything.”

“Isn’t that a bit shameless? She’s already being generous.”

“Shameless? Please. We’re evil spirits.”

Some of the evil spirits were quietly scheming.

‘Hmph. If I dared let you write IOUs, do you think I’d be afraid you wouldn’t repay them?’

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Qi Huang smirked slightly, then asked, “Since there are no objections, we’ll go with this plan. Any questions?”

“National Preceptor, you’ve gathered quite a few ghost corpses in Ziji City. What about the unclaimed ones?”

An evil spirit asked. The moment the question was raised, the entire world seemed to fall deathly still, because those unclaimed corpses were the real reason most evil spirits had come.

Qi Huang’s smile widened once more. After all, weren’t these evil spirits the true targets of her scheme today?

“Ahem…”

Qi Huang cleared her throat, then said, “If a corpse remains unclaimed, it’ll be put up for auction. Whoever offers the most ghost tomatoes gets it.”

“Brilliant decision, National Preceptor!”

At that moment, all the evil spirits smiled. IOUs were allowed, so what was stopping them from bidding high? No pressure at all.

“Then it’s settled,” Qi Huang added, “but to ensure fairness and authority, everyone—whether you’re offering labor or ghost tomatoes—must sign a contract or IOU and place a blood handprint.”

She wasn’t about to let certain sly types take advantage.

“What’s a blood handprint worth? Let her find me first!”

Someone muttered slyly.

Qi Huang pretended not to hear. With a thought, four doppelgängers appeared before her, all disguised, two male and two female. There was no way the evil spirits could tell who they really were.

“Huang Ren, you’re in charge of presenting the war spoils for claiming.”

Qi Huang first instructed Huang Ren, the Humanly Soul among her doppelgänger and her only male doppelgänger, used for performing the Character-Shifting Art, allowing her to switch between male and female personas.

“Yes, big brother!”

Huang Ren replied respectfully, then asked via mental transmission, “Big brother, there are two hundred thousand war spoils in here. If it’s just us few handling them, won’t it take an eternity?”

“No rush. We’ve got plenty of time.”

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Qi Huang replied casually, then turned to her three female doppelgängers and instructed, “Huang Tian, you handle the contracts and IOUs. Huang Ling, Huang Qi, you two maintain order.”

“Yes, big sister!”

The three female doppelgängers replied respectfully.

Qi Huang tossed hundreds of spatial rings filled with corpses to Huang Ren, then once more addressed the millions of evil spirits around her.

“Let me be clear. This National Preceptor isn’t returning these captured ghost race members for personal gain, but out of respect for our shared bloodline. So absolutely no one is to falsely claim an unclaimed corpse. Anyone caught will be severely punished.”

“Heh, corpses can’t talk. She’s not a deity, how could she tell if someone’s lying?”

“She’s just putting on a show, trying to look strict and impartial. You don’t actually think she’s incorruptible, do you?”

“Yeah. If she really were so righteous, why make us sign contracts and IOUs? She’d just hand everyone their relatives outright.”

Most of the evil spirits didn’t take her words seriously.

Qi Huang didn’t feel like wasting any more words. She turned to Huang Ren and said, “Let’s begin. Start with the living ghost clanspeople.”

“Yes!”

With a thought, Huang Ren summoned a ghost race member before him.

“Everyone, whose family member is this? Step forward to claim. Choose whether to pay in labor or goods.”

He called out loudly.

Meanwhile, Huang Tian had brought out a table, chairs, and writing tools, preparing for the contracts and IOUs.

Huang Ling and Huang Qi stood at either side, keeping order and deterring troublemakers.

Qi Huang, on the other hand, expanded her Divine Sense to scan half the surrounding star system, trying to locate An Xuan. One of her goals in orchestrating this massive operation was to determine whether that woman was friend or foe.