Chapter 31: Awakening

Su Tang glanced at Long Qi. Mo Xiaobai called himself “Mister” and called Long Qi “Big Brother,” which clearly showed that Mo Xiaobai already knew Long Qi was about to step down, so he had changed the way he addressed them.

“Tell me about it,” Long Qi said.

“The client is named Wu Dawei from Kaiyuan County. He wants to collect one hundred Mysterious Ice Beads at a high price.”

“How high is the price?” Long Qi asked.

“Thirty gold coins per bead.”

“Is he crazy?” Long Qi frowned. “Mysterious Ice Beads on the market are worth three or four gold coins at most. Why would he commission us at such a high price?”

“About two months ago, someone swept up all the Mysterious Ice Beads in Changshan County,” Mo Xiaobai said. “I had someone go to the Sihai Tower in Kaiyuan County to check Wu Dawei’s background. He is indeed from Kaiyuan County. His ancestors were merchants, and he has great wealth. He has only two daughters and no sons. The eldest daughter is already married, and the second daughter is twenty-two and has remained unmarried. Wu Dawei wants to find a son-in-law to marry into his family.”

“Mysterious Ice Beads are only useful for practicing some special Battle Formulas. Does his family have a Practitioner?”

“Sihai Tower checked, and there are none. However, he is very close to the Zhu family of Kaiyuan County, and the Zhu family is linked by marriage to the Mu family of our Changshan County.”

“Then why is he buying so many Mysterious Ice Beads?” Long Qi asked.

“I don’t know,” Mo Xiaobai replied. “I asked him, but he was vague, as if he had a secret that was hard to talk about. Also, according to the rules, I couldn’t ask too many detailed questions.”

“At this time, the ice toads in the Black Forest are still in summer sleep and cannot be caught. We can only go to the Ice Cave,” Tong Fei said in a dry and hard voice.

Su Tang’s gaze instinctively fell on Wen Xiang, and Wen Xiang rolled her eyes at Su Tang and said coquettishly, “Why are you looking at me? I’m definitely not going to the Ice Cave!” From Wen Xiang’s tone, it seemed she was complaining that Su Tang wanted to push a difficult chore onto her.

Su Tang felt a bit helpless. Alright, he had misread the situation. Long Qi had said that commissions that were easy, effortless, and high-paying should be given to Wen Xiang first. This was a hidden rule. Wen Xiang was the strongest, so Xiao Buhui and Tong Fei both had to give her some leeway.

“Is the Ice Cave very dangerous?” Su Tang asked.

“For those three, there is no danger,” Long Qi smiled. “However, the Ice Cave is hidden beneath the Mayfly Pond. It is currently the end of summer, so that place is probably filled with millions of blood-sucking mayflies flying everywhere. Furthermore, it is extremely cold inside the Ice Cave; water turns to ice instantly. If Wen Xiang went, those long black hairs of hers probably wouldn’t be left.”

Su Tang suddenly understood. Upon entering the Mayfly Pond, one would inevitably be covered in water. Then, upon entering the Ice Cave, even if Wen Xiang had a way to protect her body from the cold air, her long hair could not be protected. With the slightest movement, the frozen hair would surely break. Moreover, Wen Xiang hated those little bugs, so she did not want to go.

Su Tang looked at Xiao Buhui again. Xiao Buhui shook his head with a bitter smile. “Let Tong Fei go. I’m afraid of the cold…”

“Fine, I’ll go,” Tong Fei agreed readily.

“Wait a moment,” Long Qi suddenly spoke, looking at Su Tang with a serious expression. “Su Tang, if you want to become a qualified Pavilion Master, first you must learn to think. Think about the dangers, the benefits, and whether there are traps contained in every commission. Find all the things that are not quite logical, analyze them carefully, and then make a decision.”

Although Su Tang had drunk quite a bit of wine, his mind was very clear. He hadn’t thought much about it just now because he mistakenly thought this was part of a standard procedure. After Long Qi’s reminder, Su Tang immediately realized that he had not fully stepped into his role. Whether to accept a commission or not would be decided by him from now on.

Su Tang’s expression became serious, and Mo Xiaobai hurriedly placed a stack of documents in front of Su Tang. Su Tang flipped through them slowly.

The information in the documents was very detailed. It included the uses and prices of Mysterious Ice Beads, the price fluctuations over the last few years, Wu Dawei’s own experience, the friends he associated with, and even the physical characteristics and profession of Wu Dawei’s eldest son-in-law were written clearly.

Su Tang thought while he read, while Long Qi and the others waited quietly.

After a long time, Su Tang finally put down the documents. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, “Don’t you all think the purchase price is a bit too high?”

Wen Xiang, Xiao Buhui, and Tong Fei had calm faces, but there was some disappointment in their eyes. They knew the price was indeed a bit too high, but what did that matter? It was a good thing that someone was willing to buy them at a high price.

However, Su Tang’s next few words made Wen Xiang and the others shudder, giving them the feeling of being suddenly awakened from a dream.

“If I gave you a commission for fifteen gold coins per Mysterious Ice Bead, would you take it?”

Mo Xiaobai said with effort, “Of course we would. That is already four or five times the market price.”

“Fifteen gold coins would be enough to settle the deal, yet he offered thirty… He was worried that we would refuse his commission! His ancestors were merchants, so bargaining should be his instinct. Even if he had a great difficulty or wanted to gain as much time as possible, he would still try to press the price to the lowest limit,” Su Tang said. “Mo Xiaobai, what exactly did you and he talk about at the time?”

“Mr. Su, we didn’t talk much. The price he gave me gave me a shock. I was worried he would change his mind, so I accepted the deal immediately,” Mo Xiaobai said.

Long Qi’s eyes shone brightly. He had vaguely felt that something was abnormal, which was why he reminded Su Tang, but he couldn’t put into words exactly where the abnormality was or what to watch out for. Su Tang’s method of shifting perspectives and reverse reasoning made his eyes light up.

“In other words, you were so shocked that you forgot to bargain with him?” Su Tang said.

“Mr. Su, it was already thirty gold coins. How else could I bargain?” Mo Xiaobai smiled bitterly.

Su Tang fell silent again. After a long time, he looked up. “Brother Long, do you think these possibilities exist? He wants to find Tong Fei and the others? Or… he has set a trap at the Mayfly Pond?”

“You mean through the hair?” Long Qi’s reaction was very fast. Normally, Miaodao Pavilion would definitely give such a highly profitable commission to its own people. As long as the commission was accepted, that person would certainly cast a net near the city gate. Any Martial Artist returning from the Black Forest with damaged hair would likely be the person who entered the Ice Cave, thus allowing them to find Tong Fei and the others.

“Yes.” Su Tang paused and then added, “Actually, it is very simple to verify. We just need Mo Xiaobai to make a trip.”

“How?” Long Qi asked.

“Have Mo Xiaobai find Wu Dawei and tell him that the ice toads in the forest are all in summer sleep right now and cannot be caught, and that entering the Ice Cave is very dangerous, so the price is a bit too low. If the price is raised to thirty-five gold coins, we will accept his commission immediately,” Su Tang said slowly. “If it’s raised to forty, they might become suspicious and guess that we are testing them. Adding five coins… it’s not too high, nor too low. They will think that someone among us became greedy and wanted to take another bite, but didn’t dare bite too hard for fear that Wu Dawei would withdraw the commission, so we only added five gold coins.”