THDP Ch 117 Part 1 – Negotiation (I)

 February 23, 2023February 21, 2023By koffeam

“Meng Qiqi, are you robbing my business?” Ji Wujiong squinted his eyes and chuckled angrily. Inside, however, he was actually both surprised and happy. What did this little girl mean? Aware that he had a genius in array by his side, he had taken precautions by drawing very quickly in one go. Let alone learning how ordinary people might not be able to see the moment when he drew.

So…how? How did Meng Qi manage to learn it? Ji Wujiong glanced at Meng Qi, somehow at a loss for words. How high was Meng Qi’s talent in array? She really gave him a new surprise every time!

Ji Wujiong’s left hand twitched slightly, and for a while, his heart was full of mixed feelings akin to unscratched itchiness. If Meng Qi was truly such a genius, he would do anything at his disposal to make her his disciple, even if he had to do some underhanded, crueler tactics…

This girl would definitely be able to inherit his mantle and even carry it forward!

“If that’s the case, I want Meng Qiqi to do it for me!” Sikong Xing jumped to Meng Qi’s side, completely forgetting the fact that she, a demon cultivator, had no natal weapon of her own. Supporting a friend was always Sikong Xing’s first motto!

“Meng Qiqi.” Chu Tianfeng also raised his voice, “Then I will pay you the price of one hundred profound-grade spirit stones… no, wait!” He changed the subject and said quickly: “Don’t you need another seven profound-grade spirit stones to activate the array?”

Chu Tianfeng immediately took out a bamboo slip, ready to write an IOU. One hundred profound-grade spirit stones, that is! Even if his fund was temporarily insufficient, he could pay it back slowly. Once he advanced to the Void Comprehending stage, he surely would be able to pay the debt off.

Thinking of this, Chu Tianfeng even felt a little happy—

He finally owed Meng Qi a large sum of spirit stones. This time, everyone should owe exactly the same amount, right?

“One hundred profound-grade spirit stones, right? Meng Qiqi, I want it.” Qin Xiumo turned to Meng Qi.

“Then…” Su Junmo hesitated for a moment and immediately said, “I want it too! One hundred profound-grade spirit stones!”

“Meng Qiqi.” Li Che still wasn’t sure what was going on, but he still raised his hand weakly, “Count me in too.”

“Heh!” Ji Wujiong sneered. They were ignoring him and wanting to take advantage of the array he brought out? Did he, Ji Wujiong, look easy to bully?!

“Meng Qiqi.” Xue Chengxuan waved his hand, sending a small silver needle to Meng Qi’s side. “Please help me too.”

“Hey!” Instead of getting angry, Ji Wujiong broke into a chuckle. “Meng Qiqi, if you really have just learned it, then let me give you a bit of warning. Arrays are inherently detailed. Make even one or two wrong strokes, and the result you got would be 180 degrees different. You are aware of this, right?”

Meng Qi shook her head: “I have previously learned it.”

Ji Wujiong let out a sigh, half relieved and half disappointed. It was nothing strange for Meng Qi to be unable to learn the array by watching him draw it once. After all, although this array was not particularly high level, it was quite complicated and not easy to learn.

“However, mine is actually a bit different from yours.” Meng Qi suddenly said again, “In particular…” With the silver knife in hand, she crouched down and quickly drew two small arrays on the ground. Then, she looked up and said to Ji Wujiong, “This is it, right?”

“…” Ji Wujiong swept his eyes across the two arrays on the ground. The one on the left, which he was unfamiliar with, was clearly the array that the mysterious person taught Meng Qi. As for the one on the right… he stared silently for a moment and found that Meng Qi had perfectly reproduced the array.

“I learned this array long ago.” Meng Qi already spoke again. She hesitated for a moment and finally didn’t tell what she used the array for, “However, I didn’t know that it could also be used on natal weapons and magic tools.”

Meng Qi tilted her head slightly and glanced at the two very similar-looking arrays: “These two are somewhat different, but they should be of the same type, right?”

Ji Wujiong: “…Yes!”

This Meng Qi, she refused to become his disciple no matter what, yet was cheeky enough to ask him questions again and again. Most annoyingly, why did he always answer her question?!

Meng Qi gestured at the IOU in her hand, “One question, five hundred ninth-grade spirit stones.”

Ji Wujiong snorted lightly, but did not object. Whatever — since Meng Qi didn’t make him teach her a lesson and only had him answer yes or no, he was earning these five hundred spirit stones for nothing.

“But why can it only be used in Starfallen Sea?” Meng Qi fell into a ponder. She turned to Ji Wujiong and asked again, “Will it still work after we leave Starfallen Sea?”

Ji Wujiong was silent for a while, then nodded slowly: “You can.”

“So that is!” Meng Qi suddenly realized, “I understand!”

The most special characteristic of Starfallen Sea was the existence of the five primal aura, and Meng Qi’s five spirits cauldron was able to transform normal aura into its five primal form, which meant that she could do what others were unable to. Because there were other people around, neither Meng Qi nor Ji Wujiong explicitly mentioned the five primal aura and the five spirits cauldron, yet both of them understood each other’s meaning.

Chu Tianfeng and Qin Xiumo looked at each other — was Meng Qi and Ji Wujiong’s relationship always so good? Why did it seem like the two of them were sharing a secret that others did not know?

“Is it the same as the stars?” Meng Qi asked again, “The basic functions are the same, but with subtle differences.”

Ji Wujiong: “…Yes.”

“I understand.” Meng Qi nodded. She stood up and swept her foot over the two arrays on the ground, erasing them. She then turned her head and smiled at Ji Wujiong: “Theoretically, mine seems to be more suitable for cultivators than yours.”

Chu Tianfeng and the others listened in confusion. Only Su Junmo, who had a little dabbling in array, knew what they were talking about.

“However, if not for your reminder, I wouldn’t have known that this array also has this kind of major function. Therefore…” Meng Qi began counting with her fingers: Chu Tianfeng, Qin Xiumo… “One, two, three… seven people, plus myself, a total of eight.”

She held the IOU: “One hundred profound-grade spirit stones per person. Your share is half the sum, so I will deduct four hundred profound-grade spirit stones from your debt. Do you agree?”

“…yes.” Even Ji Wujiong had no objection to this calculation method. After all, given his relationship with Xue Chengxuan and the others, none of them would believe him if not for Meng Qi’s assurance.

Moreover, even if they believed in Meng Qi, they probably still wouldn’t give him their business.