Chapter 52 - The Cat Is out of the Bag
Benton sat on a quite comfortable seat next to Yang Xiu in the stands overlooking the arena. Below, Yang Ru and the young sect idiot waited for the duel to begin.
Kang Ya-Ting entered the stands and sat nearby. The first words out of his mouth were, “So, Orange Vigor Spirit Wood?”
Yikes. That guy didn’t pull any punches.
“A valuable commodity,” Benton said.
“It is interesting when a resource that has been unavailable suddenly pops up on the market again. Such an occurrence makes one curious about the party making the sale and about what other deals that party might be involved in. Like arranging for the production of one hundred spears suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Purchasing three wagons full of food. Making the owner of the Swift Hunter Weapon Vault quite happy by buying a mass quantity of bows and arrows. Inquiring about enough herbs to bring one hundred people up to the peak of Bronze body cultivation.”
Kang Ya-Ting paused for a reaction, and when he didn’t get one, he continued. “That party has been busy indeed. One might wonder what the party intends with such purchases. Perhaps the party wishes to form a sect and seize control of the riches of resources in that area?”
The cat was well and truly was out of the bag, and Benton had no easy way to explain away his actions, especially since one of his impressionable young disciples was sitting right next to him. She readily accepted when he occasionally stretched the truth to avoid attention, but he suspected it might impact her growing trust in him should he outright lie to get out of a tight spot.
Time to come clean. For values of coming clean, that was. In a creative manner would be best.
“This one and his disciples happened upon a village that was in bad shape, beset by spirit beasts and unable to leave their walls. The upcoming winter was sure to bring starvation. This one promised to bring their product to market and return with supplies. This one further intends to train and arm cultivators in the area to cull enough beasts to return the village to a thriving community.”
There. His statement wove in enough facts to sound authentic without mentioning the whole sect founding issue. More importantly, the story didn’t make it seem like Benton was tied to the area in any way. Just passing through and helping out.
Under the circumstances, it really was the best he could do.
“What cultivators are there in the area?” Kang Ya-Ting said.