Chapter 83: Life 61, Age 24, Martial Grandmaster Peak
While I was studying in an alchemy workshop the next day, LiPin came to see me. Steward Mao had returned, and he was ready to make a deal.
“Alchemist Su, good to see you again,” he bowed to me as I entered the conference room.
“Steward Mao,” I nodded, “I hear you have a deal ready for me.”
“Yes,” he winced slightly. “The Mao Clan elders have decided to accept your proposal for Rank 0 pills. We are ready to hand over any mortal information you request in return for the equivalent value in pills.”
“Only Rank 0?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes.” A worried expression crossed his face. “For now, that is all the elders have authorized.”
I wasn’t sure what the elders were playing at. They knew the relative value of the information they were offering, and by specifying that only mortal information would be traded, it could be seen as slapping my face.
They might be testing me to see what my reaction was. They might just want to know if I will hold to my word. What I believed, though, was that they were doing their best to take advantage of me. I made a note to check if the information they paid me with was available in the public libraries.
I wondered if they realized that while they were testing me, I was also testing them. It seemed to be a common belief that only old foxes could play such games, and younger people were just there to be taken advantage of. I may frequently allow myself to be taken advantage of, but I always remembered who was earnest and who wasn’t.