Chapter 25: The Transaction, the Trap, and Han Li's Conscience
Han Li's residence was only a short distance from Qing Luan's, so it didn't take him long to arrive.
The servants guarding the entrance didn't stop him this young master had visited many times before. Though he was officially Guang Ling's disciple, he had been under Qing Luan's guidance for the past few months. His status in the household was obvious, and treating him as Qing Luan's disciple wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Han Li hurried straight into the main hall, where he immediately spotted Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo already waiting.
With Bibi Dong absent, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Though Ghost Douluo remained silent as usual, the other three were chatting amiably, with Yue Guan playing the role of social mediator.
After all, these two had once been subordinates of Qian Xunji. While the Worship Hall members had never been fond of him, they had at least interacted with Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo before. Their relationship only truly soured when the two defected to Bibi Dong's side.
"Little Li, you're here. Take a seat."
Qing Luan, noticing Han Li's slightly labored breathing, poured him a cup of tea with a smile.
Han Li downed it in one go, then handed the cup back. "Master, Uncle Master, greetings to Chrysanthemum Douluo, greetings to Ghost Douluo."
Ghost Douluo merely nodded in response, while Yue Guan gave Han Li an appraising look and let out a chuckle. "So this is the Fifth Worshiper's disciple? Quite the handsome young man. I imagine he'll be a pillar of the Spirit Hall in the future."
Han Li's lips twitched slightly. To be honest, he actually had a good impression of these two. Say what you will about them, but they had been loyal to Bibi Dong from start to finish. Their presence in the story was consistent, their abilities were impressive, and their skills were useful it was just unfortunate they had chosen the wrong side, leading to a miserable end.
That said, Yue Guan's exaggerated mannerisms still took some getting used to.
"Chrysanthemum Douluo overpraises me. I was simply lucky to be chosen by my master and uncle master. As long as I can contribute to the Spirit Hall's future, I'll be satisfied." Han Li replied humbly.
Just as the two seemed about to continue exchanging pleasantries, Guang Ling quickly interrupted, "Since Little Li is here, let's get on with the transaction. Yue Guan, just hand over all those plants and botanical records to him."
Yue Guan was momentarily stunned he hadn't expected Guang Ling to be giving these things to his disciple.
So it's this little guy who's interested in botany?
But that was actually a relief. Better him than Guang Ling, who'd surely waste all his treasured plants. Some of these specimens had taken immense effort to acquire letting Guang Ling get his hands on them would be like giving flowers to a cow.
Yue Guan's impression of Han Li improved. An appreciator of flowers! Maybe this wouldn't be a complete loss. In fact, he even considered giving the boy a copy of his personal cultivation manual after all, it would be a tragedy if such precious plants were mishandled. Compared to dealing with Dugu Bo, this young one seemed like a much more pleasant conversation partner.
"Alright, let's begin."
After confirming Ghost Douluo's agreement, Yue Guan retrieved various potted plants from his storage ring. As he placed them down, he enthusiastically introduced their names, functions, uses, and ideal growing conditions. He was extremely thorough.
Han Li was actually quite interested in the explanations and listened carefully. Before long, the hall was filled with plants, their fragrances mingling into a soothing aroma.
Not wanting to waste time, Han Li activated his storage wristband, quickly storing away the plants. When Yue Guan saw this, he momentarily panicked, but Han Li promptly reassured him, "My wristband can store living things. No need to worry, senior."
Hearing this, Yue Guan finally relaxed and continued bringing out more plants. After four rounds of this, he was done but looking at Han Li's wristband, he still seemed reluctant to part with them. However, after glancing at the booklet in Guang Ling's hands, he clenched his jaw and let it go.
Flipping his wrist, he produced two books. His expression turned serious as he handed them to Han Li. "Everything I know about plants is recorded in these. The second one is my personal cultivation guide. I hope you take good care of them."
"I will. Please rest assured."
Han Li was momentarily surprised but quickly accepted them with both hands. Though he wasn't personally interested in growing plants, he had no intention of neglecting them either. He had already planned to hire professionals to maintain a botanical garden, and this manual would make their work even easier.
Seeing his sincerity, Yue Guan felt a little better about parting with them. He turned back toward Guang Ling and proceeded with the rest of the trade, handing over the medicinal herbs and gold soul coins.
Han Li didn't join in, instead taking the opportunity to flip through the botanical guide. The moment he opened it, his eyes lit up.
This is incredible!
Yue Guan had been surprisingly generous. While he naturally hadn't included ancient texts or fragmented records, it was obvious that this book had been compiled with great effort.
The very first page detailed the characteristics of Chrysanthemum Douluo's martial soul, complete with intricate illustrations and vibrant colors there was no way to misidentify it.
Flipping through a few more pages, Han Li quickly spotted the names of various immortal herbs. In fact, there were more than thirty listed not just the few he had expected. While some entries were incomplete due to missing historical records, that didn't matter to Han Li. This information was already more than enough.
Treasuring the two books, he carefully stored them in his wristband.
Glancing at Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo, who were still negotiating with Guang Ling, he suddenly felt a bit guilty. Maybe I went a little too far with this scam…
But given the current situation, he didn't have much choice. They were, after all, under Bibi Dong's command.
And it wasn't like he had deceived them entirely.
After finalizing the notes last night, he had double checked everything with his master and uncle master. Their conclusion had been clear Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo had no hope of advancing further in their current states. They had already drained their potential dry. Even Qian Daoliu had remarked that they were lucky to have reached Rank 95 at all.
If they wanted to advance, their only options were:
Finding the right heavenly treasures one to replenish their martial souls' essence and another to strengthen their souls.Acquiring extremely high quality soul bones a minimum of 50,000 years old and perfectly suited to their martial souls. However, relying on soul bones to force a breakthrough would forever cap their growth.
And let's be honest, Han Li mused, with how Bibi Dong treats them, they'd be lucky to get their hands on a 30,000 year soul bone, let alone something over 50,000 years.
He smirked. Might as well have my master tell them about the soul bone solution in person. No need to write that part down let's see if they report it back to Bibi Dong.
This way, he wasn't entirely withholding information, but he also wasn't making things easy for them. If they couldn't acquire the necessary resources, that was their problem, not his.
Satisfied with his plan, Han Li discreetly used his soul bone ability to communicate with Guang Ling, briefing him on the situation. Guang Ling immediately agreed, and his gaze toward Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo became noticeably friendlier.
If making Bibi Dong miserable meant these two were now his "friends," then so be it. Guang Ling chuckled to himself.
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