Gazing at the Red Iron Relic Gu resting quietly in the jade box — its warm crimson light turning softly within — the shock on Lin Feng's face eclipsed even the fury that had come before it.
Beneath a surge of overwhelming elation, his breathing turned ragged and heavy in an instant.
But then, in the depths of those eyes — now shot through with rushing blood — something flickered without restraint. A thread of killing intent. Ice-cold and ruthless.
The most primal instinct of all: kill and take.
Here in this dim, sealed study, a single swing of his sword would make this priceless Gu worm his. He wouldn't have to spend a single stone.
Lin Mu caught that fleeting killing intent and took it in fully.
But he gave no sign of having noticed anything. That sallow face of his remained written over with excitement and loyalty.
He held the jade box forward with both hands, his voice trembling faintly — with "emotion."
"Young Master, this is something your subordinate begged Lord Jia for on your behalf — through no small effort!"
At those words, the killing intent in Lin Feng's eyes receded like a tide.
"Jia Fu?"
Lin Feng snapped to his senses — and broke into a cold sweat.
What kind of man was Jia Fu?
He was a titan of the merchant world — someone even Lin Feng's own father went out of his way to cultivate ties with.
Lin Mu had some ability, certainly, but how could he possibly have caught Jia Fu's eye, let alone obtained a treasure of this magnitude from him?
If this Gu worm truly involved Jia Fu, then the thought he'd just entertained was nothing short of suicidal.
Seeing Lin Feng's hesitation and wariness, Lin Mu pressed the jade box forward with practiced deference and lowered his voice.
"Young Master need not worry. Lord Jia authorized this personally."
"This item is too valuable to leave sitting — the longer it waits, the more can go wrong. You should take it and examine it first."
Faced with a temptation capable of reforging a person entirely, no one could refuse.
Lin Feng abandoned all pretense of restraint and snatched it up without another moment's hesitation.
He circulated his Primeval Essence and probed the contents carefully with his will.
When he confirmed that this was indeed a flawless, perfect-grade Rank 2 Red Iron Relic Gu, his eyes reddened with excitement.
"Excellent. Excellent. Excellent."
Three times he said it. He tucked the jade box into his robes without a second thought.
Watching this, Lin Mu smiled inwardly — calm and cold.
The plan was more than halfway done. Once meat was swallowed, no one was willing to spit it back out. Least of all a treasure capable of changing one's fate.
"Lin Mu. What exactly happened here?"
Lin Feng turned, his expression bright with barely-contained joy, but his gaze sharp as a blade as it fixed on Lin Mu. The interrogation began immediately.
"Why would Lord Jia Fu suddenly hand a treasure like this to you? You had better explain everything — from beginning to end."
"Well..."
Lin Mu put on a look of mild difficulty at precisely the right moment. He paced the room with restless steps, as though wrestling with himself.
Then, as if steeling his resolve, he raised his head and met Lin Feng's eyes directly.
"Young Master — when the caravan first arrived some days ago, did you receive the inner-ring stall permits I sent you?"
Lin Feng nodded. Those had been a goldmine — he had made a considerable sum off them these past few days.
"The success of the market was something I planned together with Hall Master Lin Mao Mao."
Lin Mu continued his account. "Lord Jia has a sharp eye. When he learned of this, he took an interest in recruiting me."
As he spoke, Lin Mu reached naturally into his robes and produced a jade token carved with the character for "Jia."
This was the ordinary guest token Jia Fu had given him the first time — not the precious personal-disciple token with its twenty-five percent privilege, which Lin Mu had deliberately kept hidden.
"Lord Jia made an arrangement with me: once I come of age, I am to leave Black Blood Stockade and join his caravan. For the sake of my future... your subordinate agreed."
Lin Feng's eyes narrowed slightly. He took the token and examined it carefully.
A genuine Jia Clan token. No possibility of forgery.
He gave a small nod and returned it to Lin Mu, gesturing for him to continue.
"Today, during the sealed bid, your subordinate presumed to guess that Young Master might not win."
Lin Mu drew a breath and began laying out the core of the performance.
"Your subordinate truly wished to spare you this grief. So I resolved to take a risk — and went to Lord Jia Fu to negotiate a... transaction."
"What transaction?"
At the word "transaction," Lin Feng's nerves actually eased.
Now that made sense. That was consistent with how a merchant like Jia Fu operated.
A profit-driven magnate of Jia Fu's caliber would never hand Lin Feng a Gu worm for nothing — not even out of respect for Patriarch Lin Cang, let alone for Lin Mu's sake.
He simply wanted to know what the price was.
"Lord Jia, taking into account my loyalty to my master..."
Lin Mu's eyes reddened slightly at the rims.
His voice carried a faint tremor — as though he had endured something of great personal cost.
"He required me to sign a contract: three years of unpaid service to the Jia Clan Caravan in the future, with performance ranked in the top five of the caravan."
"Only under those terms would he agree to release one Red Iron Relic Gu from the caravan's most private reserves — one that had been set aside for other purposes."
"This..."
Lin Feng went still.
He looked at the subordinate standing before him — one who had signed what amounted to a contract of indentured service for his sake — and felt something stir in his chest.
Something rare. The faint beginning of genuine feeling.
But Lin Mu's next words doused it like a bucket of ice water.
"However..."
Lin Mu's tone shifted, turning strained and reluctant.
"Lord Jia Fu said — sentiment is sentiment, but the caravan has its rules. The price of this Gu worm must be set at the final transaction price of today's sealed bid — plus an additional twenty percent."
"What?!" Lin Feng's fury erupted. His voice rang out sharply.
"Your subordinate had no other choice!"
Lin Mu cried out with desperate, anguished conviction — his voice carrying the resolve of a man who had burned every bridge behind him.
"That contract of service... regardless of whether this transaction succeeded or not, your subordinate had already gritted his teeth and signed it — just to secure this opportunity for Young Master."
"Now it falls to Young Master to decide what to do with this Gu worm."
"If Young Master does not want it, your subordinate will go to Lord Jia tomorrow, kowtow in apology, and return it!"
Silence.
The study fell into a silence like death.
Lin Feng went completely still.
Lin Mu's words coiled around his ears like a devil's whisper.
This was the highest art of the lie — nine parts truth to one part fabrication.
No matter how Lin Feng investigated, every element would hold: the recruitment, the stall permits, the token — even the Red Iron Relic Gu itself. All of it was real.
The only thing that was false was the price. A figure Lin Mu had invented entirely out of thin air.
But did Lin Feng dare verify it?
If he swallowed his pride and asked Jia Fu directly — how much did you sell me that Gu worm for — he would not only appear petty and small-minded.
He would offend Jia Fu outright and earn himself a reputation for ingratitude.
And beyond that: this transaction had, in essence, been purchased by Lin Mu with three years of indentured service — the price paid to secure Lin Feng the right to buy it at all.
If Lin Feng balked at the cost and refused, he would not only chill the heart of a loyal subordinate. He would lose, forever, a Relic Gu capable of rewriting his destiny.
This was a trap with no exit.
Lin Mu had played the role of the most seasoned of swindlers — and maneuvered Lin Feng into opening his purse willingly, even gratefully.
Inside the dim study.
Lin Feng's face was dark.
He gripped the jade box in his robes with white-knuckled force, his back molars grinding together. For a long while, he waged war within himself — weighing, calculating.
But in the end, he did not throw the jade box back at Lin Mu.
After a long silence, he let out a deflated breath and forced the words out through clenched teeth, one by one.
"Then... what exactly is the price of this Red Iron Relic Gu?"
Lin Mu stood to one side, maintaining his posture of perfect humility.
He opened his mouth slightly and, in the most deferential tone he possessed, let the number fall.
"Young Master... eleven thousand Primeval Stones."