CH 19

C19 – True Yang Golden Crow

Yuan Kaiji turned around and stared straight at Liu Yuan with his dark golden eyes. There was a trace of vigilance on his solemn, blank face.

Liu Yuan almost started to feel sorry for the old man. He must have had such a hard time with Xie Qian that he probably thought this was just another of his tricks.

“Like I said, I can give away some of these paintings to you.”

Liu Yuan repeated his words.

Hongli beamed at Liu Yuan in pleasant surprise. “Really?”

She then looked at Xie Qian and said hesitantly, “But Master Xie has given them to you as a gift…”

Liu Yuan shrugged his shoulders, “Yeah, so they are mine now, and I can do whatever I want with them.”

Yuan Kaiji was obviously wary of Xie Qian. Instead of walking towards Liu Yuan for the paintings, he just stood still and asked impatiently, “Xie Qian, what are you up to now?”

Xie Qian, on the other hand, had already picked up his brush again and was writing something on the paper attentively. “Nothing. I don’t play tricks.”

Yuan Kaiji gritted his teeth, again annoyed by Xie Qian’s attitude.

Liu Yuan had a reason to believe that Yuan Kaiji would pounce on Xie Qian any second.

Just what had happened between these two?

But Liu Yuan assumed that Xie Qian was just an annoying person no matter who he was dealing with.

Only Liu Yuan, with a maximum of favorability points, was his “special one.”

Holding a pile of scrolls in his arms, Liu Yuan said helplessly, “So do you want it or not? If not, I’m leaving. I have somewhere else to be.”

Although Yuan Kaiji was still dubious about Xie Qian’s words, he knew that this might be his only chance. He turned to Liu Yuan and replied unwillingly, “Yes!”

Liu Yuan, however, simply chuckled instead of giving him the scroll.

Yuan Kaiji had a knowing sneer on his face, as if he had expected this. With his back hunched and his hands behind his back, he coldly said, “What do you want then? Name it.”

Hongli was confused at this sudden turn of events.

Liu Yuan said with a serious look, “I didn’t mind giving it to you as a gift, but, Senior Yuan, just now you wanted to hurt me. Honestly, although I’m not physically harmed, that hurts my feelings. But then again, I am an upright man, and I never take advantage of others when they are in trouble. So… I’ll just take the True Yang Golden Crow, and we can call it even.”

He paused for a moment, then stared at Yuan Kaiji and asked, “How’s that sound?”

Yuan Kaiji pondered with a frown for a while and slowly replied, “You are indeed a shrewd businessman.”

Of course! He was an advanced player.

Advanced players naturally knew when to seize the opportunity to take advantage of others.

Even though he didn’t really know what this True Yang Golden Crow was, he was certain that it must be a rare treasure. There was no way he could let go of such a good opportunity.

Although the old man’s cultivation level was high, Liu Yuan had also reached the Tribulation Stage in the game, so he wasn’t afraid of him at all.

Liu Yuan pointed at the painting and asked again, “Do we have a deal or not?”

With Xie Qian at present, Liu Yuan didn’t need to worry that Yuan Kaiji would go back on his word.

Yuan Kaiji didn’t say a word. He reached out his hand and flipped his palm. A golden halo suddenly appeared, emitting intense heat like a mini sun, almost causing heat distortion in the air.

In the meantime, the incantation on the rim of the halo sealed the heat so that it wouldn’t cause too much damage in the surroundings.

Liu Yuan narrowed his eyes and observed the scene closely. The texture of the halo was something between liquid and gas, and there was a rhythmic movement within it. He could vaguely see a three-legged Golden Crow in the halo.

It looked like an embryo to some extent.

So this was True Yang Golden Crow.

Liu Yuan now understood what this was all about. Although the area of Fusang Sea remained a mystery, everyone knew about the legend.

The Fusang Tree was the resting place of the Golden Crow, and judging from Yuan Kaiji’s appearance, especially his trunk-like skin, the Fusang Clan should be a clan of tree spirits born from the Fusang Tree.

This halo was probably the embryonic form of the Golden Crow?

Did this mean that the Golden Crow could actually be raised as a pet?

Wow!

Liu Yuan looked at the True Yang Golden Crow with a knowing smile.

Yuan Kaiji cursed in his heart when he saw the look on Liu Yuan’s face. He hadn’t agreed to give away the Golden Crow yet, and this brat already seemed as if he owned the crow.

As if he was the boss!

Yuan Kaiji had no choice but give in. He handed out the halo while casting a glance at Xie Qian, “Give me the painting.”

Liu Yuan asked Xie Qian, “How many did they ask for?”

Xie Qian replied without even looking up, “Just one.”

Liu Yuan threw a scroll to Hongli.

Unwilling and angry as he was, Yuan Kaiji gave the halo to Liu Yuan, as agreed.

Liu Yuan sized up the True Yang Golden Crow in his hand curiously.

This little Golden Crow looked chubby and cute.

He thought for a moment and threw another scroll over to the girl.

Yuan Hongli was at a loss, and Yuan Kaiji also looked surprised.

Liu Yuan smiled, “This one’s on the house.”

Yuan Kaiji snorted, but this time his voice sounded warmer.

Yuan Hongli carefully held the scrolls and said to Liu Yuan, “It is very difficult for the True Yang Golden Crow to hatch, and usually the process requires cultivation methods or physique of the fire attribute. Please treat it with great care.”

Liu Yuan wasn’t worried, actually. He could count on Xie Qian anyway.

So he nodded, “Of course.”

Yuan Kaiji took the scrolls and unfolded them. His eyes immediately lit up as he saw the paintings. Then he closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He rolled the paintings up and, as he turned to leave, he snorted coldly at the two men, “From now on, I will never set foot here again!” Then he left.

Yuan Hongli hurriedly followed him and exited the pavilion as well.

The place fell back to silence, and only the rustle of the paintings and lotus leaves in the wind could be heard.

Liu Yuan shifted his gaze from afar and sat back down with the paintings in one hand and the Golden Crow in the other.

For a while, the two men didn’t say a word. Finally, Xie Qian put down the brush and nodded in satisfaction. He then looked up and said, “My friend, do you know what can my paintings be used for?”

Liu Yuan searched his memory for the description of Experience Scrolls and answered, “They can combine one’s mind and body into one, and deepen one’s sea of consciousness.”

Xie Qian praised, “That’s true. Seems that you know a lot about it.”

Liu Yuan almost laughed out loud.

“I’m flattered.”

Xie Qian continued, “Thank you for your great kindness in the past. I’ve always kept it in mind.”

Liu Yuan wasn’t sure when he ever showed any “great kindness” to Xie Qian, but he didn’t really care about it anyway. What mattered was that he got the paintings.

Liu Yuan pointed to these paintings and asked, “Were you making things difficult for Yuan Kaiji on purpose just now?”

Xie Qian nodded.

His expression did not change at all as he said, “I’ve also kept in mind what Yuan Kaiji did to me in the past.”

Liu Yuan was curious, “What did he do?”

Xie Qian said, “He told me he preferred sweet tofu puddings to salty ones.”

Liu Yuan was speechless.

Xie Qian continued, “We went to Cypress Mountain Academy to learn Taoism together. One day, he replaced my salty tofu pudding with sweet ones.”

Liu Yuan frowned. So that was the reason why they hated each other for all these years? Over a tofu pudding?

Xie Qian said, “If you want to hatch the True Yang Golden Crow, you must first find an extremely cold place…”

That was a hell of topic shift…

Liu Yuan rolled his eyes. This character was really petty and vengeful. Fortunately, he had full favorability points for Liu Yuan.