[Run or not — Ye Yu had truly agonized over that.]
[In the end, he chose to stay.]
[The reason was simple. Leaving aside whether he could really slip past Little Red and Tao Hua’s probing,]
[even if he got out of the House of the Yokai God, it wouldn’t necessarily be safe!]
[How fast can a True God move?]
[As long as Tao Hua, a cultivator of the Divine Lord realm, wished it, finding him would only be a matter of time.]
[If that’s the case, what’s the point of running?]
[Better to face danger head-on than shy away from it!]
[So Ye Yu stayed, and said with great confidence, “I know Poison Madam deals in information and fine food. I wonder how many divine stones this bear yokai would fetch in your hands?”]
[Tao Hua’s eyes flowed with expression; she quickly understood what Ye Yu meant.]
[“You want to buy your own life?”]
[Ye Yu nodded.]
[Tao Hua snapped her fingers.]
[In an instant, a table and two chairs appeared, and on the tabletop sat an abacus that looked very old.]
[Tao Hua sat down, a smile returning to her face.]
[That signified Ye Yu’s status had shifted from “ingredient” to “guest.”]
[“Allow me to do the math for my distinguished guest. A yokai god of the True God realm — the cultivation is a touch low, but the bones are excellent and the hide is tough.”]
[“Plus you just swallowed a Dragon-Howl Dao Pill; the medicinal power is coursing through you.”]
[“Tsk, tsk. If we stack all these add-ons together—”]
[“At the very least it comes to this.”]
[Tao Hua held up five fingers.]
[Ye Yu ventured, “Five thousand divine stones?”]
[Tao Hua shook her head. “Five hundred thousand divine stones, kid. You really know nothing about the market for yokai materials. No — to be precise, you’ve completely underestimated your own value.”]
[Ye Yu was genuinely surprised.]
[Divine stones were no small matter. Just a few days ago he’d been scratching his head over three hundred stones a year; who would have thought he himself would now be worth five hundred thousand?]
[It was, indeed, an astronomical figure!]
[Tao Hua added, “Oh, and I forgot to tell you. I don’t take divine stones here. You can pay with techniques, pills, information, and the like of equal value.”]
[“But I still do the appraisal.”]
[“Don’t worry, though — this isn’t a black shop. I do steady, long-term business, not the gouging you see outside.”]
[Ye Yu wasn’t particularly surprised.]
[Back in the bath chamber, he had already considered this.]
[An information broker that had existed for so long would certainly know that resources are what matter most.]
[So Ye Yu had prepared capital for this trade in advance!]
[He drew a demonic-race body-forging technique from his storage ring and tossed it in front of Tao Hua.]
[He’d added some personal notes and improvements.]
[Not many, but enough to raise the technique by two full tiers!]
[Tao Hua was yokai, true, but after doing business this long her eye was sharp.]
[After flipping a few pages back and forth, she had already judged the value.]
[“Good stuff. Worth three hundred thousand divine stones. Where are the remaining two hundred thousand?”]
[At that, Ye Yu tossed out another technique.]
[These were demonic body-forging methods he had obtained in Tongtian Pavilion.]
[For this very moment, he had prepared more than a dozen.]
[Tao Hua skimmed another two pages, then lightly rubbed the paper with her fingertips.]
[Soon, the smile on her face grew even brighter.]
[“These changes — you just added them yourself, didn’t you?”]
[“To modify a demonic body-forging method so even yokai can use it — you’re a rare talent.”]
[“Now I regret naming five hundred thousand. You should be worth more.”]
[Ye Yu didn’t follow her lead. He said loudly, “Three hundred thousand for one, six hundred thousand for two. How do we account for the excess value?”]
[“For the excess, take that old dog with you.” She chuckled. “The title ‘Boundary Guardian, Great Saint’ used to be quite resounding, but now he’s ruined — can’t even act properly.”]
[“Still pretending to be unconscious — not convincing at all. When you walked past, that old fellow kept his eyes closed, but his divine power fluctuated ever so slightly. You two were using heart-voice transmission, weren’t you?”]
[Hearing that, Ye Yu was taken aback.]
[He hadn’t expected Tao Hua to catch such a tiny detail.]
[Far too careless!]
[But ten thousand to buy Luo Shu — that was acceptable.]
[Judging by Tao Hua’s look, she certainly wasn’t about to make change for him.]
[Thinking it through, Ye Yu nodded at once.]
[The next second, the cage — Luo Shu included — appeared before him!]
[At this moment, the Great Saint was still feigning unconsciousness.]
[The posture hadn’t changed at all.]
[Hard to say whether it was professionalism or plain fear!]
[Ye Yu opened the cage and said softly, “Get up. Drop the act. She saw through you long ago.”]
[Luo Shu didn’t move.]
[Ye Yu reached out, grabbed its tail, and gave a tug.]
[Luo Shu still didn’t react.]
[At that, Tao Hua spoke up. “Enough, enough. Your friend here has already paid your buy-your-life fee. You can go. And I wasn’t going to sell you anyway — nobody wants your meat.”]
[At those words, Luo Shu’s eyes snapped open and he leapt down!]
[Thick-skinned as ever, he said, “Mm, I just took a nap. Poison Madam, I’ve long admired your name.”]
[Tao Hua nodded, speechless, which counted as a greeting.]
[She then waved to Ye Yu, indicating they could leave.]
[But to her surprise, Ye Yu didn’t go. Instead, he produced yet another technique from his storage ring and laid it on the table.]
[“I’ve heard Poison Madam’s news runs deep. I want to buy a few pieces of information — if that’s possible?”]
[“Possible, possible, of course it’s possible. Whose news do you want to buy?”]
[Her words had barely fallen when a rough voice sounded from outside.]
[“Boss lady, why isn’t my food up yet?”]
[A second later, Tao Ku came running in. Seeing Ye Yu and Luo Shu intact, he was quite shocked.]
[He said nothing, however, and bent to salute before Tao Hua. “Madam, the guest outside can’t wait and keeps urging. What should we do now?”]
[“Tell him to get lost. He ordered a few cheap side dishes and thinks he’s a lord? I’m in the middle of a deal worth hundreds of thousands — I’ve no time to serve him!”]
[Tao Hua waved impatiently.]
[Tao Ku looked stunned, then withdrew.]
[“Come, come — let’s continue our business. ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Which person’s news would the esteemed guest like to buy?”]
[Tao Hua was as warm as ever.]
[Ye Yu said quietly, “I want news about Tongtian Pavilion. A few hours ago, why did violet demonic flames rise from it?”]
[At that, Luo Shu’s face turned serious in an instant.]
