Chapter 456 Poorer Than a Pauper
Even with their powers put together, the six champions of the Lost Races failed to break the enchantment that guarded the ruins. Their failure hardly left smiles on their faces and the aloof demeanor of Samsara only made their frowns deeper.
“What do you want?” With this particular summit occupied by the people of the Faith of Divine Radiance, Gao Mohan was master here and he should ask the questions.
“We’re here to request an audience with friend Samsara,” said Kong Liqun as courteously as he could.
It wouldn’t take a fool to know that the Lost Races champions have come because they had failed to undo the enchantment that barred all entry into the ruins.
The corners of Chu Xun’s lips curled with satisfaction. He glanced briefly at the six champions with a smirk.
“What do you want?”
“We would like to request for your help to undo the enchantment,” said Kong Liqun.
Chu Xun’s eyes glinted with a hint of malice. He flailed an arm, and the wine in his cup shot out like a spear of water, thrusting straight at Kong Liqun’s head.
“You!?”
Kong Liqun lashed out with anger, his hand rising up to swat at the liquid spear.
Bang!
Kong Liqun easily destroyed the spear of liquid and the wine spattered everywhere.
Stomp! Stomp!
But the force of the impact threw him back a couple of steps and even though he managed to remain on his feet, the ground shook underneath them and he looked visibly distraught.
Everyone held their breaths in silence. With only some wine from his cup, this Samsara stranger had managed to pummel Kong Liqun away.
Being all champions of similar if not matching strengths, everyone could well see that Chu Xun had hardly used the bulk of his powers in this brief show of aggression.
Whoever he was, wherever he came from; there was no doubt that he was powerful and imperious.
“Were you giving me an order?” Chu Xun cast a derisive glance at Kong Liqun.
Kong Liqun’s eyes flared with cold fury as he stared hard at Chu Xun, his back arched as if ready to pounce.
“So, you wish to fight me?” asked Chu Xun again.
Kong Liqun’s mouth opened but before any word could slip out, the Macro-primate champion interrupted him, “You misunderstand us, friend Samsara. We are here to propose a collaboration.”
Hei Zong, Huang Hai, and Lang Mu were hardly the perfect choice to tender this motion—not after the fierce battle they just had earlier. So the task fell into Kong Liqun’s lap and it would have been so if he had not offended Samsara. Hence, it had to be the Macro-primate champion, even though he was known to be clumsy with words.
“Me? A human, colluding with you alien races? Is this a joke?” Chu Xun stifled a snigger.
“I believe this would be a good time for us all to set aside our differences,” persuaded the Macro-primate, “the enchantment that guards the ancient ruins is very, very strong; not even us could break it. Therefore, I trust it’s for all our mutual benefits to work together.”
“You trust?” Chu Xun remarked with unmasked scorn, “You might trust so, but not me. I don’t need a collaboration with the likes of you! Begone!”
The Lost Races champions peered darkly at them. Never had they ever endured such contempt since the day they were hailed as the champions of their respective races.
Even Gao Mohan and his companions too were shocked by how arrogant and brazen Samsara behaved.
“And you’re so positively certain that you would be able to undo the magic of the enchantment just by yourself, friend Samsara?” growled the Macro-primate champion coldly.
“And that is my concern and mine alone,” said Chu Xun with equal frost, “is there anything else I can help you with? Or else, you should be on your way.”
“Enough of that impertinence, Samsara!” Huang Hai lashed out angrily with malice and fury radiating off his back.
The rest of his five cohorts all stared menacingly at Chu Xun, each readying for a fight.
“So you’re not here to propose a collaboration. You’re here to intimidate and threaten.” Chu Xun’s gaze turned colder than ice.
“We came humbly to ask for a partnership, but you! You insulted us with every word you spew!” Kong Liqun hissed bitterly.
“Requesting. And since you’re the one requesting, you should show some manner of sincerity,” said Chu Xun suddenly, steering the subject sideways.
The remark bewildered the six Lost Races Champions as they struggled to make sense of what he was trying to imply.
Gao Mohan and the human champions too stared at Chu Xun dubiously.
“And what manner of sincerity do you wish to see?” Kong Liqun asked.
Chu Xun stood up. He beheld the line of champions standing abreast to each other and said, “You’re all champions of your race. Not only you wield great powers, you even carry great prestige and respect, no?”
That seemed to have lessened the tension. The Lost Races champions felt rather flattered now.
“Why, of course,” said Kong Liqun with a tinge of pride.
“Well then. So the display of your sincerity shouldn’t be too modest,” Chu Xun said before taking a pause. Then he smiled. “How about this? A gift from each of you: five hundred high-grade magical shrubs or herbs. Magical flowers or fruits would suffice too. Such gifts shall be sufficient to exemplify your goodwill.”
“Huh?!
“How is this not ransom?!” If such thoughts could play in Gao Mohan’s and his companions’ minds, there was little doubt that all six of the Lost Races champions realized this too.
“Shouldn’t we speak on equal terms, if this is to be a collaboration? And yet you seek to insult us!” Kong Liqun glowered.
“You request for my help,” said Chu Xun, his tone changing, “is it wrong for you to display your sincerity in requesting my help? Moreover, I only want the magical supplies as collateral. It’s just insurance in ensuring that you are all genuine in asking for my help. For all I know, you could be waiting to kill me the moment I undo the magic of the enchantment. So give me what I ask, and I’ll hold on to them for the duration of our collaboration, So long as you are true to your word, you have mine that you will get your supplies back when our business here is concluded.”
The Lost Races champions peered at each other. Somehow, one could hardly argue that Samsara’s words made sense.
“Well, if you’re going to hesitate any longer, perhaps we should just call this quits,” scowled Chu Xun distastefully, “you’re not going to be the only one pledging your share—all of us are. All we have to do is to entrust the whole trove to someone impartial. And this is our accord: no killing. Once inside, the prizes shall belong to anyone worthy. If anyone kills someone else to steal his prize, then he forfeits the collateral that he put forward.”
“I agree with Samsara’s solution.” Gao Mohan nodded. Nothing good could come out of a collaboration between humans and the Lost Races, and this idea could help prevent anything untoward.
Diao Xingyi and Ge Zhan both nodded their assent too.
“It would seem that the lot of you have zero interest in a true collaboration after all. So be it then. Let’s forget about it,” said Chu Xun, his arm waving them away like patting away filth as he sat back down and began drinking again.
The Lost Races champions shared a quick look and Kong Liqun quickly produced his Jewel of Isolation. Using it, they discussed amongst themselves.
Kong Liqun put away his Jewel when the debate was done. He looked at Chu Xun and pronounced, “We agree to Samsara’s terms.”
“But to whom should we entrust such a huge trove of magical supplies?” asked Huang Hai.
Everyone fell silent at the conundrum. The human champions would not be happy with the notion of allowing the mutant champions to hold on to the magical supplies and the latter won’t allow the humans to keep them either.
“Don’t look at me. Just sort it out amongst yourself, won’t you?” said Chu Xun, shrugging as he went back to sipping at his wine.
“How about me?” Liu Jiuyuan appeared out of nowhere. To Gao Mohan, he smiled, “Some kind of friend you are, Gao. Here you are, enjoying good wine without me.”
Gao Mohan could only feign a giggle.
Chu Xun shot him a searing glare. “Since when does a meeting between friends and allies include mongrel dogs too?”
“How dare you, Samsara!” snarled Liu Jiuyuan, eyeing him venomously. “We are all here for the treasures kept hidden in the ancient ruins and for that reason, I’d avoid any quarrel with you, but mind your tone!”
“And what did you say just now? That everyone should entrust their shares all to you?” Chu Xun gave him a curt glance.
“That’s right. On the good name of the House of Liu, I’ll swear to be fair and just. If anyone would dare to kill another person to steal his prize, let me be the first man to exact judgment.”
“The good name of your house?” Chu Xun scoffed, “Much good that would do us.”
“You’re digging your own grave, Samsara!” bellowed Liu Jiuyuan with rage.
“Oh, enough, you. Of everyone here, you’re the one that I trust the least!” jabbed Chu Xun again.
The mutant champions all peered at each other furtively, trading to one another quiet nods of agreement.
“Friend Samsara,” Kong Liqun said suddenly, “we have a consensus. We shall gladly entrust our shares to Master Liu here.”
“I object. I don’t trust him,” insisted Chu Xun.
The Lost Races champions all chuckled as one.
“You came up with this idea, friend Samsara, and you asked us to choose somebody, remember? And when we’ve come forward with a nomination, you object to it? What is this?” Kong Liqun asked.
“It would appear that you are the one who is without sincerity in collaborating,” sneered Huang Hai.
“Oh, shuddup, you! I just can’t trust this man!” burst out Chu Xun, losing his temper.
“All right, everyone, please.” Gao Mohan tried to arbitrate. He said to Chu Xun, “I understand your reasons for not trusting Liu, friend Samsara. But I’m afraid there is no one more suitable than him.”
Everyone nodded. The bitter enmity Liu Jiuyuan carried prevented him from siding with Chu Xun, and as a human, he could never collude with the mutants. That made him the most suitable person for the job.
“But I don’t trust him,” hissed Chu Xun.
“How about this? I’ll vouch for Liu, if you’d allow me to. If Liu betrays you, then I’ll compensate you for the supplies that you’ve lost. Would that be fine?”
Chu Xun gave the suggestion a moment’s worth of consideration and he finally relented.
“I’ll hold you on to it. If that scoundrel runs off with my supply, I’ll be asking them back from you,” warned Chu Xun.
But Liu Jiuyuan was none too pleased either. No one had ever insulted him right into the face before. But before he could lose his temper, Diao Xingyi pulled him back.
Ge Zhan too did his best to pacify Liu Jiuyuan. They could not allow him to muck things up—not after Samsara had finally relented to the arrangement.
Even so, Liu Jiuyuan’s temper was hardly assuaged; Samsara was the one hurling insults at him, and yet everyone was behaving as if he was the true villain here.
“All right. Let me begin then,” said Gao Mohan. He waved a hand and a mound of magical shrubs and herbs, flowers and fruits appeared before him. The fragrance of the herbs and the rich natural energies wafting from the pile was really invigorating.
But they were still far from the agreed amount of five hundred.
“As you can see, it’s only three hundred here,” explained Gao Mohan. “I don’t have many high-grade magical supplies with me, so I’ll replace them with middle-grade supplies. I’ll put in one hundred middle-grade magical ingredients for each high-grade ingredient.”
He waved a hand again and another larger pile of magical supplies—almost twenty-thousand magical ingredients appeared.
“You’re free to inspect them, Liu,” said Gao.
Liu Jiuyuan came over and smiled, “I’m sure I can trust you, Gao.”
With a gentle flourish of his hand, he magicked everything into his Storage Ring.
“My turn,” said Kong Liqun.
Humans, then mutants, then humans again, and so forth. At least for now, everything looked fair and right.
One after another, everyone presented their heaps of magical supplies which Liu Jiuyuan then kept inside his Ring.
Everyone emptied what they could and they used other items as collateral in place of the magical ingredients that they lacked.
Chu Xun might look serene and indifferent, but deep inside, he was already salivating hungrily at the hoards of magical supplies.
He would like to think himself as rich as a king after his many marauding and plundering of the vaults and crypts belonging to the various orders and houses he had destroyed.
Yet today, seeing the vast amount of rare treasures these champions were carrying around with them, he felt humbled instead.
More so, now that he really was as poor as a rat.
“Your turn now,” said Liu Jiuyuan.
“Everyone had committed their share and Chu Xun was the last one.
Chu Xun stood up and flailed an arm magnanimously.
A heap of magical ingredients shimmered into appearance in a flash.
But when the lights receded, everyone gawked with disbelief at what they saw.
“What on earth is this?!”
The entire heap looked scarcely three to four thousand shrubs at most and most of them were low-grade ingredients.
Chu Xun was nowhere near being happy himself. He had carried literally nothing in his ring since he left Dragon’s Back and these were all the supplies he plundered from the Mustelids and the Canids when he saved Jiu You and her horde.
“Is this a joke?!” Liu Jiuyuan scowled with unmistakable scorn.
Ashamed, Chu Xun glared at him. “Spare me your histrionics! I can substitute what I lack with something else!”
Chu Xun waved a hand and in another burst of radiance, more than two dozen Sacred Relics appeared in one pile.
Everyone ogled with disbelief. Sacred Relics were as rare as they came and yet Samsara has so many!
“Surely all these must be enough,” Chu Xun uttered proudly.
“Nope,” Liu Jiuyuan said with devilish glee.
“Nope?! You’re pulling my leg!” Chu Xun burst out angrily.
“Samsara, please.” Kong Liqun stepped forward. He gave the pile of Sacred Relics a transitory glance and said, “Though it is true that Sacred Relics are even rarer than gold. But I’m afraid of all your items here, only one is high-grade and three middle-grade. The rest of them are low-grade items, which would be of no use at all to anyone in our present class. So, I’m afraid he’s right; it really is not enough.”
While high-grade Sacred Relics might still prove useful to Immortal-level champions, low- and middle-grade Sacred Relics were no different to scraps of iron and steel with hardly any function to man nor beast.
“Surely these Sacred Relics, no matter what grades they are, carry certain value! Moreover, we’re just handing it to Liu as collateral! I’m going to take them back after this! So they belong to me and I say they’re valuable!”
“But everyone here has contributed equal shares,” said Kong Liqun, “you are not being fair to all of us.”
For one moment, Chu Xun struggled with the impulse of giving the Peacock champion a slap across the face. Never did he know that he would ever be ridiculed for being poor. “All right then, how much more do you need then?!”
“All these items of yours are worth about two hundred. So that means you’re short of three hundred,” Liu Jiuyuan said.
“Why don’t you go rob a bank then!?” Chu Xun erupted, “Sacred Relics are the rarest of the rare! How could so many Sacred Relics only be worth the same as two hundred magical shrubs and herbs?!”
“You are right that Sacred Relics are the rarest of the rare, but a high-grade Sacred Relic starts with the same price as two hundred magical shrubs or herbs during an auction. But this is not a bidding contest and hence that’s the most your Sacred Relics would get—two hundred high-grade magical ingredients.”
“Is that really so?” Chu Xun asked Gao Mohan.
The human champion nodded.
“Then this is all I have now,” said Chu Xun, looking visibly distraught.
“You can check again. Perhaps there might be other things in your ring that you can use,” said Liu Jiuyuan with a deriding grin.
“My foot they are. I would have long taken out what I could if they could spare me your incessant whining!” Chu Xun complained.
But he was right; there was only his golden staff, Dragon’s Wrath, and the miniaturized flying ship he took from the Mustelids and he could hardly show them to everyone here.
“An Immortal-level champion as poor as a rat,” Liu Jiuyuan jeered with a shake of his head. “Pity.”
Chu Xun’s nostrils flared with indignation. He shot a glare at Liu Jiuyuan. If only he could give the fool a good walloping he deserved!
“There, there. Samsara is an independent Cultivator. It’s only normal that he’s not blessed with copious amounts of magical supplies,” said Gao Mohan. To Liu Jiuyuan, he said, “Let me help make up for the amount he owes.”
“That would be quite an imposition,” said Chu Xun abashedly.
“It’s alright. After all, I’ll be getting them back.”
Ge Zhan and Diao Xingyi exchanged a quick look.
“The amount is quite large, Gao. Let me help too. One hundred magical herbs,” offered Diao Xingyi.
“I can help with another one hundred too,” added Ge Zhan.
Gao Mohan proffered no objections. With Diao Xingyi and Ge Zhan offering to help, Liu Jiuyuan would need to think twice before doing anything that would risk angering three powerful champions.
“Thank you so much, all of you. I shall remember this gesture,” said Chu Xun pensively.
The three human champions smiled. It was a small price to pay to earn the favor of one with such power and might such as Samsara’s.
“See that? A kind man gets treated with kindness no matter where he goes,” Chu Xun hissed smugly at Liu Jiuyuan.
“Bah humbug! As if an Immortal-level champion who has barely two coins to rub together has anything to be proud of!” Liu Jiuyuan muttered with utmost disgust.
“You’re itching for a walloping, aren’t you?” Chu Xun rubbed his palms, eager to fight.
“Please, friend Samsara. I’m sure Liu was only joking,” urged Gao Mohan again.
“Every word I speak I deliver with every shred of frankness and candor I can muster,” snorted Liu Jiuyuan.
Chu Xun rolled up his sleeves and hissed, “Come, you wretched imp! It’s high time I give you some lessons on manners!”
But Liu Jiuyuan threw at Chu Xun not so much as a cold “hmph!” before he averted his eyes and strode off.
“Come here, you wretched thing! I’ll have you beaten into a pulp!”
Gao Mohan tugged and tugged at Chu Xun, clinging on to him so desperately while he tossed knowing looks at Ge Zhan and Diao Xingyi for help.
This Samsara fellow was just too mercurial a young lad who could not keep his temper in check.
But no one noticed the edges of Chu Xun’s lips curling into a sinister grin.
“Well, since our fates are all tied together, let’s just stick as a team for now,” suggested Gao Mohan.
“That’s right! We cannot let that wretched scoundrel leave our sights! What if he scarpers off with our supplies!?” Chu Xun pointed out quickly.
Liu Jiuyuan tossed another ugly and nasty look at Samsara. He had never been so vehemently insulted before in all his life except for today.
Even so, no one needed any reminding. Be they humans or the Lost Races, no one could afford to allow Liu Jiuyuan to slip out of sight.
“Well, if everyone’s so inclined, why not come to my tent for a drink.” Gao Mohan invited the champions, including the mutants too. Temporary this alliance might be, they could all do with some basic courtesy and manners.
“Thank you. I hope this won’t be an imposition,” said Kong Liqun.
The six Lost Races champions sat down. As the pillars of their respective races, they possess cunning and craft that could even surpass humans. Accepting Gao Mohan’s hospitality was a gesture so that the human champions might let down their guard.
But Gao Mohan and his companions were no fools either. They saw through the mutant’s playacting for what it was right from the start and they remained vigilant. Humans and mutant races could never trust each other at all.
Despite whatever appearance everyone was doing their best to maintain.
“So, Samsara, when would you begin to undo the enchantment?” Kong Liqun asked suddenly.
That was it. The one question everyone present had been meaning to ask.
“Tomorrow morning,” said Chu Xun.
“But the enchantment weakens during nighttime,” pointed out Kong Liqun.
“Too many variables at night. Moreover, I need to think of a solution for the spell,” said Chu Xun.
The horde of both human warriors and Beast Lords hardly dispersed despite the earlier brouhaha. The ancient ruins might be hogged by only the Immortal-level champions, but the mob of lesser warriors and Beast Lords were hoping for any scraps that might fall off the table.
Nevertheless, the sight of the human champions sitting down for a cordial drink with the mutant champions really was a rare sight to behold.
“Champions of the Lost Races, I have long been perturbed by one thing,” said Chu Xun suddenly.
“Pray tell,” said Kong Liqun.
“As far as I know, of the members of your races that emerged, they were all mostly males. So how do you breed with such an uneven ratio of males and females? And what forms do you assume during your mating? Are you in your animal forms or do you mate in human form? And does it make any difference if you mate like humans? Would the female get pregnant too?”
“Huh?!”
One could have sworn that the myriads of emotions swept across the faces of the mutant champions. Of all the things that Chu Xun could have said, this was certainly the last thing they expected him to ask, to say nothing of the vulgar manner in which he articulated the subject of his curiosity.
“I would implore for some manners on your part, friend Samsara,” growled Kong Liqun, visibly annoyed, “as Immortal-level champions who had achieved human form, we no longer care for any urge or impulse that is primitive or primal.”
“What? So Immortal-level beast champions don’t need to mate?”
“The way you think is most peculiar indeed. But achieving the levels of power we wield today has seen us transcending beyond the usual vagaries of mortality. We are no longer governed by anything earthly or trivial.”
Chu Xun was about to put forth another question when Kong Liqun interrupted him quickly, “Perhaps you should devote your faculties to solving the conundrum of the enchantment, Samsara. That is the most pertinent matter now.”
“Very well then. I’ll brood on that first. We’ll come back to the question of your breeding next time.”
The mutant champions could hardly suppress the spasms of irritation and annoyance on their lips.
Gao Mohan and his companions too were nonplussed by Chu Xun’s display, as much as they too, were curious about this themselves.
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