Lu Tan Tan’s greed didn’t faze Mo Fan; instead, it was his cleverness that shifted Mo Fan’s view of demons.
Before this, Mo Fan had seen demons as mostly ignorant, their speech carrying a rustic air, like village children who’d never seen the world, always tossing in a folksy “I” with a local twang.
But this deer demon was different. He was sharp, grasping things quickly, which surprised Mo Fan somewhat.
“Seems not all demons are foolish. Perhaps it’s tied to their cultivation level—the higher the cultivation, the smarter they are?”
“Right, higher cultivation means a longer lifespan. The longer they live, the more they’ve seen…”
Mo Fan mused to himself, then directly stated his offer, “Twenty spirit stones. Is my sincerity enough?”
“You really do have spirit stones!”
Lu Tan Tan’s face lit up with a wide smile, but he shook his head, “Your sincerity’s not quite there yet!”
“How many do you want?” Mo Fan’s brow furrowed slightly.
Though he didn’t know the exact value of spirit stones, judging from the setup in Lu Tan Tan’s cave mansion, they were clearly precious, or at least rare!
The entire cave had fewer than ten spirit stones on display!
“A thousand spirit stones!” Lu Tan Tan’s eyes gleamed as he stared intently at Mo Fan.
“Seems we’ve got nothing to discuss.”
Mo Fan rolled his eyes, thinking, “This guy’s appetite is ridiculous! I’ve only got about a hundred spirit stones total. Does he think they’re pebbles on the roadside?”
This made Mo Fan finally understand why he was called “Lu Tan Tan”—this wasn’t just greed; it was madness!
With that, Mo Fan stood to leave.
“Hey! Hey!”
“Hold on, Brother Lai Bao, don’t rush off. If the price isn’t right, we can still negotiate!” Lu Tan Tan called out urgently.
“I don’t see the point. I’ve shown some sincerity, but you, Lu Dingmu, don’t seem to have any,” Mo Fan said expressionlessly, heading for the cave’s exit.
“Alright, you want sincerity?”
“Since you put it that way, Brother, I’ll give a bit more. Five hundred!”
“Five hundred spirit stones—sincere enough, right?” Lu Tan Tan said hurriedly.
This time, Mo Fan didn’t even respond, his steps unwavering as he neared the cave’s entrance. Lu Tan Tan gritted his teeth, a bit annoyed, “A hundred! Just a hundred spirit stones, and your business is my business, Brother Lai Bao!”
At that, Mo Fan stopped, slowly turning with a smile, “Lu Dingmu, you know how rare spirit stones are. Thirty is the most I can offer!”
“You… kid, don’t push it!”
“That venomous scorpion—is he missing or gone? I think you know best. Thirty spirit stones to buy your life—don’t you think that’s a bit low?”
“Eighty spirit stones is my final offer!” Lu Tan Tan glared fiercely at Mo Fan.
Mo Fan fell silent for a moment, sighed, and said, “Alright, let’s both compromise. Fifty spirit stones. If that’s not enough, I’m out of options. After all, that’s all the scorpion demon’s estate amounts to!”
“Fifty spirit stones…”
Lu Tan Tan’s brow furrowed, but after a moment’s thought, he nodded, “Fine, fifty it is. Hand over the spirit stones!”
Mo Fan grinned, opened his mouth, and spat out fifty spirit stones, waving them toward Lu Tan Tan.
The fifty stones gathered together, their glow strong enough to brighten the entire cave.
Lu Tan Tan, seeing this, felt a pang of regret. The guy’s decisiveness suggested he likely had more than fifty!
“Damn, I could’ve squeezed more. What a loss!”
Lu Tan Tan cursed inwardly, his face souring.
“By the way, a word of advice, Lu Dingmu. These fifty spirit stones are from the scorpion demon Heizi’s estate—stolen goods, in a way. So I hope you’ll think twice before acting,” Mo Fan said, eyes narrowing.
“You’re an interesting one!” Lu Tan Tan chuckled, “Don’t worry, I may be greedy, but since I’ve taken your gift, I’ll handle your business.”
“But a Dingmu position isn’t up to me alone. You’ve come to me, so you must know that.
With the Third General and that wolf gone, this mountain’s affairs are handled by me and that vixen He Feifei. You’ll need her approval too.
But… tsk tsk, a word of warning: that vixen isn’t so easy to…”
Before Lu Tan Tan could finish, Mo Fan cut in, “Thanks for the concern, but I visited He Dingmu’s cave before coming here. We got along quite well.”
“What?!”
Lu Tan Tan’s eyes widened, but he soon relaxed, staring at Mo Fan for a moment before laughing, “You’re something else, really something!”
“In that case, you can go. As for the identity token, I’ll need to discuss it with He Feifei. It’ll be settled by this month’s cultivation assembly at the latest!”
Lu Tan Tan waved a hand, downing the wine on the table in one gulp.
“Can I ask you something, Lu Dingmu?”
Mo Fan didn’t leave but looked at Lu Tan Tan, opening his mouth to produce an orange gourd, which he sent floating toward him with a wave.
“What’s this?” Lu Tan Tan was slightly surprised, unsure what Mo Fan was up to.
“When I entered, you had your underlings pour wine for me, so I figured you’re fond of drinking. I happened to pick up some low-grade spirit wine when I returned from outside the mountain. Thought I’d give you a gourd to try,” Mo Fan said with a smile.
Low-grade spirit wine?
Lu Tan Tan paused, then popped open the gourd’s stopper and shook it, catching a whiff of wine fragrance.
“It really is low-grade spirit wine!” Lu Tan Tan’s eyes lit up as he stored the gourd, then smiled at Mo Fan, “Brother Lai Bao, you’re too kind. Ask away, I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Thanks, Lu Dingmu!”
“No need for ‘Dingmu’—with our relationship, just call me by name!” Lu Tan Tan said grandly.
Lu Tan Tan?
Mo Fan’s face twitched slightly before he asked, “What do you need so many spirit stones for, Brother Lu?”
At that, Lu Tan Tan frowned again, seemingly debating whether to answer. After wrestling with it for a while, he gave a wry smile, “No wonder you’re clever, Brother Lai Bao. That one question dragged my secret right out…”
“Secret?” Mo Fan’s heart stirred, but he stayed silent, looking at Lu Tan Tan.
“Since I’ve already boasted, I’ll be straight with you!”
Lu Tan Tan took a deep breath, glanced around, and lowered his voice, “Spirit stones aren’t much use to me, but in human markets, they’re handy. You can use them as hard currency to buy plenty of good stuff!”
Human markets?
Mo Fan’s eyes flashed, “What are these human markets? Since they’re human territory, you dare to go there, Brother Lu?”
“Markets are just trading hubs, places where cultivators gather to exchange or sell goods.
Regular markets? I wouldn’t dare go—talk about walking into a trap.
But the market I know is different…”
