God of Illusions

“No, Deputy President Zhuang, don’t be so generous. How much for the Crystal’s Longings? I will pay double the price. Your kindness is too much for me,” Bai Xiaofei immediately replied with a smile. Zhuang Ming had a hard time maintaining his face when he heard Bai Xiaofei’s words. But there was a reason he was the one sent to deal with Bai Xiaofei. 

After smiling awkwardly, he quickly readjusted his state of mind. “Brother Bai, you jest. If I can’t even afford to gift you a few dozen Crystal’s Longings, I would be a deputy president for nothing.”

True, if he couldn’t even afford the price of a few dozen Crystal’s Longings, he should just quit his position as deputy president.

“Deputy President Zhuang, I think we should stop beating around the bush, right?” Bai Xiaofei said as he took out the receipt and slammed it on the table. “4.16 trillion. I will leave immediately after the fund is transferred to my account. I won’t waste a minute extra of your time.”

Zhuang Ming gulped when he heard Bai Xiaofei’s frank words. He had expected the discussion to be tough, but Bai Xiaofei was still trickier than he had expected.

“Since Brother Bai is being frank, I will cut the bullshit. To tell the truth, it is somewhat hard for us to come up with this 4.16 trillion for now.”

Bai Xiaofei wasn’t surprised at all. From what Zhuang Ming had done when he had entered, Bai Xiaofei had already guessed this outcome.

“So a large merchant house like the Babel Merchant House can’t even afford to pay their customer’s prize money? If you don’t have the money here, I can get someone to try your other branches instead,” Bai Xiaofei said as he picked up a Crystal’s Longing and passed it to Hu Xian’er. “Give it a try. It’s my treat.”

Hu Xian’er took the Crystal’s Longing and gave it a gentle bite. She was the first person to not cry out when eating this fruit for the first time. Of course, she still had an extremely astonished expression on her pretty face. Zhuang Ming, with a distressed expression on his face, watched on as the two behaved casually. Bai Xiaofei had caught on to his weakness.

“Don’t worry, Brother Bai. Although we do not have sufficient funds here, we can replace it with items of similar value. I believe you will be satisfied with what I have to offer,” said Zhuang Ming. He had originally planned to say those words after he gained an advantage in the negotiation, but he was clear he would never be able to gain the advantage. This might cost him greatly!

“Oh? Interesting. Items equivalent to four trillion Amethyst Coins? Deputy President Zhuang, you sure are confident. I can agree to it, but you better be prepared since I am not easy to please.”

Then, Bai Xiaofei picked up another Crystal’s Longing and started eating. The taste of the fruit filled his face with joy. One could say that he was presently enjoying the treatment of a major VIP. After all, he was eating Crystal’s Longing like it was a normal snack.

Zhuang Ming sighed inwardly as he braced to have his coffers emptied by Bai Xiaofei.

“There are 1.5 trillion Amethyst Coins in this Amethyst Card. Brother Bai, please take it first,” said Zhuang Ming, and a one-time-use Amethyst Card appeared in his hand after a flash of his storage ring. With a satisfied smile, Bai Xiaofei took the card and pressed it on his own card. After checking the amount, his smile grew deeper.

This was a large amount, equivalent to several hundreds of Brightmoon Merchant House. This was a sum of money others wouldn’t even dream of having. Of course, Bai Xiaofei did not let it show. Since Zhuang Ming had already offered himself for slaughter, Bai Xiaofei would not give up on this fat lamb.

“2.6 trillion left. Deputy President Zhuang, you may present your items. Hopefully, they are sufficient to pique my interest,” Bai Xiaofei said with a smile. A trace of anticipation appeared in his eyes, and he slowly leaned into the sofa and wrapped his right hand around Hu Xian’er’s slender waist.

“Don’t worry, Brother Bai. You will definitely be satisfied,” Zhuang Ming said with a confident expression. A glossy and translucent porcelain bottle appeared in his hand. Multiple similarly translucent pills could be seen within it.

“Feature Locking Pill, grade-five pill. After consuming the pill, regardless of gender, the person’s appearance would be forever fixed at the moment that person eats the pill. In the latest auction, a single Feature Locking Pill was auctioned at five billion Amethyst Coins. It has also been a very long time since this pill has appeared on the market,” Zhuang Ming said before pausing. A pained expression appeared on his face.

If he was to auction these pills individually, all seventeen of them would be sold for an extremely high price. But now, he was already prepared to accept valuing these pills at the lowest possible price.

“Deputy President Zhuang, from your description, this is indeed something good. But I am still young and my experience is still lacking, so I can’t ascertain your words. Furthermore, I don’t believe you at all. Therefore, I can’t bring myself to trust your valuation of these pills.”

These words stunned Zhuang Ming.

Damn it! Is this kid really a teenager? Why is he even craftier than those old foxes?

Zhuang Ming cussed inwardly, but he still maintained a calm expression.

“What do you propose, Brother Bai?” He tossed the question to Bai Xiaofei and sneered inwardly.

Kid, only a few people in the academy know about the things I have to offer. I refuse to believe you know those geezers.

“Ah, that is simple. Please wait. I will invite someone here. You will definitely agree with the judgment of that person,” Bai Xiaofei said, stunning Zhuang Ming before he could even finish sneering in his heart.

“Do you have pen and paper?”

Zhuang Ming might be shocked, but he did not dare to belittle Bai Xiaofei’s words before he saw the truth for himself. “Go get a pen and paper.” 

The hostess quickly ran out before returning shortly with pen and paper. After writing a long note, Bai Xiaofei folded the note and gave it to Huskie.

“You enjoyed eating the fruit last time, right? Deliver this to Fang Ye. If you perform well, I will let you have one when you return,” Bai Xiaofei said after petting Huskie’s head. This caused Huskie to immediately start salivating. Bai Xiaofei was probably the only one in the entirety of the continent who would feed his dog Crystal’s Longings. Oh, right, even Blackie had eaten one as well…

Bai Xiaofei himself had claimed that he did not think of his puppets as mere tools. This was especially true for animate puppets. Since they followed him, he would not allow them to suffer. This was also the reason Mo Ka and the others were so fiercely loyal to him. Since Bai Xiaofei was treating even a dog and a cat so well, he would treat humans even better.

Of course, one also needed to be able to ignore the numerous tricks Bai Xiaofei would play on the people around him. Mo Ka and the others could not ignore the tricks, but they were already accustomed to it…

With the paper in his mouth, Huskie ran off. The enticement of Crystal’s Longing was not something a glutton like Huskie could resist.

“Just wait a bit. I believe Deputy President Zhuang has the time, right?” Bai Xiaofei sat down and asked in a completely unworried manner.

“Of course. If you want, I can even spend an entire day here with you,” replied Zhuang Ming with the trademark crafty smile of merchants. But inwardly, he let out a long sigh. If a day where he had to spend an entire day with Bai Xiaofei actually came, he would rather quit his position. At the same time, he grew curious. Who was Bai Xiaofei inviting?