Chapter 99 (Patreon)

“How in the world did you get your hands on something like that?”

Those were the first words Jiang Lei said to him after they had left the inn and gotten far enough away. They weaved between various alleys and into and out of crowds. While Jiang Lei said they weren’t being followed, it was still best to be careful.

Chen Haoran stashed his cloak in his storage bag while Jiang Lei still struggled to process what he’d seen. “In all my life, I’ve never seen someone just casually pull out a 30-thousand-year-old spirit plant like that.” Jiang Lei’s friendly older brother facade was gone now in favor of open shock.

“So what I gave her was pretty valuable, huh?” Chen Haoran asked. He left the Moonflower with Dreamwater. Despite being ‘fully trained’ in appraising, per her words, she couldn’t quote him a price for the spirit plant then and there and would have to refer it to her seniors. He’d get the starting price the day of the auction.

“Pretty valuable?” Jiang Lei sputtered. “Do you really not know the value of what you handed over?”

Chen Haoran waved his hand in a so-so motion. “I know theoretically that it’s worth a lot, but not specifics.”

“So you don’t know what it’s worth, and you still handed it over? Are you not afraid the Golden Lily Association will steal it?” Jiang Lei asked.

He shrugged. “If they do then that’s that. It’d be a shame, but I’d just move on. Besides, I’d assume the Golden Lily Association wouldn’t ruin their reputation like that. They make more money than what they’d get taking that flower.”

“And what if I decided to steal it then?” Chen Haoran paused and looked at Jiang Lei and merely smiled at him. “Now that I know you have something that good who’s to say what else you have? I am the stronger of the two of us. It would be trivial for me.”

It was a good question. Jiang Lei was essentially a stranger to him. At any time he could decide to rip Chen Haoran’s storage bag off his waist and there’d be nothing he could do to stop him. But…

“I know you wouldn’t do that,” Chen Haoran said.

Jiang Lei raised an eyebrow in askance.

“We’re friends, aren’t we? Friends don’t rob friends. And if you really wanted to rob me you wouldn’t be going through the potential risks with me.”

Jiang Lei was silent for a moment as he studied Chen Haoran. In the end he laughed and threw an arm over Chen Haoran’s shoulders. “Of course we’re friends.”

Chen Haoran, thankfully didn’t flinch. Of course, every word he spoke was a damn lie. Rather than betting on this nonsense friendship Jiang Lei was pushing, he placed his faith that Jiang Lei’s other objective, which had him sticking near Chen Haoran, was more important. In a way, his inviting Jiang Lei to meet the Golden Lily Association attendant was part for security and part test. He might not know the true value of a 30-thousand-year-old Moonflower but he at least knew it wasn’t worth enough for Jiang Lei to break face with him.

He was stirred out of his thoughts by Jiang Lei’s finger poking his chest. “Are you really sure about selling it, though? Most would consider using a spirit herb that powerful for themselves.”

Chen Haoran grabbed his finger and pushed it away. “Use it for what? I’m already at the peak of the Qi Realm. In any case old or not it’s just a Moonflower. I was in the mountains picking flowers like those for the girl I liked. Whatever benefit it has comes more from its age than the flower itself.”

“For someone who says he doesn’t know the value of what he sold, you seem to have a pretty good idea of what it’s worth.”

Chen Haoran rolled his eyes. “Just the basics. What do you think? I don’t know much about spirit herbs.”

“Well, natural spirit herbs that old are impossible to find. You’d be lucky to find anything over a thousand.” Jiang Lei pursed his lips in thought. “Almost impossible. There are stories of cultivators who ventured into the forbidden depths of the jungle coming back with plants that old, but that was a long time ago. The majority of powerful spirit herbs on the market are grown now.”

“Damn, they really wait 30 thousand years for plants to grow then?” It said something about cultivators’ long-term planning if that were the case.

“Heavens no. That’s insane. There are techniques and formations to help them grow. Some secret realms as well are beneficial for growing spirit herbs.” Jiang Lei looked at Chen Haoran in surprise. “You didn’t think the age was literal, did you?”

“I told you I don’t know anything about them.”

Jiang Lei shook his head. “I really don’t know what to make of you. One moment I swear you’re from some great power, and then the very next moment you sound like some backwater cultivator.”

Chen Haoran snorted. “That’s precisely what I am.”

“Backwater cultivators don’t have strong Earth-rank cultivation methods or pull out insanely old spirit herbs. I swear on all the water in Zumulu you’re more important than you’re letting on.”

Well… he wasn’t wrong per se. Chen Haoran considered and decided it was worth the shot to ask. “Have you heard of the Chen Family?”

“No,” came Jiang Lei’s instant response. “Should I? There’s a bunch of Chen families.”

Chen Haoran felt a sense of deja vu. On the one hand he expected it. On the other hand he didn’t know how to feel about Jiang Lei and Xie Jin having nearly the exact same answer. He was a bit sad Xie Jin wasn’t here to meet Jiang Lei now.

“Oh wait! Are you from that Chen Family?”

Chen Haoran froze. Did he really know them?

Jiang Lei continued, oblivious. “I think I remember a Liquid Meridian pirate gang down south calling themselves that.” He narrowed his eyes at Chen Haoran. “You’re not a pirate, are you?”

Chen Haoran’s rush of emotion deflated. He thought back to the Crystal Transformation City Lord quivering in fear of his father Chen Qitao’s name. He thought of Song Yuelin. Pirate didn’t seem to cut it. “No,” he sighed. “I’m not a pirate.”

“Good,” Jiang Lei cheered. “I would have to arrest you if you were.”

“Right,” Chen Haoran dryly said. He shrugged off Jiang Lei’s arm. “I’ll let you know when the auction is and you can bring Wang Xiao with you.”

“Wait a minute.” Jiang Lei grabbed his arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Chen Haoran frowned. “To make money?”

Jiang Lei pointed at himself. “What about my money?”

Ah, right. He almost forgot about that. He thought for a moment and held up one finger.

“One hundred thousand? Barely acceptable, I suppose.” Jiang Lei didn’t even blink, quoting such an outrageous number.

“One percent of whatever the final bid of the Moonflower is.”

This time Jiang Lei did blink. “Well, I’m not averse to being handed more money.”

“For your sake, I hope it gets a good price.”

“Oh, it will absolutely. I’m already looking forward to it.”

“Enough to buy that Heaven-rank technique?”

Jiang Lei hesitated. “That… you have a big appetite. As you said, it’s only a Moonflower.”

“I take it that being Five-Elements attribute makes the technique insanely valuable?”

Jiang Lei once again looked at Chen Haoran with disbelief. “It’s the Five Elements,” he said slowly as if he were a teacher explaining it to a child. “It means that it’s not restricted affinity and can be learned by anyone.”

Chen Haoran let out a low whistle. “I’ll have to work harder then.”

“You’ll be competing with every major power in the city then. Perhaps outside it as well. I don’t think I have to tell you that Crystal Transformation Realms will be participating.”

“The Golden Lily Association really pulled out all the stops, huh?” Chen Haoran considered competing, but if the Moonflower couldn’t get him the funds he needed, so be it. Even for him, it would be a bit too much to show up with another 30-thousand-year-old plant to auction.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this before,” Jiang Lei said. “This might end up being the biggest auction in Zumulu. I just don’t know why such a powerful Heaven-rank technique showed up.” He furrowed his brows. “We’re lucky it’s just a movement technique. There’d be a bloodbath if it were a cultivation method.”

“Bloodbath, huh?” He couldn’t help but recall the last Golden Lily Auction he’d participated in. In a way, that auction involved a bloodbath as well. Lan Fen had auctioned a powerful wood treasure to feed the paranoia against the Lan Family. “Political, maybe?” he muttered subconsciously.

“What was that?”

“Forget it,” Chen Haoran said, shaking his head. At the end of the day it didn’t matter what the reasons were.

He just had to prepare for the auction.