"What exactly does your Dragon Rider Merchant Guild want?"
After spitting out a mouthful of blood, Mr. Ryuu's mind cleared considerably.
His eyes were cold as he stared intently at Qian Duoduo.
There was no hatred without reason, nor love without reason, in this world.
The hustle and bustle of the world, all for profit!
The Dragon Rider Merchant Guild had gone to such lengths to scheme against and frame him, surely there was a hidden agenda behind it.
Qian Duoduo chuckled, his smile becoming even more harmless.
He seemed quite pleased with Mr. Ryuu's perceptive attitude, and he said with a laugh.
"You are an intelligent man, so I won't beat around the bush... I need you to do me a small favor. As long as you succeed, I can return this Mirage Pearl to you immediately, and you can take it back to admire at your leisure!"
"What do you want me to do? If you want me to betray the Neon Quasi-Saint Son and the Yingzhou Sword Sect, I advise you to shut up now!"
The two began to negotiate, a stage where Mr. Ryuu excelled. He immediately adopted a tough stance.
"The content within the Mirage Pearl, while embarrassing, is not enough for me to betray my kin and assist my enemies!"
Mr. Ryuu stared intently at Qian Duoduo.
Yes, that was right, the content recorded in the Mirage Pearl was indeed embarrassing.
But this kind of thing, while extremely insulting, caused little actual harm!
Even if the content recorded in the Mirage Pearl were to be leaked, people would only laugh at Mr. Ryuu, calling him a "beast in human clothing" or a "big brute," but it wouldn't cause him any substantial damage.
This level of threat was far from enough to make Mr. Ryuu take a desperate risk and betray the Neon Quasi-Saint Son and the Yingzhou Sword Sect.
Qian Duoduo chuckled.
"Sir, what are you saying! Our Dragon Rider Merchant Guild has always highly respected the Neon Quasi-Saint Son and the Yingzhou Sword Sect. We are eager to befriend them, so how could we possibly act against them?"
Mr. Ryuu looked at Qian Duoduo suspiciously, trying to determine if this man was lying.
He looked him up and down, from left to right, up and down.
Mr. Ryuu studied Qian Duoduo's face for a long time, but he couldn't discern anything.
This...
Either Qian Duoduo genuinely had no ill intentions.
Or, Qian Duoduo's cunning and insidious nature had reached an unprecedented level, so much so that even with Mr. Ryuu's vast experience and "eyes of fire," he couldn't detect any clues.
For a moment, Mr. Ryuu was unsure what kind of person Qian Duoduo truly was.
"What do you want?"
Mr. Ryuu asked through gritted teeth.
Qian Duoduo chuckled, his smile as harmless as ever.
"It's very simple. I only have one request for you, sir. After you return, please persuade the Neon Quasi-Saint Son to personally contend for the position of Saint Son of the Penglai Sword Sect!"
"What do you mean? If you want the Neon Quasi-Saint Son to compete for the position of Saint Son of the Penglai Sword Sect, what about the Yingzhou Sword Sect?"
Mr. Ryuu was furious.
He believed he had seen through the Dragon Rider Merchant Guild's conspiracy.
These people wanted to usurp the Yingzhou Sword Sect.
If the Neon Quasi-Saint Son competed for the position of Saint Son of the Penglai Sword Sect, wouldn't the position of Saint Son of the Yingzhou Sword Sect become vacant?
These members of the Dragon Rider Merchant Guild were surely planning to use this opportunity to seize the position of Saint Son of the Yingzhou Sword Sect.
I will absolutely not agree!
Mr. Ryuu's eyes narrowed, his gaze becoming extremely resolute!
"I told you, I will not help you usurp the Yingzhou Sword Sect! Kill me, spread the content of the Mirage Pearl, whatever you wish, but I will never help you usurp the Yingzhou Sword Sect..."
Mr. Ryuu expected Qian Duoduo to become enraged, perhaps even threaten him. To his surprise, Qian Duoduo merely chuckled.
"Sir, please do not misunderstand. As I said, we have immense respect for the Neon Quasi-Saint Son and the Yingzhou Sword Sect and harbor no ill will whatsoever! My proposal is this: the Neon Quasi-Saint Son is a brilliant leader, a divinely appointed ruler. Why should he rely on others? Wouldn't it be magnificent for him to simultaneously hold the positions of Saint Son of the Yingzhou Sword Sect and the Penglai Sword Sect?"
Huh?
Mr. Ryuu was stunned.
He had anticipated all sorts of schemes and tricks from the Dragon Rider Merchant Guild, but he had never imagined Qian Duoduo would propose such a "suggestion"!
Having the Neon Quasi-Saint Son simultaneously hold the positions of Saint Son of the Yingzhou Sword Sect and the Penglai Sword Sect.
This...
The Neon Quasi-Saint Son himself had never even considered such a possibility.
Mr. Ryuu remained silent for a long while before finally stammering,
"This doesn't seem appropriate, it would look quite greedy..."
Qian Duoduo immediately tried to persuade him.
"Ah, sir, you misunderstand. As the saying goes, the capable should bear more responsibility. With the Neon Quasi-Saint Son's exceptional talent and strategic vision, he is fully qualified and capable of managing both the Yingzhou Sword Sect and the Penglai Sword Sect simultaneously!"
"Furthermore..."
Qian Duoduo looked at Mr. Ryuu and offered another flattery.
"With your assistance, sir, it's not just two sword sects, but even three that the Neon Quasi-Saint Son could control simultaneously!"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Ryuu's heart swelled with pride.
He had always considered himself the chief strategist and advisor to the Neon Quasi-Saint Son, and indeed, he believed that with his abilities, it was not impossible for the Neon Quasi-Saint Son to manage three sword sects simultaneously.
That's how "capable" he was!
However, Mr. Ryuu was not so easily swayed. He quickly suppressed his inner joy, his eyes sharply fixed on Qian Duoduo, as if trying to glean some hidden meaning from his expression.
Alas, he still found nothing!
"What exactly is your Dragon Rider Merchant Guild up to?" Mr. Ryuu asked sternly. "What benefit do you gain from this?"
Qian Duoduo chuckled and began to explain.
"Our Dragon Rider Merchant Guild naturally wishes to cooperate with the Neon Quasi-Saint Son to conduct large-scale business!"
"We possess vast quantities of Sage's Dragon Teeth Rice, Starlight Spirit Water, Starlight Spirit Sand... all at low prices and high quality!"
"We hope that once the Neon Quasi-Saint Son is in power, he will completely open up the San Xian ports for us to conduct business, allowing us to sell these goods in massive quantities!"
Mr. Ryuu frowned upon hearing this.
"You are not telling the truth; you are deceiving me! The San Xian Sword Sect has never obstructed the Dragon Rider Merchant Guild from doing business. Why would you go to such lengths..."
Before Mr. Ryuu could finish, Qian Duoduo interrupted him with a smile.
"Sir, you are unaware. The business our Dragon Rider Merchant Guild is currently engaged in is minor, not worth mentioning! After cooperating with the Neon Quasi-Saint Son, we will transport a hundredfold, even a thousandfold, of goods and flood the market. At that time... the entire market will become chaotic. We will need the Neon Quasi-Saint Son to provide us with protection!"