404: Chapter 398: The Skin of the Giant Kun 404: Chapter 398: The Skin of the Giant Kun With the door fastened securely behind him, Chen Hai huddled in his room.
If he had been holding a knife and gesturing with it, that very scene—if seen by his father, Chen Zhonghua—would have certainly set his imagination running wild.
Chen Zhonghua, his father, had only just turned around and left, yet the Hongming Blade was once again in Chen Hai’s grasp.
Admittedly, communicating with the Hongming Blade didn’t actually require him to hold the sword in his hand, but many things had become a matter of habit.
Holding this blade, he felt more connected when he tried to call out to Hongming.
Otherwise, he felt like he was talking to himself, speaking to the air.
“Hongming, are you listening to me?
That piece of beast skin—you remember where it came from, don’t you?” Chen Hai cautiously started his inquiry.
“Kid, such a simple question could never stump Master Hongming!”
“I remembered the true origin of that piece of beast skin you have, the very moment you placed my true body inside the box.”
“To think, in this day and age, a piece of beast skin from that very creature could still be circulating…” Hongming tittered strangely, its voice carrying a hint of intrigue.
This guy, after emerging from the ancient tomb and spending some time in this mundane world, seemed not as naive as before, not so easily fooled.
It paused mid-sentence, stopping without continuing further.
It had seen the Calabash Brothers with Chen Hai a number of times, but as for manuals on cleverness like ‘The Thick Black Theory,’ there was no way it would have had the chance to read them.
Who could it have possibly learned from?
To think it would now be playing coy in front of Chen Hai!
“Hongming, that’s ten pigs we are talking about!”
“Though I purposefully chose a simple question to ask you, without an answer from you, I see no reason to give you the reward, right?”
With a shrewd twirl of his eyes, Chen Hai spoke again, trying to persuade Hongming.
This one couldn’t be forced, only coaxed.
Sweet talk it, flatter it, and once it felt good about what was being said, it was open to negotiation!
Get tough with it, and it could snap in an instant if you weren’t careful.
“Kid, the origin of that piece of beast skin in your hands is somewhat extraordinary.”
“Don’t think for a second that I’m unaware of the ulterior motives in your mind.”
“You think that merely the blood food of ten pigs would suffice to coax out the real story behind that piece of beast skin from me?”
“Master Hongming’s mind, filled with profound knowledge, isn’t so cheap…”
Seemingly seeing right through Chen Hai’s intentions, Hongming spoke with a tone thick with scorn.
Of course, beyond that, it seemed to be inflating its own worth.
It had previously been all well and good, but now it was suddenly hiking up its price?
Chen Hai was rendered speechless by this tactic.
“Alright then, Master Hongming, you’re delicate and precious.
The knowledge you possess certainly can’t come cheap; ten pigs do indeed seem too few!”
He gave a wry smile as he shook his head, gazing at the Hongming Blade in his hand, and ventured, “May I ask, how many pigs would it take as blood food for you to be willing to reveal the origin of that piece of beast skin to me?”
“Eleven pigs…”
Seeming contemplative, Hongming fell silent for a moment.
Its voice had just begun resonating in Chen Hai’s mind when it abruptly cut off after just a few words.
“Kid, Master Hongming here, I hate haggling with people.”
“If you want to know about the origin of that piece of beast skin, no problem, but you’ll need to prepare at least twelve pigs as blood food for me.”
“Besides, I’m feeling woozy and ravenously hungry right now; I’ll need to have my fill before I have the energy to communicate with you…”
Hongming’s voice carried a shrewdness, as if proving to Chen Hai that it truly was weak, lacking the strength to speak.
As it communicated with him, its voice grew fainter and fainter.
By the end, its voice was barely audible, and it probably couldn’t even make out what it was mumbling itself!
Please, it’s just a knife!
It had been sealed in the ancient tomb for who knows how many years, and I haven’t seen it starve or anything.
After following Chen Hai out of the tomb, it devoured enough pigs to total up to several hundred!
And now, just because it’s been silenced in Chen Hai’s suitcase for a while, it’s too weak to even send a telepathic message to Chen Hai?
Does a knife really need to be so dramatic?
Does it have to be so sly?
Feeling listless and nearly powerless to retort, Chen Hai was beginning to run out of steam.
“Fine, fine, twelve pigs is twelve pigs.
Just give me a moment, and I’ll have someone prepare them for you,” he hesitantly nodded after a short deliberation.
“Kid, you know what’s good for you!”
“Hurry up and get my Blood Food ready, and remember, sow meat isn’t tasty—I only want the big fat ones.”
As if its cunning plan had succeeded, the Hongming Blade spoke up again.
The knife that had sounded as if it was on its last breath was suddenly vigorous once more.
“Alright, alright, big fat pigs it is!” Chen Hai, not in the mood to haggle any further, casually agreed as he stood up and walked out of the room.
Preparing these twelve pigs as Blood Food for Hongming involved seeking out farmers around the county to buy from, which was somewhat of a hassle.
It would be much more appropriate if he could just buy directly from a nearby pig farm.
Chen Hai hadn’t actually spent much time in Liuyuan County.
If it were just the county itself, he was fairly familiar with it, but he wasn’t too knowledgeable about the surrounding areas!
To buy pigs from a pig farm, after pondering for a moment, Chen Hai directly called his cousin, Sun Jinzhong.
Sun Jinzhong, as well as Tong Daqiang, were both born and bred in Liuyuan County!
With their level of familiarity with Liuyuan County, asking them for help to find a pig farm from which to buy pigs was naturally not difficult at all!
Lately, things at Peach Blossom Wine Industry had been hectic, and everyone, including Sun Jinzhong, was as busy as a bee in a whirlwind.
But even so, after receiving a call for help from Chen Hai, Sun Jinzhong still managed to squeeze in some time to arrange the purchase for him.
A few hours later, on a worn-out little four-wheeler parked near a small forest about six or seven miles from the county, the last few pigs bought from nearby Yuxing Pig Farm were finally devoured by the Hongming Blade amidst their screams and howls.
“Hongming, you said twelve pigs, so twelve pigs it is.”
“I keep my word, and surely you won’t break yours.
Now that you have had your fill, it’s time for you to divulge the origin of that beast hide in my possession,” Chen Hai said, undiplomatically, as he watched Hongming transform from its blood-colored Cloud Magpie state back into a three-foot short blade.
It was a struggle to finally get the Blood Food situation handled.
It didn’t cost much money, but it was tiring for Chen Hai!
The sight of Hongming consuming pigs wasn’t something others could witness, so to solve this issue, he even bought this small farm vehicle, typically used for transporting pigs at the pig farm.
If Hongming continued to cause trouble, Chen Hai felt he might actually lose his temper!
But thankfully, after a good meal, Hongming had no thoughts of breaking its word.
Just as Chen Hai’s inquiry ended, Hongming’s voice was already resonating in his mind.
“Kid, this beast hide you hold is from a Giant Kun.”
“With your level of knowledge, you surely don’t know what a Giant Kun is!”
“You must have heard of the legendary Kun Roc and its resounding reputation.
This Giant Kun I speak of is a branch of the descendants of the Kun Roc.”
“In my time, the lineage of the Giant Kun was already hard to track.”
“A certain big shot scoured the entire Beiming Sea, only to find three Giant Kuns in the end.
All three of them perished under my true form!”
Sighing reminiscently, as if recalling past glory, Hongming spoke again.
“Nature endowed the Giant Kun with the Space Characteristic.
Mature Giant Kuns could nurture their own small worlds inside their bodies!”
“It was precisely for this reason that the Giant Kun clan fell into decline…”