When Jack returned to the Gravedigger courtyard on the next morning he greeted his friends and went to one of the cutting tables to talk to Yin Ping.
The teen stood only a few centimeters taller than Jack, even though his age almost doubled that of Jack's. Yin Ping's hair framed his narrow face as his thin frame loomed over the table. He currently had his hands deep in some unlucky servant's entrails, supposedly looking for hidden treasures.
Jack had suspicions on the real reasons that Elder Yu had them do this; the baubles they found from time to time meant nothing to someone as powerful as the Elder, but he kept them to himself for now.
"Any luck?" Jack asked the short teen as he stopped next to him and looked down at the corpse.
Yin Ping shot him a glance and returned his focus to his work as he said "You're Song Tanda, right? Why did your people hire me to work on the Poison Arrow Bullfrogs?" He let go of the intestines and cut open the dantian as he continued "I don't mind the food, nor the work, but I'd prefer not to get executed for doing something I'm not supposed to."
Jack's brows rose in surprise as he gave Yin Ping a more scrutinizing look while he thought 'Sharp, I can use him. Bindun might have an eye for talent after all.' He gave a polite chuckle as he lightly patted Yin Ping on the shoulder and said "Don't worry, you just have to work on the Poison Arrow Bullfrog legs to make a tough and stretchy material that we'll use for our work. It's nothing illegal. Shi Furui will show you what you need to do, and how to do it, tonight after the evening meal."
Yin Ping shied away from Jack's hand when he patted his shoulder, but Jack acted like nothing happened and kept up a polite smile. After a few seconds, Yin Ping muttered "Then I'm satisfied with our deal." and burrowed his hands deeper into the corpse.
After a few moments of admiring Yin Ping's work ethic, Jack said goodbye and walked over to the lounging Bai Maolong in a permanently shaded corner of the courtyard.
Bai Maolong didn't even twitch when Jack stopped in a position to loom over him. A few seconds later Jack even heard a soft snore.
With an annoyed expression on his face, Jack pulled back his leg and kicked at the sprawled Bai Maolong. Before his leg made contact with the sleeping body Jack stopped his kick and took a step back.
A few seconds later Bai Maolong cracked one eye open just enough to catch Jack's silhouette and said lazily "Nice reflexes, kid. I can almost see why that idiot follows you around like a dog."
Jack's face had turned serious as soon as he stopped his kick and it took him a couple of seconds to respond to Bai Maolong. Finally, he said, "Join us for training later."
Bai Maolong cracked his second eye open and narrowed both of them as he growled "You ordering me around, brat?"
Jack stared right into Bai Maolong's eyes as he said "I am. You accepted our terms; you will keep your word."
"Or what?" Bai Maolong spat out as Jack felt an increasing threat coming from his body.
Jack withstood the glare shot his way as he calmly said "Or I'll imbue a stone and throw it at you every time you think about getting some rest."
All the threat that Bai Maolong's body exuded disappeared like smoke as he blinked his eyes a couple of times before saying "Oh, well, see you later then." and closing his eyes.
Jack studied Bai Maolong's softly snoring visage for a few additional seconds, before turning on his heel and leaving for the back door while shaking his head inwardly.
When he reached it he took Kuang Bindun to the side and asked "Did you get them?"
Kuang Bindun had a slight frown as he said "We got one for you and Furui, but we're still missing mine."
Jack hid a smile as he said "Don't worry, we still have time."
An hour later they got lucky as a cart delivered a large man in his late twenties and Jack and Kuang Bindun ran out to take him.
They dragged the body to a free table and signaled Shi Furui to come and join them. A minute later he finished up his current corpse and went to them while carrying two bundles of clothes.
He gave one to Jack and kept the other for himself while Kuang Bindun stripped the large man.
A few minutes later they convinced Yin Ping to take care of the dead man's body for an extra piece of meat and left the courtyard through the back door.
"I don't like this; it keeps riding up on me." Kuang Bindun complained as he grabbed at his backside and pulled.
"Who forced you to grow so big?" Shi Furui asked as he waved his hand in dismissal while Jack snickered on the side.
Each of them wore a different colored servant uniform, but they stuck together and entered the crowded main street.
A few minutes later they stood in front of an old dilapidated shop on which a flaking sign that read "Golden Dragon Store" hung.
Jack gave his two friends a reassuring look and led the way into the store.
The smell hit them like a wall, but they adjusted after a few seconds and navigated the maze of shelves and tables to the large shop counter.
When they got there Jack looked towards the slightly open back door and shouted "Elder Long, can we talk?"
Half a minute passed before they heard an old voice shake the store slightly "You've got some guts, brat!" Following the rumbling old Long opened the door and glared at Jack and his companions.
Jack heard a soft gulp from his back, but he ignored it and kept his relaxed mask on as he said "There's no need for anger, Elder Long." He reached into his robe and took out a pouch which he laid on the counter as he said "Four of my best spirit stones, one each for your… followers' injuries, and one for the personal pain I brought to you in my ignorance."
Old Long looked suspiciously at the pouch, but a hint of greed shone in his eyes as he came to the counter and snatched it up. After he took a quick peek at the spirit stones a hint of glee flashed across his eyes which he quickly quashed as he looked up at Jack with a scowl and said "You think this is enough for what you did?"
He pointed a wrinkled finger at Jack's nose as he said "One is unconscious, one might not walk right ever again, and one will probably kill himself once he sees what you did to his face. How are only four spirit stones enough to cover that pain?!"
"Didn't you say that you only roughed them up a little?" Shi Furui asked in a whisper soft enough so that only Jack could hear, but he still heard the slight irritation in his voice.
Jack waved a hand behind his back at Shi Furui which he hoped got understood as 'We'll talk later.' as he plastered an anguished look on his face and said "My apologies, Elder Long. But I am only a poor servant and can only take out so much. I hope that you can understand my sincerity."
"Hmpf!" Old Long snorted coldly as he looked down at Jack, and then at the two people that stood behind him before he said "You come here feigning sincerity, while you bring your bruisers with you to intimidate me."
A dangerous aura oozed out of old Long as Jack saw the glow of spirit energy start to emit from his body. "Do you think that you brought enough backup?" old Long asked in a dangerous voice.
Jack felt the shifting of wooden planks from his back as his friends prepared to jump the old man. He kept his expression calm in the face of all the threats as he said "You are mistaken, Elder. These are not my enforcers, they're my business partners. I've brought them here to negotiate a deal with you." He paused for a breath before he added "It will bring you a lot of spirit stones in profit."
The glow of spirit energy from old Long's body stopped increasing as he blinked and refocused his gaze on Jack's young face. "What do you mean?" he asked after a few seconds of deliberating with himself.
Jack spread his hands out in a gesture of sincerity as he said "It's quite simple actually, you have things to sell, and we have the capital to buy them. We work out a deal that works for both of us and both end up getting what we want."
Old Long furrowed his brows in thought for a second before he asked "How much do you want to trade for?"
"Up to four spirit stones a day, with more to come in a few months." Jack answered as he laid his hands down on the counter and stared at the old man's glittering eyes.
Old Long hid his greed as he pretended to think about Jack's proposal. After a long pause, he asked "What do you want for them?"
Jack gave him a relaxed shrug as he said "Nothing special, some food and materials. Sometimes tools, or just plain old coins. It depends on what we need, but it won't go over the price of the stones."
Old Long thought about it for a bit more before his eyes flashed a dangerous glint as he said "And weapons?"
Jack shook his head in dismissal as he said "We don't need them, we just want a comfortable life here. Who would want to go out into that jungle out there?" he finished with a chuckle and a thumb thrown over his shoulder at the outside world.
Old Long joined in the chuckle as he added "Indeed." A few seconds later he sighed and said "Come in then, let's talk." as he signaled towards the door behind the counter and headed for it.
Jack and his friends followed behind him and entered an equally smelly room which held four chairs and a table in the center, and had shelves filled with the same various materials that the front of the store held.
In one of the chairs sat the large teen whose knee Jack ruined. As soon as he saw him he stood up on his good leg and bellowed while pointing a finger at Jack "You…"
"Shut up!" Old Long interrupted his outburst with a shout and continued "You heard our deal, go to the back and check up on the others."
The large teen threw Jack hateful glares, but he listened to the old man and hopped out of a side door.
The four of them each took a seat and started their negotiations. They had to iron out the price of the spirit stones in regards to the other items that Jack planned to acquire from the Golden Dragon Store.
After a tough half hour of arguing from which both parties exited unsatisfied they ended their negotiations and old Long decided to bring out some wine to celebrate and seal the deal.
He filled four dirty-looking cups with a clear liquid and instructed them on how to toast.
Jack followed everything that the old man did and emptied the entire cup as he did in a relaxed manner. As the drink passed his throat he suddenly thought 'Wine my ass, this is moonshine. A bit on the weak side, and with spices added, but moonshine nonetheless.' He glanced at the contorting faces of his friends and chuckled on the inside.
Old Long gave Jack a weighing look as he asked "Another?"
Jack shrugged and said "Why not? For good luck!" He downed the second cup with old Long and felt the old familiar heat spread through his body. Suddenly he shook his head slightly to clear it and cursed 'Damn, I'm in a kid's body. Can't go and start drinking with the old men or else I'm spirit food once the graveyard shift comes.'
When old Long suggested a third round Jack refused politely and said that they had to go back to their master.
Old Long gave a subtle look at the different colors of their uniforms, but kept his mouth shut and escorted them out of his store.
Jack felt a little wobbly in his knees, but the fresh air of the outside managed to stabilize him.
When they got far enough from the store Shi Furui asked in a slightly slurred loud whisper "What about that sskill that you ssaid one of the guyss that attackd you ussed?"
Jack looked left and right at the rosy faces of his friends and said "That will take more spirit stones than we have access to right now." He chuckled a little and continued "Let's go back, a little sweat is exactly what we need right now."