Leng Jin Yu turned around and raised his brows. Unsurprisingly, the person standing behind him was of the spirit beast clan.
Without waiting for him to say anything, the man already spoke up. "You have no use for that."
Leng Jin Yu gave a faint smile. "I don't. But a person I know does."
The beast person scoffed. "Do you even know what this is?"
"Mountain peak cloud. My husband happens to be an alchemist."
The other man continued to look at him, his gaze not quite friendly. He didn't seem to know what else to say though and thus kept quiet.
Leng Jin Yu waited for a moment, giving him the opportunity to think things through and then sighed. "I know that this herb is important for the beast people. As it so happens, the person I know in the human realm has some blood of the demonic beast tribe. He was recently hurt and his core was injured. Without this herb, I'm afraid he won't make it through."
That beast person continued to look at him, obviously still not happy.
Leng Jin Yu could only sigh again. It wasn't that unbelievable that the beast people wouldn't want him to come and pluck a herb like this just like that. In fact, he had expected that. "What do I need to do for you to let me take it?" He might be able to fight this person but if he did, getting out of the territory of the beast clan would be much more difficult. Thus, it was better to negotiate and hope for the best. Maybe there was something he could do for them that was worth just as much as a stalk of this herb in their eyes.
Unfortunately, the beast person just scoffed. "You? You're just a human. What could you do for us that would be as valuable as something that could save our people's lives? Since you know that it can be used to heal a broken core, you shouldn't even ask about this."
Leng Jin Yu nodded. "I do understand where you're coming from. This herb is precious to your people. Giving it up … Naturally, you're not willing to do it just like that. But as for whether or not I can do something for you or your people, that still remains to be seen. Just tell me what I would need to do. If I can find a way, then it wouldn't hurt to give it a try, would it? In the end, you might also get an advantage out of this."
The other man crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking from Leng Jin Yu to the herb and back again. "Why do I feel like you are just trying to stall for time? Is another one of you here, trying to find this herb in another place? Don't even try that! I'm not the only one living here. We would notice."
Leng Jin Yu just smiled at that accusation. "Don't worry about that. I don't intend to play any tricks on you. I'm just positive that I will be able to do something to earn this herb. I know that you don't agree but what is wrong with giving it a try?"
The man scoffed again. "You say that as if it was a small thing. Since this herb can be used to save our people's lives, you would have to save the life of at least one of our people, right? In fact, this one herb can be used to grow several more in the future, so you would have to save several of us. How are you going to do that?"
Leng Jin Yu watched his triumphant expression and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This person … He was just trying to make things difficult for him. He probably couldn't care less about the herb but he just didn't want to give it to somebody else. He felt that it was their tribe's procession and really wanted to fight tooth and nail to keep it. Well, he wouldn't let him. "What kind of problem do you have that would endanger several of your people? Tell me and I'll find a solution to it."
The beast person laughed in return. "Oh? Aren't you a little full of yourself?"
Leng Jin Yu just continued to smile. "Maybe I am. Or maybe I'm resourceful. So what problem do you have?"
The beast person started to wander around him, eying him suspiciously. "Well, since you're a human, I should be accommodating and give you a task that you can do in your realm. That way, you have a bit of an advantage, don't you think so?"
Leng Jin Yu raised his brows. "Oh? Is there a problem for the spirit beast people in the human realm?"
"But of course! You probably don't know but some of your people are behaving rather crudely. Our people have been imprisoned. If you're able to save them out of there, then I would consider letting you have the mountain peak cloud."
Leng Jin Yu turned to look at him and smiled. "I'm afraid that's not good enough. If I do manage to save those people, then you can't just consider it. You will have to give me the herb. Otherwise, wouldn't that be going back on your word?"
The beast person stopped in his wandering and gave him a closer look. Apparently, that human wasn't that stupid. "Quite a good catch! Well, alright, then you have my word: If you do manage to set our people free, then I'll give you the herb."
Leng Jin Yu nodded. "These people … I guess they have been imprisoned by the demon-hunting sects?"
The beast person narrowed his eyes and stepped closer. "Do you …" He stopped a step away from Leng Jin Yu and gave him a once over, his eyes narrowing and brows furrowing.
Leng Jin Yu had no idea what had just happened and raised his brows. "What is it? Am I wrong?" He felt that it made sense though. Ma Zhi Wu had the blood of the demonic beast tribe and had been imprisoned by the Chun Feng Sect. It stood to reason that the same might have happened to people of the spirit beast tribe.
The other man stepped away though, giving him a cautious look. "You … have some affiliation with the dragon race?"
Leng Jin Yu needed a moment to figure out what was going on. Then, it dawned on him: This person was likely able to notice Jinde's smell on him. "My husband happens to be of the dragon race."
The beast person took another step back and gave him an even more cautious look, making Leng Jin Yu wonder what was going on.