"Boy, are you sure you can spare those resources to help that girl? You already used a lot of your funds in that auction..."
"Humph. Everyone is certain that I am immensely rich. And to be fair, it won't take long for me to earn back what I spent. Money won't be a problem at all, but people needed to be convinced of that. Besides, I decided to help Xixue and by extension her cousin. I won't just stop halfway through that."
"I thought you didn't want to become a saint or a savior..."
"And I don't. But that doesn't mean that I will become cold and indifferent to the suffering I see around me. Moreover, I'm just helping her reach Ruohe without any problem. From there, she'll have to rely on herself to get back to the tribe she wants to meet. Since she grew up in that Desolate Dune Desert, I do think she'll be able to do so by herself. And although it wasn't my first intention, her words will be very useful to rally the nomad tribes behind my banner when the time is ripe. I will give this continent the catalyst it needs to grow out of this corrupt Nalupu Kingdom. Whether they're able to use it or not won't be my responsibility though. In the end, I only wish to leave this continent with enough strength to help my own people."
"Despite your words, I do sense some attachment to those demons already. That Xixue girl struck a chord. Because of her familial torments, you feel some connection and some obligation to her. If things go awry, I am not sure whether you'll truly be able to abandon this continent to itself..."
Cao Yun was sincerely unsure of what he would do. Although he had a few plans in mind, he couldn't predict the future. Helping the demons get rid of the Nalupu Kingdom and of their salve trade was also helping him and the Hongchen Kingdom. But he really couldn't know how it would turn out in the end. Besides, as much as his interests were aligned with this goal, he was also doing so out of detestation of slavery itself. His emotions could indeed muddy his vision. Maybe Dian Mo was right about his mind cultivation affecting his reason...
Anyway, Cao Yun had suffered his doubts for too long. Now that he had grown more powerful, he wanted to act, not lose himself in his thoughts and self-doubts. While this conversation was happening in his mind, Xixue was standing in front of him.
"Lord Mo, I received word from Miss Wo. Boss Gui is interested in hearing your offer. Here is her invitation."
Using both hands, Xixue extended a small wooden plank. The wood seemed extremely precious and on it was an exquisite piece of calligraphy made with ink and blood. By now, Cao Yun was used to the decorum of the Nalupu Kingdom. Such a wooden plank was just a way to invite Cao Yun to further discuss business. There was nothing binding, but it was a very important step. Although he had failed to gather much information about Boss Gui, he was prepared to go meet her. After seeing Miss Wo, he had found out something very interesting, but he needed to be sure of it first. For that, he had to meet her other slaves. And if he was right, everything would be much smoother.
"Prepare my carriage, I will go there myself. And you will accompany me. If things go well, we might find out where your sister is fairly quickly."
"Lord?"
Xixue was still a bit emotional after reuniting with her cousin. And now, she truly believed in Cao Yun. As a result, she wasn't afraid of showing her true colors in front of him.
"Thank you, my Lord, for helping me and my family."
"Girl, you were also very useful to me. You upheld your part of the bargain by helping my business and teaching me the protocols and the rituals of this kingdom. Now, it is high time for me to uphold mine by helping out your sister."
-
Before the sun set, Cao Yun's carriage arrived at Boss Gui's residence. It was a bit outside of Duma City although she was officially its City Lord. Indeed, her residence was also the place where she trained her slaves. As such, it was rather large. Furthermore, she didn't want anyone to get a glimpse of her trade secrets. In fact, it had been very smart because it had prevented Cao Yun from altering her array formations like he had begun to do in the entire city. When he approached the residence, he smelled a thick odor of blood and he felt a powerful killing intent all over the place. But there was also something else in the air which made him think he had been correct in his guesses.
Cao Yun's carriage was welcomed by Miss Wo. She had changed her attire and seemed a bit warmer now. But she was still unable to smile apparently. Her face remained severe no matter what feeling she was trying to convey.
"Lord Mo, welcome to my mistress' residence. She is looking forward to meeting you."
Although her speech was a bit rough, Cao Yun felt her sincerity. Maybe it was simply her accent that deformed her words to make them sound harsher than they were. But Cao Yun didn't let it affect him at all. He was able to see through her, and it felt good to be honest. After being confronted to this Sister Lisha's impassible expression, it was a good sensation to see Miss Wo's feelings written all over her face despite her efforts. She seemed quite relaxed despite Cao Yun's presence.
"Thank you, Miss Wo. I do not want to impose. Here is a gift for your mistress."
Xixue, with her mask on, stepped forward. The ceremony took several minutes during which she simply gave a wooden box containing a pill Cao Yun intended to offer Boss Gui. Exchanging gifts was also a very important part of the protocol between business partners. And Cao Yun intended to become one with Boss Gui. Offering a gift was also a very delicate art. Indeed, the value of the gift had to be carefully studied. Moreover, as an alchemist, he had made sure to show his worth to Boss Gui's venture.
He had surmised that she needed help to maintain her slave warriors. Even though he didn't know her methods for sure, and despite the impossible numbers he had heard, there was little doubt that many slaves were at least injured during her training. Thus, she would be glad to get a way to preserve them as much as possible in order to sell more of them without lowering their quality. Besides, it was also in Cao Yun's interests to keep those slaves alive. Trained slaves could be very helpful in upturning this Nalupu Kingdom. In fact, Boss Gui was most likely pressured because of that. The Nalupu Kingdom wouldn't just do nothing and watch while she was gathering a small army of powerful warriors. In fact, Cao Yun was almost certain that City Lord Sihe was at least supported by some officials in the Nalupu Kingdom or even the Xinian Confederation.
Once the ceremonial was done, Cao Yun was finally able to meet Boss Gui. He walked with only Xixue into the inner courtyard of her residence. All around the place, he could see warriors training. But those were already powerful fighters further refining their skills. They were not the newly acquired slaves Boss Gui was training. Looking at their faces with utmost care, Cao Yun noted the same subtle marks he could see on Miss Wo's face. But there were also other signs, even more subtle all over their bodies. It was no wonder no one had been able to see anything, but as an alchemist, and a specialist of poisons, there was no doubt in Cao Yun's mind.
Boss Gui's method was somehow using poison. From what he knew, this was one of the greatest taboos among demons, at least in the Desolate Sepulcher. Obviously, Boss Gui wouldn't want anyone to know the truth. In fact, it was even possible the slaves themselves didn't know about this. The signs were very subtle and the effects would probably not seem significant. Most slaves would probably think the pain and soreness came from their training, not some poison. However, Cao Yun wasn't absolutely sure what poison was being used. However, it was a shame. He wouldn't train by poisoning himself, so he wouldn't learn anything useful for speeding up his cultivation in here. But he would be able to form some connection with Boss Gui and that was enough for now.
Finally, he saw a small figure sitting on the stairs of the main pavilion. At first, Cao Yun thought it was just a heap of clothes. Indeed, there was a heavy pelt with silver fur atop an open robe. But when he looked closely, he saw the shape of a short woman under those. She was wearing very practical clothes and had simply put that rich robe over her shoulders. Women were just a bit shorter than men in the Desolate Sepulcher, there wasn't much difference to be honest. However, they were all a bit shorter than humans in the Hongchen Kingdom. Once again, the difference wasn't much, but it was enough so that Cao Yun was considered pretty tall.
In front of him, the woman was very short, by any standard. Cao Yun even imagined that those heavy clothes on her shoulder served to increase her stature somewhat. But the fury itself was also a sign of status as it proved she was a great fighter. Indeed, it was the fur of an adult Silver Six-Tailed Fox. Just by looking at the luster of the fur, that demonic beast had clearly been on the verge of forming another core. Cao Yun had been unable to kill a young Silver Six-Tailed Fox, so he could imagine that Boss Gui was really powerful. Among demons, wearing such a fur meant that she had killed it herself and not used anyone else's help.
Despite her stature, she didn't seem weak at all. In fact, her face showed a great arrogance and an absolute conviction. Although looking young was a sign of strength, there were a few wrinkles on her small face. Indeed, Boss Gui had to be more than a hundred years old as she was a 2nd-grade Accomplished Demon. And she had grown in influence really fast in the recent years, she had probably suffered from a lot of stress. That being said, this wasn't the most striking fact about her. No, Cao Yun was immediately drawn to her eyes.
There was a piece of clothe circling her head and hiding those eyes but Cao Yun could still discern a few signs. Boss Gui was completely blind. Of course, since she was an Accomplished Demon, she had spiritual senses that could replace her eyes. Besides, her senses were way stronger than those of any mortal. In fact, even if Cao Yun didn't use his physical eyes, he could see without any problem. However, this had to be a great sign of weakness. Despite that, he had never once heard about it. This fact alone showed how much people feared her and her fabled cruelty.
Even without seeing her eyes, there was a powerful fire in her entire demeanor. This woman was full of ambition and she was ready to go to great lengths to achieve said ambition. Although he couldn't see any trace of cruelty in her, he knew she was capable of it if things called for it. If she inflicted pain and torment, it wasn't out of some sadism, it was out of necessity. At least, it was out of what she thought was necessary to maintain her position and to advance her ambition. She was the kind of woman he was glad doing business with. He had chosen wisely.
Unlike most demons, she had pure black hair and she had probably black eyes in the past. In the Nalupu Kingdom, this would be seen as a sign of weakness once again. In fact, her bloodline didn't seem too impressive either. At least, Cao Yun was not able to discern anything particular in it. Surely, she had struggled a lot to get to where she was right now.
Seeing Cao Yun, Boss Gui stood up while staying on the stairs. Compared with Cao Yun, she really looked very short, not quite as small as a child of course, but still not very impressive for a City Lord. Understanding that this was probably affecting her pride, Cao Yun made sure never to make her feel too short in his presence. This would be a problem for their alliance. In fact, he tried to look unimpressive while she was putting on airs with her clothes. To be honest, Cao Yun wondered how heavy her clothes were, just to make her look bigger. Under those though, he could tell she had toned muscles just by looking at her forearms exposed by her open robe.
Looking carefully at her face, Cao Yun saw the same signs he had discerned on Miss Wo's face as well as on some of the guards and slave warriors. Her eyes had been burned by some kind of poison, but it was slightly different from the one afflicting the others. Once more, being victim of poison was also a sign of weakness as demons believed it contaminated the blood. Anyone using poison was seen as an heretic but those who had been victim of poison were seen as weak, as though their blood had rotten in their veins.
Miss Wo climbed the stairs and knelt besides her mistress. Despite her impassiveness, Miss Wo's movements betrayed a deep loyalty toward Boss Gui. There was no resentment or hatred even though Cao Yun could tell she had been trained as a slave by her. Boss Gui was not using fear to control her right now, she had inspired a powerful feeling of devotion in Miss Wo and her other close servants.
Once again, it took some time for her to give Cao Yun's gift to Boss Gui and for Boss Gui to open it. Decorum and protocols were always very important. Even Boss Gui adhered to them closely despite the arrogance exuded by her entire being.
"Thank you, Lord Mo. Your gift is deeply appreciated. I hope our gift won't be too modest in comparison."
In her words, Cao Yun could tell that this wasn't just decorum. She had indeed been very impressed by his gift. He had chosen wisely once more.