What do you mean exactly?" Karni asked.
"Honestly… If you sold these, they would probably cost a ton. It's not something I would willingly buy, even if I needed them. That's how good this is. You really made this?"
"Yeah we did. Kiki did the designing, while I did most of the creating."
"This… This is incredible. If you'd be willing, my family would most definitely offer an exclusive contract for you two."
"Umm… Are you sure? We are still children and are only at rank 3 in our professions right now." Karni asked. It all felt a bit wild to him. And reckless.
"That's all the more reason why. We would invest in talent. While we aren't super rich merchants, we are still very decent. You guys could potentially make us visible on a bigger scale in the future. Oh… Um… If you're willing, of course."
Siduo looked at Karni. The two seemed to have a silent agreement. "We don't mind. But we won't sell weapons, and the contract better not be a scam."
"No no no no. If anything it will work heavily in your favour. This is the price a family like mine has to make to have connections with talented people after all. And we don't dabble in weaponry, other types of soul tools will work just as well."
This was one sided praise, and it wasn't even the typical business talk, Tie Tiao's eyes were shining too much for this to all just be a fake performance. Honestly, they felt a bit embarrassed.
"Sure, we agree to meet your family. When would this be?" Siduo nodded at Tie Tiao's words.
"Would it be possible tomorrow? Honestly I'm afraid I'd miss my chance with you guys otherwise."
Ah. It really was embarrassing. Usually the merchants operated in an opposite way to Tie Tiao's.
"Sure I think I'm free, as for Karni…" Siduo gave him a side glance. He usually went to visit Grandma Ying on the weekends.
Karni could feel her gaze but was a bit afraid to return it. "I'll make time, don't worry."
"Great!" Tie Tiao was overjoyed. "Then we should go in the morning. My family is in Green Tiger town, so if it's okay with you, we should meet at 7 in front of the school." Then he realised there was still another person next to them. He forgot about Hu Fuya. He was too excited. "Oh um. Hu Fuya. I guess you can join?"
The girl just shook her head. "No. I'm already full with discovering my martial soul. At least I have a lead now on what I should develop it into. I don't have time for this." She was barely 9 years old, it was hard to keep track of so many things. Besides, business and her just didn't mesh well together.
Siduo grabbed her shoulders. "Don't worry. I'll help you out when we return. Or wait. Will you visit your family in Green Tiger Town as well? I can help you during the weekend too."
Hu Fuya's eyes shined. "You're right! I didn't even think about that."
"Okay, it's a deal. As for you Tie Tiao, Next week we'll start training with your weapons. You still hit like a little girl, so becoming proficient in using them is a must." Siduo noted, just to make sure he doesn't forget.
Karni went into an act of seriousness. "Um… Sisi… You realise you're also still a little girl right?"
Siduo glared at Karni.
"And you hit like a truck."
She glared even harder.
"Wellllll, thennnnn. See you guys tomorrow." Tie Tiao escaped. He still wasn't sure if they made up completely or not. On the other hand Hu Fuya laughed out loud.
"Yep, I'll be going as well." Karni also took this chance to escape. But he had to run. A wild cat might chase him after all. Fortunately for him, that didn't happen. Siduo stayed behind to help Hu Fuya understand her martial soul better.
… … …
Karni arrived at the hospital. It was currently 6 in the morning. Just an hour before the meeting time with Tie Tiao.
The receptionist recognised him. "Val Karni? You know that you can't visit yet right? And she's still asleep."
"I know. I just came to ask if you could tell her I won't be able to visit today, maybe even the weekend. Just so she doesn't worry too much. A friend invited me to his place for the weekend. So I have short holidays." Karni was a bit embarrassed, it was like he was informing his mom not to worry.
"I'll hand over your message. Anything else?"
"No, that's all, thank you. And tell her I said hi!"
"I will." The receptionist chuckled. It was rare to see someone visit and care about the patient so much when they weren't their family.
… … …
Karni and Siduo were waiting in front of the school. They packed for the weekend, as well as some additional 'learning materials' for Hu Fuya and Tie Tiao. They talked with Tie Tiao to maybe stay for two days, but they weren't sure his family would let them, so it was a 'just in case' scenario.
Tie Tiao arrived at exactly 7 in front of the school. "Now then, let's head to the train station."
Tie Tiao was the one who led the way. The two didn't know the route to Green Tiger town on their own. Karni was there before, but that was four years ago, and he mostly stayed inside a single house there. He barely remembered anything.
It was about a 30 minute drive by train from Star Luo City to Green Tiger town. Arriving at the somewhat small train station compared to the one in Star Luo City, Karni couldn't help but admit he was filled with a small sense of nostalgia.
Tie Tiao led the way and introduced the main parts of the town to the two of them. His house was apparently an hour walk away from the town centre, hence they had a lot to talk about.
"Hey, why didn't you come to the Green Tiger Academy, Karni?" Tie Tiao asked. He understood Karni was a prodigy, but that didn't change the fact that usually, one went to the academy of the town they awakened at.
"Well, Teacher Yi Lan caught me in his grasp when he awakened me, and wooshed me away to the Star Luo City academy. He was the guy that watched us awaken back then."
"Wait, the Spirit Pagoda took you in personally? How lucky!"
"I mean, they gave me my first spirit soul, sure, but I didn't join the Spirit Pagoda?"
"Why not? Aren't they great?" Tie Tiao was puzzled.
"Yeah, but remember those techniques we use?" Karni said in a hush voice.
"Mhm."
"They're actually from the Tang Sect."
Tie Tiao's mouth went wide. They actually joined the legendary sect?
Siduo then came and whispered to Tie Tiao as well. "This is a secret of course. If you tell anyone, the training won't just be training anymore."
Tie Tiao gulped. He wasn't sure he was happy knowing this now. Perhaps he shouldn't have asked. Then he realised. "You guys told me this yourselves though, I didn't ask."
"We trust you." Karni smiled. They did. This was an act of goodwill from the both of them. Tie Tiao has been friendly since the beginning, and if his words hold true, the two should get a steal of a deal from his family as well.
The Tie Family home was quite spacious, reminding them of Siduo's family house in fact. Though, since Siduo's family had the same size of a home in a larger city, the actual value couldn't be compared. One was that of a prominent Soul Master family with a Soul Douluo, while the other was a decently rich normal family in what was considered a mid-sized city in the countryside.
Nonetheless, the place definitely wasn't something just anyone could afford. Tie Tiao knocked at the front door. They were greeted by an elderly man.
"Grandpa! I'm back. I brought some friends!" He introduced both Karni and Siduo.
"I'm going to say hi to big sis, take this, show it to father please." Then Tie Tiao suddenly rushed off.
"He sure loves his big sister huh." Siduo wondered.
The older man, Tie Tiao's grandpa, sighed. "Yeah, he does."
He looked at the two daggers which were given to him by Tie Tiao and he understood immediately. "Come you two, let us discuss business."
The two entered the house. The furnishing inside was surprisingly traditional, and there was a constant smell of medicinal herbs and pills in the air.
The room they entered was lightly furnished, one that screamed out about its purpose: business.
"Make yourself at home, I'll bring my son and then we can talk about everything in detail."
The two didn't wait long before a neatly dressed middle-aged man with not a spec of a beard on him walked inside. He was holding one of the daggers Tie Tiao handed over to his grandfather.
The grandpa was walking right behind, in his hand was the other dagger.
"You made this?" The man's voice was elegant.
Both of them nodded their heads.
"I understand why my son was so eager to introduce you now." The man sighed and sat down in front of the two children. He was treating them as equals, there wasn't an inch of superiority in his stature.
The two were quiet. Karni was a tad nervous, while Siduo was keeping her calm a bit better, but it was clear she was inexperienced with these types of things.
The middle-aged gentleman scratched his head. "This is the situation. While I can see that both of you are incredibly talented children, and that's exactly what we need…" He sighed. "We're a medicinal company. We make pills for regular people, medicine, we don't dabble in weapons."
"That's okay." Siduo was the first to answer. "We weren't willing to sell weapons anyway, those were a gift for Tie Tiao specifically, since we're training him. His martial soul focuses on agility, and he needs some attacking power, that's all."
"Hmm." Tie Tiao's father took time to take this in.
"I forgot to introduce myself earlier. Forgive my rudeness. My name is Tie Gui."
The grandpa also chimed in. "And my name is Tie Liwei. I started the company, but it was my son who made it decently successful." He jabbed his son into the shoulder proudly.
"We're grateful for the help that you offered to my son, so we'd like to ask, what is it you have to offer?"
"Well." Karni told them honestly. "We don't know. It was really Tie Tiao who offered us this meeting due to the daggers we made, but that's about it. I'm a 3-star designer and Siduo is a 3-star manufacturer, so I guess that would be it."
The man nodded as if in thought. "Do the two of you not specialise in weapons then?"
"We have no specialisation yet. Well, at least I don't, Sisi?"
"No, I don't either. Both of us will eventually have to understand Mechas and Battle Armour though."
Both of the gentlemen were surprised when they heard that, but they were professionals, they knew not to ask too many questions about Soul Masters. The fact they even shared this information was something that they considered positive.
"In that case… We were considering trying to get into medicinal soul technology. My son was supposed to lead it, but we gave up as our son doesn't really have talent in soul engineering. He hasn't even truly become a 1-star mecha manufacturer. It's questionable just how far he can progress, and he's aware of it as well." Tie Gui explained their plan.
"What kind of soul technology are we talking about?" Karni was interested.
"Prosthetics, medicinal equipment, medical vehicles, not like cars, but more augmentations to help those who are disabled, injured. Like wheelchairs. Special healing devices or ones which analyse the body are a choice as well. All of these are available."
"Well the prosthetics I can see us working on, they should be similar to our future research." Karni first thought out loud.
Siduo then continued. "I'm not really one who designs things, but I do like to know how things tick. I might be able to eventually help with some of the mechanical aspects."
"Hmm. That's good, this would greatly help us expand our market. Looks like my kid really did find a treasure. Okay. This is my offer. Once the two of you officially become 4-star Engineers, I will fund your research into these specific technologies. You would get constant royalties from every sale we make, as for the amount. 20 percent from an individual sale should be okay."
Karni wasn't quite sure about this. For something that was supposed to be a favourable impression on the two of them, it felt a little small, but he wasn't sure if he had a twisted sense of value or if it was fair or not.
Siduo was the first to ask a question. "How much do you usually make compared to the original production cost?"
Tie Gui smiled. "For our pills and medicinal products, we usually sell at 120% production value, since their creation isn't too difficult. In your case, we would sell at a minimum of 200 percent of their production value. Depending on the research, more."
"Are you sure?" Siduo asked. This wasn't just favourable, this felt like cheating. For 200 percent price, the two of them would take 40 percent of the family's positive revenue. And that didn't take into account the money for research, delivery costs and advertisements.
"Yes, because if you two manage to make great products, this will be more than enough money for us to continue the research. Of course, this would mean we'd desire an exclusive contract with us."
Karni hasn't made all the calculations yet, but he realised now that it felt like the two of them were getting a solid offer.
"We accept." Siduo said. Karni didn't argue. Siduo came from a reputable family herself, she was educated in things like this. Everyone in the Wu family were high ranking soul engineers. And most importantly, who knew what her life experience before she became Siduo was like.
Karni was also educated, but he never went this deep, the last three years were mainly spent becoming better with combat and becoming fluent with the ways of the world. For example, he could basically speak the Douluo Continent's language fluently by now. It sounded similar to Chinese, though it wasn't completely. As soon as he crossed a certain threshold of understanding, he couldn't hear anything in English anymore. Everything was in the world's native language. It made transactions like these all the more difficult for him right now.
After they finished their contract, the two went looking for Tie Tiao. They were told they would find him in the courtyard.
They were greeted with a beautiful site. The house was at the outskirts of the town, hence, they had a lot of space. There was a beautiful pond in the middle of the courtyard. On top of it they even had a wooden foundation built, perfect for leisure or a picnic. It really looked like something out of a fairytale.
"We had it built due to my granddaughter." Tie Liwei, who was escorting them, whispered, then bid them goodbye. They didn't need his guidance anymore, they could see Tie Tiao and his sister on the wooden platform.
The two slowly approached from afar. As they got closer, their faces changed a little. The sister was in a wheelchair, in a long dress that covered up her whole body. But one could see that parts of the dress were simply laying freely, as if missing limbs.
Tie Tiao noticed the two approaching. "Have you finished with negotiations?"
"Yep, from now on we are exclusive partners with your family, we'll be research partners once we become 4-star Mecha Engineers." Karni did a quick summary.
"That's good. Let me introduce you." Tie Tiao turned the wheelchair around and they saw the sister. She was beautiful, looked to be about 18 to 20, and had the same brunette hair as the rest of the Tie family. But now they could also clearly see her injuries. Apart from the face, all of her body looked burned. The two managed to hide their shock out of respect.
"Greetings. I'm Tie Kexin. Pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from my little brother." Her tone was mature, despite her bodily situation, she held herself with confidence.
"Ho, what does Tie Tiao say about us?" Siduo asked curiously.
"Hmm. That you're strict, but very good teachers. And friendly. He says he owes a lot to the two of you." She gave a kind smile. Karni liked her a lot. She was exactly his type of person. She was also similar in age to his past self.
Siduo noticed the change in Karni's eyes and nudged him a little. Then turned away her head when he looked at her.
The young lady chuckled a bit as well. "I guess you're wondering about me, isn't that right?"
"Sis, you don't have to-"
"Now, now, Tiao. I think it's only fair that you tell them why you're training so hard, isn't that right?"
Tie Tiao was quiet. Karni and Siduo were quiet as well. The two didn't want to disturb this conversation. They never forced Tie Tiao to say anything before.
"We were once trading partners with the Ma family. They are also residents of the Green Tiger Town."
The two wondered. They knew the boy, Ma Fai, very well. The most talented of the bunch of Green Tiger Town. Looks like everything was somehow connected to him.
"There was an incident. We were supposed to meet with the heir of the Ma family, Ma Fai, as his first attempt at trading with us. This was about a year ago. And well, the Ma family has a bit of a disposition to losing control due to their martial soul. It is a descendant of the Evil Phoenix. The boy lost control, and injured me." Tie Kixin began to tell a story.
"So as to prevent this from reaching the public, they offered to heal me so we kept quiet. I was dying, and we didn't have medicine good enough for such an injury, so the family took the offer. Hence Tie Tiao is angry on my behalf." She explained this as if it was an event not connected to her at all. Like she had no hatred for the deed. Like she was just an onlooker, detached.
"You protected me!" Tie Tiao suddenly shouted. "If you didn't you might never have…" The boy couldn't continue.
"Of course I protected you! You're my little brother. Tiao. It was an accident. The boy couldn't control himself."
"I know… I know… but… you didn't even get the most basic apology. They didn't have any consequences! They only healed you, something they should've done anyway! Then they acted all high and mighty as if this wasn't their fault to begin with!" Tie Tiao was clenching his teeth.
Tie Kexin sighed. "Tiao. It doesn't matter. We can't even touch them. We're an ordinary family. Even if you convince Ma Fai, nothing is going to change."
"No." Tie Tiao said firmly.
"Tiao, they have a-"
"I refuse. I don't care. You'll get an apology someday. I promise you."
"I don't want an apology, I just want you all to be safe." She said softly.
"... I'm sorry." Tie Tiao closed his eyes for a second then walked away. He needed to calm down, but his eyes were still determined.
"Couldn't you talk to the authorities?" Karni asked.
Tie Kexin simply shook her head. "The family's head is a Soul Douluo, there's not anything we can really do. And besides. It was an accident. Ma Fai didn't mean it."
"I'm not sure how much of an accident it was." Siduo suddenly chimed in. "The Evil Phoenix is indeed hard to control, but this is just a descendant martial soul. The only way for the child to lose control would be if someone instigated their martial soul beforehand."
Tie Kexin and Karni were both surprised. "I guess me and Tiao were late that day, for about 15 minutes?"
Siduo shook her head in thought. "No, that might be what sent him over the edge, but not nearly enough for something like this."
"Anyway, I don't want to think about it anymore. I just want to leave this in the past."
"Ah, I'm sorry." Siduo bowed. She realised she might have poked her nose in too much.
"It's nothing. I just wish Tiao would leave this behind. He's just going to hurt himself."
Siduo smirked a little, looking back up, though still bowing. "Don't worry. He might hurt himself a bit, but I guarantee you he will win."
Tie Kexin looked surprised now. "You're that confident? You know that the Flaming Eyes Hawk suppresses his martial soul right?"
"Hehe. Don't worry. We wouldn't give him false hope. I have full confidence he can win."
The older sister sighed. "Just please keep him safe for me."
The two both looked at each other. "We promise."
"We'll make you some prosthetics in the future as well." Karni added.
Tie Kexin was confused.
Siduo put on a heroic pose. "We'll be funded by your family for medical research. We promise to make you walk again someday. It's only right. Since it's your family funding us and all."
The sister chuckled. "I hope you know how much weight your words carry."
The two nodded.
"In that case, I'll be in your care in the future." She wore a light smile. She definitely felt like a daughter of a merchant in her demeanour. She reminded them of her father, Tie Gui. Elegant until the end, yet honest.
"I must ask. Would you please take me inside? I'm quite hungry." Tie Kexin blushed a little. She could only rely on someone else to move her.
"Of course. "Siduo said. The three of them left the fairytale-like wooden platform on top of water. Karni noticed Tie Tiao peeking from the side. Looks like he was about to pick up his sister, but now he was hiding instead.
Karni decided to sneak up to him, only telling the girls he'll be right back.
"You okay?"
"I understand my sister, you know? But I can't. I can't give up. Please. Don't stop teaching me."
"We won't. I promise." Karni gave a friendly tap on his friend's back.
"Thanks." The boy was a bit silent, looking at his sister's back.
"Ma Fai…" He started. Karni perked his ears. "Yes. He didn't do it on purpose, but the only place I can start with is him. I'm willing to forgive him if he's honest, but I won't forgive the family. I want them to have at least some consequences."
Hearing him say that Karni also began to wonder. Could Grandma Ying forgive him as well? If only he is honest?