Chapter 31 - Negotiations
"Young Lady, why don't we talk about this?" The Spirit Master took the initiative to speak with Xiao Hua, as he was certain that he would not be able to defeat Xiao Hua in a fight, and if the Du Brothers continued fighting Yuan, they would also lose to him sooner or later and lose their lives.
With no more options at hand, he could only resort to pleading for their forgiveness, hoping that they would at least spare the Du Brothers' lives.
And he said, "Why don't we negotiate? If you let the Young Masters leave this place in one piece, the Du Family will compensate you for the trouble they have caused for your Young Master."
"Let them go… you say? But they were the ones who willingly jumped at Brother Yuan." Xiao Hua responded with a nonchalant expression.
"I won't deny that the Young Masters are the ones at fault here, but you gain nothing by killing them. In fact, if you kill them, regardless of your background, the Du Family will do everything in their power to avenge their deaths, and I'm sure neither of you would want the entire Du Family chasing after you."
"The Du Family? I have never heard of them before." Xiao Hua said.
"..."
The Spirit Master was dumbfounded. Although the Du Family is not the most powerful family in the world, they are considerably famous in the Cultivation world with multiple experts at the rank of Spirit Grandmaster within their family, and even if someone does not know of their achievements, they would at least know of their reputation.
"Furthermore, if I kill all three of you, how will the Du Family know who killed you? Even if one of you managed to escape, do you even know who we are? How are you going to find us?" Xiao Hua asked him with a cold gaze that did not fit her childish appearance.
The Spirit Master's complexion immediately paled after hearing Xiao Hua's word, and he began to realize the gravity of their situation. If Xiao Hua kills the Du Brothers including him, who will tell the Du Family about the culprits? Unless they can talk to ghosts, they will never find out the truth!
"P-Please, have mercy, Young Lady! There is no need to spill blood over such a minor complication, right? At the end of the day, those two are only Juniors who allowed their arrogance and pride to go to their head! There are many people like them out there, and I'm sure that even your Young Master has made mistakes before!" The Spirit Master began pleading, and if not for Xiao Hua's pressure on him, he would've kowtowed to her.
"Don't compare Brother Yuan to those two bullies! He's a kind brother who played with Xiao Hua when nobody else would!" Xiao Hua suddenly shouted, accidentally emitting killing intent, which suffocated the Spirit Master.
"I… can't… breathe…!" The Spirit Master began choking.
Meanwhile, right as Yuan knocked the Du Brothers to the ground, he noticed the ominous aura behind him, causing him to turn around and look.
"Xiao Hua!"
When he saw the unpleasant expression on Xiao Hua's face, his initial thought was that the Spirit Master had done something to her, so he ignored the Du Brothers and immediately rushed to her side.
"Are you okay, Xiao Hua?!"
"Hm?" Hearing Yuan's voice, Xiao Hua snapped out of her rage and turned to look at him, who was staring at her with a worried expression.
"Are you hurt anywhere?!" he asked her, and she nodded.
"Xiao Hua is okay, Brother Yuan."
"Is that so? That's great to hear," he sighed in relief.
After knowing that Xiao Hua was safe, Yuan finally noticed the Spirit Master that was laying on the ground, who was heavily panting, almost as he'd just ran a marathon.
"What happened to him?" he mumbled to Xiao Hua.
"Xiao Hua doesn't know." She casually shrugged.
After catching his breath, the Spirit Master spoke, "Please… I beg you… don't kill us…"
"That is not for me to decide." Xiao Hua said, and then she turned to look at Yuan, who appeared to be dumbfounded.
"What is he talking about? Why would I kill them?" Yuan asked.
"Eh? You're not going to kill us?" The Spirit Master looked at him with wide eyes filled with shock.
"Of course, not. While I am slightly angry about everything today, I am not like some people, who would kill another just because they were offended. However, that isn't to say I would never kill anyone because even I have a limit." Yuan said to him.
"T-Thank you, Young Master! Thank you for having mercy! I will immediately leave with those two, and we will never appear before you again!" The Spirit Master kowtowed to him with tears in his eyes.
"Wait a second! Who said you can leave so fast?" Yuan suddenly said.
"Huh?" The Spirit Master looked at him with wide eyes.
"I have unexpectedly used up most of my energy after fighting with those two, and I'd spend 500 gold coins filling up my stomach not long ago. Now I feel like I wasted my money. How are you going to compensate me for this tragedy?" Yuan said to him with a frown.
"..."
Not just the Spirit Master, but even Xiao Hua was staring at him with wide eyes filled with shock.
"O-Of course… Although this isn't much because the Young Masters had already used most of it, I will give you all of it…"
The Spirit Master quickly retrieved his money pouch and offered it to Yuan as though he was giving an offering to a God.
'I never thought a day where I would become a victim of extortion would come—and it's even to a mere Spirit Warrior Junior!' he cried inwardly, feeling his pride as a Spirit Master shattering into a thousand pieces.
Yuan cleared his throat and accepted the money pouch without a hint of shame on his face, and he spoke afterward, "Thank you for the donation."
'Donation, my ass!' The Spirit Master retorted inwardly, but he didn't dare to complain out loud, as he feared that Yuan might change his mind and kill all of them.
"You may leave now."
After receiving Yuan's permission, the Spirit Master immediately went to grab the Du Brothers and quickly left the scene.
"W-Wait a minute! Where are you taking us?! We haven't lost to him yet!"
"Let me fight him! I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't beat him up!"
The Du Brothers struggled to escape the Spirit Master's grasp, but being an entire realm below him, they were effortlessly taken away by him, disappearing a few moments later.