"Old Chen, I am surprised you have found the time to come visit me." Han Sen opened the door to the sight of Chen Ran standing outside it, alone.
"Zhu Ting said you are a good friend of his. I heard from him that you were here, and so I have come to see you. Why didn't you say so before? If you had, perhaps our acquaintance and travel together would have been far more cordial." Chen Ran smiled.
Han Sen thought to himself in his heart, "It would be a great misfortune to be considered your family."
Han Sen's relationship with the Chen family was fine. It wasn't particularly amicable, but there had been no strife between them, either. Had Chen Ran known about his connection with Zhu Ting, it wouldn't have made a difference. Chen Ran's actions that day were not spurred by anything other than his selfish desire to live, putting himself before anyone else.
"Please, come in." Han Sen allowed Chen Ran to enter. He was keen to know what he was here for. He was fairly sure Chan Ren hadn't come here to wish him a warm recovery and become buddies with a friend of his family's bastard.
Chen Ran entered the room, looked around, smiled, and said, "Brother Han, this place is no good for you. How about you move into my shelter? I will prepare the best room for you, have the nicest food served to you, and have the prettiest girls wait on you. You'll have everything there."
"Old Chen, thank you but no thank you. I will be returning to the ice fields in two days. If there is something you would like to tell me or get off your chest, I am standing right here," Han Sen said.
"Okay. You and Zhu Ting are best friends. You aren't outsiders, so I'll come right out and say it." Chen Ran looked at Han Sen and paused briefly. Then he told him, "Since you are returning to the ice fields, would you aid me by delivering a few beast souls to Zhu Ting?"
"How many beast souls?" Han Sen asked.
"A few thousand." Before anything could be asked, Chen Ran continued, "Of course, this won't be for free. This card I have here has fifty million in it. This is the price I can pay you for their delivery."
Han Sen observed the card Chen Ran pulled out but did not take it. He laughed on the inside, and said to himself, "This old man is smart. There is a lack of beast souls in the ice fields, and now this man is having me transport a vast number there. He tells me he'll give me fifty million, but who knows how many billions he'll earn from their sale?"
"Old Chen, you are well aware of the situation in the ice fields. I am a self-proclaimed leader, little more. The true managers of the ice field are Li Xing Lun and Qi Xiuwen. Even if I did transport them there, I do not believe they would allow Zhu Ting to sell them," Han Sen said, smiling.
The ice fields did indeed belong to Han Sen. The markets were his. The only way he would have helped Chen Ran earn such money was if he had become insane.
"We are family. You are king of the ice fields! I am sure you can think of something." Chen Ran pulled out another card and presented it to Han Sen. Then he said, "Here is five hundred million. You have to take this money to help out Zhu Ting, this poor kid. He was born poorly, alone in the ice fields without family. It is my sole desire to help him."
Han Sen did not believe Chen Ran was the sort of person who was willing to aid a bastard son. He eyed Chen Ran up and down and smiled, "Old Chen, there is no need for me to accept this money. The ice fields do not belong to me alone. If you want to do business, I will accept 20% of the revenue generated from any sale of these boast souls you wish for me to transport."
Chen Ran's face was unexpectedly happy. He jovially said, "Sure, if you say so!"
Han Sen then proceeded to say, "But like I said, the ice fields do not belong to me alone. Aside from my Goddess Army, there is the Star Wheel faction, Blackgod faction, and Philip faction. This deal will not work if they aren't provided a benefit. If you really want me to help you, then you will have to provide them 20% of each sale, as well. If you are willing to accept these terms, then I would be delighted to help you!"
Chen Ran's face was stiff. It didn't move an inch. He looked at Han Sen and said, "Brother Han, you are too cruel. I thought you were a friend of Zhu Ting. Do you not believe yourself to be a little inappropriate by making such a suggestion?"
Han Sen smiled and responded, "Old Chen, I am helping you flood my market with a large number of beast souls. Through a simple export of beast souls, you can earn 20% for yourself! Not bad, eh? And besides, I'm only being this nice because it is as you said, we're family. I'll be giving you 20% on Zhu Ting's account. Otherwise, you'd be lucky to receive 10%."
"Young man, you cannot conduct business like this. Sometimes, a simple favor is better than any monetary gain. If you accept 50%, then perhaps I will have further business ventures for you in the future."
"Then I apologize. I must regretfully inform you once more that the ice fields do not belong to me alone. If I only accept 50%, I cannot report this to the others," Han Sen said.
Han Sen thought it better to be without a favor from someone like Chen Ran. He was happy to allow Xu Dong Jin and his brothers, who followed him with an unwavering faith, to be unceremoniously sacrificed so he could escape. His favors were the sort of thing that could get you killed.
"Well, if things are indeed like that, I regret bothering you this day." As Chen Ran started walking, he appeared to be fuming.
After Chen Ran left Han Sen's room, he signaled for a few others to come to his side. Then, Chen Ran coldly said, "Keep an eye on that one. As soon as he leaves the shelter, contact me."
Accepting their appointed tasks, the people around Chen Ran got set up to spy on Han Sen.
"Huh, this is the son of Han Jing Zhi? No way that old man had a child." Chen Ran's eyes flashed with a sinister haze.
Han Sen stroked the silver fox's fur and squinted his eyes. With his senses, he didn't even need to take a proper look to learn his house was being watched.
"It looks like Han Jing Zhi's name cannot keep everyone at bay," Han Sen thought to himself, but he didn't really care. If Chen Ran did not attack, then it would be fine. If he did attack, at least Han Sen could try out his peacock crossbow and raven feathers.
Han Sen took out a geno creation pill from his chest pocket. Dong Lin delivered them two days ago, and since the silver fox loved them so much, it'd eat one every day.
The silver fox wouldn't eat more than one, though. Perhaps as a result of the pills, its hair was getting smoother and smoother. But aside from that, he couldn't tell much of a difference.
"Dong Lin's people say ordinary evolvers only have to consume one for their genes to mutate. But if the silver fox has already eaten a few, why have there been no changes?" Han Sen looked at the silver fox with wonder, as it gobbled down its daily pill.
Han Sen did not know if it was because the genes of the silver fox were too strong, thus making it difficult for it to mutate, or if it was because the pills would only affect humans.
Han Sen placed the silver fox aside. He put the gourd on the table and began practicing his Dongxue Sutra.
Earlier, he had been too injured to practice the Dongxue Sutra. Instead, he had been using Ice Skin to recover the wounds on his body. Now that he was fully healed, he could being training with the Dongxue Sutra again.
After Han Sen cast it, his body began to smell good. The pleasant fragrance overwhelmed the entire room.
The silver fox was lying down near Han Sen, trying to sniff the pleasing scent that was coming from its master. Even the gourd slightly shivered, as if it was absorbing the perfume.