Capítulo 39: Chapter 39. Trust No One.
"I would like to tell you more about these wonderful beasts, but I cannot, as there are things about them that only their owner should know, and you are not one yet. However, I can tell you one thing: it will be very difficult to find better beasts than these in our city. Perhaps, occasionally, something unique might appear at an auction, but this happens very rarely and irregularly, so you shouldn't rely on it too much."
Rand seemed not to be listening anymore, staring intently at the two majestic animals, especially the Earth Devouring Serpent. He then told Bernard:
"I will think about the purchase and consult with my master. Once we make a decision, I will return immediately."
"Alright, I will await your prompt return. But don't take too long. The animals usually don't stay with us for long, so there is a chance that by the time you come back, some of them might already be sold," Bernard replied, expecting such a reaction from the novice, as he doubted the boy could independently handle such a large sum without his senior's approval. He specifically mentioned the limited availability to encourage the boy to more actively seek funds from his master. "When you return, you can mention my name to the girls at the entrance, and I will come right away to assist you again."
"I will keep that in mind. I must go now," Rand replied briefly and emotionlessly, ignoring the merchant's maneuvers.
"Of course. I will escort you to the exit."
With this exchange, Rand's visit to the "Palace of Heavenly Beasts" came to an end. Bernard accompanied Rand to the place where they had first met and bid him farewell there.
As Rand approached the exit, he encountered a scene very similar to the one he had seen upon entering. This time, however, a tall man who appeared to be around forty was standing and questioning the twin girls.
"This is the last place I sensed my son's presence before he seemed to disappear. Tell me right now what happened here and where my son is," the man demanded, his voice already tinged with panic as if he sensed something terrible had happened.
"Before we answer, esteemed sir, may I ask: is your son about sixteen years old and wearing gold-embroidered clothes?" one of the sisters cautiously inquired, although the man's face already revealed that he was the boy's father.
"That's correct, so you did see him. Tell me immediately where he is now and why he removed my amulet." Seeing the girls avert their eyes at his questions, the man seemed to realize what had happened. He began to breathe heavily and half-shouted, still clinging to a glimmer of hope that all his suspicions were wrong:
"WHERE IS MY SON NOW?"
Instead of answering, one of the sisters approached the man and took a box out of her robe. She infused it with her Qi, and the boy's remains appeared at the man's feet.
As soon as he saw the body and the head of his son lying nearby, he fell to his knees, grabbed his head, and tears streamed down his face. In a frenzy of grief, he embraced his son's remains and wailed:
"My boy, my dear boy, you were so good, my beloved, only son, ... What did they do to you? Why did they treat you this way?"
"Unfortunately, he violated the rule prohibiting entry to the 'Palace of Heavenly Beasts' without permission, angering our master's companion. I am very sorry, but it was his own fault," one of the girls, standing at a distance, decided to respond, but she immediately regretted her words.
"Broke the rule? Entered without permission? And for such a trifle, you killed him? Ahahaha, my son died because of this..." The man's mind and eyes clouded, and he began to laugh hysterically, but tears continued to stream down his face. After a few seconds, he stopped laughing and managed to calm down. His breathing normalized, and the tears ceased. Lifting his head, he looked at the girls with "dead" eyes and then muttered as if to himself:
"Now is not the time for mourning and madness, right? I still have a job, a job worth dying for. My boy is lonely on his way to reincarnation, and that shouldn't be. His killers and their inhuman rules must accompany him. If I can't do this little thing, what kind of father am I?" At these last words, the man seemed to regain some composure, even managing to look meaningfully at the girls and Rand, who stood at a distance, and said: "All of you, please die."
Having said his last words, the man didn't hesitate. He raised his hands, gripping a two-handed sword that appeared from his ring. He immediately struck at the girl standing nearby. She had already started backing away quickly at his first mention of killing everyone. Seeing the sword aimed at her, she panicked and tried to turn and run but she wasn`t fast enough. Before she could take even half a step, the man's sword was already close to her neck. It would seem that she was already doomed, but when the sword was literally centimeters from her flesh, a protective barrier suddenly surrounded her, taking the blow and saving her from imminent death. Instead of beheading her, the sword's strike merely threw her back several dozen meters.
The man, seeing his strike's unsatisfactory result, growled and, muttering something, swung his sword again toward the girl. The air around the sword thickened sharply, taking on a whitish hue, after which the condensed air separated from the sword, forming a gigantic four-meter white blade that flew at the girl at a furious speed. But even this blade was not destined to achieve its goal, as a bearded man in a blue robe suddenly appeared in its path, stopping the air blade with a simple movement of one hand and shattering it with a blow from his other hand, causing it to crack and disperse back into ordinary air.
"Both father and son, equally devoid of reason and limits," said the man in the blue robe, who had just stopped the attack.
The youth's father, seeing his attack effortlessly neutralized, became even more furious and screamed:
"Was it you who killed my son? These girls couldn't have done it. A Foundation Establishment stage cultivator killing children. What a disgrace. But you'll make the best escort for my son. Die. 'Whirlwind of Power.'"
The technique created a vortex around him, sucking in everything around like a tornado, rising dozens of meters into the sky. Rand and the girls had to retreat into the building to avoid being caught in the wind.
When the tornado stopped growing, the youth's father raised his sword above his head again, saying, "Last Wind Sword." At his words, the tornado momentarily halted its rotation and then surged into the two-handed sword, rapidly lengthening its blade with dense air. When the tornado completely vanished, the man held a massive, twenty-meter sword made of still-rotating condensed air.
With all preparations complete, the enraged father delivered a powerful downward strike at his opponent. But his final, devastating blow also missed its mark.
"Foolish madman, unaware of the difference between heaven and earth. Accept your death," said the man in the blue robe as the crazed father prepared to attack. Seeing the enormous sword in his opponent's hands, he raised his hand and pointed a finger at the youth's father. His finger glowed with a silvery light, and then somehow a five-centimeter hole appeared in the man's head, killing him instantly. With its creator's death, the twenty-meter air sword mostly dispersed into nothingness, leaving only the original two-handed sword.
When the bearded man was sure his enemy was definitively dead, he turned and addressed Rand, who had already managed to move quite a distance away.
"I apologize for you having to witness such a scene at our 'Palace' once again. The girls have already given you a discount, but I can also add..."
But before he could finish his offer, Rand stopped and interrupted him.
"I'm not interested in your apologies or compensation. I hope that if I come here again, which I'm now uncertain about, I won't have to watch as you just stand by and let some vagrant attack your staff and guests. You should strike before it might be too late." Having said all this, Rand didn't wait for a response and walked away, leaving behind the bewildered bearded man in the blue robe.
Finished with this senseless spectacle, Rand headed to one of the smallest shops in the city, where he had noticed a young man a few hours earlier who might be useful for his plans. But before entering, he stopped for a moment in a deserted alley, took out and put on a pendant from his ring that mimicked spiritual sense, and then took a Speech Transmitting Talisman. Activating the pendant with his Qi, he managed to direct the fake spiritual sense into the talisman and record a few dozen words. Even such a simple task was difficult due to the limitations of the clumsy imitation created by the pendant.
He could have recorded his speech directly onto the talisman, but there was always a chance someone might overhear him. Without protective formations nothing could guarantee that a cultivator wouldn't accidentally hear his words even from far away. Thus, Rand had to use the pendant. At such a distance between the pendant and the talisman, even if a Core Formation stage cultivator tried to intercept the spiritual sense from the pendant to find out what Rand recorded on the talisman, he wouldn't succeed.
Having done this, Rand proceeded without further stops to the small shop that sold cheap, low-quality pills, reaching it in less than ten minutes of brisk walking. The shop was a small two-story building with a gabled tiled roof.
Entering it, Rand, as he had two hours earlier, met the same slightly overweight sixteen-year-old shop assistant. The young man was also a cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage, though only at the first level.
"Oh, sir novice, good evening. You returned so quickly. I thought you wouldn't come back after seeing our meager assortment," the young shop assistant greeted Rand again.
"After checking all the other establishments, I realized that yours suits me best, Mr. Zark. Can I ask if the shop owner has returned? Or are you still alone here?"
"Unfortunately, I'm still alone, and I'm not sure the owner will come today," the young assistant sighed.
"That's too bad. I wanted to make him an offer," Rand said, shaking his head in disappointment at not meeting the shop owner. "But since he's not here, I can make you this profitable offer. But first, I need to ask you. You're a member of the city's merchant and cultivator guild, right? And you have permission to make purchases in all the city's establishments, correct?"
"Yes, my master, I mean the shop owner, helped me register and get the permission. But what's this profitable offer, sir novice?" the puzzled Zark asked.
"Here, take this. My offer is in this talisman. You know how to use it, right?" Rand said, handing over the Speech Transmitting Talisman.
"Of course, I know. I've used one before, but why don't you just tell me?" the young assistant inquired.
"It will be faster this way, trust me," Rand answered vaguely.
"Alright," Zark said after a short hesitation, finding no trick in Rand's words. He took the talisman, infused it with his Qi, and immediately heard a strange, intermittent voice in his head.
"I have an excellent offer for you. You can earn a thousand low-quality spirit stones and my gratitude if you do a simple task for me. Don't worry, it really won't cause you any difficulties. All you need to do is use my money to buy a few very expensive items for me in the city's shops.
Of course, all purchases will be completely legal. I can't buy these items myself because my master forbade me to do so.
If you agree to this offer, please activate the shop's protective formation before asking me any questions. I ask this because there's a tiny chance my elder sister from the sect is spying on us with her spiritual sense on our master's orders. I don't want there to be any possibility of her overhearing the details of our upcoming conversation."
"If you don't like the offer, just shake your head and I'll leave immediately."
Right after transmitting the message, the talisman flared up and burned away before Rand and Zark's eyes. After hearing Rand's proposal, Zark looked at his guest again, trying to discern if he was joking. But seeing the seriousness on the novice's face, he realized the offer was genuine.
He silently contemplated Rand's words for a few moments. He wanted to clarify a few points but remembered the request to activate the formation first. So, he touched the spot on the table through which the formation could be activated. Although turning on and maintaining the formation would cost him a small amount of spirit stones from his pocket, he deemed it worth the risk for a chance at such a sum.
Having made his decision, Zark activated the shop's protective formation but did not activate the alert for the city guards. The small two-story building was immediately surrounded by a translucent white barrier, with a similar barrier appearing around Zark.
"I've done as you asked. The Five Lower Clouds Barrier Formation is activated. Now no one can enter or leave without notice, and no one can observe or eavesdrop on us. So, what do you want me to buy? I should warn you, I haven't agreed to your proposal yet," Zark said cautiously.
"Of course. Very prudent of you. As for the purchases... just a few very expensive items and one beast," Rand replied calmly, only partially answering the young seller's question.
"What exactly are the items and what beast do you want me to buy?" Zark asked again, unsatisfied with the partial answer.
"Alright, I'll tell you. I need a Light Distorter Talisman, a Spiritual Invisibility Pill, an Odor Eliminator potion, and a few cheap talismans which I will tell you more about when you agree. As for the beast... I just need an ordinary Earth Devouring Serpent."
"I don't know such a beast, and I've never heard of such a talisman or potion, but I know about the Spiritual Invisibility Pill. It costs tens of thousands of spirit stones. I assume the other items are similarly expensive," Zark said, breathing heavily with excitement.
"That's correct," Rand confirmed.
"Then I agree to buy these things for you and promise to keep everything a secret, but one thousand won't be enough. I want you to pay me at least three thousand. I know that this is a small amount for you," Zark said, realizing he now held a valuable secret and could ask for more than a mere thousand.
"Hah, your appetite grows quickly, Mr. Zark, but it`s fine, I agree to three thousand," Rand replied. Zark had expected his demand to anger the novice slightly, but Rand's calm reaction, as if he anticipated it, unnerved him. This dissuaded him from asking for even more spirit stones.
"Excellent, then give me the money and tell me where and what to buy. I'll do it right away," Zark said, feeling that there might be a catch in Rand's offer, prompting him to want to finish everything quickly.
"Not so fast, Mr. Zark, not so fast. Before I give you such a large sum, I need to ensure you won't trick me and run away with my money."
"How exactly do you plan to ensure that?" Zark asked suspiciously.
"In one simple way."
Suddenly, a majestic eight-pronged crown with a large moon-colored gem in the center materialized on Rand's head. He removed it and, with a quick step towards the unprepared Zark, tried to place it on his head. The barrier above Zark's head hissed, trying to resist this action, but it didn't save the youth. The crown emitted black smoke that instantly dissolved the protective barrier, allowing Rand to place it on Zark's head, who was too stunned to fight back.
"Aaaaah," Zark screamed in agony as the crown touched his head, feeling as if his skull was being torn apart. His screams, heard only by Rand due to the still-active formation, were continuous as he tried desperately to remove the crown. However, no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge. After half a minute, the pain subsided, and he weakly asked, "What is this on me? Why?"
"This is my treasure, inherited from my father. I'll tell you honestly, only a few have had the honor of wearing it. It is linked to me, so I can see and hear everything you do and say. If you act in a way I consider betrayal or deceit, the crown will kill you instantly. Don't even think about trying to remove it; it won't work," Rand explained.
"I'll do everything honestly and won't tell anyone. You can trust me. I won't even take the money. Just please take it off," Zark pleaded.
"No, Mr. Zark. I won't remove it until you complete my task. And regarding trust… In this world, you can't trust anyone, especially strangers. There must always be guarantees, and the crown on your head is one of them. But don't worry, I'll keep my word. You will receive the three thousand spirit stones, and I'll even add extra for your suffering," Rand assured, calming the young seller, which even allowed him to ask a more or less sober question.
"Alright, I'll trust you, though I don't have much choice. But how will I walk around with this crown? It will be noticed immediately, and then..."
"Don't worry about that," Rand said, and simultaneously the crown on Zark's head became invisible. "No one will notice it. Now, let's discuss the plan for your actions in detail. First, you will leave the city in five hours and go to…"
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