"Why should I spare your life? What's in it for me?" Zhou Hong asked with a cold sneer.
"Wuwuwu! Senior, I was wrong, please spare me. If old dog Huang Ruo Hong can be spared, why can't I?" Jiang Bao Kui cried.
"Who said I spared Huang Ruo Hong? I'm only here tonight to discuss compensation with him. If the compensation satisfies me, then he is spared."
Upon hearing Zhou Hong's words, Jiang Bao Kui secretly snorted. It was as he had expected, Huang Ruo Hong had also been dealt with by Zhou Hong.
"Senior, I'm willing to compensate too. Please give me a chance," Jiang Bao Kui offered.
"Fine!" Zhou Hong then released Jiang Bao Kui.
"Thank you, senior, for not taking my life!"
"Don't thank me yet, I haven't said I won't kill you."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Alright, I don't have time to waste on insignificant people like you. Sit down and let's negotiate how you will compensate me. If you can't satisfy me, both of you will die today." Zhou Hong sat down on a chair, not wanting to waste any more time here.
"Senior, I am willing to compensate you with an extremely precious herb," Huang Ruo Hong said quickly.
"What herb?" Zhou Hong seemed quite interested.
"It's a Tianshan Snow Lotus. I once spent a great deal of effort to obtain this Tianshan Snow Lotus, its value is likely over ten billion."
Zhou Hong quickly said, "Hurry up and show it to me."
"Yes!"
Huang Ruo Hong immediately went to his home's cellar and brought out a box. Inside the box was a large Tianshan Snow Lotus.
Zhou Hong picked it up and immediately saw that this Tianshan Snow Lotus was about four to five hundred years old.
Zhou Hong was slightly disappointed. If it had been a thousand years old, it would have been good. Unfortunately, it was only four to five hundred years old. If used to refine elixirs, it could at most produce one pill. Su Dan Novel Network
"Senior, if I compensate you with this Tianshan Snow Lotus, can you let me go?" Huang Ruo Hong asked anxiously. He was actually quite confident because, in his mind, this Tianshan Snow Lotus was extremely valuable. He offered it not only as compensation but also hoping to befriend Zhou Hong. It was a pity that what he considered immensely valuable was just an ordinary item to Zhou Hong.
"The item is ordinary, but I'll take it," Zhou Hong said without hesitation.
"Thank you, senior!" Huang Ruo Hong felt a slight disappointment, having expected Zhou Hong to be overjoyed upon seeing the Tianshan Snow Lotus.
"What? Do you think this Tianshan Snow Lotus would make me ecstatic? Don't be ridiculous. This Tianshan Snow Lotus is at most five hundred years old, which is very ordinary to me. I've even seen Ganoderma lucidum that's three thousand years old, let alone your Tianshan Snow Lotus." Zhou Hong seemed to have seen through Huang Ruo Hong's expression and sneered.
"What? Three thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum?" Huang Ruo Hong was shocked. In his mind, a five-hundred-year-old Tianshan Snow Lotus was already an extremely valuable item, but he never expected Zhou Hong to have seen something three thousand years old.
At this moment, Jiang Bao Kui was also greatly shocked. It seemed Zhou Hong was indeed a prominent figure who had seen the world.
"And you? What will you compensate me with?" Zhou Hong turned his gaze to Jiang Bao Kui.
"I...!" Jiang Bao Kui looked dejected. It wasn't that he couldn't produce something valuable, but... he was simply unwilling. He also had a precious herb treasured at home, which he himself was reluctant to consume. Whenever he reached a crucial point in his cultivation, he would pluck a small leaf and eat it to aid his breakthrough.
But if he gave it to Zhou Hong now, wouldn't he be...
Thinking of this, Jiang Bao Kui glared fiercely at Huang Ruo Hong.
"What? You don't have anything to compensate me with? If it's less than Huang Ruo Hong's, then I apologize," Zhou Hong said.
At this moment, Huang Ruo Hong quickly reported to Zhou Hong, "Senior, Jiang Bao Kui has a very precious item. I dare not say what it is, or I fear he will target me later."
"It's fine, just say it. You'll be my subordinate from now on. If he dares to target you, just come to me."
"Thank you, senior!" Huang Ruo Hong was ecstatic. He had been worried that after implicating Jiang Bao Kui, he would not be let off. Thus, he proactively told Zhou Hong about the treasure Jiang Bao Kui had at home to seek Zhou Hong's protection. He never expected Zhou Hong to accept him as a subordinate with just a word. Now he had nothing to worry about.
"Jiang Bao Kui's family cultivates a mysterious plant. It is rumored that this plant is even older than my Tianshan Snow Lotus. Every time he reaches a critical juncture in his cultivation, he plucks a leaf to eat, and it aids his breakthrough."
"Hahaha, very good!" Zhou Hong looked at Jiang Bao Kui and said, "I want this item of yours. However, I am not a bandit. After you give it to me, I will give you a set of cultivation techniques as compensation. My cultivation techniques will absolutely be worth more than both these items combined."
Hearing Zhou Hong's words, although Jiang Bao Kui felt like he was parting with flesh and blood, he still nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go home and get it now."
"Hurry up, you have half an hour."
Jiang Bao Kui immediately called his grandson and rushed home to get it, while Zhou Hong waited at Huang Ruo Hong's place.
"Grandpa? Are we really giving him the Black Pearl?" Jiang Chang He asked unwillingly on their way home.
"What else can we do? Someone of this caliber can easily destroy our entire family. Besides, he also promised to exchange it for something of equal or even greater value in terms of cultivation techniques, which is quite generous."
"I hope the cultivation technique he brings in exchange is worth it," Jiang Chang He sighed.
"This is all your fault. If you hadn't taken a liking to Changsun Ruo Yan and gone to be her lapdog, I wouldn't have offended him...!"
"Grandpa, I'm sorry."
"What's the use of saying sorry now? Hurry up and get home, and deliver the Black Pearl within half an hour."
Soon, half an hour passed.
Jiang Bao Kui finally returned home with his Black Pearl.
"Senior, this is the treasure I obtained many years ago. I named it the Black Pearl and cultivated it in my family's cellar."
Zhou Hong immediately took a flower pot. A plant was planted in the pot, looking like a potted plant.
Upon seeing this potted plant, Zhou Hong was secretly startled. With his knowledge, he immediately recognized it as a Wushan Dragon Fruit.
It was a pity that this Wushan Dragon Fruit was still a seedling, so its current value was not high. If it were allowed to mature and bear fruit, its fruit would be the true spiritual medicine.
However, it would take hundreds of years for it to mature. Zhou Hong couldn't wait hundreds of years. He could only refine it. Although the Wushan Dragon Fruit was a seedling, it could still be used to refine three spiritual pills.