Chapter 3737 — A Wrench in the Works

Seeing that Wei Zhao seemed to believe him, the Trash King perked up at once and, paying no heed whatsoever to the looks on anyone else's face, nodded again and again. "It's a material you could search a lifetime for and never find! If it were used for artifact forging, the value it produced would surely far exceed two hundred spirit jade!"

"Thank you for the information." Wei Zhao mused for a moment, then turned to the bearded middle-aged man. "My apologies—I'm thinking of keeping the front claws and the whip-like tail for myself and selling the rest whole, as before. Would you still take it? The price can be lower, of course."

After all, Wei Zhao was himself an artifact forger, just like this Trash King before him—except that he had no master's lineage, no reference materials, and no forging blueprints, so he had never been able to make an attempt.

Now, having heard the Trash King's reminder, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Rather than sell off the front claws and the whip-tail, he might as well keep them for his own use. In the mortal world he had never been able to find a forger, but this was Cloud-Tier Island.

With enough determination, finding texts and records on forging was no difficult matter, and in the days to come he might even have the chance to become a true artifact forger—this Trash King before him, who never tired of calling himself a master forger, was living proof of that.

At Wei Zhao's proposal, the bearded middle-aged man frowned slightly, looking a little troubled, but then he thumped his chest and said with hearty, open-faced generosity, "I'm only buying this Nine-Tailed Cloud-Piercing Leopard carcass as a signboard anyway—I don't really mean to put it up for sale. Keep the front claws and the whip-tail if you want them; so long as what's left will still serve as a signboard, that's fine! As for the spirit jade, I'll still give you two hundred—call it making a friend. I, Chen Heihu, am not so petty as to haggle over a pittance like that!"

"Chen Heihu?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback.

"My surname's Chen; Black Whiskers is the nickname the folk in the market gave me. Fits my look pretty well, doesn't it? And what should I call you, brother?" Chen Heihu laughed heartily and deliberately stroked his thick whiskers.

"Heh heh... my thanks, then. My name is Lin Er." Wei Zhao nodded and casually gave an alias he had never used before.

Chen Heihu nodded and at once had one of his servant boys cut off the Nine-Tailed Cloud-Piercing Leopard's front claws and whip-tail, while also counting out two hundred fine jade pieces brimming with spiritual energy and handing them to Wei Zhao.

"Brother Chen Heihu, since this Nine-Tailed Cloud-Piercing Leopard carcass of mine is no longer whole and counts as rather poor goods, you've been straightforward with me and offered two hundred spirit jade, but I can't accept it like this!" Wei Zhao waved a hand and said, "Just now I noticed there were some spirit jade of poorer quality in your assistant's pack. How about you give me those instead?"

"Eh?" Chen Heihu was startled. He hadn't expected Wei Zhao to be a man free of greed. And indeed, he did have some spirit jade of poor quality!

That was how business went—you couldn't pick your customers, could you? Whatever they gave you, you had to take. Of course, those spirit jade were generally acquired at three for two; if it were one for one, he wouldn't have done it.

"There's no need for that, surely. Those spirit jade are of poor quality and their spiritual energy isn't full. Since we're calling each other brothers, I naturally can't cheat you!" Chen Heihu thought it over and said.

True, with such a swap he could save a considerable sum, but he was an open-handed man by nature and didn't much care about such a trifle.

"That is precisely why I insist," Wei Zhao said firmly. "Otherwise, I won't be able to come to you for business next time!"

Seeing Wei Zhao so resolute, Chen Heihu had no choice but to nod. "Then I'll be taking a little advantage this time. Brother Lin Er, if you hunt any more spirit beasts in the future, you must be sure to give old Black a shout. Rest assured, the price will leave you satisfied!"

The reason he had been so forthcoming earlier was, apart from needing the Nine-Tailed Cloud-Piercing Leopard as a signboard, that he genuinely had designs on making Wei Zhao's acquaintance.

And now he felt all the more that Wei Zhao was not only highly capable but also a man of excellent character!

Because Wei Zhao had made no effort to conceal his strength, Chen Heihu could clearly sense that Wei Zhao was at present merely a peak early Foundation Establishment expert—not particularly strong on Cloud-Tier Island, where Foundation Establishment experts were as common as weeds underfoot. Yet the more so, the more Wei Zhao's rarity stood out.

It was no wonder for a mid Foundation Establishment expert to hunt down a Nine-Tailed Cloud-Piercing Leopard, but for a peak early Foundation Establishment expert to accomplish such a thing was as hard as scaling the heavens. Everyone who managed it was without exception a prodigy among prodigies!

As a shrewd and seasoned businessman, Chen Heihu had his own method of judging people: he knew who had prospects and was worth cultivating, and who had none and could be dismissed with a glance. In his eyes, Wei Zhao naturally belonged to the former, while the likes of the Trash King belonged to the latter.

"Of course!" Wei Zhao nodded. In the days to come he would inevitably have dealings with all manner of powerful spirit beasts, and if he hunted any more, he could simply sell them to this Chen Heihu and save himself the trouble.

After a few words of pleasantry with Chen Heihu, Wei Zhao saw that the sky was gradually brightening and the back street was nearly open, so he took his leave and departed.

Yet he had gone only a few steps when he suddenly sensed someone following behind him. Wei Zhao's heart stirred at once—could someone be after his wealth? Two hundred spirit jade was not too much, but it was enough to make some men risk everything!

Under cover of the gradually thickening crowd, Wei Zhao turned without a word and took a look, and at once spotted the one following him—it was none other than the Trash King from before.

Wei Zhao was puzzled. What did this fellow want, following him? Was he really thinking of making a move against him? But that didn't seem likely.

Judging by this fellow's strength, he was certainly nothing special among peak early Foundation Establishment experts. He probably didn't have the nerve to set his sights on Wei Zhao, did he?

Seeing that Wei Zhao had noticed him, the Trash King quickly stepped up to him and, after a moment's hesitation, mustered his courage and asked, "Brother Lin Er, about those front claws and whip-tail from the Nine-Tailed Cloud-Piercing Leopard—might I ask what you plan to do with them?"

"Huh?" Wei Zhao was all the more baffled. They're my own things—I'll do whatever I like with them. Why on earth should I tell a total stranger?

Seeing Wei Zhao's expression, the Trash King realized at once that he had been rather forward, and hastily explained, "It's like this. Brother Lin Er, you heard Chen Heihu and the others say just now—I'm an artifact forger, and I flatter myself that neither my talent nor my skill is poor. It's just that it's a profession that burns through money, and I don't have enough spirit jade to buy good materials, so I've never been able to forge a decent divine weapon..."