Chapter 1328 — Someone Is Listening In: "Fine, That Will Work!" Old Hei Nodded After Hearing It; If It Was Truly as Wei Zhao Said, Then Giving Him Half a Share Was No Great Matter — But If the Mechanisms Could Not Be Cracked, He Would Not Even Get That Twenty-Five Percent
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Wei Zhao nodded and said no more. As for Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yuxuan, they had begun to admire him in their hearts. The more petty and calculating Wei Zhao made himself out to be, the more he fit the image of the Couple Bandits — and the less anyone would suspect a thing.
"And you, Heroine Yan? Any objections?" Old Hei turned his head to look at Yu Xiaoke. "Ten percent for you. That is the rate by the custom of the trade, no more and no less. Outside technical support is worth ten percent of the take."
"No problem!" Yu Xiaoke nodded in agreement. In truth Old Hei was being quite fair, since that was the price for everyone.
"But let us get the ugly part out of the way first. If you cannot crack a single thing, then the most I will give you is travel money to send you home," Old Hei said. "Even that ten percent has value attached to it."
"That I understand." Yu Xiaoke spoke with complete confidence. "You should know the reputation of the Flying Swallow Sect — our word is our bond. But I want my ten percent in cash, not in goods."
What Yu Xiaoke lacked was money. Baubles from the tomb would be of no use to her, and would only be hard to move besides. So she made the request outright.
"That can be done. But you know the trade custom as well: converting to cash means a twenty percent discount off market price," Old Hei said. "Because we will not necessarily be able to sell right away, and holding goods in hand always carries risk."
"Understood." Yu Xiaoke nodded. "But the things none of you want — I can pick those up, right?"
"That is up to you," Old Hei said with a nod.
Listening to Yu Xiaoke, Wei Zhao was caught between laughter and tears. This little girl really was a little miser! Not willing to let a single thing slip past her — things other people had already cast aside, and still she wanted to scavenge them. Still, a mosquito is meat no matter how small. These tomb robbers kept their standards high and would hardly spare a glance for ordinary goods, which only took up space in the pack, so some trinkets or bits of gold and silver would fall neatly to Yu Xiaoke's benefit.
With the division of spoils settled, there was nothing more for anyone to discuss. Old Hei said, "Since no one has any objections, then the matter is decided. I do not want any disputes over profit when the time comes. With Lord Hao here, I trust everyone will keep to discipline."
Everyone nodded, though no one could say how much sincerity lay behind those nods. When the profit was not large enough, people could naturally keep to the rules; but once the stakes rose to the point of making eyes red with greed, then all bets were off.
"I will be going back first." Wei Zhao rose to his feet, finished saying it flatly, and turned and walked out of the tent, with Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yuxuan close behind.
"Everyone get some rest and save your strength — we enter the ancient tomb together in the morning!" Old Hei nodded and said.
Back in the tent, Qiu Lingshan said at once, "That one from the Flying Swallow Sect—"
But halfway through the sentence, Wei Zhao clapped a hand over her mouth and signaled for silence, while carrying on her words without the slightest pause: "Hmph. The Flying Swallow Sect is not necessarily of any use either. In our hands, after all, we hold certain key information about this tomb! Even if they can crack what comes before, the final crucial step will still depend on us — otherwise everyone will die."
As he spoke, Wei Zhao pointed with his finger toward a corner of the tent. Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yuxuan followed the direction of his finger, and there on one of the tent's steel ribs sat a listening device.