Chapter 114: A Noble Person from the Imperial Capital

The man in gray sneered, then mocked, "Fair enough. Before you die, I shall let you die with clarity."

Su Fan feigned nervousness—though in truth, he was indeed anxious—and said with a trembling voice, "Senior, you only asked for the item; you never said you would take a life."

The man in gray faltered, not expecting Su Fan to be so eloquent. Flustered, he snapped, "I want you dead, so I shall kill you. What of it?"

Su Fan offered a bitter smile. "Would that not tarnish your reputation, Senior?"

The man in gray fell silent. *I am a direct descendant of the Shangguan family’s eighteenth generation,* he thought. *How could I stoop to killing a mere junior? If word got out, I would lose all face. How could I ever show my face in the Great Song Empire again?*

Seeing that the man was no longer enraged, Su Fan continued, "Since you desire the jade pendant, we can discuss this."

The man in gray, seeing Su Fan’s resistance soften, eased his tone. "Very well. Give me the pendant, and as long as you swear not to speak of today’s events, I will spare you."

Su Fan inwardly lamented; it seemed the jade pendant was truly lost.

Seeing Su Fan remained motionless, the man in gray barked, "Hurry up! Do you want me to change my mind?"

Su Fan waved his hands frantically. "That pendant is vital to me. Can we really not negotiate further?"

A Golden Core late-stage cultivator haggling with a Heart-Condensation realm master—this was a first in the cultivation world. In this realm, the law of the jungle prevailed everywhere. Before the strong, the weak were but ants. When a powerful figure coveted something, they usually killed to seize the treasure without a word. That Su Fan could argue with him for so long would leave any onlooker speechless; some low-level cultivators might even kneel before Su Fan to beg for his secret. After all, some never encountered a Heart-Condensation master in their entire lives, let alone held a conversation or haggled with one.

Part of this was due to Su Fan’s quick-wittedness and his ability to read hearts and cater to others' desires. But a greater part lay in the man in gray himself. Hailing from one of the four great families of the Great Song Empire, he had lived his life in the Imperial Capital, surrounded by luxury. Given his background, he had likely never encountered deceit or treachery. Su Fan, however, was different. Since stepping onto the path of cultivation, his days had been filled with terror, worrying not about entertainment, but about survival. Thus, the man in gray had naturally cultivated a gentle disposition; killing was not his forte, and he had perhaps never taken a life before.

That was why he did not strike Su Fan down immediately, why he could not bear to watch Su Fan kill the old man in red, and why he dared not even look upon the carnage in the main hall. Yet, a kind heart did not mean he wouldn't plunder. The pampered life born of his powerful background had inevitably made him overbearing and unreasonable.

The man in gray, losing patience, reached out to snatch the pendant from Su Fan’s waist.

Su Fan started and shouted, "Wait!"

To ask someone to stop at such a moment was merely a desperate, foolish reflex. Yet, the man in gray actually halted. He looked at Su Fan with a grievance and demanded, "Will you give it to me or not? If not, I am truly going to take it."

Seeing this Heart-Condensation master acting like a child, Su Fan couldn't help but laugh. Yet, feeling a pang of guilt, he consoled him, "That object is truly vital to me. I cannot give it to you."

Su Fan was wrong. The childlike man in gray was not a true child; he possessed the heart of a Heart-Condensation cultivator. Ruthlessness was the inherent nature of a cultivator. Without it, one could not survive in the Imperial Palace of the Great Song, let alone reach the Heart-Condensation stage.

Just as Su Fan lowered his guard—his most vulnerable moment—the man in gray’s hand touched the pendant. Su Fan cried out, but it was too late. The man’s fingers had already gripped the jade; a single pull would make it his.

Just as Su Fan was struck with panic, the pendant emitted a dim, dark glow. A gray dragon surged out from Su Fan’s storage bag and slammed into the man’s chest. The man in gray recoiled, dropping the pendant as if it were a scorching hot potato.

The gray dragon coiled around him once, then, as if startled by something, flew back into the storage bag. It was highly obedient; unless summoned, it never attacked on its own. Su Fan could only attribute this bizarre event to the dragon’s protective instinct, though the explanation was flimsy at best.

With the dragon gone, the man in gray regained his composure, though his eyes were clouded with deep suspicion. He stared at the spot where the dragon had vanished and muttered, "That was the aura of the Azure Dragon statue from the Imperial Capital’s Azure Dragon Shrine... How could that be?"

Seeming to be disturbed by something terrifying, the man in gray suddenly shrieked, "Young Master Situ, why have you come to this place?"

"Young Master Situ?" Su Fan was stunned. Where had this Young Master Situ come from?

As he pondered, a figure in white appeared in the dim, pre-dawn sky. The man’s robes were whiter than the face of the Drunken Immortal, making him stand out in the gloom, as did his sinister expression.

Su Fan watched him coldly, searching for an escape route. One Heart-Condensation master was enough to kill him a thousand times over, and now there was another.

The man known as Young Master Situ cast a fleeting, indifferent glance at Su Fan before smiling at the man in gray. "Long time no see, Young Master Shangguan."

The man in gray muttered to himself, "You’ve been tailing me for ages, yet you claim it’s been a long time. How shameless."

The voice was so low only Su Fan could hear him. Su Fan felt a sudden sense of relief; the two were clearly not on friendly terms, which might avert the danger of a pincer attack.

Whether Young Master Situ heard the remark or not, he continued with a smile, "I wonder what brings Young Master Shangguan to this remote borderland."

"I am merely traveling," the man in gray, Young Master Shangguan, replied coldly.

"Traveling? I’ve only heard that wherever Young Master Shangguan goes, great treasures follow. I wonder, what treasures have you found? Would you mind sharing some with me?" Young Master Situ asked as if it were only natural.

Infuriated, Young Master Shangguan gritted his teeth and said, "There are none."

Young Master Situ glanced at Su Fan and laughed. "None? Then I shall take this little brother for myself."

"Impossible!" Young Master Shangguan roared. "Are you looking to fight today?"

Su Fan inwardly sneered. *Let the two of you slaughter each other; perhaps I can be the one to reap the spoils.*

Su Fan suddenly chuckled. "Why must you two argue? You could simply slice me in two and each take a half. Young Master Shangguan can take the upper half, and Young Master Situ can take the lower."