Chapter 40
s.h.i.+ Xueman could hardly believe her eyes.
The Calming Indigo Silk on Ai Hui’s wrist was like a candle placed above a fire grill, gradually melting into gluey liquid, as it unceasingly penetrated into Ai Hui’s skin.
It was as if she had experienced a mental blow—her mind went blank.
That was the treasure that her deceased grandmother had given her!
She had been wearing it ever since she was young and hardly took it off. Looking at it was akin to looking back at her loving grandmother who would constantly dote on her.
She still remembered the time her grandmother had given her the bracelet. Her grandmother had smiled while saying, "My darling granddaughter, you must take good care of this Calming Indigo Silk. When you grow up and meet your Mr. Right, give this string of Calming Indigo Silk to him. This is the best token of love that you can give. It was produced by the Winged Indigo Silk Bird..."
But…
s.h.i.+ Xueman regained her senses and bolted forward. Her voice laced with tears, she cried out, "My beads!"
Ai Hui quivered and was immediately jolted out of the sword embryo’s state. He realized that it was the young girl from the noodle shop and remarked, "Oh, it’s you. Why are you crying? Give me one hundred and fifty yuan and I will return the beads."
Following which, Ai Hui touched his wrist and was instantly shocked motionless.
Something doesn’t feel right…
Pausing momentarily, he looked down at his wrist and became flabbergasted.
There was only a bare string on his wrist. Where were the beads? He looked to the floor but there were no signs of the beads anywhere.
"Ai Hui, the pearls have been absorbed into your skin," Lou Lan said honestly.
Absorbed into my skin?
Ai Hui was struck dumb. What sort of situation was this? How could it be absorbed? He hurriedly checked his body. When he noticed that the surrounding of the sword embryo’s seed had an additional circle of blue mist, he could not help but take in a deep breath.
Indeed, it had been absorbed by him.
Ai Hui felt as if his heart had been trampled by a herd of running wild cows.
Looking at the young girl from the noodle store, whose eyes were filled with tears, Ai Hui was at loss. "I...I am sorry. I did not mean to do it. You need not give me the hundred and fifty…"
The moment the words left his mouth, Ai Hui knew he said the wrong thing. Instantly, the teary eyes of the girl became menacing.
Ai Hui hurriedly added, "I will pay! I will pay!"
"That was a treasure that belonged to my deceased grandmother," s.h.i.+ Xueman cried out.
Ai Hui was completely nonplussed; his intestines turned green with regret. If he had known that earlier, he would not have asked for a collateral and would have instead freely treated her to that bowl of noodles. This was indeed his fault. He could only say meekly, "This was my fault, I’m sorry, I am really sorry. I truly did not know things would turn out this way. I have no idea how I managed to absorb this item. Would it be alright if I compensate you?"
s.h.i.+ Xueman gradually calmed down a little. "How will you compensate?"
She had witnessed the whole process for herself. In her mind, she knew that the other party did it unintentionally, and she, too, had never heard of Calming Indigo Silk being absorbed before.
"I have two hundred and fifty thousand yuan. I will give it all to you." While Ai Hui was unwilling to part with his money, he knew
"Two hundred and fifty thousand yuan?" s.h.i.+ Xueman laughed coldly.
"Is it not sufficient?" Ai Hui was momentarily struck dumb. A hefty amount of two hundred and fifty thousand was not sufficient for that string of worn-out, blue pearls?
Lou Lan, who was standing nearby, interjected, "Ai Hui, the average starting price of Calming Indigo Silk is usually three million yuan. This string of high-quality silk should be more than five million."
s.h.i.+ Xueman glanced at Lou Lan. She was clearly aware that sand puppets who knew the market price of Calming Indigo Silk were quite rare. She replied expressionlessly, "This string of Calming Indigo Silk was of the utmost quality and thus, the bracelet was worth eighty million yuan.
Eighty...Eighty million yuan!
Ai Hui felt as if he was struck by a lightning bolt that was as thick as a water bucket. He was utterly devastated. His mouth dropped open and his eyeb.a.l.l.s almost popped out of his sockets. Every single muscle on his body was as rigid as steel.
Ai Hui felt like countless somber shadows were cast upon his life.
Eighty million!
Oh, Grandaunt, what were you trying to accomplish by parading across the city with beads worth eighty million yuan?
Oh, Grandaunt, you had brought out pearls worth eighty million yuan but why could you not even bring out a hundred and fifty yuan in cash?
How big of an amount do you think one hundred and fifty yuan was, for you to use an eighty million yuan bead bracelet as collateral?
Sword embryo, you disgraceful fellow! How dare you absorb that string of beads that were worth eighty million yuan? How black-hearted are you? You are even worse than Fatty!
Eighty million, my…my…my…
Ai Hui did not know what to do. He had gone through a lot in his life, having experienced many life-threatening incidents in his time in the Wilderness, but those experiences were thoroughly useless for the current situation.
He would rather face every single wild beast in the Wilderness than face this young girl from the noodle shop.
One thing was sure, though, that even if he sold himself, he would still be unable to earn eighty million yuan.
Well, Ai Hui had nothing to lose now. "I have no idea what to do. Even if you put me for sale, I am not worth eighty million yuan. Noodle shop girl, I will do whatever you say. I will definitely not renege on this debt."
"Humph. If it wasn’t for the fact that you did it unintentionally, you would have been dead today," s.h.i.+ Xueman said coldly.
Ai Hui glared at s.h.i.+ Xueman in fury and wanted to say, "A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated." However, under the direct, ominous gaze of s.h.i.+ Xueman, he simply muttered under his breath and turned around.
That d.a.m.ned sword embryo.
Why couldn’t he be like Fatty? If he was Fatty, he would have said something pretentiously, like, "If I owe you money, I am your master. Given that I owe you eighty million yuan, I am the master of masters. You should wait upon me….."
Fine. He had some morals after all and was unable to commit such a shameless act.
Ai Hui was crestfallen.
For a moment, s.h.i.+ Xueman was also at a loss. The Calming Indigo Silk was gone. Should she kill this person? No matter what had happened, the person did help her out of goodwill at the noodle house. She had also observed the entire process of the Calming Indigo Silk being absorbed and she knew that it was unintentional.
Make him pay? Even if she sold this chap, the amount she would get would definitely not be sufficient to cover the eighty million yuan worth Calming Indigo Silk.
Bash him? That would be letting him off too easily.
At that moment, s.h.i.+ Xueman was feeling sullen and down; in truth, she did not care about that eighty million, but her heart was broken beyond repair over losing her grandmother’s treasure.
Hence, s.h.i.+ Xueman could not bring herself to just let him go either.
The two of them silently faced each other, rigidly standing.
Lou Lan was speechless as looked at the two of them. He added weakly, "While it might not be of much use, I have two hundred and fifty thousand yuan."
Ai Hui shook his head. "I should own up to my own wrongdoings, Lou Lan. I do not need your money."
s.h.i.+ Xueman gave a cold ‘humph’ again and kept silent.
Suddenly, Ai Hui violently turned and looked upwards to the fence. "Who’s there?"
At the very same moment, s.h.i.+ Xueman fiercely turned towards the fence and asked, "Who’s there?"
The two of them had spoken in unison.
"Heh heh!" An evil cackle was heard as a black figure appeared on top of the fence.
s.h.i.+ Xueman had sharp eyes and instantly recognized that the opposite party was wearing an elemental energy mask. With a voice that sounded like she was forcing the words through her teeth, she indignantly asked, "Why are you acting so mysterious?"
She had completely forgotten that she, too, was wearing an elemental energy mask.
"Ai Hui, I can’t believe you actually have a sweetheart!" the dark figure on the fence exclaimed eerily.
Sweetheart!
Ai Hui and s.h.i.+ Xueman simultaneously furrowed their brows.
Pfft! Was this chap worthy to be called my sweetheart? The rage, which had been restrained by s.h.i.+ Xueman the entire night, instantly erupted.
Pfft! I do not want a sweetheart who doesn’t even bring out a hundred and fifty yuan! She resulted in me being extorted by that d.a.m.ned sword embryo of a hefty amount of eighty million yuan! The fury that Ai Hui had been holding back also exploded.
s.h.i.+ Xueman’s figure turned green as it disappeared from its position.
With a gloomy expression, Ai Hui wordlessly charged forward with his sword.