Chương 95: The Cold Mother’s Bargain

The old woman, Sheioufan, the Cold Mother of the Zhenhai Estate, led us into a modest but well-kept room inside the blue temple. The stone floor was worn smooth, and blue-tile light leaked through the high slats. She poured tea from an old iron pot. The liquid came out a deep, earthy brown, with steam rising like wet soil after rain. Mo took a sip first, ahead of everyone else, to showcase that he was the meat of our agency, the main lead. His face twisted, and he spat.

"What is this horrible tea?" Sheioufan took a slow, satisfied sip and smiled.

"Brewhearth. From the deep underground springs of Zhenhai. I used to gather it myself when I was a Vagabond many, many years ago. It's a reminder..." She leaned back slightly, her posture shifting as if she were enduring a deep mental pain, though she carefully avoided telling or showing us.

"This has a powerful, acquired taste. Very acquired, but totally worth it, as it boosts one's mind." We all tried it. The bitterness hit like a slap, sharp and almost metallic, burning the tongue. I spat mine out at once. Xihua coughed. Even Zhuofing grimaced. Only Sheioufan drank it with clear enjoyment, as if it were the finest wine. She set her cup down and looked at us with sharp, knowing eyes. Mo put his own cup aside like it had offended him and leaned forward. Big hands on the table.

Voice careful, the way a cautious man talks when he already knows the answer might cost him a heft price.

"Lady Sheioufan of the Zhenhai Estate. We did not climb this hill for tea. We came because Baobao Li said you hold an iridescent pearl. Round. Rainbow when it feeds on Animo. A mark on the bottom in a numerical sign. Doushingu found one like it on Huangshali and sold it cheap, thinking the carving was a toy. Ours drinks Animo on its own. If the one in this temple is the same blood as that stone, we need to see it. We need to know if you will part with it." Sheioufan looked at him for a long moment. Sharp eyes.

No rush.

"So… you want this pearl." She reached behind a stack of old books and pulled out a small bronze post. The iridescent pearl rested on it, glowing faint against the dull slightly dusted metal.

"I found this item nine years ago while climbing a hill, searching for rare herbs. Its shine caught my eye. I kept it as a curiosity. But I find no real use for it anymore." We told her what this pearl could mean if we gathered all that were needed, explaining that a secret of great potential and importance might be unlocked, perhaps a parchment from the past or a legendary sword. It was not the absolute truth, but it was not entirely a lie either, hanging somewhere in the space of a half-truth.

She listened without surprise, turning the bronze pot a fraction so the glow crawled across the table. Then she tapped the underside with one knuckle, as if pointing out a scratch on cheap jewelry.

"Yeah… it shows the number three," she said casually. She traced the three horizontal lines on the iridescent surface: 三. We all exchanged glances, since it proved the merit of a truly great item hidden behind those pearls. The evidence was right there in the shining, colored number three, drawing every eye to it with a sharp, hungry intensity. That meant a second key was still out there. Ours bore the symbol for one, 「一」, while hers wore three, 「三」.

The chain was longer than we wanted to admit in a quiet temple over bitter tea. However, some shared the comforting thought that three could be the final number, meaning we would only have to look for one more. Sheioufan's voice lost its smug tone and turned serious, as she realized that something much more precious was hidden behind those pearls. However, with her advanced age and only one last goal remaining, she came up with a way to use us.

"If you want this pearl, you'll have to do something for me. There's a monster troubling many merchants in this city of ours, and that piece of dirt of a beast has caused too many deaths over the years. It resides on the eastern mountain, Changsoubaili, the three-thousand-meter Hollow Mountain. It attacks every now and then, and since I made sure for the beast to be attacked at least once a week, I want that beast dead. It not only makes trade dangerous, it simply needs to die.

Recently, I went after it myself, just today in fact, with strong, capable men. But that piece of dirt was too powerful." She paused for a moment, her eyes heavy with the weight of the men she had lost.

"If you can kill it and bring me its head, I will give you the pearl, and ten thousand osmium." The number hit the room like a second pressure. Ten thousand. Enough to buy silence, soldiers, and a second life for a small agency. Before anyone else could speak, Zhuofing asked, "What kind of monster are we talking about?" Sheioufan's face turned dark, showing that she had a bad history with the creature, but she also respected it enough to know it was dangerous.

"Even if you take this mission, you probably won't succeed. No one has before. The Longrong is a colossal beast. It is thirty meters long and four meters high, a wingless hybrid of a dragon and a giant salamander. It has a sleek serpentine body covered in shimmering, iridescent scales of green, blue, and red. With four powerful clawed legs and a broad salamander head, it possesses long, flowing dragon whiskers.

It can unleash a devastating high-decibel roar that rips through the air molecules, causing intense ear pain and disorientation. Men fumble and struggle just to move. To make it worse, it can speak. It loves to taunt its foes with stupid old-man speak, like an old washed up master." We listened, and every detail sat heavy. A talking mountain-killer that broke balance with sound alone. This was not a hunt, but a funeral with extra steps. The pearl was still worth more than the risk of not doing it.

The alliance needed every key. Without them, the True Body Reconfiguration Art stayed a mere rumor, like pretty lights flickering in our minds. Zhuofing and the other leaders, like Mo, did not look at us for permission. They had already weighed the dead from the Bamboo Sea against another potential grave; even if some of us might perish, they would make sure to get the job done.

"We'll take it and destroy that troubling beast," Mo said firmly.

"The pearl is that important to all four agencies." Sheioufan studied us for a long moment. The Cold Mother measuring whether we were hunters or the next pile of meat on her quest to clear the mountain. Then she nodded slowly.

"Very well. But be properly prepared; this is no ordinary beast. Good luck." We left the temple and started preparing at once, with everyone's thoughts consumed by how to take down this troubling monster. As we followed our leaders, our first stop was the biggest forge in Xishang, known as Heat on the Forge. It was a massive workshop with roaring furnaces and a hammer-song that never seemed to die, each clanking sound bringing the shop to life. The air inside was thick with heat and the smell of molten metal.

The forge leader, Guanzu, was forty-four years old and stood at one meter sixty-nine. He possessed a sturdy, wide, and powerful bulk from years spent shaping steel, with arms as thick as tree trunks and covered in burn scars, and a beard singed at the edges. We commissioned a twelve-meter-long, three-meter-thick iron-coal spear, a weapon heavy enough to pierce the Longrong's hide and pin the beast down. Guanzu, hearing an order like this not for the first time, asked, "Is this about the Longrong hunt?

I wish you luck." Even though he had done this work for years, he worked on it himself as if he had a personal vendetta against the creature, and in just two hours, the weapon was ready. It was monstrous, featuring a razor-sharp tip and a reinforced shaft built to take immense force. With the weapon secured, we met back at the central square. We met back at the central square. Mo, Zhuofing, Woushal, and Shiqifan gathered with their best. The talk was turning serious with strategic plans in mind.

"We need to approach this carefully," Mo said.

"A thirty-meter beast with that roar and those claws is not something we rush. We use the spear to limit its movement. We can pin a leg or the end of its body, perhaps the long tail. Then we overwhelm it from multiple angles and damage it over time until it collapses from blood loss." Zhuofing nodded.

"Agreed. We cannot let it use that roar freely. Xihua's smoke and our fastest fighters disrupt its focus." Woushal smirked." My Water Gate can trap it if we lure it in. My son and I will handle the heavy damage once a part of it was inside it." Shiqifan added, "My Presence shield protects the front line. We hit hard and fast before it can adapt to our strategy." I listened close and felt the weight settle in my gut. This was no longer big beast we had to kill but teamwork like never before.

The target was supposed to be incredibly powerful. We had to be fully ready for the new combat coming. Every step after that carried the same realization. We then worked on our teamwork between the four agencies, finding some good improvements. It had been two days since we made our way toward Changsoubaili, the Hollow Mountain. The road grew rougher the closer we got. Tree trunks were recently destroyed, splintered and torn as if something massive had rampaged through the area. Deep gouges marked the earth.

The air itself felt heavier, charged with leftover violence.

"You can see it," Zhuofing muttered.

"Shiqifan and her group were battling here five hours ago. Now it's our turn." The gulp in my throat grew heavier. If a woman as strong as Sheioufan had struggled without even using her full Vestuto, this monster sat on another level even after the short teamwork training. We had numbers, and we had will; that was our only comfort. Twelve kilometers from our goal, we took a break, knowing it was better to face the Longrong in the morning, rested and sharp.

Provisions came out, consisting of fresh fruit, baked peas, and savory meat cooked over a small fire. It was simple food, yet delightful after the long march. Our stomachs were filled, and our spirits lifted just enough. We slept under thick clouds, knowing a proper attack was coming. Sleep, however, was difficult. A loud, earth-shaking snore rolled from the mountain. It had to be the Longrong.

Deep within its throat, its strong nostrils created guttural sounds, as if a truly mighty, colossal beast lay ahead of us while the ground vibrated. Leaves trembled. It felt like a living storm with a blocked nose. Every few minutes, it snorted or shifted, making our rest incredibly uneasy. We tossed and turned, our minds racing toward first light. The night felt endless. When the gloomy morning finally came, we rose with grim determination. We were walking straight into the lair of a monster.

And we had no intention of failing.