Chapter 655 - Merchant

Hanwu finished drinking the medicine that night and checked his status. His weakest parameter, Gen, had increased from two to three. The improvement was minor, but it did save him one upgrade point.

That night, he packed his belongings and prepared to sleep when a servant knocked on his door. “Young Master Hanwu, the patriarch requests your presence in the hall. Someone has come to see you.”

Hanwu pondered a bit before he concluded that the merchant was likely there to deliver the payment. He dressed and headed to the hall, where he found the patriarch drinking tea with the merchant.

The moment Hanwu stepped inside, the patriarch’s expression hardened, and he showed no signs of affection for him. It was as if Hanwu was his enemy.

The merchant noticed the strange tension between them but remained silent. Instead, he looked at Hanwu. The meaning was clear. He had brought the money and expected the box in return.

“Mr. Sayama here told me that you saved him yesterday. Is that true?” The patriarch’s tone resembled an interrogation more than a question.

“Yes,” Hanwu simply replied.

Fearing the patriarch would derail their arrangement, the merchant quickly interjected, “It’s all thanks to you that I could successfully escape the giants. Please, accept this token of my gratitude.”

The merchant commanded his underling to bring a chest. Inside lay twenty bundles of cash, ten times the amount Hanwu had received that afternoon. Even the patriarch couldn’t hide the greed in his eyes as he stared at the money.

Even though he was a patriarch and a Master, two million gold was still a considerable sum to him. Assuming he didn’t accept any S-rank missions, he would need an entire year just to earn that much.

Hanwu watched him closely. He was currently living under this roof, so he had to be discreet rather than acting out of line. The flash of greed in the patriarch’s face confirmed his suspicion. Once the merchant left, the patriarch would do everything he could to seize the money.

Hanwu wouldn’t allow that. He refused at once. “We are all from the same village, and saving you was my duty. Please, keep the money. There’s no need for gifts.”

The merchant’s face froze.

What? Take it back? You were the one who wanted it!

Still, he was keenly attuned to the moods of those around him. Even though he couldn’t read Hanwu’s intentions, he understood one thing: now was the time to cooperate. Since Hanwu publicly refused the money, there was no need to insist. Besides, from what he knew of Hanwu, the money would still end up in Hanwu’s hands.

Meanwhile, the patriarch had already planned how to monopolize the reward. Unfortunately, Hanwu’s words crushed his dream. He stared in disbelief as the merchant kept the chest of money. In just one sentence, the 2 million was gone.

That was a lot of money!

The patriarch’s heart clenched.

Wait, why is the merchant so agreeable? Does he really think that gratitude alone repays saving his life? Is his life that worthless?

The patriarch badly coveted the money, but there was nothing else he could do now that the merchant had stowed the chest away. All he could do was curse Hanwu in his heart and regret not killing him that afternoon.

The merchant carefully studied their reactions. Something felt off, so he stood up and offered a polite farewell.

Hanwu claimed he would see him off and followed him outside.

The two settled into the merchant’s carriage, and the merchant asked urgently, “Young man, I brought you the money. Shouldn’t you return it to me?”

Hanwu wasn’t in a hurry to comply. Instead, he countered, “What’s that liquid? Why are you so nervous?”

The merchant’s heart skipped a beat. For a moment, he felt as though he faced not a youth who had only just come of age, but a shrewd old schemer in a young man’s skin. “Well... that’s a trade secret. I can’t disclose it.”

Hanwu scoffed. “Is that so? I suddenly can’t remember where I put it. Never mind. It’s no loss to me, and I don’t need the money.”

Hanwu reached for the carriage door, but the merchant stopped him. “Fine. Honestly, I’m more afraid of you. I will just tell you. The vials contain the Giant Sages’ spinal fluid.”

Hanwu’s eyes lit up at once. Jiang Ming’s report had information on the Giant Sages. There were nine of them in the Giant Civilization, and those who could force them into submission would control the entire civilization.

Hanwu grew curious.

The Giant Sages are supposed to be strong, so how did anyone manage to extract their spinal fluid? Also, what’s the spinal fluid’s use?

The merchant anticipated his questions and spoke first. “A Giant Sage's spinal fluid can turn ordinary people into witless giants. This is a weapon for war. Imagine this. The enemy captures prisoners from our side and imprisons them in their camp. Then, without warning, those prisoners transform into giants and destroy everything around them. It would be a devastating blow!”

Hanwu listened and thought of even more ways to use it. He could acquire slaves, inject them with the spinal fluid, and transform them into giants before using Sacrifice on them. He could already imagine how much Life Energy he would sacrifice.

However, the spinal fluid appeared to be very expensive.

“Where did you obtain it?” Hanwu asked.

The merchant panicked. “Young man, could you please stop asking me questions?”

Hanwu shrugged as if it made no difference to him. “Then I will take my leave.”

The merchant relented and offered part of the truth. “I have connections with some traitors of the Shadow Ninja Civilization. Their main job is capturing giants. Just a few days ago, they went to great lengths to capture one of the Giant Sages. They gave me some of the spinal fluid from that operation.”

“Tell me about these traitors,” Hanwu said.

With his current strength, Hanwu stood no chance against the so-called traitors that could capture even the Giant Sages. Still, he would likely cross paths with them in the future. It would be wiser to gather as much information as possible right now.

The merchant felt that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The situation gnawed at him. Not only had he failed to recover the spinal fluid, but he even revealed classified information. If the traitors learned that he had spoken out of turn, they would probably kill him.

The merchant clamped his mouth shut and remained silent. He decided to complete the transaction as soon as possible and leave this place for good. Above all, he hoped he would never meet Hanwu again.