Chapter 00138: Negotiating Terms on Land
# Negotiating Terms on Land
Chapter 138
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 138: Negotiating Terms on Land
He Lingchuan helped Wu Shaoyi onto the back of the crocodile, then went to the stone beach to look for the long spear, only to find that it had already disappeared.
“It’s gone.”
The Crocodile God slowly submerged, and the two of them held their breath, gripping the spines on its back tightly.
Fortunately, this stretch of water was short, and the Crocodile God swam quickly.
After a dozen breaths, it surfaced and no longer dove down.
The two let out a long breath.
In fact, the Turtle Nest was very close to Xianling Village.
He Lingchuan speculated that Lu Yao and the others were still smashing ice blocks on the western route at this time.
To avoid their gaze, he specifically asked the Crocodile God to take a longer route and land from the east.
For the giant crocodile, it was merely a matter of flicking its tail a few more times, and it effortlessly crawled up onto the eastern bank.
Unexpectedly, there was actually a bandit from Lu Yao’s gang wandering around here.
Seeing movement by the lakeside, he immediately rushed over.
His view was blocked by the grass and trees, and at first, he didn’t see the Crocodile God; he only saw two people limping out and thought they were villagers hiding in the bushes, eager to come over and rob them.
However, as he approached, he exclaimed, “What a big monster!”
“Crocodile, Crocodile, Crocodile God!” The man shouted and turned to run.
He Lingchuan would not let him escape so easily and reached out to…
“Alive!” Wu Shaoyi suddenly emphasized.
He Lingchuan took out his broken knife, only to remember that his aim was questionable: “Uh, I can’t throw accurately.”
“…”
Wu Shaoyi helplessly pulled out the long spear from somewhere and threw it like a javelin.
“Whoosh!” The spear pierced through the bandit’s pants, pinning him to the ground.
He Lingchuan hurried forward.
Just as the guy was about to draw his knife, he struck him on the back of the neck with his palm, knocking him unconscious.
Looking at the long spear, it only pinned the bandit’s pant leg without injuring him in the slightest.
He Lingchuan instinctively glanced at Wu Shaoyi, who had a face full of desperation, yet when it came time to act, his strength and accuracy were still precise.
A centipede can die but not be stiff.
For such a person, it was indeed crucial to remain vigilant at all times.
Of course, Wu Shaoyi not harming the bandit’s life was certainly not out of kindness.
He gasped for breath and said, “This person can save my life!”
That shot had caused his wounds to split open again.
At this moment, footsteps were heard on the shore, clearly drawn by the bandit’s loud cry before he fainted.
He Lingchuan took out a dagger and stealthily moved behind a tree, just about to launch a surprise attack when suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes, and something pounced on the bandit first.
This creature moved extremely quickly.
The bandit only felt a flash before his left eye was in excruciating pain, and he couldn’t help but scream, flailing his arms wildly.
Seizing the opportunity, He Lingchuan closed in and stabbed the dagger into his back.
The world instantly quieted.
He turned his head and found something moving on the ground.
Although its body was hidden in the darkness and not very clear, a pair of mung bean-like eyes reflected a faint glow.
What was this thing?
He Lingchuan raised his dagger, but he heard Wu Shaoyi call out from behind, “Coal Ball, come here!”
The creature darted over and landed in his arms with a squeak.
He Lingchuan walked over and discovered that it was actually a sable, its back a very dark color, as if it had knocked over an ink tray.
The name Coal Ball was indeed quite fitting.
The sable wandered over Wu Shaoyi, carefully avoiding his wounds, then looked at He Lingchuan and tilted its head.
“This person saved my life from the crocodile’s mouth,” Wu Shaoyi stroked its head, “Where are the others?”
“Thinking you were dead, they all scattered.” The sable suddenly spoke.
With the Crocodile God having previously spoken human words, He Lingchuan was not very surprised. “Some were recruited by Lu Yao, while most have slipped away, but they haven’t gone far yet. I came over to check the situation.”
“Go bring them back.” As soon as Wu Shaoyi finished speaking, he changed his mind, “No, wait for a quarter of an hour before going.”
He Lingchuan glanced at him, secretly thinking that this person was very suspicious, not daring to fully trust even his subordinates whom he had been with day and night, unwilling to let them see his most vulnerable side.
At this moment, the sun was bright, and several giant crocodiles were lazily lying by the eastern lake of the village, some even comfortably yawning.
He Lingchuan quickly went to the eastern side of the village and found no signs of anyone, only a few free-range chickens wandering about.
It seemed that Lu Yao had only left two bandits to guard and plunder Xianling Village.
It was evident that the bandits had been living tightly recently, unwilling to let go of the wealth of a small village.
He found a spacious room and moved both Wu Shaoyi and the bandit inside, asking Wu Shaoyi, “How do you plan to use him?”
“Exchange injuries.” Wu Shaoyi said with difficulty, “I learned a secret technique that can transfer injuries to other animals or humans, but the conditions are very strict. It’s best if their birth dates match. This person, this person actually doesn’t quite meet the conditions, but fortunately, you have the Turtle Pearl, so he can still make the cut.”
You can even exchange injuries? He Lingchuan immediately became interested: “Is this secret technique difficult to master?”
“Not difficult, but there’s only one set of materials, and there are many aftereffects.” Wu Shaoyi smiled bitterly, “I can’t care about that anymore; saving my life is the most important.”
“Can you handle it yourself?” He Lingchuan stood up and stretched, “I still need to go chase the group.”
Not to mention he wouldn’t save someone in danger, he and Wu Shaoyi were not related, and they were even on opposing sides.
He had pulled this person out of a desperate situation; wasn’t that enough of a kindness?
Moreover, saving a person would cost him a Turtle Pearl, which sounded like an invaluable treasure.
“Can’t do it, I need you.” Seeing that he was about to leave, Wu Shaoyi had no choice but to grab his sleeve and point to the long spear beside him, “This spear is called ‘Tenglong,’ originally owned by the renowned general Liao Mo of the Xuan Kingdom. The spear tip is made of black gold mixed with iron from a fallen star, and the spear body is made from seven-hundred-year-old Twin Vines. Do you know about Twin Vines?”
He Lingchuan honestly shook his head.
“Twin Vines specifically refer to two types of vines that parasitize on the Xianpan Tree. They entangle each other in a struggle for the tree’s nutrients, trying their utmost to strangle one another. Over time, they both grow stronger. However, the Xianpan Tree, which can reach heights of twenty to thirty zhang, may eventually be strangled to death. You’ve seen how resilient the Tenglong spear made from Twin Vines is.”
This spear had been stuck in the mouth of the giant crocodile, and no matter how it bit, it couldn’t break it.
Although this was partly due to the crocodile demon’s fear of pain from its toothache, the spear’s resilience indeed left a deep impression on He Lingchuan.
“In recent years, the Xianpan Tree has become rare, existing only in remote mountains and large marshes, and no one has harvested Twin Vines anymore.” He sighed, “In any case, I won’t be able to wield a spear in the future, so this treasure is yours.”
He Lingchuan stroked the spear body: “I heal you, and when your companions arrive, they will have to deal with me.”
Although the Tenglong spear was marvelous, it was not enough as a reward.
He also understood that he was Wu Shaoyi’s only hope of survival.
This kid couldn’t be considered a good person.
Wu Shaoyi was also helpless, knowing that He Lingchuan was about to negotiate terms with him.
He could face death without hesitation when fighting the Crocodile God, but once back on land, breathing in the scent of soil and lake water, he was extremely eager to live.
(End of Chapter)