Chapter 211: I Like Whole Numbers
After hearing Qin Xiu’s words, Qin Bei halted his steps.
He then turned and smiled at the approaching Qin Xiu.
“Oh~ Brother, you’re being too polite. At a time like this, just call me your brother! Referring to me as Prince Bei feels so distant! Don’t let it happen again next time; it’ll only make people laugh at you.”
Qin Bei pretended to be annoyed as he said this to Qin Xiu.
Qin Xiu: …..
You’re the one who turned against me, and now you’re the one buttering me up?
So you’re going to hog both good and bad words?
And what’s with that expression?
I can clearly sense something ominous; it feels like I’m about to get tricked again.
But even though I think this way in my heart, I still maintain a friendly demeanor.
“Since you insist, brother, I won’t dilly-dally. Alright, there’s no need to haggle. Didn’t we agree on thirty soul beads for thirteen million spirit stones? I’ll buy them! Consider it taking care of your business.”
Qin Xiu said with a cheerful smile.
“Well~ Thanks, brother, but…”
The first half of Qin Bei’s sentence made Qin Xiu happy, but upon hearing the ‘but’, his heart leaped into his throat.
As expected, Qin Bei was about to stir up trouble again!
But seeing Qin Bei’s expression a moment ago, Qin Xiu was already prepared for this.
“I understand, you’re raising the price, right? We agreed on that! Now if you’re buying, it’s fourteen million spirit stones! Deal!”
Qin Xiu said this cheerfully, but deep down he was already cursing Qin Bei.
Look at him, all naïve and clueless.
He already has so many spirit stones, yet still fretting over a million!
If only he’d step outside the royal tomb, you’ll be choked by your own greed!
The others around couldn’t help but think Qin Xiu had gone mad.
Thirty soul beads?
That’s merely the price of three million spirit stones.
Now he wants to spend fourteen million spirit stones for them.
What a sucker!
“Indeed, Prince Xiu is still wealthy. He casually throws around over ten million spirit stones like nothing!”
“Doesn’t everyone see what kind of power Prince Xiu holds? That’s a treasure chest; how could he not have money?”
“True, looks like this time Prince Bei has got him good; expect some entertaining drama later on.”
“Hehe~ I’m all set! I’ll be staying in the capital for the next two years. You can bet I’ll see plenty of good shows!”
…….
Everyone around assumed Qin Bei had scored big, thinking he would surely agree to this.
However, the reality was quite different.
“My brother has misunderstood. The price increase was said when I was in a good mood before, but now things are different.”
Qin Bei looked at Qin Xiu, playing the teacher as he expounded.
Indeed, he’d taken on a haughty posture reminiscent of Qin Xiu’s earlier mannerisms.
It seemed Qin Bei was returning the favor.
“So, let me get this straight: you’re saying there’s no price increase? Fantastic! Quickly give me the soul beads; I have ten million spirit stones right here! The remaining three million spirit stones will be settled after we leave the royal tomb; I can only scrape together this much spirit stones right now.”
Qin Xiu beamed as he handed over a Qiankun bag, eager to receive the thirty sixth-level soul beads from Qin Bei.
“Tsk~ Why do you keep talking before listening? The million added was decided when I was in a good mood, but now I’m not feeling so chipper.”
“You see, although I dealt with Ling Tianyi, the more I think about it, the angrier I get! How dare that little brat have the audacity to eye my possessions!”
“The cost I incurred to keep the folks behind in check wasn’t small; it hurts a lot.”
Qin Bei put on a theatrically pained expression.
“So, I’m in a bad mood right now. Since we’re brothers and you’ve got money, how about you take on a bit of my loss, what do you think?”
Qin Bei looked at Qin Xiu, smiling broadly.
“You… what… do you mean?”
Qin Xiu felt uneasy, fearing Qin Bei was about to lay down something utterly absurd.
Sure enough….
“It’s simple. I will handle the weapons I used myself, but I’m really sore about those hundred soul beads. How about you help me shoulder some of that? So, for a hundred soul beads, at a hundred thousand each, that’s just ten million; altogether, you owe me twenty-three million spirit stones.”
Qin Bei’s reasoning flowed smoothly, as if he believed it was a given that Qin Xiu would go along with this.
Qin Xiu: ???
‘Do you think I look like a fool?’
Qin Xiu seriously considered asking Qin Bei that.
Is this how you cheat someone? Come on!
“Brother, stop joking. That’s between you and Ling Tianyi. Besides, you’ve already killed him! What’s there to be unhappy about? It’s better if we settle our own accounts.”
Qin Xiu tried to suppress his rising anger.
“Tsk~ I don’t like what my brother just said. What if you were the one directing Ling Tianyi behind the scenes? Am I wrong? You made me lose so much, and now you need something from me. Naturally, you should be compensating me; that seems perfectly reasonable to me!”
Qin Bei maintained a serious tone, his expression stern.
Qin Xiu: ….
Great, so now I’m the one behind this all, huh?
Isn’t this just him making a bold attempt to insult me?
Staring at Qin Bei’s audacity in front of him, Qin Xiu was desperate to retaliate!
He really wanted to!
He even imagined slapping Qin Bei square in the face.
But he didn’t have the same guts or brazen nature as Qin Bei!
Pulling off a royal drama behind closed doors is definitely a better move.
“Fine! You’re right. It’s natural for you to suspect my brother. Yet, while I can give you the spirit stones, I won’t acknowledge any orders! This isn’t coming from me.”
Qin Xiu clenched his teeth, ultimately consenting to Qin Bei’s rude demands.
Because he knew if he didn’t agree, Qin Bei wouldn’t hand over the soul beads to him.
At this moment, he absolutely needed those soul beads.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was dependent on Qin Bei.
“Hey~ Now that’s what I like to hear! We’re brothers, after all. Don’t worry, even if you’re pulling the strings, I won’t hold it against you. And for the sake of these spirit stones, I’ll call you brother from now on, so everyone can see that there’s no issue between us! Members of our royal family can be angry today but buddy up tomorrow!”
“Our bond of family is unbreakable!”
Qin Bei nodded decisively.
The words he spoke would even make the dogs passing through the royal tomb shake their heads and walk away.
Let alone other cultivators.
And this is how they reconcile?
This is just a trap waiting to happen!
“Oh, and…”
As soon as Qin Bei opened his mouth, Qin Xiu’s heart sank, and he quickly raised his hand to stop him.
“Brother, let’s talk about that later. Hold on to these spirit stones for now, and just give me the soul beads, how does that sound?”
Qin Xiu handed over the Qiankun bag with eager eyes fixated on Qin Bei.
But…
“No way!”
Qin Xiu: ….
“I prefer whole numbers, so rounding twenty-three million makes it twenty-five million… twenty-five million doesn’t sound right~”
“How about twenty-eight million? Whole numbers feel better! I have OCD, so let’s make it thirty million spirit stones, and you can take all thirty soul beads!”
……
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
