Ch200 – Equivalent Exchange

After sending off the person who came to announce information, Lin Xuanzhi patted Yan Tianhen on the shoulder. “Go out and buy some materials. I plan to craft equipment for three days.”

Yan Tianhen nodded and put Ah Bai down as he went out with Lin Xuanzhi.

Earlier this morning, the two medicinal pills that Yan Tianhen had refined had already bought by major families for a lot of money. A while ago, Lin Xuanzhi rushed to craft a batch of wine cups and sent them back to Qing City via bird, earning a considerable sum of money as well. These dealings happened to give them enough money to spend.

In the past, they strolled around the West City, but today, Lin Xuanzhi took Yan Tianhen to the East City.

The layout of East City differed greatly from West City’s layout. It held a boundless and imposing atmosphere, and most of the building structures had black as their main color theme. It was clear from a glance that this was the style of the Huangfu family.

The Huangfu family had always revered the sword path, and its ancestral Breaking Sun Sword, passed down throughout the generations, was a top-grade artifact – the ultimate treasure of the Huangfu family. Similarly, their 《Breaking Sun Swordsmanship》was also considered a supreme treasure in the cultivation world. Although many people coveted it, nobody dared to actually provoke the Huangfu family because of their reputation.

Lin Xuanzhi bought some crafting materials with rather distinct Yang Qi and spent almost half of his money.

Once they came out of the store, Yan Tianhen gritted his teeth in pain at the large expenditure as he tugged on Lin Xuanzhi’s sleeve, “Dage, what are you buying these for?”

Lin Xuanzhi answered, “Do you want to take Ah Gu inside the Pill Limit Mysterious Land?”

Yan Tianhen nodded, “Yes, but Ah Gu will be found out as soon as he enters.”

“No one will notice him if I craft a treasure that can disguise the corpse qi on his body.”

Yan Tianhen was stunned. “He’s an entire person, how can he blend in and not be discovered inside the mysterious land?”

“Do you think that only those of us who participated in the Hundred Families Gathering are qualified to enter the Pill Limit Mysterious Land?” Lin Xuanzhi asked in reply.

“Is that not so?” Yan Tianhen scratched his head.

“Naturally not.” Lin Xuanzhi explained, “Pill Limit Mysterious Land is a rare and valuable treasure left behind by one of Sky Peak Sect’s alchemists when he left the Five Continents and ascended to the Nine Lands. That Sky Peak Sect can bring this out as the surprise event for this time’s Hundred Families Gathering in no way means that they will be so generous as to only allow the Hundred Families to enter. The Five Great Sects will also similarly arrange for disciples to enter Pill Limit Mysterious Land, and I’m afraid that the number of people will not be small. At that time, we can let Ah Gu take advantage of the opportunity to mix in with them.”

Yan Tianhen immediately smiled as he nodded, “That’s great. I haven’t seen Ah Gu for a long time. If I can take Ah Gu inside, then he will naturally be very willing. I’m just worried that Ah Gu will be detected by others.”

Not long after returning to the inn, Lin Xuanzhi was somewhat surprised to see Huangfu Jin sitting upright in the middle of the inn with an imposing aura about him.

Lin Xuanzhi raised his eyebrows and looked into Huangfu Jin’s pair of eyes which were full of complex emotions for a moment. “Huangfu Young City Lord.”

Huangfu Jin stood up, and his subordinates who were sitting at the several tables beside him also stood up as one. In an instant, the entire inn became quiet.

Are, are they going to fight?

Lin Xuanzhi gently patted the back of Yan Tianhen’s hand, indicating for him to keep calm and not get agitated, then held his hand as they walked upstairs together.

After they entered the room, Lin Xuanzhi closed the door with the back of his hand.

Huangfu Jin cut straight to the chase without any nonsense as he glared at Lin Xuanzhi. “That sword, when do you plan to sell it?”

Lin Xuanzhi blinked and pretended to not understand, “What ‘when to sell’?”

Huangfu Jin narrowed his eyes coldly. “Don’t play dumb with me. The sword that I gave you to reforge.”

Lin Xuanzhi suddenly realized and responded, “Oh, that sword. Since you already gave it to me, naturally it’s mine.”

“You–” Huangfu Jin’s expression instantly darkened. He gritted his teeth and managed to say, “Lin Xuanzhi, to tell you the truth, that sword holds special significance for me. Before I gave you the materials to be used in the competition, I had no idea that someone would take it out and use it as one of the competition materials. State your terms.”

Lin Xuanzhi swept him a glance. He sat beside the table and poured himself a cup of tea. Each minding his own business, he slowly replied, “Huangfu Jin, this sword holds special meaning for you, but not necessarily for others.”

Huangfu Jin paused. “What do you mean by that?”

“You are not a fool either, how can you not see other people’s intentions?” Lin Xuanzhi smiled as he continued, “I’m afraid that you hold this sword in the highest regards. Ordinary people can’t even touch it, right? But in reality, a person actually went around you without caring about your thoughts to bring this sword for me to use as practice. It can be seen that in that person’s heart, you are not very important, and similarly, this sword is not particularly important as well.”

Huangfu Jin’s face suddenly paled a little. He was clearly somewhat upset, but he managed to barely maintain the dignity of a Young City Lord in front of Lin Xuanzhi and not truly lose his composure.

Lin Xuanzhi was really a clever and eloquent fellow. Every word of his stabbed at Huangfu Jin’s heart without giving any thought to his feelings or his face.

Huangfu Jin had no choice but to admit that Lin Xuanzhi was right, but he would never let the other party see that.

“You don’t have to care about that.” Huangfu Jin said coldly, “I just want that sword.”

Lin Xuanzhi said, “Of course. It won’t be a problem as long as the price is high enough.”

Huangfu Jin narrowed his eyes, “How much money do you want?”

Lin Xuanzhi smiled. “Talking about money is rather vulgar.”

“Then what do you want?”

Lin Xuanzhi rubbed the small jade cup in his hand and looked at Huangfu Jin with a smile in his eyes. “I heard that you once obtained a Yin Ghost Banner when wiping out a nest of demonic cultivators.”

Huangfu Jin’s face changed, his expression cold enough to freeze water, his gaze locked onto Lin Xuanzhi. “You want the Yin Ghost Banner? Do you want to summon Yin ghosts? What do you plan to use this kind of demonic artifact for?”

Lin Xuanzhi replied, calm and composed, “You can think of it as mere curiosity. No matter what, the Yin Ghost Banner is still a magic treasure, and it’s even a magic treasure with demonic qi and Yin Qi. As a craftsman, I’ve always held a curious heart towards the weapons that I have never seen before.”

Huangfu Jin thought of that Yin Ghost Banner. He practiced a pure Yang technique, so he couldn’t use this kind of item at all. Moreover, he never had any intention of using it to begin with. Furthermore, he had obtained it from the hands of the demonic cultivator whom he killed, so he hadn’t turned it over to his family. Thus, the Yin Ghost Banner was currently in his hands.

It’s just…Huangfu Jin was somewhat suspicious of Lin Xuanzhi’s purpose, but he also felt that with Lin Xuanzhi’s crafting ability, it was unnecessary to craft demonic cultivators’ artifacts.

It would just sit there anyways if left unused, so Huangfu Jin thought for a moment and nodded. “Deal.”

Lin Xuanzhi smiled, “Refreshingly fast.”

Huangfu Jin swept him a glance, “The Yin Ghost banner is of great importance. It won’t be good if others find out, so I will go back and retrieve it myself. I’ll return later to exchange with you.”

“Why the hurry?”

Huangfu Jin rolled his eyes at Lin Xuanzhi. “It’s unbearable for that sword to continue being in your possession for even one cup of tea’s time.”

Lin Xuanzhi didn’t get angry either, and his attitude remained friendly. “Huangfu Young City Lord might as well think about what I said on the way.”

Huangfu Jin flung his sleeves as he walked away.

Lin Xuanzhi laughed behind him but didn’t speak further.

Yan Tianhen also witnessed the entire process. He couldn’t help but ask, “Dage, why do you want to upset him like this? It doesn’t seem like he offended Dage before?!”

“I’m merely telling the truth.” A cryptic light flashed through Lin Xuanzhi’s eyes. “Who said he didn’t offend me?”

“Ah?” Yan Tianhen paused, “He did?”

“He did.” Lin Xuanzhi clearly did not want to explain further.

Yan Tianhen started to rack his brains over what in the world Huangfu Jin did to offend Lin Xuanzhi. One should know that ordinarily, Lin Xuanzhi would never casually expose people’s weak points.

But, even if Yan Tianhen squeezed his brain dry, he still wouldn’t be able to think that Huangfu Jin had actually offended Lin Xuanzhi in the previous life.

In their past life, after Leng Jixue died, Huangfu Jin was like a mad dog biting at everyone and everything. At that time, the tension between Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen had already eased up tremendously. Even though neither of them asked about the other’s secrets, at the very least, during moments of intimacy, Lin Xuanzhi did not excessively torment Yan Tianhen like he did before.

And Yan Tianhen was also clever and lovable. The maliciousness in his expression dissipated by a lot, and he also let up on associating with those lousy friends from the demonic path.

Everything seemed to be developing in the right direction.

And yet, shortly after Leng Jixue’s death, Huangfu Jin found Lin Xuanzhi and glared at him with red eyes. “Yan Tianhen killed Leng Jixue.”

Lin Xuanzhi was stunned. “Why do you say that? What evidence do you have?”

Huangfu Jin chuckled twice as he put on a fake smile, “I’ve already sent someone to inspect Ah Xue’s corpse. He was heavily injured by the Yin Ghost Banner. Don’t tell me you have no clue who currently holds the Yin Ghost Banner?”

Back then, Lin Xuanzhi’s entire blood froze. Yin Ghost Banner was in Yan Tianhen’s hands, and Yan Tianhen had personally snatched it from Huangfu Jin’s hands.

“There’s no reason for him to kill Leng Jixue.” Lin Xuanzhi said.

“Really no reason?” Huangfu Jin looked utterly mad, suffering, gnashing his teeth so hard that every sentence he spoke dripped with blood. “He regards you as his possession and also envies Leng Jixue, who was protected by you. He’s a demonic cultivator, ruthless and merciless. Isn’t this more than enough reason for him to kill Leng Jixue?”

Lin Xuanzhi paused. “I have never been together with Leng Jixue. We’re only good friends. Yan Tianhen should know this.”

Huangfu Jin mockingly curled his lips, “Since you’re so determined to protect his murderer, then you might as well continue to protect him. Ah Xue knows the truth in the afterlife, I’ll just treat it as him not being able to perceive people’s true nature. But Yin Ghost Banner has another function, which is to collect souls. I won’t ask you to take revenge for Ah Xue, I just beg you to allow Ah Xue’s soul the chance to reincarnate. Don’t let his soul be unable to find peace, even in death.”

Huangfu Jin left these words behind, then flung his sleeves and left.

Lin Xuanzhi had seen Yan Tianhen use the Yin Ghost Banner to kill people before, so he could naturally confirm that the Yin Ghost Banner was in Yan Tianhen’s hands.

However…He could never accept Yan Tianhen using the Yin Ghost Banner to murder his close friend.

Suspicion was still simply suspicion. It’s impossible for Lin Xuanzhi to reach a conclusion based on only a few sentences.

At first, Lin Xuanzhi didn’t disclose this. He observed, looking for evidence, and constantly trying to overthrow Huangfu Jin’s conclusion.

However, all the evidence seemed to point to Yan Tianhen as the murderer, and Lin Xuanzhi began to have deep-seated, foreboding feeling for Yan Tianhen in his heart, which he could no longer hide.

And Yan Tianhen wasn’t easy to bully either. If Lin Xuanzhi ignored his presence, he wouldn’t bother to rush up in front of Lin Xuanzhi to prove that he existed either. In this way, the two people whose relationship was originally warming up once again felt the distance between them widen, and this time, they gradually grew farther apart in two opposite directions, which planted the seed for their ultimate life and death showdown.

Not long afterwards, something else happened, and the matter of Yan Tianhen using Yin Ghost Banner to kill Leng Jixue seemed to have become a fact.

Lin Xuanzhi, who had been grieving over Leng Jixue’s death since the beginning, finally chose to lay all his cards out on the table with Yan Tianhen one day.

Faced with Lin Xuanzhi’s doubts and criticisms, Yan Tianhen just smiled heartlessly. “If you think it’s me, then it’s me. Even if I explain something, you probably won’t believe it. Why should I waste effort to do so then?”

—

Editor’s Little Theatre: LXZ: Did you kill him YTH: If you think it’s me, it’s me Butter: *flips tables* YOU’RE A GODDAMN IDIOT LXZ WHY DON’T YOU JUST CALL YOURSELF A DOOFUS AHHHHH WHY MAKE HIM SAD LIKE THATTTTTT Butter: The words hurt ;n;