Chapter 32: Chapter 31 Cloud Leopard i
Translator: 549690339
Inside Bai Cao Tang.
Lu Xuan had strolled around the market, but got nothing in return. However, he wasn’t disappointed and decided to drop by the office of Manager He.
“Kid Lu, you’re here?!”
The thin old man was flipping through his account book, glanced at Lu Xuan, and didn’t pay him any more attention.
Lu Xuan took a seat wherever he wished, watching as several young attendants, aged around thirteen or fourteen, were bustling around inside the Bai Cao Tang, coming in and out.
The collected spirit plants go through many processes, and the tasks these attendants undertake are the most basic ones.
This kind of procedure doesn’t require much skill. Hence, Bai Cao Tang conducts these openly in the hall without worrying about anyone watching.
“Here, have a hot cup of tea.”
After a while, Manager He, who momentarily finished his work, came over to Lu Xuan and handed him a cup of tea with a fresh green spiritual tea floating in it.
As the spiritual tea entered his throat, a heart-refreshing aroma wafted into his mouth and nose, leaving Lu Xuan to savour it for a long while.
“So, how is it? Are the spirit plants growing well? If they are not up to par, it will cause a significant loss to your profits!”
The lean old man asked with concern.
“Not bad, the quality is better than the last batch.”
Lu Xuan laughed as he replied, he knew the cultivation of spirit plants in the spirit field not only concerned his income but also represented the reputation of Manager He to some degree, since it was him who introduced Lu Xuan into Bai Cao Tang.
After hearing Lu Xuan’s reply, Manager He felt slightly relieved, and the two chatted at leisure.
Suddenly, a distraught-looking woman carrying a little child rushed into Bai Cao Tang.
The woman was sobbing uncontrollably, her eyes swollen with tears, indicating she had been crying for a long time.
The child had a bewildered look on his face, his mouth gaping open as he allowed the woman to hold him tightly.
After asking the woman a couple of questions and entering into the Bai Cao Tang, Manager He followed along, concerned that something might have happened.
A moment later, he returned to the hall with a grim expression on his face.
“One of the Spirit Plant Masters who had a partnership agreement with the hall met with an unfortunate accident. His family came to inquire about the subsequent handling of the spirit plants.”
“What happened?”
“They said that several people were invited to pick spiritual medicines in a secret land, and had the misfortune of encountering an injured Tier-2 Demonic Beast. Two of them died on the spot, and the other two were seriously injured and could hardly hold on.”
“What was the name of the Spirit Plant Master who established the partnership agreement with the hall?”
Upon hearing Manager He’s words, Lu Xuan couldn’t help but think back to an incident when Lei Fei had invited him to explore a secret land some time ago.
“His name was Lei Fei, one of the two who died. Why, did you know him?”
As expected, Lu Xuan got confirmation from Manager He that it was indeed Lei Fei, the Spirit Plant Master who had invited him.
“Back then, they tried to invite me to explore the Secret Land together. I was worried about the spirit plants in the Spirit Field and was afraid of encountering danger, so I didn’t agree.”
Lu Xuan sighed.
“Luckily, you didn’t agree, otherwise…you might have been added to the list of victims.”
Manager He couldn’t help but say.
“All that could be said is that they were unfortunate to have met with this calamity. Despite having visited the secret location countless times along with numerous other cultivators, they had the misfortune of encountering a Tier-2 Demonic Beast.”
“What happens to the spirit plants he had under his care?”
“After a Spirit Plant Master dies, and his family isn’t adept at cultivating First-Grade Spirit Plants, per the regulations, the hall should take over and transplant the plants, giving a certain compensation to the family.”
“However, the amount paid for these is much lower than that for mature spirit plants. The family has come today, hoping to plead to allow them to cultivate the remaining spirit plants.”
Manager He did not expressly say how matters would be handled, but by observing his expressions, Lu Xuan could guess a major portion of it.
Bai Cao Tang prioritizes profits. In front of profit, every hint of sentiment is optional.
This incident reinforced Lu Xuan’s decision to not stake his life for prospects of profit. After all, if he went out and could not come back, wouldn’t the spirit plants in his courtyard be benefiting others for free?
After this interlude, he no longer felt like savoring the spiritual tea. After gulping it down, he got up and left.
“This little Cloud Leopard for forty Spirit Stones? Are you insane?”
“Dear friend, this isn’t an ordinary Cloud Leopard, look at its eyes, it’s a different species of civet, the price definitely can’t be the same as usual.”
While meandering around, Lu Xuan’s attention was drawn to a dispute on a nearby stall.
Intrigued, Lu Xuan approached the stand; his attention was caught by an iron cage in the corner.
The iron cage, constructed from an unknown material, was adorned with intricate details. It emanated a chilling aura, and had charms pasted on the four corners to prevent the creature inside from escaping.
Through the bars of the cage, Lu Xuan saw a small civet.
The Civet’s fur was pitch black, but the four paws were as white as snow, standing as if balanced on four white clouds. The name ‘Cloud Leopard’ probably originate from this.
Two long ears stood straight up, tipped with clusters of white fur. They were straight and seemed like two antennas.
Its pair of jade-green eyes caught everyone’s attention, gazing coldly all around.
Upon meeting Lu Xuan’s glance, the battle-scarred Cloud Leopard showed its teeth, leaning slightly forwards as if in an attacking stance.
“So if it has pretty eyes, it becomes a different species? Then would my sash at my waist count me as a Cultivator of a different species?”
A Qi-Cultivator in front of the stall couldn’t help but retort the stall owner.
No wonder he was angry. Normally, this Cloud Leopard Juvenile would go for twenty Spirit Stones. But the stall owner raised the price, leveraging the fact that this Cloud Leopard had different colored pupils, and was demanding for forty Spirit Stones.
“Forty Spirit Stones, no lower!”
The stall owner was unwavering, sticking to the original price.
“You can keep this so-called ‘different species’ of Cloud Leopard for yourself then! Just stare at it as much as you like every day!”
The Qi-Cultivator left after dropping this sentence.
“Ignorant.”
The stall owner mocked him mercilessly.
“Fellow Daoist, may I know how you obtained this Cloud Leopard, and the story behind its pupils?”
Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded. The stall owner looked towards the source to find a handsome young man standing in front of the iron cage, his clear eyes looking directly at him.
“My companions and I went through great lengths to obtained this from deep within the Secret Land.”
“The Cloud Leopard is a First Grade Spirit Beast, it moves rapidly and silently, has a great attack power. This juvenile beast is unlike a common Cloud Leopard, its pupils might have some special abilities once it grows up.”
“What do you think?”
“How about thirty Spirit Stones?”
Lu Xuan, out of habit, cut down a large portion of the price.
“Hehe.”
The stall owner crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring Lu Xuan’s proposal.
“Dear friend, you say it’s a different species of Cloud Leopard, but what’s your basis for this? Just because of its green pupils?”
“You should know, different species of Demon Beasts are very rare, it’s one in ten thousand for a First Grade Demon Beast.”
“These green pupils could just be due to some stimuli during the development of the embryo, or affected by the unique spiritual energy environment, directly classifying it as a different species seems a bit too arbitrary.”
“Besides, I can see that this Cloud Leopard Juvenile in your cage is not in a good condition, I assume it was injured quite seriously during your capture, and it’s been trapped in the cage ever since, not receiving good treatment and rest.”
“With its current condition, it’s uncertain whether it can be raised successfully.”
“Thirty-six Spirit Stones, no lower, please understand that we paid a huge price to catch this.”
“Thirty-Two Spirit Stones, and I’ll take it away.”
Lu Xuan knew the stall owner had been convinced by his arguments. Plus, he had particularly taken a liking to this Cloud Leopard with green pupils, and relaxed the price a bit.
“Alright, I’ll make you a special offer then.”
After gritting his teeth, the stall owner agreed.
He was well aware that the chances of this being a different species were extremely low, and he was also afraid he couldn’t keep it alive for long. Being able to profit more than half, compared to an ordinary Cloud Leopard Juvenile, was already a pretty good end result..