Chapter 2487 — Let Me Think It Over

Otherwise, if someone truly had need of it, they would have moved heaven and earth to inquire after a water-attribute Heaven-rank spirit beast; it would never have gone begging for takers.

"So you... you agree to the exchange?" Yang Qiqi asked excitedly.

"Let me think it over," the Heaven-rank expert said after a moment's hesitation. "This is no small matter. Go and look around elsewhere for now, and come back to me later."

"All right, then take your time!" Yang Qiqi was overjoyed. Though the Heaven-rank expert had not clearly agreed, neither had he clearly refused. If he was going to think it over, there was hope.

With that, Yang Qiqi rose to her feet and caught up with Wei Zhao and Han Xiaopo. Neither Wei Zhao nor Han Xiaopo said anything outright, but both understood what Yang Qiqi had in mind...

In truth, Yang Qiqi was deeply torn herself. How was she to deal with Wei Zhao? How could she get the blue crystal back from his hands?

Out of the corner of his eye, Wei Zhao caught that furtive look of hers and felt a surge of helplessness. This cool little miss really did lack worldly experience—she had written her intentions all over her face. Was she not afraid he would be on his guard against her?

Yang Qiqi turned it over and over in her mind, but could think of no good way to trick the blue crystal back out of Wei Zhao's hands. Since she could not trick him, then she would have to steal it. After hesitating for a long while, as though she had reached some momentous decision, she suddenly strode over, slipped her hand through Wei Zhao's arm, and said to him in a cloying voice, "I really must thank you, young hero, for stepping in earlier. If not for you, I would surely have been bullied by that scrawny scarecrow of a thing!"

Wei Zhao nearly burst out laughing at this sudden move of hers! This cool little miss really was... beyond description. Sweet and sticky as her voice was, he could plainly hear the resistance and reluctance in it, and a faint trace of fear besides—and the arm she had hooked through his was trembling too...

No doubt this cool little miss had never once seduced a man in her life; today, to steal back the blue crystal, was her first attempt. Unfortunately, her acting was simply too poor—Wei Zhao saw through her scheme at a glance.

Had she been any other stranger, Wei Zhao would have shaken her off at once. But this was Yang Qiqi, with whom he had crossed paths more than once before. His feelings toward her were a mix of fondness and vexation—sometimes he thought her a cute, cool little miss, and sometimes a shameless little wretch who repaid kindness with spite.

Seeing how she held her body far away from him, Wei Zhao's mischievous streak flared up. He suddenly felt like playing a trick on her, so he went along with it, reached out, and pulled her shoulders into an embrace, saying with an easy laugh, "Haha, the lady is too kind. It is what we chivalrous folk ought to do!"

"Ah..." Yang Qiqi shuddered from head to toe. She had not expected Wei Zhao to be so bold as to embrace her. Yet she could not resist—she had been the one to seduce him first; he was merely going along with it. If she resisted now, would all her earlier efforts not be for nothing?

Though Yang Qiqi found it humiliating to sell her charms to seduce Wei Zhao, she told herself that for Little Jiu's sake, a little sacrifice was worth it. It was not real, after all. Once her goal was achieved, she would simply kill Wei Zhao. The man was no good anyway—a veritable tyrant.

"What's the matter with you?" Wei Zhao asked, though he had seen her nervousness plainly and was deliberately pretending not to.

"N-nothing..." Yang Qiqi gritted her teeth and leaned her body a little closer to Wei Zhao, while her other hand prepared to slip, at the first opportunity, into the pack on his back and steal back that blue crystal.

Of course, Yang Qiqi was no master thief. Stealing something from Wei Zhao's pack would be quite difficult, and if she botched it and put him on his guard, matters would only get worse. So for now, all she could do was swallow her pride and play along.

"Heh, nothing is fine, then." Wei Zhao's hand, wrapped around her, wandered without restraint along her flank and up to her chest.

Yang Qiqi's whole body went rigid at once. She glared furiously at Wei Zhao, ready to explode and fight him to the death—but Wei Zhao, as if he had not noticed her gaze at all, had turned his eyes in another direction.

This was not deliberate pretense on Wei Zhao's part, for he had suddenly become aware that a resentful gaze seemed to be fixed upon him. Though he had meant to keep pretending ignorance in front of Yang Qiqi, he could not help but follow that resentful gaze—and saw a person who left him utterly astonished.

Yu Xiaoke? What was she doing here? Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback.

Yu Xiaoke started too when she saw Wei Zhao look her way. Had he noticed her? But she had her face covered! The Male Thief was masked by nature, and Yu Xiaoke certainly knew that—but could the Male Thief recognize her in her present guise?

Was it because Wei Zhao had caught her looking at him that he had turned, or had he already recognized her? Yu Xiaoke could not be sure. When she saw Wei Zhao turn away again, she felt a little disappointed. So he had not recognized her after all.

Of course Wei Zhao had recognized Yu Xiaoke. He smiled bitterly to himself. He had taken out a mask at random, thinking no one would know him, never expecting Yu Xiaoke to be here too. What a coincidence! But he had worn the mask this time precisely because he did not want to reveal his identity or invite complications by letting people know he was buying up pure yellow jade, blue crystal, and colored steel in bulk.

What was more, Wei Zhao had now incurred no small grudge with the Cultivator Trade Association. Though the Heaven-rank vice president had shown no outward intent to pursue the matter, Wei Zhao had seen a flicker of ruthlessness in his eyes. Given the chance to strike from the shadows, he would certainly not let it pass.

So at a time like this, getting too close to Yu Xiaoke would do neither of them any good—it might even drag her into it! Besides, Wei Zhao could more or less guess why Yu Xiaoke had come. That she had come here to trade goods, he did not believe for a moment.

This little money-grubbing girl took anything of value she had and exchanged it for cash to support the orphanage. What fine treasures or money would she have left to trade at the market? Her purpose in coming here was, nine parts out of ten, to ply her light fingers and see what opportunity she might find to turn a profit!

That made it all the more unwise for Wei Zhao to acknowledge her, lest Yu Xiaoke be caught up in his troubles after stealing something.

As for Yang Qiqi and Han Xiaopo, there was no help for it. Those two were involved from the start and could not run even if they wanted to, so Wei Zhao had no choice but to keep them close.

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