"One hundred gold soul coins per hour?!"
Xiao Wu felt like money was falling from the sky!
And since the auction would last two hours, that meant she could earn two hundred gold soul coins—more than enough to cover six years of tuition and living expenses if spent wisely.
But both Zhou Qing and Tang San knew that with Xiao Wu's spending habits, if she could make those two hundred coins last a single semester, it would already count as "frugal household management."
"Alright, we'll take this task."
Xiao Wu immediately tore down the task slip and headed off to get it stamped by Miss Alice.
"Why pick this task?" Tang San withdrew his gaze from Xiao Wu, who was now excitedly chatting with Alice, and asked Zhou Qing.
"To see who ends up with my spirit bone—and then..."
"Take it back." Tang San's eyes lit up. When it came to "stealing," he was an expert. And besides, that spirit bone rightfully belonged to Zhou Qing.
"Romanyak bought it from me fair and square. The transaction was clean—money for goods—so technically, it has nothing to do with me anymore. If it were something I accidentally lost, then maybe I'd have a reason to retrieve it." Zhou Qing shook his head.
"Then why care about who ends up with it?"
"I've said before—if that Dales is dead set on stirring up chaos in Nuoding City to spark conflict between the two empires, using something small to incite something big, then the only real leverage he has right now is that spirit bone."
Zhou Qing continued, "I looked into the Heaven Dou Empire's nobility system in the library. Within its borders, there are numerous semi-independent kingdoms and duchies with significant self-governance. Though they must pay homage to the empire, on the map, they're still part of it."
"Nuoding City belongs to the Fasno Province, directly under the Heaven Dou Empire, but due to the empire's system, even a small city like this has a city lord with considerable autonomy."
"So until things really spiral out of control, the city lord wouldn't dare report anything to the higher-ups—doing so could cost him his position."
"But if things do escalate and he manages to quell the unrest, wouldn't that make him a hero?"
Tang San's gaze darkened. "No wonder he raised a son like Xiao Chenyu—so arrogant and unruly."
More often than not—
Like father, like son.
And conversely, a son like that could only have come from a similarly rotten father.
"This is still speculation, but we must find out who ends up with the spirit bone. Only then can we prepare multiple contingency plans. If Nuoding's city lord's arrogance does plunge the city into chaos…"
"At the very least, from what we've heard from the adventurers at the Nuoding Guild, Lord Xiao is a gambler and a lecher… If it comes to that, I bet the city will be locked down. And I have no desire to be trapped here."
Zhou Qing's tone turned serious. "That's the worst-case scenario, but we have to consider our own safety. If large-scale conflict breaks out between cities, who knows what underhanded tactics the enemy might use—like poisoning the rivers or wells."
When it came to poisons, Tang San was the authority. But in this world, there were many medicinal herbs completely different from those in his past life. He still hadn't grasped them all and dared not arrogantly claim he could neutralize every toxin in existence.
Even if he could concoct an antidote, he would need time to study the ingredients and conduct trials. That wasn't something that could be done in a day or two.
So when the time came, they really might need to have several fallback plans ready.
"All of this—it's Dales' doing, right? If something happened to him…" Tang San suddenly grasped a key point—
Zhou Qing's spirit bone was exposed because of Dales!
The potential future chaos in Nuoding City, however slim the chance, would also be because of Dales!
If that bastard—already on his [Death List]—were to suddenly die, wouldn't that end everything?
Seeing the murderous intent rising in Tang San, Zhou Qing paused before replying, "It's not just about Dales. Ultimately, it's my fault for not trusting Xiao Wu and Romantina at the time, for not storing the spirit bone in my soul guide device right away…"
"Dales merely saw an opportunity to muddy the waters. The Star Luo Empire has strong military power and has long eyed the Heaven Dou Empire. The continent is still stable, but only because each empire is busy with its own internal issues."
"I don't believe Dales has the ability to start a war, but if he really dies—and he dies here in Nuoding City—that will cause a real uproar."
Would Tang San confess?
Possibly.
But an even greater possibility was that his lunatic father, Tang Hao, would suddenly appear, hammer everyone involved to death to erase all evidence, then whisk Tang San, Xiao Wu, and maybe even Zhou Qing away from Nuoding.
A more likely scenario?
He, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Romantina would be quietly removed from the city under the deputy city lord's arrangements.
Then Lord Xiao would pull strings to push the blame onto Romanyak, turning him into a scapegoat who would "die to atone."
No matter how you looked at it, none of these outcomes were ones Zhou Qing wanted to see.
Dales had come to Luoxing City from Star Luo City six years ago. Though marginalized, that made his background all the more sensitive.
If Tang San really assassinated Dales, it could provoke widespread conflict between the two empires. Maybe not an all-out war, but at the very least, there would be frequent small-scale clashes between Nuoding City, Luoxing City, and surrounding areas.
And that would severely impact the peace of nearby villages.
Tang San thought it through and reluctantly abandoned his assassination plan. He began to understand why, in his previous life, even though the righteous assassins of the Tang Sect had killed countless corrupt officials and unscrupulous merchants, the people's suffering never truly changed…
Still, he asked, "Where is Dales now?"
"He'll definitely attend the spirit bone auction. That means he's still in Nuoding City. I suspect he might be staying with Lord Xiao…"
Just as Zhou Qing finished speaking, Xiao Wu returned with the task slip. The thirteen red checkmarks had now become sixteen.
She re-posted the task slip on the board and said, "The red circles at the bottom mark how many participants are guarding the venue. Counting us, there are now sixteen people on this job. Tang San, how come such a well-paying task hasn't already been filled?"
"Huh?" Tang San, lost in thought, missed her question entirely. "Say that again?"
Xiao Wu rolled her eyes and turned to Zhou Qing. "You answer."
"It's simple. This task offends people. The ones attending the auction are mostly spirit masters, and many will be eyeing the spirit bone."
Zhou Qing answered casually, "As guards or patrols, we'll likely run into trouble from those trying to cause issues—"
"That's exactly why the pay is one hundred gold soul coins an hour."
"High risk, high reward!"