Chapter 9: Suspicious Men
Luo Cheng observed the individuals seated 3 tables away from him. However, soon enough, his interest waned, and he turned his head to the front.
After some minutes, the manager returned along with an old man wearing a luxurious robe like Luo Cheng. The old man's robe appeared to glow with a faint blue colour.
"This is Sir Wei." Firstly, the Deep Sea Inn manager introduced the old man next to him, and then he gestured towards Luo Cheng, "And this is young lord Cheng. He is the one selling the 8th Star High Class Demonic Beast Core."
The old man focused his gaze on Luo Cheng and observed him quietly. Soon enough, the old man asked with a rough voice, "How much."
Luo Cheng had already decided on what he wanted. He said "I want a High Grade 3 dual elemental weapon. Preferably, a sword or a saber.
Sir Wei appeared surprised and asked Luo Cheng, "You don't want to exchange with Spirit Stones?"
"No." Luo Cheng coldly replied. He had other means of acquiring Spirit Stones.
For some moments, Sir Wei continued thinking and then asked, "I only have a Grade 3 Sword with lightning attribute, is that okay?"
"No. I want a weapon with fire and ice attributes." Luo Cheng firmly spoke.
Sir Wei lowered his head and spoke, "That's a pity then."
The Deep Sea Inn manager on the side was sweating nervously and spoke up at this moment, "Young Lord Cheng, maybe you can ask for something else. Sir Wei is a branch manager of the Trade Alliance branch in Soaring Cloud City."
Luo Cheng gave him a cold glare. Instantly, the manager started regretting. Why did he have to open his mouth here?!
Luo Cheng then looked at Sir Wei, "How about this... If i require a lightning sword, then i will exchange this Demonic Beast Core with you. And if you find any fire and ice attributed weapon, then bring it to exchange it with me. Is that acceptable?"
The old man, Sir Wei looked surprised. He then nodded his head, "Fair enough."
Luo Cheng seemed satisfied with this and stood up. He was heading out of the Deep Sea Inn. But before he stepped his foot outside the tavern, Luo Cheng heard Sir Wei's voice, "I am a little curious, why would a family member of Prince Leng Mansion decide to trade the Demonic Beast Core with me instead of giving it to the Leng Mansion?"
Luo Cheng replied without even batting an eyelid, "Is it really that difficult to guess? I won't receive anything much if i contribute this Demonic Beast Core to the Leng Mansion, but it's a different matter if i trade it with you. Isn't that right, Sir Wei?" Slightly tilting his head, Luo Cheng stared at Sir Wei with a sharp glint in his eyes.
Sir Wei looked impressed and spoke, "You have a good vision. It appears that not all the rumours about you were true."
"Not all rumours are to be trusted, Sir Wei. Have a good day." With that, Luo Cheng pushed open the door of the tavern. However, he added while he walked ahead. "Next time, don't think of sneaking up on me. I hardly restrained myself from cutting off your head."
Sir Wei remained calm even as he heard this words, treating them as passing wind. He kept thinking deeply, 'This kid is only a 9 star Qi Warrior. How did he get the 8th Star High Class Demonic Beast Core? Was he assisted by the Leng Mansion?' However, Sir Wei immediately shook off that deduction.
There were multiple reasons why he shook it off. Firstly, even if all the rumours about Luo Cheng were exaggerated, Sir Wei believed that there wouldn't be smoke without a fire. Moreover, as a branch manager, he had kept notes of the Prince Leng Mansion.
There was no doubt that Luo Cheng was treated quite coldly by his foster siblings and even his adoptive father, Prince Zhou Leng. With the exceptions being his adoptive mother Consort Zilan and her servants who had been taking care of him. But the servants were all relatively weak. They couldn't kill an 8th Star High Class Demonic Beast.
Secondly, if the Leng Mansion was the one to assist Luo Cheng so that he could get his hands on the Demonic Beast Core, they definitely wouldn't allow Luo Cheng to trade the Demonic Beast Core with someone from the Trade Alliance.
Sir Wei continued to think with a frown. 'Who helped this kid and why ?'
Indeed... What would anyone gain by helping this kid? This kid didn't even possess any real status within the Leng Mansion, so Sir Wei failed to understand how it would be worth investing in him.
However, a thought suddenly appeared in Sir Wei's mind. 'Don't tell me that someone wants to use this kid to spy on the Leng Mansion? Indeed... With his sensitive situation, it will be easy to coerce him. Maybe this Demonic Beast Core was a gift from that person to let the kid believe him.' A smile appeared on Sir Wei's face as he thought he had found his answer.
'It will be a good idea for me to remain in contact with this kid. Using him, i might grab hold of some secrets of the Leng Mansion.'
Luo Cheng had more or less anticipated what thoughts were going through Sir Wei's head. This had been his primary aim. More interactions with Sir Wei meant that Luo Cheng could have more information and form connections with people outside Soaring Cloud City.
Moreover, Luo Cheng wouldn't need to entirely depend on the Leng Mansion. He wanted to maintain a balance between using the Trade Alliance and the Leng Mansion to gain the greatest benefits. Perhaps he was too greedy, but Luo Cheng hardly cared about the fact.
While Luo Cheng was walking towards the Leng Mansion, he sensed two individuals tailing him. 'That woman and the man from that group of four. Did they split up to follow me?'
Luo Cheng knew that it was no coincidence that these two individuals left the tavern right after him. Moreover, he had seen their table, which was still covered with food. They hadn't even eaten half of that amount, so why would they come out so soon?
These two individuals were 3 Star Houtian Realm cultivators, and their aura was also quite similar to each other. This meant they used similar cultivation techniques, which indicated that they belonged to the same faction that provided them the resources and cultivation techniques to become stronger.
'The other party still doesn't know that i am aware of them. I need to investigate this in secret and figure out their motive.'
Currently, Luo Cheng was walking in the market while these two individuals were following him, maintaining a distance of about 200 - 300 meters. 'How long will you keep on following me? Or are you waiting for an opportunity to contact me?' Luo Cheng thought curiously.
He had kept on walking for nearly 15 - 20 minutes now and these two were still persistently following him. Although they were clever enough to hide from his plain sight, they couldn't escape Luo Cheng senses.
After another 20 minutes, the Leng Mansion was in sight. The two individuals following Luo Cheng stopped immediately and turned in the right direction, and ran off. It was as if they had completed their objective. Luo Cheng's didn't pursue them for now, he wasn't interested in his stalkers.