Nan Gong Hen also saw Su Ming’s actions, but he did not bother himself too much with it. In his eyes, Su Ming was just checking out the statue’s price. Even if the statue was not expensive, not all people were capable of making offerings to him and taking him away.
‘I browsed through the entire mountain once, and the price for this one is the highest. The prices offered by the Spirits of Nine Yin are based on their abilities. If he dares make this price, then I will pay for it!
‘By the looks of it, he’s the strongest in the fifth layer!’
Nan Gong Hen might be finding it painful to part with the Shaman Crystals, but he trusted his own judgment. As he watched the light from the statue shine in an area that spanned to one hundred thousand feet, as the incredibly extraordinary statue looked as if it was about to completely regain life, and as light shone in his eyes, his breathing started quickening.
After a moment, once the statue was completely revived, he lifted his long spear and struck the ground. At the same time, he shot up in the sky with a whistle. Only a pair of brightly burning eyes could be seen on his face, which were covered by the helmet. He lowered his head and cast Nan Gong Hen a glance.
That gaze was slightly strange, as if it contained an array of complicated emotions, a deep sentiment…
"By the treaty formed between my tribe and the Shaman Tribe, I am willing to serve you until you are no longer able to fulfill the requirements of the offerings." The Spirit of Nine Yin in midair said these words slowly. His voice echoed in the area, and humming sounds could be heard, making him sound incredibly exceptional.
Nan Gong Hen was just about to fly up excitedly when the statue on which Su Ming had placed his right hand immediately started shining by his side. The light was incredibly dim, but the statue was rapidly regaining life. An ancient gaze gradually appeared where his eyes were.
Nan Gong Hen was momentarily stunned, then widened his eyes swiftly.
"Brother… brother Mo, you rented him?"
Nan Gong Hen sucked in a deep breath, and his face was filled with disbelief. Once he saw Su Ming nodding his head, Nan Gong Hen’s expression immediately became strange, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but after a moment of hesitation, he cast Su Ming a compassionate glance.
While Nan Gong Hen might find himself in a sort of disbelieving state in regards to Su Ming’s financial power, but the truth was right before him, the other must have some sort of means and methods to obtain money, which no one else knew about.
However, Nan Gong Hen thought that Su Ming’s choice… was kind of not worth it, or perhaps more accurately, it was extremely not worth it.
"Ha… brother Mo… you should have told me sooner, there are plenty of Spirits of Nine Yin here that are… Oh well, since you’ve already made your choice, then I won’t say anything." Nan Gong Hen shook his head with a wry smile, and his compassion grew stronger.
There was a strange look on Su Ming’s face, covered by the mask. When he saw the pitying look on Nan Gong Hen’s face, the same look appeared in his eyes.
The statue beside Su Ming had already completely resuscitated. He moved his body for a while, and cracking sounds came from within him, as if he could not bear with moving. This made Nan Gong Hen pity Su Ming even more.
It was especially so when the Spirit of Nine Yin started slowly shrinking as he moved until he stood there like a normal person with a bent back. This was clearly a hunchbacked, old Spirit of Nine Yin. His armor might be silver, but it was dark and dull. When he wore it on his body, he looked rather sloppy.
When Nan Gong Hen saw this, he sighed in his heart. He could already understand just how good of a judge of character Su Ming was. In his mind, this was no longer a problem with being a bad judge of character, this was a problem of his intelligence going down the drain.
"Lad, choosing me is your fortune. Oh well, I’ll protect you all the way on behalf of your Spirit Plunders, but we’re doing it according to the deal we made. I will not calculate the price by days, but with each three times I attack, you have to give me a Spirit Plunder."
The old man’s voice echoed in Su Ming’s head. He looked at the hunchbacked old man before him. This old man might be wearing a helmet and was decked in armor, but he looked incredibly strange in this appearance.
However, Su Ming was very respectful towards him. He wrapped his fist in his palm to salute the old man.
"I will do my best to fulfill your requirements, senior."
The old man was quite satisfied with Su Ming’s show of respect, so he took off his helmet, held it under his armpit, revealing a very unique countenance.
His dark skin looked like wood, and when set against his long silver hair, it made the hair incredibly eye-catching. Once Su Ming saw the old man’s face, his pupils shrank. This person’s appearance was highly similar to the gigantic head that was placed high on top the stone pillar in Shaman City. Clearly, they were from the same tribe!
The old man’s face was filled with wrinkles and his eyes were unfocused. After a yawn, he swept his gaze past Nan Gong Hen, and his lips curled up in a smile.
In Su Ming’s eyes, that smile looked quite nasty.
The old man grinned and said in a raspy voice, "You, boy. This man is a heroic and exceptional one. You did well to choose the best lad in my tribe. Not bad indeed. You have a good eye!"
Nan Gong Hen’s sympathy towards Su Ming increased once again. Just as he was about to open his mouth and say something, he suddenly widened his eyes and saw the old man lifting his head to look at the Spirit of Nine Yin he had rented, then said something that stunned him in place.
"Hey, dummy, where’s my share?!" The old man glared and looked at Nan Gong Hen’s Spirit of Nine Yin standing in midair. At that moment, Su Han, the spirit, brought out a ball of glittering light from his bosom obediently and handed it to the old man respectfully.
The old man shook the ball with his hand, then nodded his head, satisfied. He quickly put it away into his own bosom, all while not forgetting to address the stunned Nan Gong Hen in the process.
"Boy, you have a really good eye. Don’t worry, if that dummy is disobedient, then I’ll teach him a lesson afterwards. Don’t you worry, all the tribesmen I introduce are absolutely free of problems!
"Hey, how about we go now? It’s been a long time since I went out. I wonder how many things have changed in the outside world." The old man turned his head around and looked at Su Ming, urging him on.
Su Ming cast Nan Gong Hen a compassionate glance, then let out a fake cough before he walked forward. The old man had his hands placed behind his back, following behind him with a swagger, even humming a little tune, all while looking incredibly smug.
Nan Gong Hen only recovered after a long while. He looked at the old man leaving into the distance before he lifted his head and looked at the Spirit of Nine Yin called Su Han. He suddenly felt that this originally heroic and extraordinary spirit looked like a rather rigid person… In fact, he seemed kind of silly...
His mind kept going back to the moment the old man had demanded his reward and his acts of praising Nan Gong Hen himself. He shuddered, then slapped his own head before he started laughing wryly.
‘This is the first time… I heard about of the Spirits of Nine Yin conning people!’
Just like that, Nan Gong Hen brought with him regret and dispiritedness, along with the Spirit of Nine Yin that had turned into a mark on the back of his hand, then left the dimension through the vortex in the air with Su Ming… and the old man who made him grit his teeth but whom he did not dare offend.
The instant the old man walked out, he lifted his head and looked at the gigantic head lifted up high on the stone pillar. A complicated look along with nostalgia appeared in his eyes. The complication quickly disappeared and he averted his gaze to look at the shackled skeleton in the palace behind the vortex.
The instant he saw him, the old man sighed.
"Lad, I’m going to meet an old friend of mine. As long as you are in the city, I’ll be able to detect you. When you want to leave, I’ll appear.
"If you need me to attack, then call out the name I told you, and I will naturally attack!" The old man said with a flat tone, then took a step forward. His body instantly disappeared.
When the old man left, Nan Gong Hen wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming with a wry smile.
"Brother Mo… ha… I’ll cut myself off here. I’d like to go back and clear my mind in the inn, then… communicate with my Spirit of Nine Yin. Once the treasure gambling even starts, I’ll come out. Are you coming with me or do you want to go explore Shaman City?"
Su Ming felt some degree of pity towards Nan Gong Hen, but just when he was about to speak, a glint suddenly appeared in his eyes, because he saw a person looking at him while standing at the foot of the palace’s stairs.
"Brother Nan Gong, please go back first. I’ll be exploring the area here." Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm to bid farewell.
Nan Gong Hen, who was feeling incredibly dispirited, did not have any mood to say anything anymore. He shook his head and left the place quickly…
Once Nan Gong Hen left, Su Ming looked towards the person standing at the bottom of the stairs, and their gazes met. His lips curled up into a smile under the mask, and he walked down the stairs.
As he got closer to the person who was observing him, the thin young man who was dressed in black robes and had various small braids decorating his hair started, his pupils shrinking, but he continued standing there without moving.
When Su Ming walked down that long staircase and arrived right before the person, the young man suddenly smiled. His shrunken pupils dilated. He looked at Su Ming and wrapped his fist in his palm, giving him a small bow.
"It’s a great joy in life to be able to meet an old friend in foreign land. I was wondering why I thought you were familiar. Now I remember. Brother Su, you still look as graceful as when we parted ways," the young man said with a smile.
He was Wu Duo, the person who Su Ming had met when he was heading to Sky Mist City and the person who had a mysterious background and seemed like a Thought Soothsayer from the Shamans!
"Brother Su, you don’t have to argue with me, I’m very certain of this. We’re not strangers, since I waited for you here and could identify you, then it proves that I’m not that sort of despicable person, or else, there would be no need for me to do this.
"Brother Su, your disguise is really great. It doesn’t matter whether it’s your presence or the general air you give off, no one would be able to find any clues about you. Even if I used any of Thought Soothsayer Spells to look into you, I wouldn’t be able to find any answers.
"However, ever since I was young, I possessed a talent no one else had. I’m very sensitive to smells. Brother Su, you can change everything, but you neglected to change your smell." Wu Duo spoke with a faint smile, and his words were filled with sincerity.
"My name is Mo Su." Su Ming looked at Wu Duo.
"My name is Zhong Yi. Brother Mo, it’s a great pleasure to meet you for the first time. Would you mind finding a place with me so that we can sit?" Wu Duo cast a glance at the mark of the Spirit of Nine Yin on the back of Su Ming’s right hand, then spoke in a whisper. "You must have come here for the treasure gambling event as well. I know quite a lot about this. Perhaps we can even work together…"
Su Ming mulled over it for a moment, then nodded.