While Xia Fei talked to the Lionheart Emperor Oro, it was as if Seth were sitting on a bed of needles as he uneasily looked at Xia Fei who was deep in his thoughts, and waited for a verdict on his life.
Humans were sometimes very quirky. The Law Emperor Seth was clinging onto Xia Fei as if the latter were a life-saving medicine, yet he had no idea just what cultivation Xia Fei possessed, nor did he know his true identity or age. However, what he knew clearly was how easily Xia Fei had broken his Crag Defense! This particular defensive barrier that he was so proud of had actually been shattered like brittle glass when facing Xia Fei!
A single special move, and Xia Fei had swiftly conquered Seth with his Law of Primal Chaos. Even though his head was still swollen like a pig, Seth was still smiling happily at Xia Fei.
Lighting a cigarette, Xia Fei lifted his head and turned to Seth.
“How far away is that planet where you met that Lionheart warrior?” Xia Fei asked.
“Quite far. It can be considered to be at the borders of the Law Realm. It’ll require a very dangerous trip through a long asteroid belt if you go there on a warship,” Seth honestly answered.
Xia Fei nodded and asked, “Are you willing to head back there?”
Seth was in shock! He replied with a very shaky voice, “Head back?! Are you insane? Witnessing that once in my life is more than enough! I won’t go back even if you kill me! That Lionheart expert is truly too powerful. I’ll surely suffer a terrible death if uses his fullest strength on me!”
Smiling, Xia Fei said, “I don’t care or know how you think, but as my slave, you can only obey me.”
With that said, Xia Fei got up and pushed open the door, telling Old Liu who had been waiting outside, “I’ll take the slave.”
Liu Jinzhu was overjoyed, practically tearing himself a new mouth from that wide smile across his face. Seth was no normal slave, and staying here only brought him big problems. He was more than willing to get rid of this living calamity to Xia Fei.
That was when he saw Xia Fei’s palm stretch out, placing it squarely in front of his nose.
“What is this?”
“You agreed to pay,” Xia Fei simply answered. Though he was not in any lack of money, he was not about to reject free crystals. It would not be a bad idea to leave them as snacks for Furball.
“Oh, yes! I’ll have them sent to you right away,” Old Liu said, mildly annoyed. The thought that he must pay ten thousand grade 4 crystals just for this one transaction caused an unbearable itch to erupt at the root of Liu Jinzhu’s teeth.
The rosemary thornberry was actually very small, like a black pill. Xia Fei left an imprint on the berry before he sent it right into Seth’s belly, thus completing the slave contract. As long as Xia Fei was willing, he could cause that thornberry to act at any moment he desired, tormenting Seth to death from his insides.
Xia Fei had two demands of Seth: Always wear a face mask, and to remain quiet at all times so as to avoid interrupting his training of thoughts. Seth agreed to both.
After receiving the gift of Origin Crystals from Old Liu, Xia Fei swaggered his way out from the warehouse with both Seth and Rocko in tow.
Those courtesans were very disappointed, for Xia Fei did not purchase any of them. Meanwhile, Old Liu’s underlings were all extremely jealous; to leave with a Law Emperor as a slave and bonus money, Xia Fei was definitely not losing out from this transaction.
“D*mn! Ten thousand grade 4 Origin Crystals. That’s a sum I wouldn’t be able to get even if I had ten lives!”
“Don’t be so envious. Do you dare to take a scoundrel like Seth if he’s presented to you?”
“Not at all. It takes an evil being to control another evil being. I don’t have the ability like that young man. You can tell that he’s really harsh just from a look at Seth’s disfigured face.”
Old Liu’s underlings discussed the matter animatedly. The strong would also be revered here in the Law Realm, especially someone who had such an unfathomable cultivation like Xia Fei. Here, he had no problems being ruthless. Without even realizing it, everyone had thought Xia Fei to be an even more ferocious individual than Seth.
Before they parted by the entrance of Lady Si’s hotel, Rocko left smiling with several Origin Crystals that Xia Fei had given him, a sum enough to ensure that he had enough to live sufficiently over the next few years.
It was around evening, and the merchants, who were guests at the hotel, had already returned. They were all exchanging valuable information like which slaves had seen a dip in price and which slaves were diseased and such.
Xia Fei returned with Seth pushing the door open for him to enter. The restaurant instantly turned a lot quieter, as the now masked Seth looked many times more fearsome than before, his two eyes sparkling in green, which gave everyone goosebumps.
“You’re back, my lord!” Young Lady Si came in a panic to receive the pair, leading both Xia Fei and Seth to take seats in the restaurant. Seth did not sit, choosing instead to stand by the side and glare.
“I must thank you for the poncho. Wearing it helped me quite a bit.” Xia Fei took off the colorful poncho and handed it back to Young Lady Si.
Young Lady Si felt very guilty. Her two eyes could not help but wander and avert from his gaze. After all, she had left a secret sign on Xia Fei with the poncho, treating him like a fat lamb sent to be fleeced at Liu’s. Now that news of Xia Fei acquiring the Law Emperor Seth spread throughout the city, a single glance from Seth’s evil eyes made Young Lady Si quake in terror.
The people around quietly got up, ready to leave, but the cold stare from the Notorious Master Bounty Hunter Seth was on them, and each felt very uneasy.
“Everyone, remain seated! Nobody’s allowed to leave without my master’s approval!” Seth barked viciously. Because he was wearing a mask, his voice sounded a lot lower.
*Crash*
Young Lady Si had been returning with a tray of tea, and this shout from Seth caused her to instantly lose all color from her cheeks, that pot of tea falling and shattering onto the ground.
“Master, why didn’t you let me destroy the entire hotel? The mother and daughter of Lady Si’s left a secret sign on you, treating you as a fat lamb. That’s simply too much!” Returning to the room, Seth was in a huff. He felt that it was a perfect opportunity for him to showcase his loyalty toward Xia Fei, since he was now going to follow Xia Fei from here on.
“Forget it. Just a little lesson for the two is enough. The two got quite the fright from today, and I doubt that they’ll bully strangers anymore from today onward. Besides, the two agreed to accept Rocko and give him a stable job in the hotel. Rocko’s not going to gain anything if we back those two in a corner.”
Seth nodded and did not say a word any longer.
Xia Fei asked about the situation here in the Exiled Grounds, and given Seth’s many years of capturing slaves out there, his familiarity with the star region was second to none. He was more than happy to share everything he knew about the place.
Xia Fei lit a cigarette and asked, “So what you’re saying is that the Exiled Grounds is a loose society, where mercenaries make up the main fighting force.”
Seth nodded. “Correct. Take me for example; though I am in the business of enslaving people, I am also considered a mercenary of sorts. As long as the price is right, I have no problem taking up bodyguarding, killing, and other such assignments, the Exiled Grounds are barren, so anyone is willing to do everything just to fill their stomachs.”
“In the past, mercenaries were very loosely managed, and there would often be situations where mercenaries could work both sides, taking money from one employer and joining the other camp. Later, some of the more prestigious mercenary teams formed a professional guild, becoming a third party in the acceptance and allocation of missions. Only then was order restored in the Exiled Grounds.”
Xia Fei nodded. Mercenaries were the biggest force in the Exiled Grounds, and in a sea of stars, where constant strife and poverty flourished, just forming a militia would cost plenty of effort and money. Thus, aside from the few tribes that had a measure of power coming together to form a force, the small villages and merchants simply did not have any ability to raise an army. The moment any fight occurred, only temporarily hiring warriors could keep their lives intact.
Xia Fei mulled over this for some time before asking, “Does that mean I’ll find a suitable impersonator if I head to the mercenary guild?”
“Impersonator?! Those people are very sinister, used to working on their own. Their asking price is very high, too, especially if you’re talking about hiring a top-class impersonator. Unless there’s no specific requirements, people from Exiled Grounds will hardly hire impersonators,” Seth said.
Xia Fei shook his head. “Money isn’t an issue. The issue is that I want to find the best impersonator and help me do some things. Not only must their cultivation be high, this person must also demonstrate sufficient loyalty.”
Seth lowered his head and pondered before answering, “This won’t be easy. There are two major tribes skilled at impersonating out here. There are more Shepherdians, but their cultivation is average. Meanwhile, they have the bad habit of eating other sapient lifeforms and are characteristically cruel. Unless it’s a must, the people of the Exiled Grounds won’t deal with Shepherdians if they can help it. People are, more often than not, hiding from them instead of the other way around.”
Xia Fei remained silent. The Shepherdians, who had once attacked the Dragon Ascension Conclave, those ruthless b*st*rds, did not leave a good impression on Xia Fei. As such, he essentially rejected the idea of hiring them.
“Aside from the Shepherdians, the other tribe is the Purple Blood Rockies who are well versed in subterfuge. They’re the real experts in the field, and when the relations between the two peak races reach its peak, both sides often hire the Rockies to cause trouble in their enemy’s territory.
“It’s a pity that the Rockies are few in numbers unlike the Shepherdians, and they enjoy living away from others and by themselves. It won’t be easy locating them, either. The Rockies have a rule where they will sever their own finger if they fail to accomplish their clients’ assignments, while revealing the clients’ secret will see the same result. To know if a Rocky is exceptional, all you need to do is see their age, including how many fingers they have lost. If a master truly doesn’t mind the cost, the impersonators from the Rockies are the perfect choice.”
It was rare for Seth to speak of others with such respect and reverence, even praising these impersonators quite a bit. Xia Fei slightly nodded his head, agreeing that they would be the perfect candidates to be assigned such an important mission.
The Exiled Grounds existed independent from the two peak races, and the two strictly guarded against these Exiles. Only a true expert impersonator could make it over the many hurdles and get anywhere near the core region of the two races.
Xia Fei had a plan, and he needed to send people to the heavily guarded White Horse Constellation if he wanted to execute it successfully. No one else would be able to accomplish this aside from the really skilled impersonators, which was why hiring the best impersonators found in the Exiled Grounds became the heart of why he came here.
“I do have someone in mind who will be suitable. He has a Law Emperor cultivation, having infiltrated the core regions of the two peak races countless times. He’s good at hunting, monitoring and analyzing information. He’s considered one of the best in the business, only failing once in his thirty years of work, and it’s something that happened twenty years ago. Ever since, he hasn’t failed even once,” Seth rubbed his chin and said.
Xia Fei was quite taken aback. “Not failing once in twenty-five years? That’s indeed a top-class impersonator. Are you able to get incontact with him?”
Seth’s expression turned troubled. “It’s not hard finding him. He’s alone in a huge bamboo forest in the city of Ulan Batar, but he has a very strange personality, and it will depend on your luck to see if you can convince him into taking the job. Honestly, I’ve only seen him once, so the best I can do is make an attempt.
“Also, his price is outrageous: three hundred grade 4 Origin Crystals!”
Xia Fei chuckled. “That’s not high. Hiring an expert for three hundred grade 4 Origin Crystals is practically a steal.”
“No, you misheard me. His price is three hundred a day! It begins the moment he accepts your mission. As for when he will act or when he’ll be back, that’s all up to him to decide,” Seth said somewhat enviously.