46 Admiring a Beauty, Chased by Another (1/2)
Towards Wan Tianhui who could readily and steadfastly abandon all sense of shame for his daughter, Li Mo Shang could think of no effective verbal countermeasure. Facing the old man and feeling his blood pressure rise, anger flying towards his head, Li Mo Shang grit his teeth and flashed a cold look at Wan Xue before standing. Grabbing his coat, he prepared to head for the exit, not willing to tarry a moment more.
”Mr. Wan, if preposterous proposals continued to be issued, then I see no reason to continue this pointless banter. My previous offer still remains if you desire to complete the agreement.”
With a speed unbelievable for someone so elderly, Wan Tianhui latched onto Li Mo Shang's lapel, forcing him to stop. Right before Li Mo Shang could scowl in displeasure, the elderly man surpassing the age of fifty burst into tears, bawling like a newborn infant.
”You…bullying this old man like this…there's no way our family can uphold such a deal! Wuwu...Heartless! Truly the image of cold-blooded and leeches of capitalists and aristocrats!”
Li Mo Shang raised an eyebrow towards Wan Xue, who could only hide her head in shame. Cursing at her father who dedicated himself to shaming and throwing away his face as a member of the elderly generation, Wan Xue only wanted to find a hole to jump into. If she could, she didn't want to associate herself with this shameless old man. Bawling like a baby, where did the fifty-seven- year old nationally-prided researcher flee to!?
Gawking for a moment, it took a while for Li Mo Shang to significantly calm down, enough reason returning to his mind. Taking advantage of the temporary clarity to dispel the unconsciously accumulated spiritual qi in his arms, Li Mo Shang displaced Wan Tianhui's iron claws from his clothes, before sitting down once more. This time, he did not hesitate to display the coldest look he could muster, forgoing any societal convention and etiquette protocol he had been taught since childhood.
”Then, old man, what exactly do you want!? This is no fairytale or mental fantasy, nothing will result in the desired outcome without the necessary sacrifice!”
Wan Tianhui ceased his mindless crying before glancing pitifully at Li Mo Shang. In his heart, he began to slightly gloat, praising himself for perfectly employing the emotional card. Look, wasn't that iron-hearted young man sitting down once more?
If he gave his best and sacrificed every modicum of shame in accumulating emotional appeal, wouldn't the Wan Family secure the Yin Restoration Pill with a more acceptable, perhaps even cheap deal? Allowing greed to breed within his heart, Wan Tianhui rubbed his palms together, adopting a pathetic expression as he glanced tearfully at Li Mo Shang.
”Young man, shouldn't we have a nice talk about this? I mean, if you weren't going to give it to Xue'er, why did you buy the Yin Restoration Pill at such an exorbitant price? Surely you could ask your family for some…”
”I had some spare money rolling around. Deciding to buy my family's product isn't necessarily a waste either, for the decrease in supply engenders competition.”
Hearing Li Mo Shang's curt and chilly reply, both Wan Xue and Wan Tianhui couldn't help but feel a surge of fishy, sweet warmth blaze towards their throats in exasperation. Three hundred and seventy billion was mere ”spare money”?
Although the Li Family may truly possess such assets with their monopolization over legendary medicinal pills, did he have to brag like that to a family whose net worth couldn't even equate to a third of Li Mo Shang's ”spare money”?
”Young man, it's truly impossible for our family to gather such wealth! No bother hiding information from you, our total net worth if liquidating every physical and intellectual asset in our possession cannot even reach two hundred billion. Must you hound such a heavy burden onto us? Our family truly cannot withstand such a debt, ah!”
”Then this deal is over! Goodbye!”
Li Mo Shang made a standing motion, immediately causing the elderly to panic, his arms outstretched towards Li Mo Shang's lapel once more. Dodging those unreasonable iron claws, Li Mo Shang quickly strode towards the door, glancing at his terminal. Upon realizing that afternoon lectures were about to begin, Li Mo Shang threw his gaze onto the father-daughter pair, leaving with a final sentence.
”Sigh, let us do it this way. Three stalks of the Nine Breaths herb, the main ingredient of the Yin Restoration Pill since harvest season is quickly approaching. The Wan Family may not call on any external help, and the three stalks will be exchanged with a pure Yin Restoration Pill.”
”Young man, wai-”
The soft clicking of the door's closing mechanism responded to Wan Tianhui's cry, causing him to gaze at the floor in dejection. Soon after, his eyes burned with a strong hope, his hand quickly grasping towards the terminal tucked in his pocket.
-
Stepping out of the visitation room, Li Mo Shang heaved a huge sigh of relief, gently massaging his temples. Throwing out the alternate offer of three stalks of the Nine Breaths herb was something he had thought of at the last minute in a final effort of ditching the old man. Who knew if he would actually attempt at completing the deal?
The Nine Breaths herb could only be found in the extreme regions of Blue Flame World, though it was commonplace. In every region where natural disasters frequently roamed, the herb could be found in the heart of the disaster, requiring skill and courage to even approach the heavily guarded herb. Approaching took courage and luck, but actually obtaining the herb required heaven-defying determination.
The Nine Breaths herb bloomed in a unique form, for it had no developmental phase, achieving instant maturity. Nine days before the middle of each season, the Nine Breaths would achieve maturity, its fragrant leaves protruding from the stem and arousing a natural phenomenon.