CHAPTER 23

And at that time, elder Fin walked down the stairs and sat down with Mir and elder Lan. He turned to Mir and said:

“We haven’t officially been introduced, I am Quin Fin. The previous tailor grand elder and also, Lan’s elder brother. A pleasure to meet you, little Mir.

-In those conditions, a pleasure?

-Well, you did say you could heal me and you didn’t mind doing it if you received a compensation. That’s more than enough for me to be overjoyed. As for the rest, it is my younger brother’s fault.

-Elder Brother Fin, I…

-It is fine, Lan, it was probably meant to be this way. You weren’t one to contain little Mir, that’s all there is to it. Now, let us get down to business. Little Mir, what do you want in exchange for curing me?

-First, I won’t cure you directly. I will tell you the ingredients needed and how to make the pill that can do the part.

-That is more than enough.

-Second, I won’t say what I want but rather, I’ll ask you, what do you have to offer in exchange?”

Elder Lan was outraged. His elder brother’s life, previously condemned to end, finally had hope to go on and yet… He got up and pointing his finger at Mir he said angrily:

“How dare you?!”

At that moment, his elder brother grasped his finger and looked at him angrily. He told him:

“Go sleep. I am going to do business with the kid.

-But elder brother, this…

-I said go sleep, you idiot!”

Frowning, elder Lan left. He was vexed and furious. After that short interruption, elder Fin turned back to Mir and continued:

“Wouldn’t it be faster for you to tell me what you want?

-I want to see how much value you accord to this fleeting life of yours, elder Fin.

-You can see that I don’t have long, right?

-Yes.

-Those eyes of yours are really astonishing. Fair enough, here’s what I have to offer: knowledge. Everything I know. You know that I was the precious tailor mountain grand elder but do you know what we did there?

-Wasn’t it clothing?

-Wrong. There are three types of external items martial artist always rely on. Herbal alchemy’s products that you already know of. Weapons, obviously. And finally, tailor-made items. They are used as support items. While they encompass clothes, it is much more. Jewelry, Clothes, Vehicles, utilities… Everything that can be used by a martial artist, we are the ones manufacturing them. I offer you the knowledge from one of the best tailor in the continent.”

Knowledge. A single word filled with importance and value. Only he who knows can succeed. Mir knows it very well, the more information he had, the stronger he would be and the closest to a life of laziness and luxuries he would be. As a businessman, information was crucial. In this world, it was vital. And of course, the kind of knowledge offered by elder Fin was tempting. There was a problem though. Elder Fin was dying and had no more cultivation. He couldn’t use energy anymore so how could he transmit his knowledge. As Mir found this problem, elder Fin smiled and answered:

“I can only pass this knowledge onto you if you restore my cultivation. You understand it too, I know. But then again, do you think I would impart such valuable knowledge without assurance? What if after you learnt, you admitted there was no cure for me? In this continent, it is unheard of for someone to repair his damaged core yet you proclaim that you can while having me back to my prime strength. It is hard to believe even if you are prone to miracles.

-Eh, you know how to bargain, elder Fin. But things remain that I hold your only hope to survive in my hands. What holds true for you holds true for me, what proof is there that after your core is healed, you won’t just ‘forget’ that promise of ours? Consider the reality that I can live to see tomorrow while it is unsure for you.

-Tough Negotiator, aren’t you? How about I give you an artifact first as proof of my trustworthiness?

-An artifact?

-An earring to be precise. It is one of a kind, impossible to reproduce. Its power is simple: to attract the energy between heaven and earth to its wielder. Do you understand what that means?

-A valuable cultivation treasure.

-Exactly. So, now, how about it?”

Mir was thinking. Elder Fin was smarter than elder Lan. He knows that the knowledge would benefit Mir greatly and that this treasure was indeed worth it for Mir to help him. He was trying to set a ‘not so bad’ relationship as business partners by offering it. He hoped that, after receiving the earring, Mir wouldn’t lie about the way to cure him. After all, the possibility of Mir sending him to his death wasn’t zero. This old man was smart and cunning. But the deal itself was truly benefiting Mir’s future. Even if he didn’t get the knowledge later on, just because of the earring, it would have been worth it. So, Mir extended his hand and smiled:

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“Deal.”

Elder Fin looked at the hand curiously and understood the kid’s intentions. He smiled as well, shook Mir’s small hand and confirmed:

“Deal.”

This was settled so Mir went to sleep. It had been an exhausting day.

At lunch, he received, the earring from elder Fin. Through his pupils, he completely grasped the item as it was:

Abyss Pearl Earring

Effect: Increase by ten times the amount of energy received by the wielder during meditation and produces a state of constant passive meditation.

Bio: A unique earring made from mithril and an abyss pearl by a Master Martial Tailor. It is part of the abyss set, made to increase the cultivation speed of any wielder.

This earring was simple, it was rectangular with a sapphire in its center. It was small, like a rice grain. Yet, it was incredibly attracting. That being said, Mir was no fool. He knew the might of energy and the fact that his core had not merged with his body made him as vulnerable as a non-cultivator. This meant his body couldn’t absorb energy. He ate a martial pellet previously and was lucky enough to only suffer from some stomach pain and time wasted in the bathroom.

At that time however, the energy contained in that pellet was small and weak. Putting on the earring was equivalent to gathering the energy from heaven and earth at all times in an unknown amount. Of course, it is an incredible treasure but to the present Mir, it was poison. Still, elder Fin honored his part of the deal and this earring would no doubt be a huge help to Mir later.

Mir had been a businessman in his previous life. And businessmen have one, out of many, rule that they must abide to: when a deal is made, you stick to it. He grabbed a pen and a paper and started writing. After a few minutes, he handed the paper to elder Fin. Elder Fin frowned slightly and asked him:

“Are you sure about this recipe, little Mir?

-I am. You’ve proven your good faith so this recipe is yours. I would suggest you destroy it after use though. If this were to spread…

-I know the implications. However, little Mir, I can’t help but feel as if you are deceiving me. There are more than fifty rare rank3 ingredients on this list. Most known recipe are composed of only a handful.

-There is always a sky above the sky. Do you seriously believe that because there is no precedence, it is wrong? Elder Fin, growing a new core would be easier. But you asked me to grow back a destroyed one and bring it back to its former glory. You weren’t the weak one either. So, of course, it wouldn’t be easy to do. Now, you can either try it or die. Anyway, I held my part of the deal as soon as I gave you the recipe. That being said, I hope you will come back cured to teach me what you promised.

-If your recipe work, don’t worry, I will teach you whatever you want. Then, I’ll be taking my leave for some time to gather those materials. I will take Lan with me so if you need anything, go to Bu.

-Alright, have a safe trip, elder.”

Elder Fin left. Soon after, elder Bu went to Mir accompanied by Okami. Elder Bu sat down and asked Mir:

“Little Mir, I was thinking about having Okami going to the challenging mountain and do some sparring there but he keeps retorting that he won’t do anything without your direct approval!

-Well, I don’t approve of it. Good job refusing, Oka. By the way, Elder Bu, why is everyone using Oka’s full name rather than just his first name?

-Hum…Isn’t Okami his first name?

-No, no. Oka is the first name, Mi is the family name.”

Elder Bu and Oka were both surprised and as they turned at each other, elder Bu asked Oka:

“I thought you were an orphan?

-I am?

-Then what is this about a family name?

-I don’t know. Young boss gave me the name, I thought it was a first name.”

This time was Mir’s turn to be surprised and now, they were all facing an issue of misunderstanding. Then, elder Bu had a flash of smarts. He laughed and explained:

“Little Mir, you probably don’t know this because of your background but, here, in the Sea Walker Kingdom, only the King himself can give a family name to someone. Family names are proof of High-nobility after all! Every being you meet who has a family name is someone coming from an impressive background! It is no wonder we misunderstood Oka’s name as Okami in the light of this fact.

-I understand! Sorry, Oka! I didn’t know anything about this.

-It is fine, young master! More than anything, I am grateful! You thought of giving me a family name even though you don’t have one yourself!”

That’s when Mir realized: ‘Oh, that’s right, I forgot. I do not have a family name either…Guess that will have to be one more thing to add to my must-get list’. After seconds of silence, Mir turned to Elder Bu:

“Anyway, elder Bu, can you spread the information regarding Oka’s name?

-Of course, leave it to me! Now, will you agree to let him go to the challenging mountain?

-No.”

Elder Bu didn’t like to be refused by a student, even more so by a child. He was after all an elder, he had his pride. Mir was a rare genius, yes, and he paid the price for his lack of insight once. While it was a second bite to his pride, he swallowed his saliva and asked the kid:

“Why won’t you agree to it, little Mir? With Oka’s silver alpha wolf bloodline, he should be able to contend against many that are at the same realm.

-It’s not about that elder Bu. Do you know how we met Oka?

-Yes, I heard. It is truly unfortunate. To think our disciples can be so cruel to their own. I apologize in regard to this event. As an elder, I am powerless to stop them from occurring, it shames and pains me greatly.”

Oka was touched and while smiling, thanked the elders for his kind words. However, Mir wasn’t going to. Words are mere words, they don’t do shit.

Saying that you regret, that you couldn’t and so on, they are only excuses, made-up so that one doesn’t feel guilt. It is worthless. For a moment, Mir’s face twisted as he heard the elder’s fake sorrow but he recovered quickly and went on:

“Elder Bu, Oka might be able to contend against someone of the same realm but what if he had to face those that nearly killed him back then? I don’t know them and won’t ask, nor do I plan to help him get revenge on those Outer Fire Alliance peoples yet. However, if he does, and I know he will try, to take revenge, I don’t plan on having my first follower walk to his death because he was in a hurry. I am sorry Oka, I need you to be patient until we’re both strong enough to protect ourselves. And that’s the reason why I would like Oka to focus on cultivating for now.”

Truth is, Mir was actually thinking "Fuck you, you just want to show him off so you can upgrade your own image as an elder" but he would never admit it with words.