Chapter 288: Cutscene: Business Trades and Thoughts

Dai Song Lan nodded. "Lots."

Han Jing stopped himself from making a face—and eventually looked back at the people over this guy's table and assessed them. It really looked like they were affluent enough to go on vacations and have fancy family dinners at a restaurant.

More than that, they were more than willing to not bat an eye at this guy's strange personality.

He frowned and then looked back at Odele, "Do you have pearls with you now? Even just one piece?"

The Mermaid tilted her head, but promptly took one out from thin air—it was almost like a party trick. A black pearl was held in her fingertips before she handed it to him. "Here you go, Han. How much is that one?"

"... let me check on my phone." Han Jing pulled out his phone and quickly searched up the average pearl prices and some quick information. Once he was done, he looked back at the awaiting guy and grinned. "Alright—my friend over here, Odele got this from the depths. Literally pitch black darkness, right?"

"Well…"

"Take this pearl now for only one thousand and three hundred yuan." Han Jing offered. It was approximately about $230 and was something he had converted once he saw the average price. He cleared his throat. "Something like this is no doubt expensive for being rare—this isn't something cultured by men. So you can imagine it's—"

Dai Song Lan pulled out a wallet from his pocket and started counting some bills. He placed it on the table and then held out his hand. "I'll take it."

Han Jing wordlessly handed it to him and quickly swiped the money in his pocket before anybody else could see it. Surely this guy's parents and relatives wouldn't think he was scamming their boy or anything, right?

Jilanya stifled a chuckle and sipped her wine. "You did not need to speak like some peddler selling his wares."

He scratched his head. How was he supposed to know that?

Dai Song Lan looked at him. "I'll buy the other one's available for your privacy."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Well, that sounds good."

"Mhmm." the cultivator nodded. "Your number?"

Han Jing and he would exchange numbers before the guy returned to his family. He could have sworn that the guy played with the item in his hand like it was some kind of marble! Was this the life of the rich and the famous? Han Jing could have bitten into his napkin right now.

Maybe it was just this guy that was eccentric.

Han Jing originally had planned to bribe him with precious pearls for the man's silence, but this guy straight up wanted him to be the one who shut up about this. "Can you pass me that bottle of wine?"

Jilanya raised her brows, but poured him a glass. "To celebrate the success of this deal of years? I would say that it's almost good enough for you to pass off as a demon."

"Is that a compliment?" He looked at his filled glass and laughed. "I need a drink, that's all."

"Hmm, so that's how you can easily make money?" Odele said. "Quite convenient and it seems to be a lot too."

Now that she finally learned how he did it—would Odele request more things in exchange for her pearls? Han Jing never really considered this. But he nodded his head. "Sort of. Buy and sell is the simplest trick in the handbook of getting what you want."

He took a careful sip of the wine.

"You call that a trick? It's fair trading." Faeran snorted and waved a hand. "If I had talked with this guy, then I would have gotten his first-born child as payment."

Han Jing choked on his drink and looked at the Wood Elf—who only gave him a grin and a chuckle. Several stories and fables of witches and faeries kidnapping children sprang up in his mind. He didn't like the idea one bit.

Jilanya snorted. "I would have gotten his Soul."

"One of my sisters could have made him jump over a boat and into the freezing waters and swim to Atlantis." Odele joined in with a cheerful smile. "And then maybe someone else could have eaten his heart."

"That's a little too graphic, dear." Faeran tilted his head.

Han Jing grimaced. "You guys are going to make me queasy." More than that, he was more troubled if all of these were true and they weren't just messing with him. He glanced back at the family of Dai Song Lan and hoped they would never meet again, or else it might spell trouble for them or himself.

However, it was time for him to check his notifications.

The most recent of them was this—

[ Skill - Detect Thoughts Unlocked ]

This Skill was finally unlocked after all this time? Well, this was better than anything. Han Jing rested his face on his chin and glanced around the restaurant. How easy was it to use now that he had it? How many times possible?

First and foremost, Han Jing looked back at the table to where Dai Song Lan and his family were. Now what was running through the people's mind—oh, that cute cousin of his. A young woman was sitting beside Dai Song Lan, and there was no way that this was a girlfriend or anything.

Ugh, I can't wait to go home and talk with Shui

Okay… next one—he tried to access the cultivator's mind and only felt a wave of clustered energy hovering around and then a blank state. Han Jing's head began to hurt, and he quickly pulled back and decided on one thing.

"Mental protection?" he muttered. It was similar to his [ Mental Fortitude ] Skill then or something? Maybe he had a charm to protect himself from mental intrusion… or maybe this guy really had nothing in his mind?

Han Jing drank down his wine and then looked elsewhere. His gaze finally settled on Jilanya for once. He half-wondered if she also had her mental defenses up—

"If you keep looking at me like that, I will pluck out your eyeballs."