Chapter 59: Splitting the Loot, Handing It In

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Splitting the Loot, Handing It In

With a slight shift of Li Changsheng’s thoughts, Xiaohai shot out, diving into the large vat in the courtyard.

After washing the blood and grime off its body, it burrowed back into his sleeve.

Li Changsheng patted its faintly warm body and called out toward the house, "Are you three senior brothers all right?"

The room remained silent for a few breaths.

"We’re fine."

"I’m all right."

"It hurts..."

Li Changsheng crouched down, stored the Insect Mother into his storage bag, and stepped into the room.

As soon as he entered the inner room, a massive crater greeted his eyes.

Wu Yong, Elder Wang, and Liu Yong stood in three separate corners.

Looking at their miserable states, Li Changsheng couldn’t help but secretly rejoice. Thankfully, he hadn’t gone inside earlier.

Liu Yong clutched his chest, his face deathly pale. It was obvious he had suffered a severe chest wound. The Golden Thread Toad perched on his shoulder was also covered in corrosive scars.

Wu Yong appeared much the same as before, but he was missing three of his Thousand-legged Poison Centipedes.

Elder Wang looked exhausted, his complexion drained of blood. The Tiger-striped Leech in his arms had taken the heaviest damage; its skin was pitted and covered in large, congealed blood scabs.

Liu Yong turned his head. Seeing Li Changsheng looking completely calm and relaxed, he froze for a moment before asking with concern, "The Insect Mother didn’t get away, did it?"

Elder Wang and Wu Yong also looked over with solemn expressions.

Li Changsheng shook his head slightly and said indifferently, "It’s dead."

Hearing this, the three men collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

But as they compared Li Changsheng’s relaxed demeanor to their own pathetic states, bitterness welled up inside them. They wondered why the gap between people could be so vast.

Even though the Insect Mother had been heavily wounded, it was still a Tier One High-Grade Spirit Insect after all. In their minds, killing it should have left Li Changsheng in a sorry state, costing him a few Spirit Insects. Yet the man before them didn’t have a single hair out of place. His robes were completely free of dust, making him look as if he had merely been a bystander watching a show.

They could only tell that a battle had occurred through the Insect Mother’s earlier wails and the corrosive marks left on his insect swarm.

Just then, Elder Wang hesitated for a moment before pointing at the crater. "These Spirit Stones, and the runic artifact..."

"We’ll just split them equally," Liu Yong said as a matter of course.

Hearing this, Wu Yong shot him a sidelong glance and sneered. "Oh? On what grounds? I lost three Spirit Insects just to heavily injure the Insect Mother. What exactly did you do to deserve an equal share?"

Liu Yong’s face darkened. Angry but not daring to speak up, his gaze instinctively darted toward Elder Wang.

Elder Wang’s expression was also rather grim. His Spirit Insect had been severely injured, and nursing it back to health would cost a considerable amount of Spirit Stones.

There were originally over a thousand Spirit Stones in the crater. Although a small portion had been absorbed, there were still roughly six or seven hundred left.

It was a massive haul, especially with the addition of the runic artifact. Even without knowing its exact function, its quality alone suggested it was worth at least three hundred Spirit Stones.

Just as he was about to speak, Li Changsheng calmly interjected. "The Spirit Stones can be divided, but I advise you all to leave that runic artifact alone. I’d hate for you to have the lives to take it, but not the lives to spend it."

The three men’s expressions shifted slightly.

They had almost forgotten that this runic artifact already had an owner.

Eliminating the Black Blood Moth Mother meant they had ruined the setup of a certain Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator. If that person saw them trying to sell the runic artifact, the consequences went without saying...

Ignoring their thoughts, Li Changsheng continued, "I was the one who found the Insect Mother, and I was the one who killed it. I also killed the man who was hiding it."

The three men looked at him in confusion.

Li Changsheng met their gazes without flinching and smiled. "Therefore, it’s only reasonable that I take forty percent of the Spirit Stones, right?"

They exchanged glances, their eyes flickering with mixed emotions.

Wu Yong’s face briefly turned ugly. Noticing the looks Elder Wang and Liu Yong were giving him, he frowned, deep in thought.

Li Changsheng didn’t get angry. He simply tucked his hands into his sleeves and watched the trio with a faint smile.

The buzzing wings of the insect swarm hovering overhead seemed to urge them to agree quickly.

A few breaths later.

Wu Yong broke the silence. Forcing an ugly smile onto his face, he gave a slight nod. "I agree."

Upon hearing this, Elder Wang and Liu Yong stared at him in stunned disbelief. They had been waiting for Wu Yong to voice his opposition so they could chime in and back him up. They never expected him to actually agree. That was forty percent of the Spirit Stones...

Wu Yong didn’t even spare them a glance. He looked earnestly at Li Changsheng and said, "I was the one who injured the Insect Mother, and I lost three Thousand-legged Poison Centipedes in the process. Therefore, I will take thirty percent. Does that sound acceptable to you?"

"What!"

"Huh?"

Elder Wang and Liu Yong cried out in shock, their faces darkening even further.

Li Changsheng shot the two a brief glance. How could he not see through their petty little schemes?

Since Wu Yong had offered a gesture of goodwill, Li Changsheng naturally returned the favor.

He chuckled. "If what you say is true, Senior Brother Wu, then I have no objections."

Joy flashed in Wu Yong’s eyes. He nodded at Li Changsheng, then turned his gaze to Elder Wang and Liu Yong, scoffing coldly, "Hmph! Do you two think I’m asking for too much?"

Liu Yong’s face flushed bright red. "I..."

Elder Wang sighed inwardly and nodded. "I agree." He then added, "My Spirit Insect acted as bait, allowing Senior Brother Wu to heavily injure it. So, it should be fine if I take twenty percent, right?"

Liu Yong’s eyes widened as he stared at Elder Wang in astonishment.

Li Changsheng and Wu Yong nodded with indifferent expressions.

Elder Wang looked at Liu Yong and chuckled. "Junior Brother, you received the runic artifact and revealed some hidden secrets earlier. The remaining ten percent will be yours. Is that alright?"

With a sullen expression, Liu Yong swept his gaze across the three of them and remained silent.

With a slight shift of Li Changsheng’s thoughts, the insect swarm flew into the crater. They returned carrying over four hundred partially depleted Spirit Stones, which he stored in his storage bag.

Wu Yong and Elder Wang also collected their respective shares.

Finally, Liu Yong took the remaining hundred or so Spirit Stones.

Li Changsheng looked at the runic artifact still in the crater and said, "One of you needs to carry this. We should report back to Steward Ma and hand in the quest as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected complications."

Wu Yong kept his eyes cast downward, refusing to carry it.

Liu Yong clutched his chest in silence.

Elder Wang shook his head, hopped into the crater, and stored the runic artifact away.

Li Changsheng turned and walked out the door.

Back in the courtyard.

Li Changsheng led Xiaohua into the vegetable garden. Without caring whether he damaged the roots and stems of the Jade Grass, he reached out and began yanking them up by the handful.

When the other three emerged from the house, they saw Li Changsheng sitting on Xiaohua’s back, waiting for them outside.

Glancing at the blackened skeleton near the doorway, all three of their eyelids twitched as they hurriedly walked away.

They traveled without stopping.

The four men followed the main road straight to the plateau on the mountainside.

Li Changsheng flipped off his mount and landed on the ground. Touching Xiaohua, he stored it into his Spirit Beast Bag.

With a slight shift of his thoughts, the insect swarm converged in front of him. Leaving Big Bro and Little Bro outside, he stored the Red-winged Blood Bamboo swarm into the Spirit Beast Bag.

Li Changsheng turned and caught up with the other three, entering the Spirit Field Hall.

Wu Yong beckoned a servant over, who then led the group to a room.

The servant stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Steward Ma’s voice rang out from within.

CREAK...

The group stepped into the room. Bowing respectfully to Steward Ma, who sat at the head of the room toying with an emerald Jade Ruyi, they greeted, "Greetings, Steward."

Seeing the four men, Steward Ma’s eyes lit up slightly. "You found it?" he asked softly.

"Yes, Steward."

Li Changsheng and Elder Wang took a step forward simultaneously, taking out the Black Blood Moth Mother and the runic artifact.

Steward Ma swept a glance over the Insect Mother’s corpse before his gaze landed on the runic artifact, his pupils shrinking slightly.