Chapter 253 - 255: Bad Taste

Chapter 253: Chapter 255: Bad Taste

With Su Nuannuan’s departure, the roaring laughter in the main hall instantly died down.

Dongfang Luanhe rose from his wooden chair, which was draped in white beast skins, and strode over to the pottery jar where Su Luoluo had just purified her salt. His gaze fell upon the gauze she had placed over the jar to dry. "What is this?"

Although that plagiarist hadn’t managed to fully purify the salt, he had watched both of their methods. They were essentially identical, except for this white cloth. She hadn’t used one.

So, the reason this woman before him was able to make the salt so much finer had to be this white cloth.

He gave it a closer look. It had a grid-like pattern, as if it had been woven from something. It resembled beast skin in a way, yet it was far more breathable.

Seeing Dongfang Luanhe’s inquiry, Su Luoluo answered freely, "This is linen cloth. It can filter out all the coarse impurities."

"Linen cloth?" Dongfang Luanhe was taken aback. As the City Lord, he was surprised he had never heard of something so useful. "Where did this come from?"

"I made it, of course," Su Luoluo said. "If the City Lord is interested, I could even make you an article of clothing with it. Just consider it a gift to celebrate our partnership."

"Clothing? You’re saying this can be made into clothing?" At this, Dongfang Luanhe was stunned once more.

He had never heard of anything besides beast skin being used to make clothes.

While things like feathered cloaks and Fish Skin Clothes existed, as far as he was concerned, they were all just taken from animals—no different from the Beast Clothes they already wore.

He couldn’t help but scrutinize the cloth again, confirming that it really didn’t look like something taken from an animal.

"That’s right. Clothing made from linen is much lighter and more breathable, and the styles are more fashionable too."

’The man was dressed in red beast skin, adorned with lots of White Fur. It was obvious this City Lord cared about his appearance.’

’Since she was going to be working with him, Su Luoluo naturally had to play to his interests.’

’Even though he had just signed the contract, she knew perfectly well that he wasn’t entirely convinced by this partnership.’

’A stranger, even one with salt-purification technology, wasn’t completely irreplaceable.’

’It wasn’t impossible that he might feign cooperation, steal her methods, and then simply have his own people purify the fine salt.’

’The conditions on the Beast World Continent were limited. Even if Su Luoluo knew of better salt purification methods, she couldn’t implement them here. Once she played this trump card, she would have no more leverage where salt was concerned.’

’But she’d noticed that aside from the salt, this Dongfang Luanhe was also quite interested in the other little things she had made.’

’Things like the feather pen and ink from before, and now the linen cloth she had made.’

’This was also an excellent way to demonstrate her value.’

’All partnerships in the world stemmed from the value the other party provided.’

’As long as a person always had value, their partners would never abandon them, because they possessed something the other party desired.’

This was the most profound lesson Su Luoluo had learned during the Post-apocalypse.

’And the same held true on the Beast World Continent.’

’The things she created were all considered novel, "high-tech" items here on the Beast World Continent.’

’For Dongfang Luanhe, these things also possessed value worthy of cooperation.’

’Or to put it another way, only she had the ability to create these things, so he would have no choice but to think more highly of her because of it.’

Dongfang Luanhe didn’t refuse her offer. On the contrary, he nodded with great interest. "Then I’ll have to trouble you."

With that, he raised his head to look at the female before him, who was barely half his height. He leaned in, lowering his head and asking in a lazy drawl, "We’ve been talking for so long, yet I still don’t know your name. I am Dongfang Luanhe. What’s yours?"

His gaze held a playful glint that Su Luoluo found unsettling, but she met it directly nonetheless. "I’m Su Luoluo."

"Su Luoluo? A fine name." As Dongfang Luanhe spoke, he reached out his hand to caress Su Luoluo’s face.

Luan Ting, who was at her side, grabbed his hand, blocking it. His voice was cold. "City Lord, it’s time to discuss the details."

Hearing this, Dongfang Luanhe’s Phoenix Eyes arched. He smiled and pulled his hand back. "Are you her Beastman?"

Luan Ting said nothing, merely pulling Su Luoluo to one side.

Dongfang Luanhe watched the man’s gray wolf tail swishing in anger, a faint smile playing on his lips. ’It was just a joke. So tense.’

’That wolf tail is wagging pretty high, a bit like Xiao Luan’s. Then again, if it were Xiao Luan, he’d probably be spinning in circles by now.’

Pulled aside by Luan Ting, Su Luoluo let out a huge sigh of relief. ’This Dongfang Luanhe is so difficult to deal with. It feels like he’s constantly scheming, and you never know what he’ll do next. If it weren’t for that white wolf tail he’s dragging around, I’d think he was no different from a fox.’

’The guy wasn’t exactly a lech; Su Luoluo figured he just had a twisted sense of humor.’

’Still, it’s better to keep my distance.’

After Luan Ting spoke, Xi Yi handed over the newly written contract. "Let’s talk business, City Lord. We will be responsible for providing the salt purification technology. You will pay us in Beast Crystals once every full moon."

When the topic turned to business, Dongfang Luanhe’s expression grew much more serious. "Payment once every full moon? You gray wolves certainly are ambitious. First, show me the quality of the salt from your Salt Well!"

Hearing this, Xi Yi glanced at Er De. Er De immediately brought over the unpurified coarse salt. Pointing to it, Xi Yi said, "The raw salt is right here. See for yourself, City Lord. The quality is no worse than your lake salt."

Dongfang Luanhe glanced at it but didn’t take it, saying coolly, "Even so, wanting a thirty-percent share of my city’s Beast Crystals for just a few Salt Well Caves isn’t nearly enough justification."

"Giving you thirty percent of the Beast Crystals *from* your Salt Well Caves, on the other hand, sounds about right."

’His city’s Beast Crystals had always belonged to the city. There was no reason to give a share away.’

This was clearly pushing their luck. Mo Xuan immediately objected, "How is that any different from just stealing our Salt Well?"

Dongfang Luanhe’s lips curled into a smile as he looked at him. "Stealing? If my city weren’t selling the salt from these wells, you wouldn’t earn a single Beast Crystal. Didn’t you come seeking our cooperation precisely because we have the channels to sell it?"

They could, of course, mine the Salt Well Caves on their own, but that would make them an easy target.

A city was different, however. They were powerful and backed by the Beast King City. Most Beastmen wouldn’t dare to offend them lightly.

Su Luoluo had, in fact, taken this into account, which was precisely why she sought to cooperate with the city.

She hadn’t expected Dongfang Luanhe to expose their reasoning so directly, without giving them any face at all.

’As expected, the lord of a city was no simple character.’

Mo Xuan looked like he wanted to say more, but Su Luoluo stopped him. She smiled faintly and said, "The City Lord is truly perceptive. But why doesn’t the City Lord calculate just how many additional Beast Crystals our salt purification technology will bring you?"

"As far as I know, apart from selling a portion of your salt to the tribes, you also transport it to distant cities for sale. Along the way, a portion of the salt is lost to clumping and crystallization. By the time it reaches those cities for trade, only two-thirds of the original shipment is left. If our purified salt doesn’t crystallize, won’t the city earn far more Beast Crystals?"

"Furthermore, beyond just salt, we can cooperate on many other things. For instance, the feather pen and ink I made, and the linen cloth the City Lord just asked about—I invented all of them. I’m confident no other tribe has anything like them. If you were to sell these items, they could fetch as much as ten purple Beast Crystals."

"This new area of trade would bring the city a considerable amount of Beast Crystals. And soon, the entire continent will know that the City Lord has the newest, most interesting wares. All those extra Beast Crystals... does the City Lord not want them?"