299: Chapter 146: I Have a Book_Part 2 299: Chapter 146: I Have a Book_Part 2 “This…
well, let’s talk further, this tea is really good,” Cao Zhen criticized in his mind.
Buy puppets from Puppet Peak?
As if I can’t make my own mechanized men.
The ones I make are even better than your warriors.
Do I need to buy your Puppet Peak’s warriors?
But Puppet Peak…
This old man, he wouldn’t be thinking about buying the mechanized men from my Four Treasures Peak, would he?
After all, I’ve been letting the mechanized men sell talismans outside these days, and the people from Puppet Peak would certainly have noticed the ones I’ve made.
The Mechanism Warriors from Puppet Peak?
They speak almost like a stutter.
My mechanized men, on the other hand, talk much more normally and are also much more flexible.
If Puppet Peak needs something from me, it would only be because of the mechanized men.
Or perhaps, this old man wants to buy the method for making mechanized men from me?
Peak Master Zhou looked at Cao Zhen, who was beating around the bush, and smiled to himself, shaking his head lightly and saying, “Peak Master Cao must have come for something.
Just speak frankly.”
He didn’t believe Cao Zhen had come for no reason.
Many people said Cao Zhen was a dull-witted man, but from his observations over this period, he found Cao Zhen to be anything but.
Could a dull-witted man resell the divine weapon of someone else’s peak?
Could a dull-witted man have Taoist institutions refine and sell talismans for him?
Cao Zhen seemed more like a profit-seeking merchant.
When such a merchant comes knocking, one doesn’t need to think twice to know he surely wants to make some kind of trade.
Cao Zhen sized up Peak Master Zhou again.
Most peak masters are addressed with their surname combined with the name of their peak such as Tu Zhuque from Vermilion Bird Peak and Deng Qixing from Seven Star Peak.
This is actually a form of honorific.
However, some peak masters are not addressed in this way.
Like myself, everyone just calls me Cao Zhen or Peak Master Cao.
After all, my peak is Four Treasures Peak, and calling me Cao Sibao — for someone in the business of immortal cultivation, and as a peak master — would sound too terrible.
The same goes for Puppet Peak.
What does it mean to call someone Puppet Zhou?
Would that imply the peak master is a puppet?
It’s not just unpleasant to hear; it’s downright insulting.
So, nobody calls him Puppet Zhou but instead addresses him respectfully as Peak Master Zhou.
As for his personal name, I have no idea.
The Puppet Peak he leads is one of the Upper Fifty Peaks, and it would be impolite to address a peak master by his personal name directly!
As for myself,
Being from a peak ranked last among the Hundred Peaks and having a lower seniority than others, why fuss if others call me by my name?
After pondering for a brief moment, Cao Zhen candidly admitted, “I have indeed come to see Peak Master Zhou for a matter.
I am looking for the Thousand-Year Fishtreader Silk.”
In the end, it still comes down to me needing materials from someone else.
Eventually, I’ll have to state my purpose, and Peak Master Zhou appears shrewd, so rather than beating around the bush, it’s better to confess directly.”
“Thousand-Year Fishtreader Silk?
Don’t joke, Peak Master Cao!” Peak Master Zhou immediately shook his head, “Do you know how precious that Thousand-Year Fishtreader Silk is?
Besides, our Puppet Peak needs the Fishtreader Silk even more for crafting Mechanism Warriors…”
“Peak Master Zhou,” Cao Zhen interrupted, “Let’s get to the point.
What’s your condition?”
If Peak Master Zhou really didn’t want to give up the Fishtreader Silk, he would have straightforwardly refused like General Li Jun, but instead, he keeps talking about how precious Fishtreader Silk is and how important it is to Puppet Peak; he is obviously aiming to ask for a higher price later.
Peak Master Zhou took a deep look at Cao Zhen, nodded, and said, “Alright, since Peak Master Cao has spoken so directly, I’ll be straightforward too.
I am very interested in the wooden mechanized men from your peak.”
Cao Zhen fell into contemplation.
As expected, Peak Master Zhou was interested in his mechanized men.
Although exchanging the secret of making the Paulownia Puppet Men for the Fishtreader Silk seems like a loss at any angle, after all, I can completely refine more Paulownia Puppet Men whenever I have time, and I don’t know how much money they would bring if I were to sell them.
But now, I can’t keep researching whether it’s a loss.
I need to quickly create the pill for Disciple Xiang Ziyu.
I must have the Fishtreader Silk.
Peak Master Zhou, seeing Cao Zhen silent and deep in thought, felt a surge of joy.
Cao Zhen hadn’t outright refused, which meant he was tempted, but since he hadn’t yet agreed, he probably thought the price was too high?
After considering it for a moment, he spoke again, trying to persuade, “Peak Master Cao, I know those mechanized men of yours are truly ingenious, otherwise, I wouldn’t be asking you for them.
But you must understand, no matter how ingenious the mechanized men are, they aren’t people.
They can only replace people in doing certain tasks.
When we from the Hundred Peaks recruit disciples again, you can recruit a few more disciples, and they can completely replace the mechanized men in doing those things.
With your current prestige, Peak Master Cao, you will have no problem recruiting additional disciples when the time comes.
But the Fishtreader Silk is different.
Since you want the Fishtreader Silk, you must know how rare it is.
Let alone a thousand-year-old Fishtreader Silk!”
Cao Zhen, upon hearing this, was slightly stunned.
Peak Master Zhou wasn’t interested in the method to create mechanized men; he wanted to trade for the mechanized men themselves?
Could I really exchange mechanized men for the Fishtreader Silk?
Is such a good deal even possible?
Creating Paulownia Puppet Men is really just a waste of a bit of time.
Even if I were to give all of them away, wouldn’t I still be able to craft as many as I wish later on?