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Chapter 42 Equivalent Exchange
As he spoke, a hint of mockery appeared on his face, and he muttered softly:

"A person who broke into my house in the middle of the night and stole my family's secret skills would tell me where he went after he left?"

The man said, "Even if you don't know where he's hiding, it's okay if you know his general direction, for example, which direction he left from... As long as I can find some clues about why he left your house, I'll be able to divert the Wu family's attention away from you!"

Geng Xuan shook his head: "It was raining so hard at the time, how could I know which direction he left from?"

"Didn't you go out and take a look?"

"Haha, I was able to survive because I cooperated well. He didn't want to cause trouble and make a fuss for others to know.

...I was so happy that he left that I didn't even dare go out to see him!"

The man was silent.

After a long time, he slowly said: "Then you only have one choice."

"what?"

"Give me the secret method passed down in the family, and I will try to explain it to you and make the Wu family believe that Wu Youren's absence was due to his own reasons.

By then, the Wu family would only be angry at Wu Youren for being too selfish and too defensive towards his family.

Naturally, there is no reason to continue to embarrass you."

The man slowly stated the last choice, but the young boy opposite him did not respond. Instead, a mocking smile slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth.

His heart skipped a beat again, and he vaguely realized that he might have made a mistake again.

"In order to save my life, I have given the secret method of my family to Wu Youren. I have made this very clear, right? What do you want me to give you?"

The man said calmly, "You have been to elementary school, you can read and write. Since this is a secret method passed down in my family, I don't believe you don't have a backup."

Geng Xuan did not deny it, but still laughed and asked, "Am I really just a stupid boy who knows nothing in your eyes?"

The man looked at him silently without saying anything.

"You keep saying that Wu Youren is my trouble. Why don't you say that this is also your trouble?"

"You brought a dog to my house the next day to investigate the situation. Was it because you and Wu Youren had an appointment to meet, and he broke the appointment?"

"He went to my house that night, and even his family didn't know about it, so how did you know?"

"I have never told anyone about the secret method in my family. How did Wu Youren, a playboy from Anleji who has nothing to do with our family, know about it?"

"Uncle, you said you are my uncle, so I will believe you for now... Can you answer these questions of my nephew?"

The man looked at Geng Xuan with increasingly profound eyes, but still said nothing.

"Or was it you, Uncle Master, who instigated Wu Youren's actions that night?

Did you also reveal my family secrets to him?
Now he has got the things, but he is missing, and you are changing your face to try to steal my family secret method!"

"Let me think about it. If I were really stupid enough to give you the secret method passed down from my family, would you also disappear like Wu Youren, leaving me alone to face a behemoth like the Wu family in Anleji?"

After saying a lot in one breath, Geng Xuan picked up the teacup and started drinking.

Only after he finished the cup of tea did he sigh in pretense of satisfaction, looking at the man opposite him with pride and arrogance.

"Uncle Master, please continue."

The man also sighed, "I underestimated you."

"No, Uncle Master, please continue. I want to hear how you lied to a fool like me!"

The man looked at the young man in front of him, who made him "look at him with new eyes" and whose performance was completely different from before, and his heart, which had been hanging in the air, slowly settled down.

He picked up the teacup and took a sip slowly, quickly reorganizing his thoughts.

He put down the teacup, looked at Geng Xuan, and said with a wry smile:

“I underestimated you.

However, since you are so smart, you should understand that we can't avoid the Wu family no matter what."

Geng Xuan leaned back in his chair, tapped the table with his fingers, and reminded:
"It's you, not us.

It was you who instigated Wu Youren to come to my house to steal the secret method!

From beginning to end, the Wu family had no idea that Wu Youren came to my house that night.

...Oh, you are trying so hard to cover up for me, you are actually covering up for yourself!

If they want to cause trouble for someone, they will only find you, not me."

"You're using the Wu family to scare me. Are you trying to trick me out of my secret technique before you run away?!"

Now when Geng Xuan spoke, he had the unrestrained attitude of a man who had taken off his mask. There was no ambiguity in his words, and every word hit home.

The man, who was being forced into a corner with no room for maneuver, did not get angry after his face was exposed, but instead smiled.

He whispered, "If I run away, isn't that a good thing for you?"

"..." Geng Xuan looked confused.

"What you should be worried about is, if I don't run away and get caught by the Wu family, what will happen if they give you away?"

"You... threaten me?!" Geng Xuan glared.

"Yes, I threatened you." The man nodded in admission.

"you……"

The man spread his hands and said, "This is what's going on. I can't stand the pressure from the Wu family any more. I won't leave until I get the things... Just tell me what you want to do."

Since you are single, I will reveal my cards to you.

He now took the initiative to tear off the mysterious mask that he had tried so hard to maintain in front of Geng Xuan.

Geng Xuan was dumbfounded, as if he had not yet adapted to the other party's rapid change.

After a while, he nodded slowly again, gritted his teeth and said to the man:
"Okay, then you wait for the Wu family to come, I'll wait too."

Having said that, he stood up and walked outside.

As he walked, he looked at the other party with a wary look, ready to resist and fight back at any time.

It seemed as if he was worried that the other party would suddenly attack and force him to stay.

In this busy street, unless the man was not afraid of making things worse, how could he dare to act recklessly when the other party was on guard and he was not sure of subduing him with one blow?

He just watched the young Geng Xuan walk out of the room and quickly walk towards the stairs.

When Geng Xuan was about to step down the first step, the man finally couldn't hold on any longer and spoke first.

"stop!"

Geng Xuan paused as he was about to take a step, and without moving, he turned his head and looked at the man.

"Come back!" the man said in a suppressed voice.

Geng Xuan did not move.

The man immediately left the room and reached out to pull Geng Xuan into the house.

Geng Xuan dodged in advance and took a few steps back, cautiously keeping a distance from the man.

"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't get too close to me."

The man gritted his teeth and said, "Don't be angry, okay? We need to solve the problem now. Being angry won't solve any problem!"

Geng Xuan also had an expression of hatred and cursed:
"This has nothing to do with me, you are the one behind my back!
Now that you've gotten yourself into trouble, you're still dragging me into this... Solve the problem? I'll solve your fucking problem!
You think I'm easy to bully, so you can do whatever you want to me, right?"

The man said: "It has already happened. If you are still angry, you can scold me, but the problem still needs to be solved!"

Geng Xuan didn't say anything, but stared at him viciously with his big eyes, as if he wanted to eat him.

At this time, the sound of several people coming up the stairs was heard downstairs, and the two people who were in a stalemate at the stairs finally returned to the room.

Geng Xuan sat down again, his emotions had stabilized. He said coldly, "You want me to cooperate? Sure, but there are conditions!"

From the very beginning, Geng Xuan understood one thing very well.

Acting dumb is not the goal, it is just a means.

The most important thing is to guide the situation in the direction that is most beneficial to you.

At this moment, the two sides have reached the stage of "close combat and bargaining".

There is no point in maintaining the image of a "silly boy" at this time. This will not make the "uncle master" on the opposite side show any mercy. Instead, he will be treated as a sucker and slaughtered.

In this case, let’s change to a “true face” that is more suitable for the current situation.

The two parties sat back down in the room, and Geng Xuan said coldly, "You want me to cooperate? Sure, but there are conditions!"

The man opposite was not surprised at all, and nodded, "You go ahead." "First, don't mention the Wu family to me again, don't use the Wu family to scare me, you must ensure that they will never know that Wu Youren's disappearance has anything to do with me."

The man nodded solemnly, raised his hand and said, "I swear..."

His words were interrupted by Geng Xuan's sudden sneer.

"Ha, no way, you don't think that just swearing casually will be enough, right? Are you stupid or am I stupid?"

The man was silent for a moment and said:

“I swear in the name of my ancestors, okay? ... You should believe my sincerity on this issue!
Moreover, as long as my goal can be achieved, I would like this matter to stop here.

If I push you out again, it will cause trouble and hurt others, but it won't benefit me. What good will that do me?"

His reasonable words only earned Geng Xuan's head shake without hesitation: "Empty promises will not work."

The man was also a little annoyed and said, "You don't believe the oath... Then give me a suggestion, how can you believe it?"

Geng Xuan said:
“I heard that there is a poison called Five Poisonous Blood Pills in the recreation center. Each pill has a different toxicity, and the antidote pills are also different.

Only the corresponding detoxification pill can detoxify the corresponding dry blood poison.

Let's go to the recreation center together. You buy a bottle and take the Five Poisons and Blood-Depleting Pills on the spot. I will divide the detoxification pills into twelve portions and give you one each month, and I will give you all of them in a year.

As long as the Wu family doesn't cause trouble for me within this year, the blood poison in your body can be cured.

If under another circumstance, if the Wu family comes to visit me, then you will die with me.

How about it, is this method easy to operate?
Is that fair and reasonable enough?

...In fact, I still took the risk. If you wait until the blood poison is cured in a year and then come to harm me, I will have no means to counter you."

At the end, Geng Xuan shook his head, as if he still felt that he had taken a considerable risk.

When the man heard this "easy to operate, fair and reasonable" plan, his face turned green.

Just now he asked Geng Xuan for advice in a consulting tone, but in fact he didn't think that Geng Xuan could really come up with any solution.

It’s easy to say “I don’t believe in verbal vows”, but how can we dispel such doubts?

Can I write you a guarantee and put my bloody fingerprint on it?

Ultimately, this is a problem of "lack of mutual trust", and given the current relationship between the two sides, this problem is simply unsolvable.

Therefore, he was too lazy to think and simply passed the problem back to Geng Xuan.

He never expected that the guy opposite him would come up with a solution to this problem which seemed unsolvable to him in just a few minutes.

The only problem is that he was too harsh.

This might be the reason why he couldn't think of it, but Geng Xuan could easily think of it.

After all, who would stab themselves for no reason?

But stabbing someone with a knife is different.

Simply from the perspective of resolving the lack of mutual trust between the two sides, this is a good solution.

Everyone holds the other's weak points in their hands, and unless they choose to die together, everyone will be safe.

But he rejected this plan at the first opportunity.

I paid for the poison myself and took it, and then gave the only life-saving antidote to someone else...

If you are tired of living, just cut your neck with a knife. Why humiliate yourself to this extent!
What if the other person dies due to other accidents, wouldn't I also be buried with him?

Even if you are lucky enough to finish twelve doses of antidote, one dose of antidote is divided into twelve small portions, and it takes twelve months to finish them. Who knows how much the efficacy of the drug will be reduced.

What would I do if I failed to achieve perfect detoxification? Would I wait to die?
What's more, all medicines are poisonous to some extent, not to mention that it is poison in itself. Even if it can be a perfect detoxification, who would take poison for fun?

Therefore, the man did not let Geng Xuan wait too long, and shook his head firmly:
"No, I can't accept this method!"

Then he looked at Geng Xuan and said, "Tell me the next condition."

Geng Xuan sneered, "Old man, I'm afraid you don't understand the situation.

If you don't agree to this first condition, then there's no need to discuss the rest."

Having said that, he stood up again and was about to walk out the door.

The man quickly said:
"Sit down, sit down. I didn't say I didn't agree to your first condition. I just don't agree with the solution you proposed.

But believe me, I can definitely come up with a suitable solution."

Seeing Geng Xuan standing there, neither moving nor sitting, he said again:

"Tell me the other conditions first, and give me some more time.

I believe that we will eventually be able to come up with a solution that everyone can accept!"

Geng Xuan finally sat down again and said slowly:

"The second condition is also very simple. If you want my family's secret method, I can.

However, I can't give it away for free, I only accept an exchange of equal value!"

This was also the thought that came to Geng Xuan's mind after seeing this person.

When he counted his belongings before, he felt that he had too little money. He wanted to use his skills to exchange for some money, but because this method went against the common concept of this world and could easily lead to subsequent troubles and get him involved in unnecessary vortexes, he gave up the idea.

But the "uncle master" in front of him was not one of them. He knew that there was a treasure in his home, and he made it clear that he would get it even if he died.

I am already in this vortex.

In this case, how can we justify not making a big profit from it?

For practitioners in this world, the secret family techniques must be guarded with all their might, and they will never hand them over just because someone covets them.

But for Geng Xuan, his first thought was how to maximize its value.

From a purely transactional perspective, the man’s attitude had “Come and rip me off” written all over his face.

"How much silver is appropriate for a copy of "The Journey to the Earth"?"

Geng Xuan had no specific reference in his mind. Sometimes he felt that it was priceless and could not even be measured by silver. Sometimes he was worried that the price was too outrageous and the man could not afford it.

As long as the money doesn't fall into your hands, there is no point in offering a high price.

Because of this concern, he did not make a definite statement, but only vaguely stated the basic principle of "only accepting equal exchange."

As for what price is considered "equivalent", that requires both parties to negotiate slowly.

Geng Xuan thought so in his heart, but when the words "equivalent exchange" fell into the ears of the man opposite him, he naturally understood it to have another meaning.

"If you want my family's secret method, you have to exchange it for something of equal value!"

The reason why he understands it this way is due to the concept of this world.

Using the secret family method to make money is something that practitioners in this world would never even think of doing.

Occasionally, one or two such people appear, and in the eyes of others they are all "unfilial descendants" and prodigal sons who "sell their father's land without any regret".

In contrast, another method is more common.

That is, using one's own family skills and secret techniques to exchange with others for skills and secret techniques of approximately equal value. This is also a way to quickly expand the family's foundation and avoid sharp conflicts.

Not all expansion of foundation has to be done through fighting, killing and robbing, although this is the main way.

However, Geng Xuan's behavior is definitely not related to being an "unfilial descendant" or a "prodigal son".

Based on this habitual thinking, after hearing the condition of "equivalent exchange" proposed by Geng Xuan, the man, who was already troubled by the first condition, was stunned at first, and then his mind suddenly became bright and his thoughts became clear in an instant.

But before he was about to say it, he hesitated again, and remained silent under Geng Xuan's gaze.

After a long time, Geng Xuan saw that he still hadn't spoken, and said unhappily, "Why, you don't agree with this either?"

"No, I agree!" The man quickly shook his head, almost gritting his teeth.

Geng Xuan raised his chin and said, "Then name your price. I want to hear it."

"I'll exchange it with you for 'The Running Dog Chapter'!" said the man.

"Hmm?" Geng Xuan had a blank expression on his face and did not comment, trying to hide his suddenly accelerated heartbeat.

The man continued: "This not only meets the principle of 'equivalent exchange', but also meets the first condition you proposed!
I believe there is no guarantee more solid than this.

As long as we complete this deal, you will never have to worry about me framing you in front of the Wu family.

I'm more worried that you might accidentally fall into their hands!"

(End of this chapter)