High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2383: Chapter 604: Buying Peace with Money

Under the witness of Su Shijun, Zheng Qing signed a contract, detailed in terms, with Trident Sword.

Zheng Qing noticed that many of the terms did not seem entirely related to this transaction.

For instance, the contract stipulated that Zheng Qing was prohibited from selling the remaining Fu Bullets to third parties through other channels or means, except for a small amount (no more than three per month) to ’subsidize household use’; it stated that Trident Sword had the right of first refusal to purchase any Fu Bullets Zheng Qing intended to discard; and First University and the Moon Council would provide out-of-transaction guarantees for this deal, among others.

Many of the terms were not very easy to understand.

But because the contract stipulated a validity period of one year, with restrictive terms for renewal upon expiration, Zheng Qing finally signed it willingly.

In addition, the contract specified that the transaction between the parties would start next month (March 2010), with the collection of Fu Bullets completed by Trident Sword’s Beta Town office on the first of each month; payments would be directly deposited into Zheng Qing’s bank account at Sam’s Pass; and the transaction would be exempt from related taxes under the Alliance’s ’protective acquisition’ principle—this alone could earn Zheng Qing nearly a hundred extra jade coins each month!

Until the figures of the three black-robed individuals completely disappeared beyond the fence of Qingqiu Mansion’s Small Garden, Zheng Qing still stared in the direction they left, absent-mindedly smoothing the feathers on the feather pen he had just signed with.

”Aren’t you unhappy that I made the decision on the deal for you?”

Su Shijun, holding a cup of flower tea, lazily leaned against the sofa; there were no outsiders inside the room, and her posture was somewhat inelegant. Four fluffy big tails sprawled openly beyond the hem of her skirt like a furry blanket.

The maids in the mansion stood quietly in the corners of the room, focusing their gaze on their noses and hearts as if each had a talisman of invisibility hanging on them.

The young cost student carefully avoided that inelegance, his gaze falling on a tail tip swaying softly, resisting the urge to give it a tug, while shaking his head repeatedly.

”No, no, no, not at all, completely not at all.”

The young man shook his head like a rattle, with a tinge of exclamation in his tone: ”I’m just saying... seven hundred and fifty jade coins... In my lifetime, I’ve never seen so much money! Now I’ve earned it in just a month! Thinking about it feels unreal...”

According to the final cooperation terms settled between Su Shijun and Trident Sword, he needed to provide Trident Sword with five specially made Fu Bullets each month, with each selling for one hundred and fifty jade coins—that is to say, from this alone, he could earn seven hundred and fifty jade coins in income each month!

Many small Wizard Families might not even have five hundred jade coins as regular liquidity.

Suddenly, Zheng Qing realized that the roasted chickens in Beta Town, he could take a bite and discard one; there was no need to buy expensive magical experiment materials from Wandering Bar’s illegal channels, he could unabashedly order genuine products; even Valentine’s Day on the fourteenth of each month with different colors seemed no longer so audaciously unreachable.

The witch took a small sip of tea, glanced at the boy.

”Those Fu Bullets, they are related to Forbidden Curses, aren’t they?” she asked casually.

”Hmm hmm... ah?” Zheng Qing, originally absent-minded, suddenly lost trace of it entirely, just feeling a bit of tingling on his scalp, looking at the witch with a touch of caution and unease.

”Tsk.”

Su Shijun played with the beautiful teacup in her hand, somewhat unconcerned: ”On Buji Island, you don’t need to keep so tense at all times... These things... I had some suspicion when your shadow emerged from the Two-dimensional World.”

”My shadow...” Zheng Qing muttered.

”I don’t care.”

The witch waved her hand, shaking the strip of paper folded from green stationery, displaying a look unwilling to listen to the young man’s excuses: ”The ’relevant department’ at school doesn’t bother either, why should I care so much? I just want you not to overthink things. Trident Sword buys those Fu Bullets from you partly because they truly are remarkable, reasonably priced, powerful, convenient to use... You should know, not every top-tier Big Wizard has an interest in making something like this for low-tier Wizards. Being able to secure a constant batch of powerful Fu Bullets each month allows Trident Sword’s agents to complete more high-difficulty tasks, they’re certainly not at a disadvantage. As for the other half, it’s nothing more than preventing risk spillover.”

”Risk spillover?” Zheng Qing chewed on this slightly obscure term.

”So many powerful Fu Bullets in the hands of a young wizard who hasn’t graduated yet, imagine the risk involved, right? Preventing those Fu Bullets from leaking out, then leading to some unforeseeable consequences, is a small measure for Trident Sword in controlling risk within the Alliance. In a way, you can understand it as Trident Sword ’spending money for peace’.”

At this point, the witch suddenly chuckled, looking at the young man with an added hint of teasing: ”Especially when someone has on their resume the glorious experience of using these Fu Bullets to attack a classmate, causing serious injury, and receiving school probation... Oh, besides, you’re the target of many wizards for sneak attacks, which should also count as one of the reasons.”

Zheng Qing blinked, clearly unable to grasp the logic of the last sentence.

”When did I become the target of many wizards for sneak attacks,” the young cost student looked puzzled, unconsciously scratching his chin with a feather pen: ”Moreover, when I’m attacked, why is my use of force restricted?”

”Since the news came out that you had a child with a stunning beauty, you have been placed on many people’s curse lists. This is not hard to understand, right?”

Su Shijun folded her arms, staring at the four tails beneath her, tangled into a ball, apparently completely unaware of how un-’celestial maiden’-like her words and current demeanor were:

”These kinds of attackers exert very limited force — like that ambush you encountered one night — if you react excessively, you could easily escalate a simple mutual harm case into an involuntary manslaughter case, such trivial incidents would cause quite a few people in Trident Sword to lose their year-end bonuses. As for those targeting you for Forbidden Curses... didn’t Trident Sword leave you half of the Fu Bullets?”

This response featured quite a few details to critique.

Zheng Qing was unsure whether he should first criticize Su Daxu’s self-aggrandizement, or his own life, which was both lucky and unlucky, twisted; or perhaps vent over Trident Sword’s excessive control, among other things.

Perhaps, this is one of the downsides of highly developed Divination Skill?

He was lost in scattered thoughts, suddenly recalling a particular agency the witch mentioned earlier.

”I remember matters involving Forbidden Curses were all handled by the relevant department?” Zheng Qing cautiously asked another question that he just reacted to: ”Why Trident Sword...”

”Trident Sword bypassed the ’relevant department’ to do business with you?” the witch assisted him in completing the question.

Zheng Qing nodded repeatedly.