Chapter 90 – Greed.

Aile was not bothered by it now that he had reached the third level of cultivation. His Spirit Surmounting Cultivation gave him an advantage to simply not break under a higher level of pressure.

He can negate these kinds of pressure with ease, he would not be too troubled even if it was a high fifth level cultivator. Although Aile would not be able to fight him. But running away was not a problem, so he was not worried.

"Hey Beshoy, long time no see!"

Seeing that he was not affected by his domineering aura, the other person had a more serious expression on his face and said cordially, "Hello friend, sorry about that earlier. Beshoy had said a lot of good stuff about you, so I came here to test you myself."

"Oh, hello, who might you be?" said Aile with a smile on his face. Showing that he was not even bothered with such a show of strength.

Beshoy interjected, "This is one of the three vice-captains that have come here to meet you, Mr Shadow. Welcome, let's start with the discussions."

Beshoy headed inside into a higher standard room. Both of them were surprised that Aile managed to withstand that pressure with such ease. It made them rethink their approach. At the very least they did not want to make enemies of such a powerhouse. Not only was he powerful, from what they knew, he was also somehow related to the Oxe family. Due to how Aile introduced himself last time to Beshoy.

Now Aile seemed to not even be bothered by a 5th level cultivator's pressure. Thus, they assumed he was powerful as they could not feel his strength, another benefit of his Spirit Surmounting Cultivation.

Aile also had a smile on his face. This is because one of the vice-captains was waiting for him meant that the bandits would make a deal, and they were on board. This little information gave Aile more confidence in successfully completing the transaction with them.

They arrived in a room that brightly lit with many glow crystals, and it was much more luxurious. The seats looked comfortable. The fruits were all rare, and the smell of freshly brewed booze was wafting in the room. Two maids who seemed to be the beauties of the bandit group were standing at the side to serve them drinks. There was a small table with three chairs there one for each of them. Each spaced equally, as to not make it seem that they were outnumbering Aile.

Aile casually sat on one of the chairs, and soon the other two also sat down in their chairs.

One of the beautiful bandits came and asked Aile if he wants to drink. He shook his head and told her, thank you, but he has something to do later, and he cannot drink now.

He was not going to drink now, firstly he will probably make more mistakes that way. Not to mention what happened with Xue. What if he gets drugged? And if Xue finds out.

The person who was the vice-captain of the bandit group smiled and said, "Apologies, I have not introduced myself, I am called Aurelius."

"Nice to meet you, Aurelius, since we are all here, I am wondering what have you guys thought about my offer."

"Straight to the point, just like Beshoy described. Good. Good. Good. We have thought about the offer, and we would like to make some adjustments. After all, we can ordinarily just take what we want. Paying for things just like that is not how we operate. However, we are still interested in your deal and forming a connection with the Oxe family. So, we would like to get things for a lower price."

"I am afraid that will not do. First of all, this will be a deal under the table so the Oxe family will not ever formally accept this deal under the light. Secondly, I think you misunderstand, the price for selling things to you guys will be at least 20 percent expensive compared to our shop in the town..." The face of Aurelius contorted, "Let me finish, you should know that we are taking a huge risk by dealing with you. If people catch this, we will have to work underground and be labelled against the empire's interest. Forcing us to close our business. Plus, this will still be beneficial to you all. Healing potion, antidotes and other things are things you will not be able to find when you need them. We would provide you with those on demand. On top of that, how long do you think you can keep on stealing from the merchants before they no longer come here. Thinking about your future this deal is already very much to your advantage. Plus, once we make a deal, I will also buy the things that you will not need from your loots. This way, the things that you discard can become a source of income to you. You can also sell any beast carcases, plants and herbs that your bandits can hunt earning you money. After all, a lot of your employees are just not contributing enough as is."

The contorted face of Aurelius became jovial, the more Aile gave him an explanation. His mind kept on thinking of possibilities.

He thought and knew that Aile was right. If they used the bandits for hunting the beasts and foraging the herbs. They would be able to get a large amount of it. Now that they would have a seller this meant huge money-making opportunity, and this was far more beneficent to them then looting the same merchants over and over. A faint smile formed on his mouth.

He then talked with Aile for another half an hour, occasionally even encouraging Beshoy to join the dialogue. Finally, he looked at Aile and with an earnest expression. He said, "I noticed how you handed the power of negotiation to Beshoy, are you willing to help me too?"

Aile was elated inside because he had a hunch of where the conversation was going. Aile replied, "Of course, I treat everyone I deal with, with sincerity. I hope you include Beshoy in whatever deal you will be proposing to me."

Beshoy had a gleam in his eyes as if he was looking at his best friend.

Aurelius nodded and said, "I want you to deal with me alone, and I will only use my faction to get what you need, and we can trade."

Aile thought in his mind, "Such a simpleton!" Aile saw that Beshoy had an unwilling face after he heard him. He also noticed that Beshoy is smarter than Aurelius.

Aile looked at him and said, "I understand where you are coming from. However, this might not be the best option for you, here is my advice, as your partner. If your people find out about this, it will create a divide, and they will turn against you. You should let me deal with Beshoy, and I am sure Beshoy will let you take control of other factions and profit from it.

You can be the middle man, taking in their herbs and beasts taxing them and you can hand it to Beshoy to sell to me. This way, no one will say that you are hoarding an opportunity.

This is because Beshoy can announce that he is not influential enough, and he wants you to deal with the internal acquisition. This will allow you to increase your influence, make money, and this will not put you in direct confrontation with everyone else. As you will be the source of income for the other two groups."

Aile noticed that Aurelius was tempted and after a few minutes of conversation. Aile discerned that he was afraid that the other vice-captains will steal the deal from him. Aile then promised that he will not abandon him and that Aurelius can even spread the word to the higher up that Shadow has decided to work with him after the negotiations.

After some more talking, he agreed but in the condition that Aile should take his two daughters, and they will be speaking on his behalf and the contact point between the two groups.

Aile looked at Beshoy, who nodded at him with a faint smile. It seemed that he did not mind this. So Aile did not care. He knew that the bandits will try to infiltrate his ranks to keep an eye on him. Aile had learned of this from one of the prisoners that claimed was part of their group. He had given a few crucial information to Aile as a bargain to keep his life. Thus, Aile accepted this, as a spy that is known is easier to deal with then an unknown one. It seemed Aurelius is going to use his daughters to be the spies and also a guarantee to make sure Aile does not go to the other bandit factions. Using his blood to be the negotiation point would almost guarantee that Aile would not be influenced to change affiliation.

The two spies would be a security measure for them. On the plus side, having his daughters as the contact point would make Aile feel more at ease when Fiona visited them for negotiations and trade deals.