Chapter 2825 The Dark Pufferfish’s Instigation! Winter’s expression was extremely sour during the entire conversation.
Fan Lou had already kept Lin Yuan waiting for so long, but now he wanted Lin Yuan to wait even longer.
This was despite him having already arrived at the Lonely River. Winter did not care about Fan Lou’s task from the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves. He was displeased solely because of his respect for Lin Yuan.
But with Winter’s strategic intelligence, he understood Fan Lou’s value.
Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow and exclaimed, “Fan Lou sure is smart!” Apart from resolving the issue he had and telling him which parts of the Lonely River were abundant with resources, Fan Lou also intended to obtain benefits for him.
It was clear that it would not be easy to accomplish this task and would require Fan Lou to put significant thought into it.
Since Lin Yuan could help Fan Lou with this, he was willing to do so. He would also be able to gain an understanding of the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves’ movements by learning about their needs.
“Winter, Fan Lou should have mentioned what his task is, right?”
Winter had not intended to bring up the task. It was true that Fan Lou had mentioned the matter in his report. However, Winter did not feel telling Lin Yuan about the task was necessary.
But now that Lin Yuan had asked about it, Winter answered honestly, “Lord Saint, Fan Lou has come to this place as a representative of the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves because of the Bloodians. He needs to trade for poison from a species called the Dark Pufferfish.
“The Dark Pufferfish’s unique poison is able to contaminate a body of water and affect the aquatic lifeforms’ control over water-elemental energy. Based on what I learned from Fan Lou, the Bloodians intend to use the poison to make a move on the mermaids!”
Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed. When he obtained the New Thearch’s Scale’s legacy in the water world, he also glimpsed the clash between the Bloodians and mermaids. It had been full of bloodshed. Such a conflict would only end once one side had been fully eliminated.
If the Dark Pufferfish’s poison was able to contaminate water and the Bloodians used it to target the mermaids, the latter were in deep trouble!
When Lin Yuan found out about this, he did not feel any compassion or intend to help the mermaids.
Lin Yuan currently had many bloodlines in his body, and the mermaid bloodline was only one of them.
If he really made a comparison, his Bloodian bloodline was just as strong as his mermaid bloodline, as he had recently been focusing on nurturing the Bloodians’ bloodline.
Dark Blue needed to take control of many mermaids to increase its power.
Lin Yuan needed to find a highly populated place with mermaids and take control of that place.
This was Lin Yuan’s first time there, and it was difficult for him to search for the mermaids.
However, the Bloodians would be able to help him with the search.
Based on the tone Winter used when he mentioned the Dark Pufferfish, they were either a species that only emerged in the recent epoch or had an insignificant presence at the time that Winter left the Sky Beyond the Clouds, so he did not know anything about them.
Fan Lou had not hidden anything from Lin Yuan and reported everything about his mission. He had made contact with the Dark Pufferfish before giving his report to Winter.
The Dark Pufferfish were exceptionally arrogant and did not think much of the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves, even though they had a member of the Honor Absent Parliament among them.
It was only after Fan Lou mentioned the Bloodians that the Dark Pufferfish did away with their arrogance and began communicating with him.
The Dark Pufferfish knew that the Bloodians wanted their poison. The Bloodians had given Fan Lou the resources meant for the trade. Normally, all Fan Lou needed to do was hand over these resources.
Fan Lou had not expected the Dark Pufferfish to raise the price abruptly and to an astronomical extent.
The resources the Bloodians had provided were utterly insufficient to purchase the volume of poison they wanted. Even if Fan Lou gave all of the resources to the Dark Pufferfish, he would only be able to obtain 1/3 of the volume of poison the Bloodians had in mind.
He was there on behalf of the Bloodians, only to encounter such an issue.
The Bloodians would definitely be enraged if he returned with only 1/3 of the expected volume.
The Bloodians’ rage would be mostly directed at the Dark Pufferfish, but he would also receive some of the blowback.
The Dark Pufferfish were far too arrogant. Even if he tried to negotiate, it was unlikely they would be willing to make the trade based on the original price.
Once this matter was settled, Fan Lou’s future would be blindingly bright. But if he bungled the matter, he would not be able to survive the Bloodians’ rage. How could a puny character like him handle their wrath?
Given that Fan Lou could not handle the situation on his own, he had no choice but to turn to Lin Yuan for help.
Every member of the Forbidden Wolf Team was one of the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves’ main members.
Due to Feng Qing’s high regard for Fan Lou, the members of the Forbidden Wolf Team were very courteous toward Fan Lou. None of them wanted to offend someone like Fan Lou, who had so much of Feng Qing’s favor.
Had Fan Lou not been as important to Feng Qing as he was, he would not have sent them to accompany him on this mission!
... The Forbidden Wolf Team’s captain, Feng Nuo, said, “Fan Lou, even if this deal falls through, it won’t be your fault. The entire Forbidden Wolf Team will vouch for you, so you don’t have to be too worried!
“The Dark Pufferfish’s request is ridiculous. It’s not difficult for them to produce the poison. I’m sure that the Bloodians won’t be able to forgive them for their crazy demand.”
Fan Lou looked at Feng Nuo with a troubled gaze. In the past, Fan Lou only regarded Feng Nuo as a rather stiff individual with an inflexible way of thinking and doing things.
But after hearing that, he now saw Feng Nuo as naive. The Dark Pufferfish had the audacity to state such a price because they were not bothered by the Bloodians.
The Lonely River’s water was very turbid, and it was difficult for spirit-related means to penetrate the surface of the water.
The Dark Pufferfish could move around freely in the Lonely River and did not have to fear the Bloodians.
Fan Lou did not know if the Bloodians would be able to forgive the Dark Pufferfish, but they would definitely not forgive him for messing up this operation.
So what if the Forbidden Wolf Team could vouch for him? They would also have to suffer blame and punishment!
Fan Lou saw Feng Nuo as naive but did not express this thought. Fan Lou hated fools like this. However, he believed it was necessary to lay out the truth of the matter to Feng Nuo due to the current circumstances. This would motivate Feng Nuo to cooperate with him.
Fan Lou spent close to two hours explaining the situation to Feng Nuo.
At first, Feng Nuo appeared apathetic. But the longer that Fan Lou spoke, the deeper Feng Nuo’s brow furrowed.
Now, he finally understood the current situation. Feng Nuo had relied on his power to become the Forbidden Wolf Team’s captain. He was lacking when it came to analytical thinking.
“Fan Lou, what should we do if things are truly as you say? We’re in a bad state whether we make the trade or not. Are we just going to continue wasting time here interacting with the Dark Pufferfish?”
Fan Lou could not help but roll his eyes upon hearing that. Would he still be there doing nothing if he knew what to do?
“Lord Feng Qing gave me a map of the area around the Lonely River. I’m going to share it with you. We will work separately for the next few days and search for a few spots where resources can be harvested.
“North of the Lonely River will be our base point. This will allow us to check if the locations on the map are accurate as well as accumulate resources. We can bring the resources back for Lord Feng Qing or use them in the trade with the Dark Pufferfish!”
Fan Lou was panicking internally. If this were the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves’ internal matter, the worst punishment he would receive for messing it up would be a few reproachful words from Feng Qing. But it would not affect his position.
This matter concerned the Bloodians. If they wanted to come after him, the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves would not be able to protect him!
Hence, when Fan Lou laid out a plan of action, Feng Nuo was extremely willing to cooperate.
Now, Feng Nuo already saw Fan Lou as his hope for survival. Fan Lou would have to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility if something went wrong with this operation.
Feng Nuo was willing to lead the Forbidden Wolf Team in cooperating with Fan Lou’s plan.
“Okay. You can tell me which areas you want the Forbidden Wolf Team to search. Since you’re the Sixth Boundary Patrol Team’s captain, searching for resources must be your forte. You should keep the Light Wind Wolves with you to ensure your safety!”
... Now that Fan Lou had Feng Nuo in the palm of his hand, the Dark Pufferfish experts were passably courteous to him during his next meeting with them.
However, they refused to budge on their demands. The Dark Pufferfish had already confirmed that the Bloodians required their poison’s support to move on the mermaids.
The mermaids and Bloodians were old enemies. Although the Bloodians had emerged victorious in past conflicts, they had not escaped unscathed either. Each clash with the mermaids would end with the Bloodians losing many members.
It was very easy for them to produce their poison, and it was not overly precious to them.
However, it was extremely useful to the Bloodians and would reduce their casualties in their clashes with the mermaids.
The Dark Pufferfish dared to demand such an astronomical asking price because they were well aware of this.
“So what if we already agreed on a price with the Bloodians? This trade is happening because the Bloodians asked for it. If you’re unwilling to trade, I will leave now and won’t be meeting with you again!”
Fan Lou looked at this elderly Dark Pufferfish who was putting on airs. In spite of his boiling rage and frustration, there was nothing he could do.
“Why don’t we do this? Give us some time to think it over, and I’ll give you a response later. You have already witnessed the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves’ attitude toward the Dark Pufferfish. The elders specially prepared these gifts with the hopes of establishing friendly relations with the Dark Pufferfish.”
Fan Lou spoke sincerely, but this could not be further from how he truly felt.
The two sides had already reached such a state over this trade. What friendly relations could there be to speak of?
Fan Lou did not mean what he said, and the elderly Dark Pufferfish did not believe him either.
The Chaos Wind Demon Wolves’ territory was very far from the Lonely River. It was impossible for both sides to maintain contact after this matter.
The Dark Pufferfish ruled over the Lonely River as they pleased and would never need to ask anything of the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves.
These greeting gifts were only meant to smoothen the process of the trade.
But rather than gunning for the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves’ resources, it would be better for the Dark Pufferfish to aim for the other resources that the Bloodians possessed.
Nonetheless, it went without saying that the Dark Pufferfish would not turn away the gifts that the Chaos Wind Demon Wolves were offering of their own accord.
“Of course, you can have time to think it over. Come and see me whenever you’re done thinking. However, the Dark Pufferfish also have our limits. If you drag this on for too long, we will just reject your request to trade! At that time, we will only continue communications with a Bloodian!”
Fan Lou gnashed his teeth as he watched the elderly Dark Pufferfish leave.
Even if Fan Lou was extremely good-natured, he would not be able to stop himself from forcefully slamming his fist down on a nearby table.
Regardless of how Fan Lou examined the issue, he could not come up with a solution.
Any changes would only be made possible after he met with Lin Yuan. Fan Lou intended to complain about these troubles to Lin Yuan immediately upon meeting him. He would ask Lin Yuan to help him to solve this problem.
With how important the Class 2 world was to Lin Yuan, Fan Lou believed that he would help him.
In Fan Lou’s mind, Lin Yuan possessed plenty of resources, and losing this amount was trivial to him.
One had to know that the Lonely River both protected and restricted the Dark Pufferfish.
The concentration of spirit qi in the Lonely River was low while the river’s earth-elemental energy and water-elemental energy were also filled with impurities.
If the Dark Pufferfish wanted to escape this environment’s effects, they would have to temper their bodies using pure spirit qi, earth-elemental energy, and water-elemental energy.
What the Dark Pufferfish needed Lin Yuan had given to Fan Lou and Kong Huan as rewards in spades of hundreds and thousands.
Fan Lou possessed resources that could satisfy the Dark Pufferfish. But he did not want to use them.
Once he used these resources, the Forbidden Wolf Team would definitely find out about it. Fan Lou would not be able to come up with an acceptable excuse if they reported the matter to Feng Qing.
Furthermore, Fan Lou wanted to use these resources for himself to increase his power. Once he gave them away, he was unsure when he could obtain more from Lin Yuan.
... The next day, Fan Lou shared the map with the Forbidden Wolf Team and the Light Wind Wolves who had come with him.
Fan Lou assigned areas to the Forbidden Wolf Team before doing the same to the Light Wind Wolves. He did not keep the Light Wind Wolves by his side.
Since Fan Lou was going to see Lin Yuan, he would have to be on his own.

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