Wandering Gods of Day and Night-Chapter 1097 - 425: All Beings as Medicine
Zhou Xuan, possessing the golden token, forcefully extended his hand into the "Human Pill" business, seeking to take a share, causing Fish Bodhisattva to draw connections—perhaps, the intention to meddle in the Human Pill business was the Witch God’s directive?
"Are you someone working for the Witch God?"
Upon hearing the name of the Witch God, even Bodhisattva had to lower his brow.
The Ancient Buddha was once one of Jing Country’s four Heavenly Venerates, and as Venerates, there was no distinction of rank between the Ancient Buddha and the Witch God.
However, Fish Bodhisattva was merely an incarnation,
The Witch God’s power at its peak—how much combat strength that entailed, he did not know,
But one thing was for certain, in his current state, he was definitely far inferior to the Witch God.
Situations stronger than oneself force one to bow.
"It’s good that you know who I work for."
Zhou Xuan secretly further released his spiritual control power. This Ancient Buddha incarnation was indeed troublesome. In the past, by this stage, the tactic of "catering to one’s interest" would have already been activated, but Fish Bodhisattva showed no sign of falling for it.
"How much of a share in the Human Pill business does the Witch God want?"
Reluctantly, Fish Bodhisattva asked.
Zhou Xuan held up three fingers,
Seeing the specific figure, Fish Bodhisattva let out a sigh of relief. Thirty percent wasn’t much, not too damaging, still possible to negotiate.
In truth, he was inherently a shrewd businessman; there was no sense in discussing prices without negotiating, thirty percent was not much to him, but if he could bargain even half a percent less, it would be excellent.
Moved by this thought, Fish Bodhisattva began to negotiate with Zhou Xuan over the Human Pill business. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
"The Witch God is indeed fair, a thirty percent share is due respect to his esteemed name, but..."
"Whoa..."
Zhou Xuan, with a sound resembling the halt of a horse, stopped Fish Bodhisattva, saying, "Thirty percent is yours! Seventy percent belongs to the venerable Witch God."
"..."
Fish Bodhisattva was so infuriated he nearly fumed. Knowing the Witch God’s prowess and typically domineering ways, everyone in Jing Country’s Incense Fire Divine Dao feared him, yet you take seventy percent without concocting a single pill?
What logic is this?
He’s seen bullies, but never to this extent.
To push one too far, what can be tolerated and what cannot?
Fish Bodhisattva’s Vajra eyes blazed with fury, about to recite a Buddhist Chant to confront Zhou Xuan, only for Zhou Xuan to anticipate his anticipation, immediately saying,
"Do you think the Witch God is overly bullying you?"
This question left Fish Bodhisattva unsure of Zhou Xuan’s true intentions. First using the Witch God’s name to pressure him, now criticizing the Witch God?
He hastily suppressed his anger, forced a smile, and said, "Not at all, the Witch God has always acted this way; there’s no such thing as bullying."
"Useless! Cowardly, you, as the exalted Ancient Buddha of twenty-one Zen, are so useless, bullied yet unable to protest?"
Zhou Xuan’s words were like a head-on blow, scolding Fish Bodhisattva into confusion.
"People should have courage, to say ’no’ to injustice. If the Witch God were on top of you doing whatever, you’d only praise the warmth—what ambition do you have?"
Zhou Xuan’s reproach was like a barrage,
It wasn’t that he wanted to use the Witch God’s name as a facade to flaunt his power—of course, it wasn’t entirely devoid of showing off,
This element wasn’t much; Zhou Xuan’s main goal was to shatter Fish Bodhisattva’s psychological defenses and complete his conditioning.
The essence of conditioning? It’s not just scolding nor just praising; it’s an interplay of praise and slow scolding.
Commonly known as "hit with a stick then give a date,"
In this exchange with Fish Bodhisattva, Zhou Xuan’s stick had already come down several times, and several dates had been given.
Now, after this beat, it was time for Zhou Xuan to give a sweet date.
He placed his hands behind his back and said, "Fish Bodhisattva, let me be frank with you, before coming, the Witch God acknowledged your hard work day and night in alchemy, only asking for forty percent of the share—is this price fair?"
"Oh, that’s more than fair."
Affected by the earlier "seventy percent" shock, now that Zhou Xuan reduced the share back to forty percent, Fish Bodhisattva felt a surge of pleasant surprise.
However, he turned to ask, "The Witch God wants forty percent—why did it become seventy percent when it reached you?"
Zhou Xuan awkwardly smiled, his foot idly hooking the sand in the "Spirit Realm," saying, "The Ancient Buddha’s incarnation and the crafting of the Human Pill is worth a three percent share."
As soon as these words fell, both Fish Bodhisattva and Alchemist Bai Lu were taken aback.
They both realized the situation—Zhou Xuan, the "middleman," sought to pocket the three percent price difference. If Fish Bodhisattva didn’t give, he intended to leak the information.
At that moment, Alchemist Bai Lu truly felt he had been "sold out" by Zhou Xuan, harboring deep hatred for this great gentleman of the Mingjiang Prefecture.
But hatred aside, he couldn’t deny the prowess of the great gentleman’s tactics—seamlessly trapping him in the "Spirit Realm," then confidently negotiating with Fish Bodhisattva for a three percent cut in silence.
"A big appetite, indeed an ambitious person, such an individual, if on the righteous path, would be astonishingly talented, but unfortunately, he turned corrupt at a young age."
Fish Bodhisattva shared a similar sentiment with Alchemist Bai Lu, astonished at Zhou Xuan’s youthful ambition, and though disgusted by Zhou Xuan, he couldn’t deny the reason in his words.
After pondering for a moment, Fish Bodhisattva asked in a deep voice, "Great gentleman, you are merely a talented man under the Witch God; carrying the Witch God’s golden token here implies you hold a high position under the Witch God’s command,
