CG Chapter 143: A Pile of Lies
When you bargain with the devil, you must be careful not to trade your fragile world for a pile of nothing, a heap of lies, and a beautiful illusion.
Unfortunately, it is not that simple, or almost no one would have made a deal with him, would they now?
The devil does not arrive as some sort of horrific monster; instead, he strolls forward wearing the face of an angel.
He convinces you with a beautiful dream that once you agree to his demand everything you desire will come to you.
Look around you and remember the devils you have dealt with in your life.
They might have entered as a saving angel or as a lost lamb you thought you were rescuing, but once the ink is laid on the parchment, that beautiful illusion disappears like nothing, the carpet is swept from under your feet, and you are thrown out.
And like this, Qi Hao unknowingly signed the deal the moment he let the devil speak to him.
Hesitating, Qi Hao's eyes flickered for an instant before he said,
"I agree."
However, it seemed Aretius was not satisfied with just that, as an unnoticeable smirk shone on his face.
"You agree to what? You must wholeheartedly state what you want, or else the heavens might think I am deceiving you."
It appeared to be one of Aretius's tricks, because in the next moment, Qi Hao resolutely spoke,
"The seeds of today may grow into a towering tree. This junior will sacrifice his greed to seek a connection with the Senior. Please ask me anything and I will answer to the best of my ability."
When he said that, it was as if a weight lifted from his chest, but there was still an inexplicable feeling he could not dispel.
Not that it mattered now, as he had already signed his soul.
As for the deal, Aretius viewed it simply: if he did not fulfill it, then so be it, but if later he could, he would not mind making a move to build a reputation for himself as a trustworthy and kind senior.
Either way, he would win, and it was not as though he was the one putting his neck on the line.
With that settled, Aretius finally asked for what he wanted.
"You do not have to worry; it is not as if I am going to ask you to die," Aretius said with a smile.
"Alas, it has been years since I talked to anyone, so I might be a bit dull. I have been training in the mountains, isolated from the Jianghu and its experts for so long that I feel I have become out of place."
If anyone else had said this, Qi Hao might not have believed him, but the aura Aretius displayed, and the loneliness emanating from him, as if he truly did not belong, left Qi Hao no choice but to believe, unless he wanted to anger the old man.
It is said these eccentric seniors are the most temperamental, so Qi Hao did not want to test him.
"I need a detailed booklet of the latest news of the Jianghu, information on what has happened, the giants who rose, and those who fell, anything you can think of, whether you believe it is important or not."
Hearing his request, Qi Hao let out a sigh of relief. The request could not be said to be too hard or too easy, as it all depended on the depth of the "importance."
As mentioned before, most sects hate it when people try to pry into their secrets, and the more one shares them, the more likely one is to offend these giants.
A while passed with neither of them speaking, as Qi Hao pondered the most appropriate level of detail to deliver to Aretius.
After much internal conflict, he finally made his choice to grant him the third tier of information, which was the highest level he had access to.
For context, most people at his level only had access to the second tier of information. But with some help from his backers, he had managed to reach the third level.
Rat-Eared Shadow, Clay Monkey, Dark Star, and finally the highest tier that only the sect leader and Grand Elders had access to: Black Heaven.
For a piece of information to be categorized as Black Heaven, it must fulfill three conditions: time, space, and, most obviously, importance.
However, selling this information came with the risk of jeopardizing his position and his future prospects of becoming a sect elder.
"Senior…"
As Qi Hao was about to continue, he realized that because of his fear, he had not asked for Aretius's name.
However, before he had the chance to ask, Aretius replied,
"Names do not mean much to people who have been outcasted from society, but if you must, you may call me White Ghost."
Once again, Qi Hao sensed a heavy weight behind that name. A ghost is a being destined for the world of the damned, yet its cruel fate is to crawl among the living, seeing what it once was.
With that, Qi Hao agreed to deliver the information in three days.
These three days would be used to contact the local outpost and request permission from the residing elder while acquiring the information.
There was no way Qi Hao could remember everything, so only asking for three days already showed how much he valued getting on the good side of Aretius.
Aretius, on the other hand, did not mind, as he decided to continue with his own efforts, gathering information from different sources.
He did not want to rely on one source, even if they were the famous Beggar Sect.