196: Chapter 196 From this day forward, Qinglan belongs to the young master!

Cao Kun's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing the System's voice.

Good heavens.

This is simply a top-quality fat sheep delivered right to my door!

With these twenty thousand task points, I can open another Jade Beast slot.

And, I can rightfully take this shrewd Chief Manager into my pocket.

This deal is definitely worth it!

While he was blooming with joy inside, on the surface, he still put on an expression as if he were suffering a great loss.

“Fairy Pei, oh Fairy Pei, you're pushing me into a fire pit.”

Cao Kun let out a long sigh, making a gesture as if he were about to return the Storage Ring in his hand.

Seeing that he still wanted to refuse even after all this, Pei Qinglan's eyes dimmed.

“Fine, since the Young Master is truly unwilling to take the risk, then Qinglan will no longer force it. I shall treat it as a calamity I was destined to face...”

She gave a bitter smile and prepared to turn and leave.

“Fine.”

Cao Kun suddenly changed his tune at that moment, reluctantly tucking the Storage Ring into his robes.

“Seeing how sincere Fairy Pei is, I'll take on this task.”

A surge of joy filled Pei Qinglan's heart.

A grateful smile was just about to bloom on that exquisite face, and she prepared to curtsy in thanks.

However, Cao Kun suddenly changed the subject.

“However, this job is too dangerous. One million is definitely not enough; I need more.”

He held up two fingers and waved them in front of Pei Qinglan.

“Once the matter is resolved, I want two of those three nine tribulations nirvana fruits.”

“I'll only leave you with one to take back and report.”

The smile on Pei Qinglan's face froze.

“Two?!”

She cried out in shock, grabbing Cao Kun's arm in a panic, her head shaking like a rattle.

“Young Master, that is absolutely impossible!”

“The accounts at the Pavilion are extremely strict. Those three fruits are registered as top-tier divine artifacts.”

“If even one is missing, I won't be able to report back! Let alone two!”

“Please change your condition, Young Master. As long as it can be solved with Spirit Stones, even if the price doubles, Qinglan will not bargain.”

“But those fruits, it really won't work.”

Looking at her frantic state, Cao Kun laughed inwardly.

This was exactly the reaction he was waiting for.

In psychology, this is called the 'Door-in-the-Face' technique or the 'Tear Down the Roof' effect.

If you tell people the room is too dark and you want to open a skylight in the roof,

they will surely disagree.

But if you say you're going to tear the entire roof off,

everyone will immediately rush to compromise and suggest that it's better to just open a skylight.

First, propose a condition the other party absolutely cannot accept to force out their bottom line.

Then, naturally settle for the next best thing.

The other party will then easily comply.

“Since you can't give me the fruits, there might be another way...”

Pei Qinglan acted as if she had caught a lifeline and hurriedly asked, “What way? Please say it, Young Master.”

Cao Kun sized Pei Qinglan up from head to toe.

His gaze slid from her delicate collarbone all the way down to her fair and slender long legs.

“Fairy Pei, how about you become my personal maidservant?”

As soon as these words were spoken,

Pei Qinglan stood frozen on the spot.

She doubted if something was wrong with her ears.

A personal maidservant?!

She was the dignified Chief Manager of the Treasure Pavilion's Yuheng Province branch!

She held massive resources and a respected status.

Even the Sect Masters of first-rate Sects would have to politely call her Manager Pei upon meeting her.

Now, this man actually wanted her to serve him tea and water,

and even be a personal maidservant who had to warm his bed at any time?!

“Young Master Cao, this joke of yours is a bit too much!”

Pei Qinglan's voice turned cold, and the smile on her face vanished completely.

But Cao Kun was not afraid; instead, he put away his flippancy, and his expression became incredibly domineering.

“I'm not joking with you.”

“This is called an equal exchange.”

This powerful sense of pressure made Pei Qinglan subconsciously take a step back.

The next second,

Cao Kun pressed close, his hands propped on both sides of the stone table.

He trapped this high-and-mighty female manager firmly between his arms.

“You're unwilling to give the fruits, and you can't produce any other chips to move me.”

“Then you can only sell yourself to me.”

Pei Qinglan fell into a state of extreme hesitation and struggle.

Reason told her that she absolutely could not agree to such an absurd request.

Once she agreed, she would no longer be that high-ranking Chief Manager, but an appendage by Cao Kun's side.

But...

If she didn't agree, the merchant caravan would be finished, and the nine tribulations nirvana fruits would be lost.

She would lose everything.

Hundreds of years of hard work, countless nights of planning, and the price paid to climb to her current position.

It would all vanish into thin air.

She truly could not accept that!

Cao Kun watched her shifting expression, knowing the time was almost right.

It was time to add the final piece of fuel to the fire.

He leaned close to Pei Qinglan's ear, his voice low and carrying an irresistible magic.

“Fairy Pei.”

“You don't want your hundreds of years of effort to go to waste like this, do you?”

“You don't want to be stepped on by those old fogies at the Main Pavilion, stripped of your qualification to compete for the position of Pavilion Master, and finally be kicked out by the Main Pavilion, do you?”

These two sentences were like two sharp daggers, accurately piercing the most vulnerable weakness in Pei Qinglan's heart.

The greedy and sinister faces of those old guys at the Main Pavilion flashed through her mind.

She knew those people at the Main Pavilion all too well.

Once she lost her utility and the protection of her manager status, the fate awaiting her would definitely be a hundred times more miserable than death!

Cao Kun was indeed the only lifeline she could grasp at the moment.

He was powerful and acted without restraint.

Even the Empress of Great Yan regarded him with favor.

Only he would dare to go to the Lingxiao Divine Kingdom and snatch the goods back from the hands of King Youtang.

Under the night sky, time passed minute by minute.

Cao Kun didn't rush her; he just let his palm slide down naturally,

embracing that soft slender waist, quietly admiring this top-tier mature beauty as she fought her final internal battle.

He knew very well that for a woman like Pei Qinglan, who valued interests more than life,

what kind of choice she would ultimately make!

A full fifteen minutes passed.

Pei Qinglan's tense body finally relaxed dejectedly in his arms.

Those peach-blossom eyes, which were originally shrewd and strong, were now filled with complex emotions.

There was humiliation, unwillingness, and the determination of someone burning their bridges.

“Alright...”

Pei Qinglan's voice was hoarse, and uttering those two words seemed to have exhausted all her strength.

“As long as you can help me recover those three fruits. From now on... Qinglan belongs to the Young Master.”

It's done!

Cao Kun was ecstatic, but his face maintained an expression that took it as a matter of course.

He reached out and gently stroked Pei Qinglan's fair and smooth cheek.

“That's more like it.”

“It would have been over if you'd just agreed earlier, instead of going in such a big circle.”

“In the future, follow Master Cao, and I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury. Sooner or later, I'll even conquer the Main Pavilion and give it to you as a dowry!”

“Conquer the Main Pavilion and give it as a dowry...”

Hearing such boundless arrogance, if someone else had said it, she would have certainly sneered in disdain.

But coming from Cao Kun's mouth, it actually made her heart race a little!

Pei Qinglan gave Cao Kun a resentful glare.

Yet she found that there wasn't much anger in her heart.

Instead, there was an indescribable sense of relief.

Perhaps,

after drifting in the sea of commerce for hundreds of years, she was also tired.

Finding a strong enough backer to lean on seemed... not bad?

“Don't just stand there dazed.”

“Go prepare the Flying Boat; we're leaving right now.”

“Finish the job early, as this master is still waiting for you, my little maidservant, to come back and warm my bed.”

Pei Qinglan