329: Chapter 329 Haiye Doesn't Like It

It's coming, it's coming, it really is coming.

Zhang Chaoyue naturally did not want to hand over this precious dharma instrument.

This was something he had traded his life to obtain.

No, regardless of what he traded for it, it was his property, and he didn't want anyone to lay a finger on it.

Especially Zhang Dahai.

If Zhang Dahai set his eyes on it, he would never be able to get it back in this lifetime.

However, just a moment ago, in order to gain Zhang Dahai's trust, he had already repeated everything that happened at the scene; there was no hiding it.

Therefore, if he wanted to keep this dharma instrument, he could not let Zhang Dahai realize its true value.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chaoyue tried hard to keep himself appearing natural, revealing a trace of a smile: "Boss, I have to say, that guy Han Jingyang really has some skill when it comes to dharma instruments. This tablet can accelerate cultivation. Although the effect is just average, it is genuine. If I had had such a dharma instrument with me from the very beginning of my cultivation, my strength would be greater than it is now, and the speed at which I clear my vows would be faster."

Zhang Dahai reached out his hand: "Let me see it."

Zhang Chaoyue did not show a shred of hesitation or reluctance and handed the jade tablet over directly.

Zhang Dahai took the jade tablet, rubbed it for a moment, then held it up to the sunlight to inspect it: "This is Hetian white jade material, mountain material. It's white enough, but not fine or lustrous enough, so the value isn't very high. The carving is quite good, though; the dragon pattern carved on it has a nice feel. It's not quite master-level, but it's not far off. Counting both the labor and the material, it's only worth seventy or eighty thousand."

Zhang Chaoyue nodded hurriedly: "Right, this tablet isn't much, but once it's been consecrated, it's different. It's a dharma instrument, and the value of a dharma instrument can't be calculated that way."

"No problem there," Zhang Dahai nodded: "Although I am an ordinary person, I know that dharma instruments that assist in cultivation are quite precious. They can support a family or even a sect. With this thing, if others have ten years of cultivation after ten years, you could have twelve or thirteen. If others have twenty years of cultivation, you would have nearly thirty. By the time others have thirty years of cultivation, you would already have over forty or even more. This snowballs generation after generation; it wouldn't take three generations to cultivate a super family, right?"

Zhang Chaoyue's heart sank suddenly, but he still nodded hurriedly: "Right, Boss's way of thinking is spot on."

"Then are you willing to give this thing to me?"

"This..."

"You're not willing?"

Zhang Chaoyue used immense willpower to control his emotional fluctuations and put on a bitter smile: "Boss, I'm definitely reluctant to part with it. After all, this kind of dharma instrument is too precious for a rogue cultivator like me. If I miss this opportunity, I might not encounter another one like it in my life. Besides, I haven't thought about passing it down through generations; I just want to clear the influence of the vows on me as soon as possible. I don't want to live in the shadow of Han Jingyang for the rest of my life."

Zhang Dahai laughed: "I can understand, I can understand."

Speaking to this point, he paused for a moment, stared into Zhang Chaoyue's eyes, and said: "However, based on my experience, I always feel that this matter isn't that simple."

Zhang Chaoyue's heart skipped a beat: "Boss, wh-what do you mean?"

Zhang Dahai chuckled: "I don't know if you've ever seen an interrogation scene. There is a type of criminal with a specific characteristic: at certain moments, they will be very cooperative, answering whatever is asked. All their answers are reasonable, and you can't pick out a single flaw. However, veteran police officers all know that this is the criminal instinctively trying to cover up a bigger crime. They instinctively believe that by readily confessing to some things, they can make the police overlook the greater crime."

"Boss, you suspect me?"

"Yes, I suspect you are covering something up," Zhang Dahai said, playing with the jade tablet in his hand carelessly: "But after thinking it over, you don't really have anything to cover up, except... this."

Zhang Dahai tossed the jade tablet in his hand: "This tablet is a dharma instrument, a precious one that assists in cultivation. It is indeed precious, but not so precious that it would be worth lying to me. The risk is too high. Therefore, reasoning backwards, the value of this tablet is even higher, right? The effect of assisting cultivation is better, and you didn't want me to know that point, so you didn't conceal anything else, only the true effect of this dharma instrument."

Speaking to this point, he stared into Zhang Chaoyue's eyes and said calmly: "You wanted to keep this dharma instrument, and for that, you were willing to risk playing tricks on me, but you didn't expect that I would see through your little game at a glance."

Zhang Chaoyue's face instantly flushed red.

His heart was filled with both shock and fear.

Shocked by Zhang Dahai's sharpness and intelligence.

Fearful of Zhang Dahai's ruthless methods.

But things had reached this point, and there was no other choice but to tough it out.

Zhang Chaoyue, with a red face and a stiff neck, nodded heavily: "I come from a background as a rogue cultivator. The path of cultivation is extremely difficult. Before this, I had never even possessed a single dharma instrument. This is the first dharma instrument in my life, and it is a type that assists in cultivation. I want to keep it, very much!"

Zhang Dahai chuckled: "Then you should have been straightforward with me, instead of playing these little tricks in front of me."

"I'm sorry," Zhang Chaoyue lowered his head to apologize, but said nothing more.

This was a gamble, a gamble that Zhang Dahai wouldn't kill him, and a gamble that Zhang Dahai would return the dharma instrument to him.

Because although Zhang Dahai was ruthless in his methods, in most situations, he was quite fair. He did things reasonably and was logical. He was not a fickle person, and his reputation was actually quite good.

Would a person like this punish him over a dharma instrument?

If this got out, he would definitely be labeled as someone who forcibly seized his subordinates' spoils of war.

Of course, in front of a dharma instrument of this level, it was possible for Zhang Dahai to do anything.

So Zhang Chaoyue was gambling.

Zhang Chaoyue was gambling that Zhang Dahai would not do something that would damage his reputation for the sake of this dharma instrument, because if such a thing were to get out, what would the experts under Zhang Dahai think?

Time passed second by second.

It was less than half a minute, but Zhang Chaoyue felt like he had spent half a century. It wasn't until he heard Zhang Dahai's words that he breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Dahai placed the jade tablet on the stone table and gently pushed it toward Zhang Chaoyue: "I, Zhang Dahai, am not that petty. In the future, if there are any such matters, tell me directly. Don't play tricks. How does that witty saying go? Chaoyue, you were able to tell the truth, and Master Hai is very happy, but when you play little tricks, Master Hai does not like it."

Zhang Chaoyue hurriedly apologized: "Boss, I'm sorry. I won't play little tricks anymore."

Zhang Dahai nodded slightly: "Go back and rest well for a while. Clear the vows you made as soon as possible. When I need your cooperation, I will send you a message. Since your strength is so great, I will have places to rely on you in the future."

"I will definitely work hard."

"Go ahead." "Thank you, Boss."

Zhang Dahai watched Zhang Chaoyue leave with the jade tablet and beckoned.

A black shadow appeared silently beside Zhang Dahai.

Zhang Dahai said expressionlessly: "Take action tonight. Kill him and take back the jade tablet."

"Yes," the black shadow bowed and immediately disappeared.

At this moment, an Old Man with a full head of white hair strolled into the small pavilion: "Why kill him? I don't believe it's just because of that dharma instrument. Could it be that the kid lied?"

"No, he didn't lie. Everything he said was true."

"Then it is... you suspect he has developed ulterior motives?"