112: Chapter 112: The 70/30 Split, and the Thing About Hearts Exploding

The courtyard gate pushed open.

The butler stepped aside, allowing a young man in his early twenties to walk out from behind him. He wore a silver-grey high-fashion trench coat with two rings of dark-patterned magic crystals inlaid at the cuffs. His left hand toyed with a deep red Rank 8 Magic Core, his five fingers taking turns flicking the crystal.

The young master of the Tianbao Pavilion, Qin Mo.

Su Bai glanced at the auction house certification emblem engraved on the Magic Core. It was identical to the emblem printed on the material box Li Haoran had placed on his desk during the Monthly Exam.

Qin Mo walked into the courtyard and glanced at the old locust tree. The dent Wei Xiaoyu had made when she crashed into it was still visible on the trunk.

"Sorry to disturb you so late."

Though he apologized for the intrusion, he walked straight toward the house. His pace was unhurried, each step landing perfectly on the central axis of the courtyard.

The butler followed behind, carrying a pitch-black temperature-controlled briefcase.

Su Bai stood where he was, watching the two pass by him.

Kyubey poked its head out from his shoulder.

[Su Bai, the causality fluctuations of these two are very stable. Stable like they are negotiating a deal they've already won.]

"Let them go in first."

[You're not going to stop them?]

"Uncle Wei is still in the living room."

Kyubey flicked its tail.

Living room.

War Emperor Wei Potian was still sitting on the sofa. The shockwave from when he caught his daughter earlier had pressed a deep dent into the sofa, and he was currently holding a teacup with his legs crossed. Seeing Qin Mo walk in, he raised his eyebrows half an inch.

"People from the Tianbao Pavilion?"

"General Wei." Qin Mo bowed slightly, "My father asked me to send you his regards."

"Your father's way of sending regards is quite unique, considering he fought me for a Dragon Marrow Crystal at the last auction."

Qin Mo's smile didn't waver. "Business is business, and seniority is seniority. Father has always said that in front of the War Emperor, the Tianbao Pavilion will always observe the etiquette of a junior."

War Emperor Wei Potian didn't respond.

Su Bai walked into the living room and sat down on the single sofa opposite War Emperor Wei Potian. Kyubey jumped off his shoulder and squatted on the corner of the coffee table, its red eyes quietly watching the Magic Core rolling back and forth in Qin Mo's hand.

The butler placed the briefcase on the coffee table and popped the latches. A dry, cold mist with the scent of ambergris spilled out from the gap.

Inside was a contract. The cover was gold-stamped, made of Rank 7 Dragon Blood Tree parchment.

Qin Mo sat down opposite Su Bai and crossed his legs. The Rank 8 Magic Core was still rolling between his knuckles.

"Mr. Su Bai, to make a long story short. The Tianbao Pavilion wants exclusive distribution rights for all your future new cards."

He pushed the contract in front of Su Bai.

"A 50/50 split, lifetime contract. Material supply chain, distribution channels, cross-continental logistics—all handled by the Tianbao Pavilion. You just focus on creating cards, no need to worry about anything else."

The butler added from behind: "This is the highest spec treatment the Tianbao Pavilion offers for a Rank 2 Card Creator. Mr. Su Bai likely doesn't understand the market situation; for an ordinary Rank 2 Card Creator wanting to get on the Tianbao Pavilion's agency list, the split ratio usually doesn't exceed 20%."

The tone was very calm, as if stating a piece of geographical common knowledge.

Su Bai picked up his teacup.

"No."

The wrinkles on the butler's face didn't move, but the corner of his eye twitched.

The Magic Core in Qin Mo's hand stopped.

"...Mr. Su Bai, you probably didn't hear me clearly. The Tianbao Pavilion is the largest arms merchant association in the Dragon Kingdom. We hold exclusive passage rights for six cross-border material smuggling routes, controlling interests in three magic crystal mines, and strategic partnerships with twelve Rank 9 powerhouses. Every card we distribute takes no more than three days from factory to shelves across the entire continent."

He placed the Magic Core next to the contract.

"A 50/50 split. Lifetime agency. No other merchant association in the entire Dragon Kingdom can offer you these terms."

Su Bai put down his teacup.

"Then we won't have an agency."

Qin Mo's smile froze.

"I don't see any respect from you."

Su Bai tilted his head. "You broke into my house in the middle of the night, opened the box on your own, pushed the contract in front of me, and rambled on about how awesome the Tianbao Pavilion is. From beginning to end, you didn't ask me a single time, 'What do you think?' Is this a business negotiation, or are you serving me a notice?"

Qin Mo opened his mouth.

Su Bai didn't give him a chance to speak: "If it is a notice—what gave you the delusion that I would accept?"

The air in the living room suddenly became very thin.

The butler took a step forward. Rank 7 magical pressure seeped silently from his gaunt body, and concentric circles rippled across the surface of the water in the cup on the coffee table.

Kyubey's ears perked up.

War Emperor Wei Potian didn't move. He held his teacup, his gaze passing over the rim of the cup to land on the butler's face. He didn't emit any magical fluctuations. He just looked at him.

The butler stopped.

The water surface returned to calm.

Qin Mo coughed and raised his hand to signal the butler to back off. The smile on his face was pieced back together, though it was a layer thinner than before.

"Mr. Su Bai is straightforward. Let's be direct—what terms do you think are appropriate?"

"A 70/30 split. I get 70%, you get 30%."

Qin Mo's smile shattered completely this time.

"...A 70/30 split?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Su Bai, the Tianbao Pavilion's distribution network covers the entire Dragon Kingdom. Logistics, warehousing, cross-continental tariffs, procurement docking with major guilds—we bear all these costs. And you want a 70/30 split?"

"Other people's cards can't be sold without channels, so channels can force their prices down." Su Bai leaned back against the sofa. "My cards are a unique system. Rainbow Card. I am the only person in the world who knows how to draw the core circuits. Whoever gets the agency rights gets the distribution rights for all derivative cards of the Magical Girl system and Stand system for the next decade or more. A 70/30 split. You get 30%. Think it's too little?"

He pushed the contract back.

Qin Mo stared at the contract, his fingers stopping on the Magic Core.

It was quiet for about five seconds.

The butler took another step forward. This time, he didn't hold back. The Rank 7 peak magical pressure exploded without reservation, and dark cyan flames condensed into a translucent ghost wolf phantom behind him. The wolf's head was lowered, its fangs bared.

"Young man."

The butler's voice was hoarse, each word sounding like it was ground out from between his teeth.

"You think just because you made two Rainbow Cards and took on a Rank 9 master, you can talk to anyone like this? The face of the Tianbao Pavilion—not everyone can reject it."

Su Bai looked at the ghost wolf phantom. His heartbeat quickened a few beats when the magical fluctuations surged over.

Then he picked up his teacup.

"Uncle Wei. Someone is showing off their magical beast in front of you."

War Emperor Wei Potian put down his teacup.

He stood up and turned his body toward the butler. The turning speed wasn't fast. The ghost wolf phantom behind the butler shattered instantly the moment War Emperor Wei Potian turned around—it shattered on its own. The instinct of a magical beast is much more honest than the stubborn mouth of a human.

The butler's face went pale.

War Emperor Wei Potian looked down at him.

"Tianbao Pavilion."

Three words. Then he laughed. There was no anger in that laugh, only the expression someone who has fought for decades on the Abyss Front would show when seeing someone brandishing a wooden sword in their backyard.

"Su Bai is someone I protect. You go back and ask Old Qin, does the Tianbao Pavilion have the qualifications to crush someone that I, War Emperor Wei Potian, protect with magical pressure?"

The butler's lips moved twice, but no sound came out.

Qin Mo stood up from his chair. The movement was fast, so fast that the Dragon Blood Tree parchment contract was almost knocked to the ground.

"General Wei—it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."

He turned to Su Bai, his smile at least two shades brighter than before.

"A 70/30 split. Mr. Su Bai gets 70%, the Tianbao Pavilion gets 30%. It was the junior's lack of consideration earlier, please forgive me, Mr. Su Bai."

Su Bai looked at the contract.

"There is one more condition."

Qin Mo's smile froze for half a second.

"Please go ahead."

"The contract is to be signed annually. The renewal right is in my hands. The day you become negligent, I will switch partners at any time."

Qin Mo's mouth twitched. He looked down at the words "lifetime contract" on the contract, then looked at War Emperor Wei Potian's eyes, which were still staring at the butler.

"...Understood. Annual renewal, with the renewal right belonging to the Card Creator."

The new contract was modified on the spot. On the Dragon Blood Tree parchment, "50/50" was crossed out and changed to "70/30", and "lifetime" was crossed out and changed to "annual renewal". When Qin Mo finished signing and stamped it with his magical seal, the Rank 8 Magic Core in his hand dropped onto the coffee table, rolled twice, and stopped beside Kyubey's paw.

Kyubey looked down at it.

[Average quality.]

Qin Mo's eye twitched, but he didn't say anything, pushing the signed contract to Su Bai.

Su Bai glanced at the terms, picked up the pen, signed his name in a few quick strokes, and set the pen on the table.

"Happy to cooperate."

Qin Mo stood up and bowed. The smile was still on his face, but the curvature was at least half as stiff as when he entered.

"Happy to cooperate. The first batch of Stand Card samples—the Tianbao Pavilion will send someone to pick them up within three days."

He turned and walked toward the door. The butler followed behind. The ghost wolf phantom had long since dissipated, and his gaunt back appeared somewhat hunched in the moonlight. The two walked through the courtyard at a much faster pace than when they arrived.

The courtyard gate closed.

War Emperor Wei Potian sat back down on the sofa. The sofa sank another half an inch.

"That kid from the Tianbao Pavilion will probably spend the whole night cursing you at the wall after he gets back."

"Let him curse." Su Bai picked up his cold tea. "The contract is signed anyway."

"You're quite bold."

"It's not the first time I've been cursed at. When Wei Xiaoyu came in today, she listed a long string of titles for me—Lolicon, cross-dresser, founder of young girl aesthetics, the strongest Lolicon in history. That kid from the Tianbao Pavilion probably doesn't have even a third of her vocabulary for cursing."

Wei Xiaoyu curled up in the corner of the sofa, her hands still covering her swollen cheeks, her face turning bright red.

"Th-that was before—"

"What have you already done?"

"Already realized you're a jerk! Happy now!"

Su Bai nodded, his expression satisfied.

"Improvement. Before you called me a Lolicon and a cross-dresser, now you just call me a jerk. At this rate, in three more days you'll probably be praising me."

"In your dreams!!!"

War Emperor Wei Potian laughed out loud. The laughter made the water cup on the coffee table ripple again. He reached out and rubbed his daughter's head, the force very light, like a completely different person from the aura he had when facing the butler earlier.

"Alright. The contract is signed, and my daughter is now your Magic Card Master—"

He stood up and patted Su Bai on the shoulder. "As her father, I'll be heading back now. We'll talk about the new cards in detail tomorrow."

Su Bai put down the teacup.

"Uncle Wei. Since you're already here, why not talk about it now."