Chapter 53 The Lady Who Was Obsessed With The Sword Fight (Part-4)
If he's refusing, that means he's probably expecting even more. It is what Lin Xue understood the meaning behind Mark's rejection.
So, she raised the offer even more. "High-Quality Ether crystals are very rare. Although a 100 carat is worth 10000 gold coins, you won't be able to find it even in the market. This is my last offer. It's a lifetime opportunity for you as well as him."
She thought she can subdue him with it but little did she know her words only aggravated his mood. "Your nobles think commoners like slaves and may think that you can buy them with money but not everything can be sold, at least in my store. Even to buy a certain weapon, you need to reach certain requirements."
Not only did he refuse it, but he even countered with provocation as soon after remembering how Lu Zhen was also switched with a commoner as soon as he was born.
Even though it is called swapping the babies, in the eyes of Mark, Lu Zhen's adopted parents just sold their baby in exchange for wealth and Lu Zhen.
On top of that, there's his past life where he was approached by someone like her with a huge offer. He was rejected back then too and faced a tragic death, but it was another matter.
What matters is his hatred towards people in power like them who gives a little shit about human rights. Allen might not be a human but in their eyes, he is. What her offer states that she is the same as his biological mother.
And this made Mark angry for a moment, discarding everything about the possibility of her turning into a potential customer of the store.
It was just then, Allen placed the boxes and took a glimpse at her without any expression, and turned around to walk into the storage room to bring in more boxes.
Lin Xue's face turned red in embarrassment and clenched her fist. She got the urge to turn and run away to the carriage and hide her face but if she backs away now, it would be seen as her admitting that Mark's accusation is correct. Even though she didn't think much of commoners, her intentions were good here.
She was thinking of a win-win situation here. If Allen works at her compound, he will get a higher salary and a better life while she will improve her swordsmanship.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Xue replied, "As I have said before, your servant has extraordinary potential. I would like to spar daily with him at our training grounds, but not in this restricted environment. I'm interested in his skills. If you can't give him to me, then, let me borrow his time. Just Three hours per day in the morning.
If you wished to be stubborn even when I compromised on my end, then, we'll go back to being strangers without having anything to do with each other in the future. After all, you and I live in two different worlds."
Mark fell silent and looked at her in surprise. There was a look of determination on her face.
After a brief silence, he opened his mouth, "speak your price."
"I knew it." A rare smile appeared on Lin Xue before it disappeared after a second. Until now, Lin Xue was on her wit's end. It was already a humiliation for her to lose a fair battle in front of everyone.
Mark is a storekeeper and according to her view, every trader or merchant or store in charger has a common quality. That is to never sell a thing or make a deal where they face a loss. If they accept the loss, then, it's either thinking of greater gains in the future or protecting the greater losses in the future.
She believed that Mark would surely accept the proposal but after big turned down three times in a row, she swallowed her pride and compromised on her part. And in the end, she successfully caught the fish.
Unfortunately, due to her success, her impression of Mark didn't change a bit and felt that Mark was just as she thought, a shopkeeper like everyone else.
Lin Xue raised five fingers, "I'll pay you and Allen more than I'm paying to my sword instructor. 500 gold coins per day. Only Royal Knights at the palace and Generals receive more wage than this. How you distribute that money between yourselves isn't my problem.
On top of it, I'll use my Lin Clan's influence to give you a store located in the heart of the city. The rent will be covered by our clan too. This is my bottom line. Either you accept it or we leave, right away."
Once again, Mark fell into thoughts.
Earlier, he was only angry because of the past incidents that occurred to him.
Of course, even if that wasn't the case, he will still get angry because Allen is precious and is invaluable.
It wasn't because the Android is bound to Mark and cannot be sold. Mark had given his little brother's name to the Android. Just the thought of selling the Android is the same as selling his brother in Mark's eyes.
However, renting him is completely another issue. As long as they don't find that he isn't a human, it wouldn't be a problem. And it would be a lie if he wasn't tempted by such an offer for such a simple thing. With 15000 gold coins, he can buy ten stores around. However, there was one issue that was still stopping him. It was the fact that Allen isn't a human.
"But, how could I make sure that no one finds his secret?" Mark continued to ponder.
Even though Allen wore clothes and has skin when someone touches his body, they will instantly recognize the hardness, and in case, his body was hit by something that has penetrative properties like a bullet or a maybe a gold or higher grade sword, the sound of metal is bound to be heard.
What if they find his secret and capture him to research it. Allen is at rank-4. While he has extraordinary healing power during the day and has a superior fighting ability that lets him fight evenly with a 5-circle realm expert, he can't do anything if there's someone like Song Yun.
If such a case occurs, Mark would have to go there personally to rescue him. The greatest power he possessed is the Battle Tank but the Royal Family also has 7-circle realm experts as Generals.
Adding on top of it, Mark suspects that there's a high chance that these noble clans might have already upgraded their security by bringing their clan members or recruiting higher realm experts from the guilds. There's no way to know what can happen there.
Mark definitely won't underestimate them. Unless it is absolutely necessary, he doesn't want to go another rampage like before and take the risk.
This is what bothers him the most.
Meanwhile, Lin Xue continued to wait in silence. "Just what the hell is he thinking so seriously?" She was barely holding herself to not lose her patience. The offer she made is so good that in her opinion, Mark would readily accept it. But, it wasn't happening as she envisioned.
On the other hand, Allen, who was the center of the discussion, was calmly bringing the boxes as if he doesn't listen to the matter.
Six-circle expert, Assassin Yao Ling started to get worried, wondering whether the young miss would lose her temper any time soon and he might have to get into action. At the same time, the suppression within the store is also bothering him too much.
After analyzing the pros and cons, Mark finally announced his decision, "Three hours in the morning. However, instead of your grand offer, buy the same amount, 500 gold coins worth of weapons from my store every day before you start your spar.
And what you do with the weapons isn't my concern. Sell them, distribute them, destroy them. I don't care. My final condition is that I will personally visit Lin Clan every day with Allen and stay as a guest while you spar him. These are the conditions on my part. Make a formal contract with Lin Clan's seal and bring it to me."
"Alright," Lin Xue readily expressed her agreement, taking him by surprise.
Soon, she left with the boxes, returning to Lin Clan to convince her father.
The next day morning, Lin Xue stood before Mark with a scroll in her hands.