Chapter 62: The Deal

One by one, Han Li pulled out strange and familiar objects, sorting them into two piles based on their level of suspicion and setting them aside.

He gradually grew astonished—Mo Daifu had an astonishing number of odd items on him, many of which clearly looked deadly.

A sleeve dart laced with instant poison.

A pouch of sand soaked in snake venom.

Dozens of razor-sharp throwing stars.

……

As the pile of items grew, Han Li’s breathing quickened; the more carefully he searched, the more his heart clenched.

Only now did he realize how lucky he had been to survive his clash with Mo Daifu. Had the man merely wanted to capture him alive, Han Li would surely be dead.

Wiping the cold sweat from his face, Han Li scoffed at himself: “A living man, frightened by the belongings of a corpse.”

Finally finished searching, Han Li began examining each item he had marked as suspicious.

“This small vial’s contents smell awful—probably some kind of antidote. Should be harmless.”

“This strange weapon looks like a little wheel. Don’t know what it’s for, but it’s clearly unrelated to the giant. Set it aside for now.”

“As for this incense pouch…”

As he handled the items, Han Li muttered to himself, clearly intrigued. In his hand now was an ordinary incense pouch embroidered with plain white silk flowers.

Logically, such an ordinary pouch shouldn’t raise suspicion. But Han Li thought: such a common item might suit an ordinary person, but for a Xiaoxiong like Mo Daifu, its presence was highly unusual.

Han Li first held it in one hand, testing its weight—it felt light, likely containing no heavy object. Then he pinched it gently; it had the texture of paper, suggesting hidden pages inside.

Han Li’s spirits lifted. He opened the pouch and, as expected, found several sheets of paper.

He glanced over them briefly—Mo Daifu’s own handwriting. He felt a flicker of certainty. Then, upon closer inspection, he was stunned: it was a farewell letter left for him by Mo Daifu.

Han Li frowned, his curiosity flaring. He picked up the letters and read them thoroughly.

After finishing, Han Li exhaled a long, heavy breath toward the sky, then furrowed his brow, sinking into deep thought.

With his arms clasped behind his back, he paced like an old man, walking aimlessly. Every two steps, he stopped, pondered, then, still undecided, walked a few more steps before halting again to think.

Thus, without realizing it, Han Li circled Mo Daifu’s corpse like a donkey turning a millstone, his face shifting between flushed and pale, betraying inner turmoil he could not control.

For such a state of mental unrest to appear on Han Li—had Li Feiyu witnessed it, he would have burst out laughing.

Han Li’s condition stemmed entirely from the letter’s grim news and impossible choice: the antidote to the “Corpse Worm Pill” was itself poisonous—a rare yin poison. According to the letter, only his family’s heirloom “Warm Sun Jade” could cure it; no other remedy, not even legendary antidotes, could touch it.

Thus, on these pages, Mo Daifu clearly explained that this letter and the yin poison were his final contingency—if his soul transference failed and he died unexpectedly, Han Li would almost certainly be the survivor. To secure his legacy, he proposed a simple deal: both would benefit. He would remove his own posthumous worries and grant Han Li immense wealth and countless advantages.

As for whether Yu Zitong might survive, Mo Daifu never considered it. In the letter, he spoke of him with contempt, calling him cold-hearted, cowardly, and possessing only petty cunning. Even as a cultivator, he would amount to nothing. The one who would ultimately laugh last would never be him.

Han Li smiled bitterly at this point. Mo Daifu, so cunning and calculating, had never anticipated that he himself would fall into the trap of someone he had always looked down upon. Had Han Li not concealed his true progress in the Evergreen Dao, he would surely have perished alongside Mo Daifu, leaving Yu Zitong to reap the spoils. Of course, this also stemmed from Mo Daifu’s own delusion—he had been blinded by the dream of immortality. Clearly, no cultivator, no matter how powerful, should ever be underestimated.

In the letter, Mo Daifu’s proposal was simple: Han Li must visit his home within one to two years. First, the yin poison would activate within two years. Second, Mo Daifu had a wife, concubines, a daughter, and considerable assets. Though he had made many arrangements and scattered misleading rumors before leaving, prolonged absence would inevitably stir suspicion among his unruly subordinates and enemies, putting his family at risk. Thus, Han Li must act before matters turned dire—protect his family, settle them safely, and ideally, remove them from the world of martial vendettas, granting them a quiet, carefree life as ordinary people.

As compensation for his treachery and as payment for Han Li’s aid despite past grievances, Mo Daifu offered to betroth his daughter to Han Li as his wife, with half his entire fortune and the “Warm Sun Jade” as her dowry.

Before his departure, Mo Daifu had already given the jade to his principal wife, explicitly designating it as his daughter’s wedding dowry. Thus, for the sake of his own life, Han Li had no choice—he must marry her, whether he wished to or not.

He also clearly warned that his enemies and rivals were formidable, and his subordinates difficult to control. With Han Li’s current strength, confronting them directly would be impossible. To prepare, he had hidden two false identities within a secret compartment in his residence, along with tokens and handwritten letters of authentication, allowing Han Li to choose the most suitable one. He also listed names of trusted allies, suspicious individuals, and enemies, along with critical details requiring vigilance.

Finally, to prove the sincerity of this farewell letter, he appended the methods to control and summon the “Iron Slave” and the “Cloud-Winged Bird.”

What puzzled Han Li was the vague claim that the Iron Slave was a soulless corpse—a mere animated shell, his original spirit long reincarnated. Mo Daifu advised Han Li not to grieve upon seeing him. Han Li was baffled: did he look like someone emotionally fragile?

Yet even setting aside the poison, the sheer wealth on offer could not leave Han Li unmoved. Always keenly aware of material value, he found Mo Daifu’s proposal deeply intriguing. As for marrying his daughter, it stirred an unfamiliar feeling in Han Li, who had just entered the age of first romantic stirrings. After all, judging from Mo Daifu’s own appearance, his daughter could hardly be unattractive.

But the risks involved were immense. One misstep could cost him his life. Enemies worthy of Mo Daifu’s regard were never easy to face.

Mo Daifu, having arranged his affairs with flawless precision, had bound Han Li’s fate inseparably to his wife and daughter through a chain of enticements: his life, a beautiful woman, and vast wealth. Han Li had no choice but to swallow this honey-coated poison.

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