Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 355 Trading
The blood-stained, gleaming dagger before him became increasingly blurry in his eyes.

He stopped paying attention to the scene before him and instead looked up at the sky, perhaps observing something. His expression was serious, without any distracting thoughts or desires. He seemed to be free from all desires and worries.

His last remaining hope has now been shattered by the three people standing in front of him. What chance does he have of surviving?
It was just a matter of getting information out of him, and then discarding him after he had served his purpose.

He had seen far too many things like this before; nothing had changed, and the people he encountered now wouldn't be any different. As for the future, he no longer cared about it.

"It's all just an exchange of interests," he said weakly, seemingly relieved and without any sense of blame.

Guard Li pressed his blade closer, angrily demanding, "What did you say? Stop talking nonsense!"

However, at this point, the backbone of the organization had become like a salted fish, displaying an attitude of "do whatever you want with me," leaving everyone helpless.

“There are many kinds of exchanges of benefits,” Jiang Xian said.

"What?" The leader's expression softened slightly as he asked.

Jiang Xian glanced at him and said, "Just like now. I can finish you off immediately, and apart from not getting the so-called information you mentioned, I don't seem to have much to lose. But if you tell me everything you know, you might be able to save your life."

Upon hearing this, the pillar of the family seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He forced a smile, and a hideous grin appeared on his pale old face as he laughed hoarsely.

Jiang Xian watched quietly, waiting, without interrupting him.

Seeing Jiang Xian's calm demeanor, he lost interest in indulging himself any longer. He immediately suppressed his smile and said, "Don't think I don't know what you people are thinking. If I tell you what's going on, do you think you'll let me off the hook?"

He stared intently for a moment, then seemed to have made up his mind, muttering to himself, "What a joke! It's a complete joke."

After saying that, he simply lay down on the ground like a salted fish, looking like a piece of meat on a chopping board, ready to be slaughtered.

"You're not even as good as them! At least they know how to coax people, but you, you little brat, can't even do that." He looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with laughter, and the corners of his mouth twisted into a grimace again.

This time, Guard Li could no longer tolerate him. The blade, unable to get any closer, naturally landed on the backbone's neck. Dark red blood seeped out from where the flesh met the blade, sliding freely down his neck.

Even so, it no longer attracted the attention of the leader, and he remained lying on the ground, neither alive nor dead, without any reaction.

In fact, he did not feel any pain at all. When the short knife touched his neck, he felt a slight coolness all over his body. That coolness actually relieved some of the pain caused by the "poison," and it was quite comfortable.

He wasn't going to live much longer anyway, so what difference did it make if he had more or less blood? It was just a matter of sooner or later. Thinking this to himself, he calmed down considerably.

"So ungrateful! It would be better to just kill him and let him die in peace!"

As he spoke, Guard Li became quite irritated and had completely lost patience with the person in front of him.

Liu, the guard standing to the side, was no longer as calm as before; his emotions were clearly visible in his furrowed brows.

“You said it yourself, they were just deceiving you.” Jiang Xian shifted his feet, pressing down on Guard Li’s dagger with his fingers, and said to the leader. The leader frowned, doubts arising in his heart again.

"Now that you've spoken, and I know you're a woman, do you still think you can keep me here?" Her tone still held little hope.

“I really wouldn’t have kept you here, after all, you were a potential threat to me,” Jiang Xian said.

The leader snorted a few times and laughed, "You little brat, you're quite frank!"

Jiang Xian stared at the leader's face, which was growing paler with pain, and said, "If you don't want to say anything more, then forget it. But if you want to live, I will give you a chance. Whether you want it or not is entirely up to you. This is what I meant by 'a glimmer of hope'."

The leader remained silent, but this time, he stared intently at Jiang Xian, seemingly wanting to see what kind of face lay beneath the hood.

This was the most honest yet calculating person he had ever met. He found it amusing that such an unpredictable person was probably just a naive young girl.

However, he himself, who prided himself on being a master strategist, has now fallen into such a predicament.

Seeing that the leader was gradually falling into deep thought, Jiang Xian added, "Of course, whether you believe it or not is entirely up to your own judgment. I will not make any promises."

"What about the antidote? I won't live much longer in this state." As soon as Jiang Xian finished speaking, the backbone immediately replied, seemingly having already made up his mind.

Upon hearing this, the two guards were somewhat surprised, as they had not expected Jiang Xian to be able to reach an agreement with their leader.

The first to react was Guard Liu. He stepped in front of Jiang Xian, his tone gentle but his actions urgent, and said to Jiang Xian, "Master, he won't say anything, how can we give him the antidote?"

Jiang Xian shook his head, and Guard Liu understood what Jiang Xian meant, so he slowly stepped aside.

Jiang Xian squatted down next to the backbone and said to him, "You didn't bring the antidote with you, so I'll use acupuncture to temporarily suppress the effects of the medicine on your body."

After saying that, Jiang Xian took off a piece of leather from his arm. The leather looked rather stiff. Before he took it off, it was tied with three silk ropes and tightly wrapped around Jiang Xian's arm.

Jiang Xian handed the piece of leather to Guard Liu, who took it, unfolded it, and placed it in his hand.

As soon as the piece of leather was unfolded, Guard Liu noticed that the very supportive leather in his hand contained clusters of gold and silver needles arranged according to their thickness and length, which looked quite different from those commonly seen on the market.

Jiang Xian carried these things with him, which was something that Guard Liu was already used to. However, there was one thing he didn't understand: the illness of his backbone.

Guard Liu clearly saw that the pill Jiang Xian gave him was the same one from the small bottle he had shown the leader earlier. So, was it that the pill in that small bottle had multiple uses and was later consumed by him and Guard Li, or was it that the small bottle did not contain the leader's antidote at all?
Or perhaps, the main character isn't actually poisoned in the first place, but Jiang Xian has given him something to deceive him.

But if that were the case, why would Jiang Xian actually administer acupuncture to him at this time?
In his view, this should not be just a show for the leader.

(End of this chapter)