Chapter 2582: Can't Say It to Their Face
The little old man's expression changed the moment he saw the Subclass Stones. He instinctively leaned in closer. "These are good stuff."
"Can't tell, kid, you're pretty loaded."
"You're really willing to give these Subclass Stones to me? Subclass Stones with special attributes are top-tier materials for making props. Hard to find in the game. Take any one of them out and you could sell it for a decent price."
"The monk can run, but the temple can't," Xu Huo said. "You're in this district. Finding you won't be hard."
The little old man pondered for a moment. "What kind of props do you want to make?"
"Ordinary small props wouldn't need these few Subclass Stones. But for larger defense props and attack props, a few Subclass Stones might not be enough. Still, the more materials used, the better the prop's quality."
"I don't have any ideas yet. Do you have any suggestions?" Xu Huo asked.
"A few Subclass Stones with special attributes are enough to make a decent A-grade prop. Depending on the material's attributes, the resulting prop will have corresponding effects. Looking at these stones of yours, two should be suitable for mental-type props, and the rest are space-type."
The little old man thought it over and said, "It'd be a waste to use them for defense props. Attack-type props better showcase the value of Subclass Stones."
"As for what kind of attack prop I can make, I'll need to see the stones to decide."
"No problem." Xu Huo asked for his Artificer account number and sent the Subclass Stones over directly through the game platform.
The little old man didn't dwell on the fact that Xu Huo had actually handed them over so easily. He just dropped a "I'm busy" and ended the call.
Xu Huo put away his communicator and was about to leave when he suddenly saw a person wearing a ghost mask standing at the shop entrance.
The customers coming and going were startled but still walked around him. After all, night parade events were famous in this city, and people often wore bizarre costumes on the streets. But it was rare to see someone wearing only a mask in broad daylight. Most people would just wear the clothes and carry the mask, since keeping it on all the time was inconvenient.
This masked person didn't enter the shop. He just stood at the door for a moment before turning and leaving. A voice came from inside the mask: "Going home for dinner..."
After Xu Huo left the small shop, he hadn't gone far before he saw another person with a ghost mask. This one rushed out from a corner, scared a few passersby, then took off the mask and burst out laughing. These people clearly knew each other—they exchanged a few curses and started roughhousing.
Jing Shi's residence was quite far from Culture Street.
Seeing no updated news on the Message Collection Terminal or the local government's announcements, he contacted the Painting Woman and asked her to bring the You sisters to Jing Shi's house to meet up.
When Jing Shi saw Xu Huo return and propose staying with a few friends, she was quite surprised but didn't refuse. "The house has a big yard. Usually, it's quiet and empty. I'm not sure if you young people will find it comfortable."
Xu Huo exchanged a few polite words and then helped her trim the garden.
Her grandson Xiao Chuan had already come home from school and was about to go out and play.
"It seems a new Instance has appeared near Culture Street. Better not to wander around," Xu Huo said.
"I saw it," Xiao Chuan said. "The government and the Enforcement Team haven't said anything, and it's in Culture Street anyway. I'm not going there. The museum is far from Culture Street."
Jing Shi looked a bit worried. "Take a couple of people with you."
Xiao Chuan wasn't some rebellious young master ignorant of the world. He nodded in agreement.
Not long after Xiao Chuan left, the Painting Woman and the other two arrived, carrying quite a few gifts in their hands.
Jing Shi was happy to see three young girls. When she learned that the Painting Woman couldn't speak, there was pity in her eyes, and she deliberately paused when speaking to give her time. Then, they had afternoon tea two hours early.
"There are many gifts from readers at home. I'm old, and a lot of things aren't suitable for me to eat. Giving them away to others would feel like wasting the readers' kindness. This works out perfectly—entertaining guests without being rude and without wasting the readers' goodwill."
This humble and polite old lady immediately won the You sisters' affection, and their conversation loosened up.
The Painting Woman preferred to eat while playing games, and occasionally, screams came from her communicator. After enduring it for a while, Jing Shi asked, "Is that a game?"
The Painting Woman shook her head and chose to project the screen. It showed a person wearing a mask chasing someone down the street with a blade, shouting, "Stealing people, huh!" The person being chased was fine, but a few bystanders who tried to intervene got hurt.
The person was quickly subdued and taken away by the Enforcement Team, and the injured were sent to the hospital. The local residents, whose historical heritage was steeped in toughness, quickly returned to normal order.
There were quite a few such videos on the Message Collection Terminal, but most were personal grudges.
The You sisters were unfazed, but Jing Shi sighed softly. "Such small matters don't need to end in murder."
"Stealing someone's spouse isn't a small matter," You Xin said. "I once saw a tragic case of adultery. A man was cheating on his wife behind her back. When he got the other woman pregnant, he wanted to replace his wife, but he was reluctant to give up her wealth. So he conspired with his parents to kill the wife's entire family. To cover it up, they set a fire that killed nearly twenty people. If not for the insurance company, the case would have been swept under the rug."
"So, if wrongdoers aren't punished, they'll only get worse, and in the end, others bear the consequences."
"Take that case—if the wife had killed the man when she first discovered his cheating, would twenty-plus people have died? Killing that man would have just been killing a piece of trash. Everyone would have been happy."
You Zhi shot her a look, signaling her to stop.
You Xin smiled at Jing Shi. "Teacher, don't be upset. That's just my personal opinion."
Jing Shi shook her head slightly, her gaze drifting to the vase on the table. "Your words have some truth to them."
The atmosphere cooled. After a moment, Jing Shi said she needed to rest and told them to entertain themselves.
"Did I say something wrong?" You Xin whispered.
"Haven't you seen the tabloid news?" You Zhi used a prop before speaking. "Writer Jing Shi's daughter was killed by her husband for cheating. But before the trial could begin, her son-in-law was killed by a player."
In District 001, there was a concept of "an eye for an eye." If it was just adultery, even a murder-for-hire company might not take the job. But if it was adultery plus murderous intent—whether still in the planning stage or already carried out—the company would generally accept the contract. The murder case Xu Huo had witnessed at Yongxing Hotel earlier was exactly like that.
This was a gray area beyond the reach of the government and the law.
You Xin didn't think she was wrong. "If you can't get along, just separate. People can't be too greedy, wanting everything."
"The words aren't wrong, but you can't say them to their face," You Zhi warned her.
You Xin nodded perfunctorily, then turned back to Xu Huo. "Mr. Xu, why did you suddenly ask us to stay here?"