I Don't Agree to the Terms

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Then, after several twists and turns, he arrived at a secret chamber. Gu Shanhai had one such secret chamber at his Rose Manor, generally used to store more valuable items such as gold, silver, jewels, or paintings and calligraphy.

"This piece of animal skin, give me an estimate," said Prince Tulip as he brought out his item of last resort.

Gu Shanhai received it and gave it a careful look. The animal skin was just ordinary, but its origin was very ancient because of the highly skilled tanning that had kept it well preserved.

On the skin, there were random patterns, which, upon close inspection, could be confirmed as script. However, what exactly it recorded was impossible to discern.

"An estimate? You're being quite amusing, Prince Tulip. What value could this possibly have?" Gu Shanhai laughed, placing the animal skin back on the table, his tone laced with skepticism.

There was definitely value to the item, but only if one could read the script on it. Unfortunately, Gu Shanhai had never been to this world in his previous life, so, naturally, he didn't collect the script from this world.

Of course, he could use Prophetic Divination to translate it, but why not bargain if possible?

"It can hold Ghost Energy, what do you think?" Prince Tulip seemed to have caught Gu Shanhai's drift, yet he dropped a metaphorical bombshell.

"And then? Even if it can hold Ghost Energy, so what?" Gu Shanhai couldn't help but scoff.

For the Prince, it was utterly useless.

Hearing that, Prince Tulip paused, as if it made perfect sense. At first glance, the object seemed to hold a mystical allure because nothing could contain Ghost Energy, whether liquid, solid, or gaseous—all were forms of Derived Ghost Energy, characterized by erosion rather than assimilation.

But despite its mystical nature, the object was actually quite pointless. The skin's ability to hold Ghost Energy at best made it a simple storage container for it, and the Prince didn't need those.

For a moment, Prince Tulip wasn't sure how to proceed. His initial plan was to take advantage of Gu Shanhai's recent departure from the Imperial Palace, his lack of knowledge, and to exchange the animal skin for a large sum of money to pay off his debt. Once he repaid the large debt, he wouldn't be so financially crippled.

"Forget it. In light of your sincerity, I am willing to repurchase your shares in Jile Technology at twice the market rate. Consider this piece of animal skin a bonus."

Gu Shanhai estimated that, after Prince Tulip's shorting, his Jile Technology's value had increased a hundredfold in just three days. It was a blessing in disguise.

If he bought back the Prince's shares at twice the price, it would more or less cover the remaining debts the Prince had...at least, Gu Shanhai thought so; he didn't know the exact amount the Prince owed.

The money he was spending wasn't significant; the main thing was resolving this nuisance. And with the animal skin to research, Gu Shanhai considered it a good deed.

Prince Tulip was torn. The most valuable thing he owned now were those shares. Since they were not Royal Family assets, they had not been forcibly transferred and remained in his hands.

He wasn't foolish; he hadn't even thought of selling them to collect Ghost Energy crystals to pay off his debts. It was like killing the goose that laid golden eggs. Additionally, he was holding out for a higher offer.

In fact, other Princes and even members of the Royal Family had approached him in the past two days, offering to buy the shares at a high price.

But none of them offered a price as high as Gu Shanhai's. The better offers were at market value, while the more opportunistic ones were ready to buy low.

As long as he remained in debt, he would be under their thumb.

"I'm sorry, but these shares, I..."

"Three times the rate."

"This is really..."

"Five times. If you're selling, sell; if not, then let's talk about how you plan to liquidate this piece of animal skin," Gu Shanhai didn't keep raising the price.

He knew that Prince Tulip was tempted, his circumstances forcing his hand.

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After doing some calculations, Gu Shanhai discovered that even with a fivefold market price acquisition, there was still profit to be made. Not only could he pay off all his debts, but he might even manage to make a comeback.

As for whether it was a goose that laid golden eggs, that depended on the value of those eggs. If the goose itself was far more valuable than the gold it could lay, then, of course, it would be slaughtered for its meat, especially since he was nearly starving to death.

"Alright, we'll sign the contract tomorrow," Prince Tulip gritted his teeth and agreed to sell.

He chose the next day because he wanted to gamble one last hand; after Gu Shanhai left, he intended to use his connections to further inflate Jile Technology's stock price, allowing him to sell even more shares.

Prince Tulip had his little schemes, which Gu Shanhai noticed too. He didn't try to stop him; it was a good thing, and besides, it was Prince Tulip's own doing.

"Then it's settled," Gu Shanhai picked up the animal hide and got ready to leave, "I'll go back and study the animal hide now. There's no need for you to see me out, Prince. Today is your son's first birthday celebration."

Gu Shanhai was not the least bit polite, and after speaking, he promptly took his leave.

He wasn't overly concerned about the shares; what he was interested in was the animal hide. Retrieving the shares was just a pleasant surprise, originally intended as a distraction.

'From an ancient era, this animal hide bears special records detailing the mysteries of Ghost Energy.' Gu Shanhai quickly translated the inscriptions on the hide through Prophetic Divination.

The records divulged how to conquer death and control primal Ghost Energy.

In the tribal era before civilization had risen, there were primitives who used Ghost Energy to wield power and influence.

These primitives were known as Wizards within their tribes.

However, becoming a Wizard was no easy task. They were not like the Princes of the present, who were born from breaths of Ghost Energy. Instead, they truly derived primal Ghost Energy from the concept of death itself to command it.

Should they make a single mistake in this process, death was the inevitable outcome.

Gu Shanhai was unaware of why this system had not developed. It possibly involved nations that had preceded the Navia Empire. But looking further back was challenging due to the significant time distance, making it difficult for Gu Shanhai to excavate further information.

This animal hide was no ordinary object; in fact, it resembled a Ghost Energy version of a Magic Artifact.

Prince Tulip did not have the required methods, so he only knew that this hide could carry Ghost Energy but not how to activate it.

'The technique is crude, but it is indeed very practical.' Gu Shanhai quickly extracted the data inherent in the hide, which turned out to be a legacy of a Wizard.

Wizards poured primal Ghost Energy into the hide, and Wizard Apprentices used the hide to come into contact with death. In doing so, they would then convert a portion of that death into Ghost Energy and absorb it into their bodies for successful awakening.

With this hide, the high mortality rate dropped from ninety-nine percent to eighty percent. Although still dangerously high, it was no longer a situation where ninety-nine out of a hundred would perish.

'It seems there must be many similar ancient artifacts in this world; I should find a way to discreetly collect more.'

The presence of such an ancient civilization did not particularly surprise Gu Shanhai. It was quite expected that Emperor Navia wasn't the pioneer of Ghost Energy, but the Ghost Energy techniques of the Great Emperor were far more sophisticated and efficient than those developed by the tribal Wizards.

'But does the Undying Emperor know about these?' Gu Shanhai couldn't help but ponder about the Emperor who lingered deep within the Imperial Palace. Could such a person be utterly unaware of these matters?

These writings were indeed completely lost, and translating them was as difficult as ascending to heaven, but there was always the risk of information leakage.

Perhaps the Emperor had already dealt with it, keeping Ghost Energy contained.

'Collecting these ancient artifacts must be done discreetly, to avoid drawing the Great Emperor's attention.' Gu Shanhai thought it over and decided it was best to keep a low profile. Provoking a reaction from the Emperor would not bode well.