A Beekeeper in a Magical World

Chapter 19: An Equitable Exchange

Imagine being hit in the face by several bullets at the same time. Even the toughest person couldn't bear that kind of pain.

Hua Mi thought as he saw the beastkin person fall.

But he didn't let his guard down.

There were still two more people.

One man and one woman, following behind the fallen beastkin.

The man, like Hua Mi, wore a robe, but his was green and not as stylish as Hua Mi's black one.

The woman had a slender figure and held a curved blade, looking like an assassin or some close combat specialist.

When they saw the beastkin person scream and fall, almost being killed in an instant, the two of them immediately stopped in their tracks, their expressions turning serious. They didn't dare underestimate this person in the black robe.

Hua Mi controlled his swarm of bees to block the path between him and the two newcomers. If they made any sudden moves, he would make them taste excruciating pain.

The man and woman exchanged glances and halted simultaneously.

Looking at their fallen comrade, whose abdomen was slightly rising and falling, indicating he was still alive but had fainted, they knew him well. He had a rather sturdy constitution, especially in some beastkin states, and wouldn't easily get hurt.

The fact that he was brought down with a single blow indicated the assailant's unfathomable strength. They must have held back.

If their adversary had shown mercy, they couldn't afford to be impolite.

"It's a misunderstanding. We didn't mean to cause trouble," the man said, placing his right hand over his chest and bowing gracefully.

Hua Mi, of course, couldn't easily believe his words. When they had charged with the beastkin, they hadn't seen such politeness. It was only because he had caught them off guard.

To be honest, Hua Mi's current mental strength could only control one group of bees at a time. He had managed to take down the opponent in one go due to the element of surprise. If the enemy figured out his strategy, he might not be their match. In the worst case, he would have to abandon the swarm and escape to Earth through the wormhole, but he wanted to avoid that scenario. It would mean a substantial loss, wiping out the hard-earned mutated bee swarm.

Seeing that the black-robed person was still in a standoff, the man named Carter spoke again, "It was a misunderstanding on our part. I apologize for the recklessness of my comrade. He has received the deserved punishment, and we have no complaints."

The woman named Silvia also bowed, "Hilya Fiona. Please forgive us and thank you for sparing our companion."

To be honest, their attitude was pretty good. Hua Mi didn't want to escalate the situation. It would be best to resolve this peacefully. What he needed to figure out was why the beastkin person had attacked him. "Recklessness" wouldn't be enough to explain it.

There were two possibilities.

Either they, like the group of fake flower spirits, had mistaken him for the original owner of this small wooden house, the elusive "vile alchemist" who had yet to make an appearance. It was akin to launching a raid on the boss.

This scenario was manageable; once he explained, the conflict could be resolved.

The other possibility was that they attacked people indiscriminately without any reason. If that was the case, it meant they were purely evil, and their current friendliness was a facade. This would complicate things.

Hua Mi pondered for a moment and was about to ask a question. Then he thought about his voice, which sounded relatively young. Would revealing his voice ruin his image of a high-level practitioner?

With a flash of insight, he controlled the swarm to form subtitles in the air: "What is your purpose here?"

Carter replied, "We received information about an abandoned small house in the Black Forest with a semi-automatic alchemical crucible inside. We came for it, but we didn't expect you to be here."

So, they had come for the semi-automatic alchemical crucible. Hua Mi wondered if this thing was so valuable that it warranted a team to search for it, even at the cost of an attack.

"Also, it seems that they genuinely mistook me for that alchemist. That's why they chose to attack... I wonder how notorious that guy really is," Hua Mi thought.

Hilya was somewhat annoyed as she glanced at the fallen beastkin person. She then said, "My companion is prone to being aggressive due to the beastkin transformation. We weren't careful earlier, and he rushed out. We had no choice but to follow him, mainly to restrain him."

In other words, their teammate initiated an attack without considering the circumstances and almost led to a team wipe. Hua Mi could relate to her frustration, having encountered such terrible teammates in online games.

That said, their purpose for being here was the semi-automatic alchemical crucible. Hua Mi had no use for it, so he could give it to them. However, they needed to make an offer that piqued his interest. Violence was not his preferred route.

Hua Mi contemplated for a moment and then controlled the swarm to change shape into another line of text: "The alchemical crucible is with me, and I can give it to you."

The two of them, after reading the subtitles, appeared both surprised and delighted. They didn't expect him to be so accommodating. However, before they could say "thank you," the subtitles changed again: "The unchanging principle of alchemy is equivalent exchange. What can you offer?"

The two of them exchanged glances and realized that the black-robed person wanted to do business.

This was actually a good approach—civilized trading, each party getting what they needed.

"Please allow us to discuss," they said.

Turning away, they whispered to each other for a few minutes before turning back.

Carter took off a silver ring from his left hand. "This is a Focus Ring, crafted by the finest elven artisans in the Jade City. It slightly increases the wearer's focus when casting spells."

It could be useful for Hua Mi since controlling the bee swarm required focus, and when his concentration wavered, he would lose control.

But it seemed too little.

Hua Mi remained expressionless, implying that if they wanted the semi-automatic alchemical crucible, they had to sweeten the deal.

"Furthermore, we can offer you something else," Carter paused, looking towards their fallen comrade, "but that something is with my companion. Could you...?" He gestured towards the bee swarm.

Hua Mi controlled the swarm to retreat a little, allowing Carter to approach his fallen comrade. He bent down and retrieved a four-sided object resembling a Rubik's Cube.

Before Carter could rise, the beastkin person suddenly woke up, grabbing his wrist. His left face was swollen like a pig's head, with his eyes reduced to slits and saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth. He panted heavily, exhaling scorching hot gas. It was hard to tell whether it was out of anger or pain.

"The matter has been resolved, and we are here to negotiate," Carter said calmly.

"The Magic Box is our treasure; you can't have it!" the beastkin person protested through gritted teeth.

"Just as you said, this belongs to our team, not you personally. We're just temporarily entrusting it to you. Now Hilya and I have decided to trade it. Two to one, the resolution has passed."

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