Hearing his words, the smile on Manager Huang's face faltered for a briefest of instances as a frigid light crossed his eyes.
Having been a subject of ridicule his whole life for his weak constitution and talent, manager Huang could instinctively sense the mockery in Di Tanxue's words.
"Oh? Is that so? You flatter me;"
The old elf cleared his throat and with a polite smile, got straight to the point.
"Which records do you want to see? Could you specify the product and time range?"
"Humans… human children specifically. Last twenty years."
Di Tanxue gave a curt reply and watched the manager's face turn serious.
"Is anything wrong with my request?"
Di Tanxue asked, genuinely puzzled about the old elf's change in expression.
The old elf gave him a long look and shook his head.
"I'm afraid I'll have to have to disappoint you, dear customer;"
"Our records pertaining to that product were lost in an accident ten years ago, any sales before that has no record left."
'Lost in an accident?'
Di Tanxue sneered inwardly with amusement. It was blatantly obvious that the manager was making excuses yet Di Tanxue did not delve deeper into what the manager might be trying to hide.
It did not concern him, especially because what he wished to know was not among the lost records.
"You don't have to be sorry manager Huang;"
"The records of the last ten years, they'll do just fine, I'll buy it."
Di Tanxue saw Manager Huang nod his head with relief visible on his face and calculate the price.
"It would cost a thousand Phantom Crystals;"
Di Tanxue wordlessly took out 280 Phantom Crystals from his storage bags. Since the store owed him 720 crystals from the earlier transaction, this was all he needed to pay.
Accepting the crystals, the old elf took out a piece of paper and scribbled on it for a few breaths of time before passing it to Di Tanxue.
"Since the Great-Famine ten years ago, 20 batches of humans have been bought from our store;"
"19 of them were bought by the Lunar-Spark Palace and the remaining one was sold to–"
"Thunder Crane Commerce… the one destroyed by Azure-Dragon Pavillion?"
As expected of an experienced merchant, despite having been interrupted mid-speech Manager Huang did not show any displeasure as he gave Di Tanxue a calm look with a nod.
"Yes, nine years ago—shortly after their transaction with us, they were sentenced to capital punishment by Jade Dragon Pavillion for rebellion against the Church;"
"Not even the dogs and chicken of their household were spared, the humans we sold must've also died…"
Manager Huang muttered under his breath with an expression of pity.
"Of course they're dead, have you ever heard of them living past the first few months after being sold?"
Di Tanxue laughed with abject mockery and amusement directed at Manager Huang yet his face hidden under the hood told a different story.
The time perfectly matched, it was exactly a month before Di Tanxue himself was sold
Pain, sorrow, guilt and resignation.
Closing his eyes, Di Tanxue could still vividly recall the face of the sweet child gazing at him with affection and trust in her eyes.
That sweet child… Little Hua, his sister, was dead.
In the last eight years he had long since accepted this possibility, yet confirming it personally left Di Tanxue within the grip of deep melancholy.
'No, there's still a chance… as long as there's no corpse, she might still be alive;'
He could only hold onto this delusional hope, after all It was the only way for him to keep himself from losing sanity consumed with rage and hatred.
Letting out a sigh, Di Tanxue silently looked at the paper in his hands with deliberation.
"Lunar Spark Palace, Thunder Crane Commerce…. both of your customers in this list don't exist anymore;"
"Manager Huang, don't you find it strange?"
Responding to this question, the old elf gave Di Tanxue an unreadable look and shook his head.
"There's no relation between their fall, one ceased to exist eight years ago whereas the other only a month earlier from now… and I have no idea what else you might be getting at, dear customer;"
Di Tanxue did not disagree with Manager Huang's assessment. At first glance it might appear a little suspicious but considering the circumstances, it most likely was just a coincidence.
'tsk, As if..'
Di Tanxue clicked his tongue and looked at the sheet of paper in his hand with deep apprehension. A moment or two passed in silence when he stood up abruptly.
"I should take my leave now, Manager Huang. May the Divine One's grace rain upon you;"
The Old Elf nodded his head with a smile and remained seated, watching Di Tanxue leave the room with the Store attendant following closely behind.
Manager Huang stayed motionless for a few breaths of time, deep in contemplation, he stared at the ten storage bags with the azure dragon inscription Di Tanxue had sold earlier.
********
Returning downstairs, Di Tanxue was guided towards a counter where he made the payment for a disposable carriage.
He did not need to wait for long before a modest-looking carriage arrived outside the store.
"Take me to a nearby tavern;"
Di Tanxue instructed the carriage driver as he leisurely took a seat inside while the Domain Lord's gaze once again focused on him.
Now that the first half of his plan had been achieved, Di Tanxue let himself relax outwardly yet remaining fully vigilant inside and waited for the old elf to make his move.
Would he choose to take action personally or would he send someone else to test the waters first?
While he believed the latter to be the most likely, Di Tanxue did not rule out the possibility of the former.
An incense stick worth of time passed and the carriage reached a nearby tavern with nothing noteworthy happening along the way.
"Mister, what's your name?"
Di Tanxue asked the carriage driver as he stood up.
"What would you do knowing this old man's name, kind sir; you chose to hire me, that's already more than enough."
The carriage driver spoke in a calm voice.
"... Fair enough. I've left some money here, go and buy everything necessary for a long journey and wait for me at Cardinal Highway."
Leaving behind these instructions, Di Tanxue kept an ordinary cloth bag containing a hundred phantom crystals on his seat and left the carriage.
"You can keep whatever that's left as your errand fee;"
He added before disappearing from the carriage driver's view into the tavern.
******
"What would you like to have, Esteemed Guest?"
"One serving of everything, no wait.. make it two servings;"
"Pardon?... Yes, right away!"
Seated on the table closest to the tavern's exit, Di Tanxue laughed watching the young errand boy walk away in a hurry.
The errand boy's startled expression made him recall a fond memory from long ago. As he was busy reminiscing, a loud voice attracted his attention.
"Young master!"
"Young master Li!"
"Are you aware of the recent incident in the Lunar Spark Palace?"
"Is it true that a major part of Palace Lord's estate was wiped out of existence a month ago?!"