"Each person who comes will get one Demon Core. I don’t care how many people you bring or how much you give them, just handle it yourself," A Fei said with a frown.
"This..." The fatty hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, "Ten Demon Cores, and I’ll handle this for you."
"Alright, you manage it then." A Fei didn’t want to waste time on such matters; their time was more valuable than these low-level Demon Cores.
The fatty was quite deft, and soon he had called over seven or eight young villagers wearing masks. The villagers, mustering their courage, entered the miner’s house. Upon seeing the state of the miner’s body, two villagers couldn’t help but vomit.
Fortunately, the power of money was strong enough. Despite their apprehension, they nervously wrapped the body in a mat, then used a bed to carry it out to a nearby graveyard, where they dug a hole and buried him.
The fatty then returned with a beaming smile, asking for the money, his mask still securely in place.
A Fei gave him ten Demon Cores, intending to send him away. Unexpectedly, the fatty didn’t leave and instead sidled up to Li Xiu.
"Brother, are you interested in these miners? I know where a few other miners live; do you want to have a look?" the fatty said to Li Xiu.
"Are those other miners also ill?" Li Xiu asked.
"No, they aren’t," the fatty shook his head and said.
"What’s there to see if they aren’t sick?" Li Xiu turned to leave.
"Oh, you want to see sick ones, huh? You should’ve said so earlier. I know lots of sick people; whatever illness you want to see, I can find it for you," the fatty quickly caught up, listing the patients he knew as they walked.
"Maybe another time, I’m busy now, I’ll come next time," Li Xiu said, feeling somewhat unwilling to pay him any more attention.
The fatty, having tasted success, was unwilling to give up. While racking his brains, he said, "Brother, are you a doctor? If you’re interested in rare medical cases, I know many. Not too long ago, the daughter of the Big Mine Master in the city fell ill with a strange disease. You surely would find it intriguing. Want me to tell you about it?"
Seeing Li Xiu not saying a word and still on his way, the fatty, sweating profusely, kept pace with Li Xiu and said while wiping his forehead, "The Big Mine Master’s family owns several gemstone mines – Rubies, Blue Apatites, you name it, they have it. But his youngest daughter, she doesn’t like them, she’s only fond of Cobalt Apatites. But this makes the Big Mine Master quite troubled."
"Although Guyue City is a top-tier source of scarce Cobalt Apatites, he just doesn’t have a Cobalt Apatite mine in his hands. You know Cobalt Apatites, right? They’re particularly rare, usually, Blue Apatites have their color from iron, giving them a grayish hue. But Cobalt Apatites get their vivid blue from cobalt, bright and pure, with fire comparable to blue diamonds, known as the Blue Enchantress of Apatites."
"The Big Mine Master’s daughter loves this rare Cobalt Apatite. The Big Mine Master doesn’t lack money, so he always spends substantial amounts to buy Cobalt Apatite jewelry for his favored youngest daughter. I’ve heard her room is filled with Cobalt Apatite decorations, enough to buy a small city."
"After all that talk, what are you really trying to say?" Li Xiu asked, having only heard about Cobalt Apatites without any mention of an illness.
In truth, Li Xiu wasn’t interested in hearing about illnesses; he just found the chatter a bit noisy.
"Listen to me. It was just a while back, about one or two months ago, the Big Mine Master’s daughter had her eighteenth birthday, and he gave her a very expensive necklace. Blue and red diamonds are precious enough, right? But on that necklace, the precious blue and red diamonds were merely supporting roles. The real star was a twenty-carat round-cut Cobalt Apatite, which was the highlight of the entire necklace."
"Let me tell you, I’ve never seen such a beautiful Apatite. That shade of blue, simply peerless... What’s even more amazing is that this Cobalt Apatite is a Chameleon Cobalt Apatite. In sunlight, it’s a captivating blue, and under incandescent light, it’s a mysterious purple. In front of it, I feel like every blue diamond and sapphire is mere trash. It’s the ultimate enchantress among blue gemstones..." The fatty’s eyes shone, almost turning into coins.
"If you don’t get to the point, I’ll really leave," Li Xiu, too, had heard about Cobalt Apatites, but the market for them was notoriously murky, with many being artificially treated, and natural ones not so easily available.
Admittedly, the fatty’s story intrigued him a bit; otherwise, he would have left earlier.
"The point is coming up: ever since the Big Mine Master’s daughter got that necklace, she adored it, wearing it day in and day out. But then, strange things started happening..."
Li Xiu thought it was a shame the fatty wasn’t a storyteller. His meandering tale still gave one an urge to listen on.
"The Big Mine Master’s daughter was originally a very innocent, lively, and kind-hearted girl. But since she started wearing that necklace, her personality gradually changed. During the day, she became silent and reclusive, locking herself in her room and not stepping out for an entire day. And her personality turned extremely cold and ruthless, punishing servants she once liked harshly for even minor mistakes. I’ve heard it even led to a death."
"But at night, it was like she became a completely different person, incredibly seductive. If the Big Mine Master hadn’t realized something was wrong in time, all the young men from miles around would have been ensnared by her..." At this point, the fatty couldn’t help but swallow, "Doctors who came to treat her said she had schizophrenia or a split personality disorder, but people around here whisper that she’s possessed by a ghost, claiming there’s a ghost in that Chameleon Cobalt Apatite on her necklace..."
Hearing this, Li Xiu couldn’t help but pause, thinking to himself, "Could it be that there’s a malevolent spirit in that Chameleon Cobalt Apatite?"