Huo Yuri felt relieved.
The negotiations had been conducted with the usual theatrics, but, in fact, the atmosphere had been wrong. The Third Manager was clearly upset at himself for missing the great opportunity to sell his child at a high price.
In the middle of all the tension, he was fighting for marginal benefits.
It was clear that winning another stone of Black Sand Powder did not feel like an accomplishment. However, it was also impossible to push any further, as his position was not strong.
With the pre-existing animosity, the officer had half-feared that the Third Manager would flip the negotiation table.
However, in the end, the expected result had occurred.
The threats and posturing had all been retracted, and the deal had come to a close.
The agreed-upon price was still higher than normal because of the strange attributes of the child. It would be paid in common materials from the Ghost Whispering Forest. The four Jade Snakes had not been mentioned again.
The sudden conclusion demonstrated that the performance on both sides had really just been for show. It had never been close to a real conflict.
This is what Huo Yuri had suspected from the start, but he still needed to see it through to completion before he could breathe easy.
After all, his 'immunity' only existed as far as the families were concerned. He still had to be wary of scrutiny from within Goldmoon Hall.
If matters had escalated, then someone would have to have been blamed, and he was the easiest target. Being so close to an incident involving the Mo Family was nearly a crime unto itself.
He could be charged by his superior for proximity alone.
If you were so close, why didn't you stop it from occurring?
If he attracted the ire of higher-ups at Goldmoon he could even have become a full scapegoat, cited as the cause of the incident.
Sowing dissent among humans, was he not an agent of demons?
Such charges were commonplace, whether there was a basis for them or not.
His position meant that the families were wary around him, but if it was an internal resolution of Goldmoon Hall, his little life really meant nothing.
"The materials will arrive later in the week," Mo Seris said, turning around. Since the deal had been concluded, there was no reason for him to stay any longer.
The Third Manager quickly walked ahead of him, holding the door open.
It was a small gesture, and Mo Seris didn't think much of it.
As he left, he took a detour, walking over to Huo Yuri and passing a small pouch over. The pouch clinked as it touched the officer's hand. A moment later, it was out of sight, stowed in a pocket.
Neither the Third Manager nor the representative said anything. Mo Seris simply left through the open door. Song Horo walked after him.
Song Kiro followed a few steps behind and held the door open for Huo Yuri. The Goldmoon officer gave a slight bow to thank him on the way out.
Song Kiro looked back at Rao Isana, who was slowly moving off of the bed, looking every bit the part of a frail maiden.
She did not look back at him. It seemed that she did not intend to see the representative off.
Seeing this, Song Kiro gave a slight bow, before following after the others.
The cradle with the infant was left in an obvious place in the antechamber, while the servants and medicinal assistants stood a few paces back. It was clear that they were unnerved by the infant's behavior.
Moving around so much, what if it suddenly died?
The servant who was closest at the time would immediately fall under suspicion. Knowing this, who would dare stand close.
If something went wrong, they did not want to be blamed.
The servants did not look like they were planning to stop the representative from taking the infant, but the Third Manager gave them a nod just in case, signaling that an agreement had been reached.
Thus, when Mo Seris approached the cradle, none of them stepped forward. They merely watched as the representative in dark robes strode across the room without a hint of restraint or modesty in his approach.
The arrogance of the Mo Estate was far more oppressive for the servants than it was for important members of the family like Song Kiro and Song Horo.
Seeing the representative now, they all felt that moved like he was the host rather than the guest.