At my words of affirmation to his proposal, he smiles brightly, and I hear the happiest his voice has been since we started talking.

“I’m glad to hear you’ve chosen well. Here, I have a contract for us to sign.”

He waves a hand and in it appears a contract, bound in gold ribbon and sealed within a transparent jade scroll carrier. Something that seems to be used for securing various contracts.

With another flourish, he opens the container with the contract sliding out of it and into his palm. Which is then transferred over to me.

Now in my possession, I check carefully through it for any catches or loopholes. I’m quickly surprised by the clear inclusion of the ‘undisclosed items’ he mentioned earlier.

To heal him and the Patriarch to the same standard that I did the Sister Nuan.

I can’t help but look up at this to meet his eyes. He gives a mysterious smile and looks away.

Her healing and massive increase in power were clear, and the presence of the surrounding elders was a huge clue, so I shouldn't be surprised.

I can probably expect other requests in the future, though Sister Nuan already mention she would field most of them. This one… she probably couldn’t deal with.

Head Librarian Mao Boqin and Patriarch Tao Feng.

I feel that even after this contract is done, I’ll have to deal with this duo.

Turning my eyes back to the contract, I notice the penalty is soft. If we cannot find the pearls or I decide to give up on the reward, I will have my memory wiped of any project-specific sensitive data on the project, library, and sect. We can then discuss other ways to achieve my goal of acquiring the data in the library.

Feeling wary, I check deeply for anything that will cause issues for me, but it seems simple. There isn’t anything in this meant to screw me over.

So, I sign it, right beside his signature.

Like the other times, I feel a new connection form with the man in front of me. And an even bigger smile it shown on him.

He moves close to me and gives off even more of a dwarf-like feeling, as he slaps my back merrily.

“Excellent! The group has been looking forward to working with you on this pearl project. We’ve been stuck on finding the connection to the mountain tribes for so long that your hint gave a welcome leap forward.

“But there’s no need to start the research now. We’ll have time for that later.”

I open my mouth a bit, wanting to say something. Instead, I close it and give a slight cough before speaking up.

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like to tell you the location of the two pearls now to save time.”

At my cough, he looked annoyed, but he completely freezes at my words.

“Y-you already know their locations?”

And so, I achieve the accomplishment of making a prominent elder stutter.

“That’s correct, Head Librarian. And in fact, both of my answers should be quite easy to confirm with the proper level of spiritual sense and knowing where to look.”

I use the momentum to continue and possibly control the flow of the conversation.

“If you have a map, I can lead us through my answers.”

I pause to let him gain some ground as well.

He appears to be in deep thought and in the span of seconds, while I was thinking, has given me a variety of looks. Ultimately, he nods and pulls out a map of the sect-controlled area.

“The answer to the pearl we discussed before can be found in the ice mountain tribe refugee texts describing their fall. As you know, they were in a war against the Titles of Beast and Man, who themselves were already fighting a 3 front war and on the verge of collapse.

“They pillaged one of the Title’s groups, who were carrying ‘an important transport, key to the welfare of their group’, found in the ‘Lamentation of Knives and Ice’ diaries series, 253, 27’.”

Using my finger, I trace a path from an area below the area the mountain groups resided in.

“After acquiring this unopened treasure, they immediately headed back to their mountain range, reaching the lake beneath it… only to have a chunk of their own mountain dropped on their head and their clan wiped out.”

The Elder breathes out the next words.

“…the Mt. Silene event. No wonder it wasn’t found. Trapped in the waters of the lake, buried underneath kilometers of stone. But how do you know that the important transport contained the pearl?”

“Well, that’s easy to know once you see the features that the group is mentioned to have. Creating perfectly smooth tunnel systems. Having the ability to melt even infamously hard metals and minerals into new shapes. And for the final hit, being constantly targeted by the mountain clans that live in the ice and cold stricken ranges?

“Of course, the Title group had to have the pearl dealing with fire, as they didn’t have anyone with that ability listed on their logs. And considering their culture, they would have quickly elevated and praised someone with those feats. Going from that conclusion, it was a simply a matter of identifying when those activities stopped, to narrow down when it was in storage or being moved for safety from the 3-front war.”

I take a breath.

I just threw a lot at him.

And this certainly has been on my mind and scan for a while. I knew this would be part of my bargaining chips, so I’ve been using the slow search for these. Gathering details that are available to draw reasonable conclusions. And then verifying them with inquiries based on the new information, to lower the cost.

Then stacking the process repeatedly, until I’m completely sure I have the right answer.

… I can’t wait to use this for things that I want to get for myself. But I’ll need to give up on these pearls. Too many people know and want them.

For his part, Head Librarian Boqin is quite excited, as he certainly knows more about these subjects than I do. He’s obviously putting together the information in his mind that he knows to verify it.

The way I’ve put this makes it seem as if it should have been easy to identify what would have happened… but a lot of this information comes from the scribblings of mountain refugees with little education. Which means it was a near miracle the guy could even write.

Adding to that is the information that comes from the ledgers and how there were deceits built into it to obscure the movement of important items.

But once you know what to look for, a pattern can emerge. Also, my conversation scan is amazing (after the research is already done).

My attention is stolen by a small movement of the Head Librarian, who raises his hand with a wave before lowering it.

I look around, physically and with my senses, but no one else is in this area.

Ah. It was likely a long-distance qi trigger, allowing him to direct people over a large distance.

He looks up at me with impressed eyes.

“I’m having my agents check the location now, but this looks quite promising.”

He pauses.

“What about the second pearl in the pair?”

I give an audible sigh.

“I believe for this one, your group already has a fair idea of its location.”

He nods his head, but remains silent. Waiting for my answer.

“The Han Clan’s personal Alchemist and son of the Patriarch have reached great heights, carrying on the traditions of their family of being able to concoct difficult to create elixirs. Though, there seems to be a slight weight to the type of elixirs they create. There’s a tendency for them to rely on having access to extremely cold and controlled temperatures.

“I should note that their family’s cultivation techniques don’t specialize in that area. Of course, there are other ways to reach those temperatures, but considering for the past 3 generations, this has been happening…”

I can’t help but laugh at the leap this is taking.

“Of course, that’s speculation based on the commonly known data. However, where things get interesting is when you can find the purchase logs of the now-deceased Elder of their group and how soon after the purchase of some unmarked treasure boxes, they suddenly were more proficient at creating the aforementioned elixirs. All coinciding with the pearl being removed from black market lists.”

He stops me there, showing I don’t need to go further. Adding to that, he shows a pleasantly surprised, but wry smile.

“Well. It seems you’ve held up your end of the agreement for that part far faster than I could have assumed.”

He tilts his head, as if listening to someone.

“And it appears you are correct about the pearl at the base of the mountain. Which seems to be protected by multiple spirit beasts underground and in the aquifer… but that should probably be expected, considering its power.

“You’ve done well. I consider that portion of the contract complete.”

The moment he says that, I can tell a line of the contract has been crossed out. A flair of this particular contract.

He continues unabated.

“There’s still the matter of the hospital and us old men’s request, so we’ll meet you after you are done there, to ‘clear’ things up.”

The Head Librarian nods to himself as he stands up out of his seat. As he stands, we all follow as well as courtesy.

With only a glance at the twins, he throws out some words.

“You two should work with and follow him, as necessary. You should know what to do from there.”

They briskly nod and bow to him, as it is clear he is leaving. I follow, as per this world’s culture.

“Hahaha, I see why old Tao was interested in you. We’ll certainly talk more in a bit, Disciple Delinion.”

He laughs a bit, just before his presence disappears before my eyes.

And with that, I turn toward the twins.

A huge hurdle, complete.