"A life for a life!" Quentin Lian said, "If you want me to save him, then trade your own life for his!"
"You—" The Azure Dragon Lord flared up. "We've known each other for thousands of years! Do you really have to go this far?"
Quentin Lian replied, "Fine, I'll step back. How about this: You publicly reveal the hidden truth behind Lucia's case from back then! Then I'll save him!"
The Azure Dragon Lord hesitated, then said, "There was no hidden truth back then. The Divine Crimson Pill can't be faked."
"If that's your answer, then there's nothing I can do! You tried to kidnap my daughter—I'll be reporting this to the First Prince and all the Dragon Lords of Drake Abyss! I'm leaving now."
"Can't you name some other condition?" The Azure Dragon Lord grew anxious. "Divine Artifacts! Celestial Relics! Anything I have, it's yours!"
"Everyone knows the Azure Dragon Lord's estate is rich," Quentin Lian said. "But the Lu clan isn't exactly poor either. I won't sell out my daughter's justice for a few trinkets!"
"Then name something else! Some difficult wish, maybe?" The Azure Dragon Lord pleaded. "If I can do it, I'll go through fire and water!"
Quentin Lian thought carefully, then said, "Alright, I'll take one last step back. But if you can't agree to this, then there's nothing more to discuss."
"What is it?" asked the Azure Dragon Lord.
"In the Celestial Empress's private vault, there's a relic left by my daughter," Quentin Lian said. "A very important relic! I want you to get it for me."
That, I can do!
The Azure Dragon Lord's eyes lit up. "What kind of relic? I'll just ask the Celestial Empress for it!"
"If you ask her directly, she'll never admit it," Quentin Lian said. "Asking is pointless."
"She's my daughter—why wouldn't she admit it?"
"If you don't believe me, go try it yourself. She'll deny it outright and say there's no such relic at all."
"So what exactly is this relic?" asked the Azure Dragon Lord.
"Don't bother asking about the relic. Even if you ask me, I won't tell you," said Quentin Lian.
"If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to get it for you?"
"For that item, the Celestial Empress set up a God-Sealing Grand Array in her vault. All you need to do is break the array, and I'll go in myself to retrieve it."
"A God-Sealing Grand Array? She set up a God-Sealing Array inside her vault?" The Azure Dragon Lord frowned.
The Celestial Empress kept plenty of secrets from the Five Great Dragon Lords.
Including the Azure Dragon Lord.
"If you don't believe me, go check for yourself," Quentin Lian said. "You're the Celestial Empress's father—it shouldn't be hard to find an excuse to get into her vault."
The Azure Dragon Lord said nothing.
"That's my bottom line!" Quentin Lian said. "No more bargaining. Either you agree to help me get Lucia's relic and I'll save Leo Li, or we go straight to the First Prince right now."
The Azure Dragon Lord finally relented. "Fine! I agree! I'll break the God-Sealing Array in her vault for you. But if you can't get the item after I break the array, that's not my fault."
"Do you think I'm stupid? Of course you have to actually get the item for the deal to count! Otherwise, what if you and the Empress collude and move it somewhere else first?" Quentin Lian shot back.
"You really don't trust me that much?"
Quentin Lian: "Not at all."
The Azure Dragon Lord's face turned dark. "Fine, fine!"
Quentin Lian undid the Immortal Binding Rope. "You have my Messenger Charm—if anything happens, contact me anytime!"
The Azure Dragon Lord left, his face still stormy.