Yang Qing’s guess proved true as Tang Xiadan nodded his head. "Yes, the coins did play a significant part in me finding that location," Tang Xiadan admitted, pausing briefly to take a sip of his wine.

Smiling casually, he said, "I do not need all the coins to access it, though. Just one of them would be more than enough. And with the dangers lurking there, I doubt the coins would do much to increase my odds of survival once I am inside."

"But it could not hurt to have more of them with you," Yang Qing persisted. "As you said earlier, one coin allows you to become an outer sect disciple. The same happens with two. But at three..." he paused, gazing deeply at Tang Xiadan and then at the coins.

"You can redeem them for the position of inner sect disciple. And as we all know, the treatment of an outer sect disciple and that of an inner sect disciple is different. The latter has more privileges associated with it. So who knows? Having all three coins with you might bring you more benefits and certain advantages in there that one or two coins could not."

It wasn’t that he didn’t want the coin. If anything, the coin was the type of thing that would leave him smiling and bragging for years on end. That coin was wrapped in two of the best things he loved. It was old and steeped in legendary history, and at the same time, given that it was made entirely of Ancestral Dragon Jade, it meant he was rich. If he were to hand such an item to the Order, in exchange for merit points or generally just trade it for anything, he was sure he could barter the coin for a mid-tier to top-tier gold grade formation, and if he was feeling bold enough, he could even sneak in a year off from work to the deal, and knowing the Order, and the worth of this coin, they might just agree to the trade.

So, of course, he’d want to keep the coin. His only worry at the moment was the suspicion that maybe Tang Xiadan had some added agenda behind it, outside of just thanking him for helping with the Soulfrost Sequoia and undoing the damage it had done to his body.

Maybe Tang Xiadan was indeed being grateful, and Yang Qing was just being paranoid, but considering the value of the coin, one couldn’t assume.

"What you say has sense to it, but..." Tang Xiadan’s eyes narrowed slightly. "That only applies if the Treasure Coin Palace still functioned normally."

"Fellow Daoist, let me ask you," said Tang Xiadan. "At the Order, I am guessing you have identity tokens of your own, right?"

"We do," said Yang Qing, nodding.

"If someone stole that token from you, would they be able to use it to access places at the Order that you had clearance for, or were there additional measures in place that would lead them to getting caught, or worse, the instant they tried to use the token?" asked Tang Xiadan.

His question prompted a small chuckle from Yang Qing. "They’d get caught," he said, amused, catching on to what Tang Xiadan was hinting at. There were places within the Order that he couldn’t access without his Gold Eagle Medallion, like his courtroom, for example. Everything within his courtroom, from his access down to the activation of the formation arrays within it, would only work through the medallion. Without it, he had no access.

But in the same vein, without him, the medallion’s functions would not work. The two were bonded together, making the medallion no different from an extension of his soul. Someone would need to hijack or trap his soul to use his medallion, and even then, it wasn’t a guarantee that it would work, given the countless failsafes the Order had put in place for exactly such a scenario.

"So you see, having more coins may not necessarily lessen the burden once in there."

Yang Qing nodded. "Say that’s true," he said, holding his chin thoughtfully. "It may not help much in avoiding dangers, but it wouldn’t be impossible for it to unlock certain areas. Yes, the coins may need verification like you said, but who’s to say they don’t offer certain advantages.

And I’m sure someone with your experience must have thought of it," said Yang Qing, interlocking his fingers and resting his chin on them. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Let’s speak plainly, Fellow Daoist Tang Xiadan, why did you give me the coin?" said Yang Qing, deciding to be upfront with his doubts.

"Yes, I get that you want to repay a debt, and I won’t be pretentious enough to downplay the magnitude of what my intervention brought, but," said Yang Qing, pausing as he gazed at Tang Xiadan. "Given the wealth you’ve shown, and the places you’ve been to, and the harvests you’ve likely gained from your adventures over the years, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been difficult for you to offer something different. Which, though maybe not the same as a coin made from Ancestral Dragon Jade tied to the Treasure Coin Palace to boot, would still be worthwhile nonetheless."

"Why offer the coin?" he asked softly.

Tang Xiadan peered at Yang Qing before finally sighing. He smiled wistfully. "I am a Gold Jade Treasure Mouse," he said suddenly, pulling back the sleeve of his robe and exposing his left arm. The arm morphed and transformed into an animal’s hand. A rodent’s, to be more precise. It was covered in lustrous silver fur that looked as smooth as silk, with an undertone of gold reflecting beneath the surface.

Yang Qing’s attention shifted from the arm to Tang Xiadan’s face, which had also transformed. He had the head of a mouse, with fur that matched his arm’s, golden whiskers, golden irises, and matching pupils swimming in a sclera of silver. At the bridge between his eyes and nose, there was a zigzag black mark that ran from the inner corner of one eye to the other.

It was almost as though someone had drawn it there. Only it wasn’t.

Yang Qing didn’t know what that mark was, but he could feel an ethereal power flowing through it, similar to how parts of his skin would glow with faint sigils whenever he activated his physique. Only in Tang Xiadan’s case, the marking was more prominent and appeared to be a permanent feature, unlike Yang Qing’s, where he needed to activate his physique to a certain level for the physical changes to show.

His ears were silver with a touch of gold at the edges.

Tang Xiadan’s aura shifted from that of an ordinary, unassuming rogue to a noble presence radiating wisdom and elegance.