Cash and Goods Settled

"I'll take this one."

Under everyone's curious gaze, the burly man pointed directly at a sack. Spiritual light flashed from the storage pouch at his waist, and ten Spirit Stones dropped straight into Qi Feng's hand.

"Brother Lin."

Clutching the Spirit Stones, Qi Feng stepped forward to hand them to Lin Chang'an. However, Lin Chang'an gave a light cough and gestured with his eyes toward the back. Qi Feng understood at once.

"Senior Brother Zhang, your Spirit Stones."

Qi Feng was truly smooth and worldly. He jogged over to Zhang Qing, his face piled with smiles as he placed the Spirit Stones before him. Zhang Qing nodded in even greater satisfaction at the sight.

"Untie it."

Qi Feng had taken the money, so Li Han could only pull a long face as he stepped forward and carried over the sack. But the burly man was rather impatient. With everyone watching, he waved a large hand, signaling that he wanted to inspect the goods on the spot.

Li Han nodded as well. Before the crowd, he untied the sack and called out, "Cash and goods settled!"

As the sack was opened, a figure inside was revealed beneath the eager, curious gazes of the crowd.

Hah!

The surroundings fell deathly silent in an instant. The burly man's face turned red, his eyes wide—then a roar of laughter erupted all around him.

"Haha, ten Spirit Stones for an old worn-out thing."

"Could every sack be holding this kind of trash?"

Amid the chatter and jeering, the crowd egged things on. Those who had been tempted now put aside their earlier thoughts, silently thankful that they had not acted on impulse.

The burly man glared wide-eyed at the opened sack, pointing at it in frustration. He wanted to slap the figure, but seeing that skeletal, elderly body, he could not bear to do it, afraid one slap would swat his ten Spirit Stones into nothing.

Li Han, standing nearby, fought back a laugh. "Fellow cultivator, don't be fooled by how haggard and frail he looks. He's actually not even forty yet."

The figure that crawled from the sack was so thin he was little more than a hemp stalk. His gaunt cheeks split into a grin full of yellow teeth as he offered a fawning smile to the burly man who had bought him. "Immortal Master, this one is quite sturdy. It's only because I had a great deal of blood drawn before."

He knew full well that his life and death were clutched in the other man's hand, so he could only hurry to demonstrate his worth.

"This one practiced martial arts from childhood, but I was already too old by the time my spiritual roots were discovered..."

Watching this skinny, black-and-white-haired hemp stalk eagerly introduce himself, the burly man waved him off with an irritated snort. "Enough. I don't want to hear this nonsense."

After saying that, the burly man's expression darkened visibly. With so many people watching, he had lost a tremendous amount of face. He could not help but glare coldly at Li Han. "Don't tell me all your goods are this sort of stuff?"

Clearly, the burly man was unconvinced. The goods he had bought were not entirely bad, but any expert could see that this man's body had been drained dry. Whether he could even live for a few more years was uncertain.

The burly man's words immediately set the onlookers clamoring as well. Clearly, they were delighted to fan the flames.

Li Han and Qi Feng both changed expression, but Lin Chang'an narrowed his eyes, swept his gaze across the crowd, and clasped his hands.

"Everyone, though our business may not be fit for polite society, there are rules wherever one goes. As for certain people who have poor luck yet insist on blaming the goods..."

At this point, Lin Chang'an still wore a smile, but cold light flickered in his eyes. Staring straight at the burly man with a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said, "Once the rules are broken, our reputation is gone. If this fellow cultivator is unwilling to accept it, then why not watch how others fare?"

"After all, there are not many goods here. Someone will always have good luck, and naturally, someone will have bad luck."

To establish a foothold in a place like this, one could not act rashly, but neither could one let everyone come up and stomp on them. Under Lin Chang'an's threatening gaze, the burly man, whose cultivation was higher than his, was instantly cowed. At the same time, the men Zhang Qing had brought looked at Lin Chang'an with an added trace of respect.

As an observer, Li Han was even more secretly shocked. This was establishing authority—using the sect's identity to establish authority.

"I..." The burly man's face flushed red. He was not afraid of Lin Chang'an, but of the sect behind him.

Just as he was about to swallow his pride and leave, Lin Chang'an's threatening look vanished. He put on a kindly smile, stepped forward, and patted the man's shoulder. "Fellow cultivator merely had bad luck for the moment. After all, rare things are precious. If they were all fine goods, I could sell them for ten Spirit Stones, but would you dare buy them?"

Lin Chang'an directly gave him a way out. In particular, when he patted his shoulder, his fingers lightly hooked. The burly man's expression changed, then he immediately broke into a smile. He understood perfectly, thumping his chest as he laughed. "Second Master Lin is right. I refuse to believe it."

Turning around, the burly man pointed at three sacks in one breath and shouted at Li Han, "Open those three sacks for me! I refuse to believe I won't hit even one good one."

Lin Chang'an had given him a way out, and he was no fool. He immediately chose to buy three more. Lin Chang'an could not help smiling at the sight.

"Fellow cultivator is truly generous."

Lin Chang'an gave him a thumbs-up. He had originally intended to let the man win on his next purchase, yet the fellow returned the peach with a plum and directly chose to buy three more.

"Second Master Lin is too kind."

After the two exchanged compliments, they both smiled. Li Han then stepped forward and carried out the three sacks.

"Cash and goods settled!"

Before everyone's eyes, another thirty Spirit Stones appeared on the table. Li Han raised his voice and shouted, then opened the three sacks beneath the crowd's curious gazes.

"Good heavens, there really is something worthwhile!"

"With a body like that, he can work the fields for at least ten years, right?"

"Bullshit. As long as you don't overuse him, I'd say fifteen years would be no problem."

When the three sacks were untied, two of the people inside were plainly much like the first, their bodies depleted so badly that it was uncertain how many years they could last. But the final one revealed a man who was robust and powerful.

"Good! Good! Excellent!" Seeing the bare upper body and the powerful physique brimming with vigorous blood qi, the burly man grinned from ear to ear.

"Excellent! That body is strong enough. This wasn't a loss."

The burly man's grin nearly crooked his mouth, while someone among the spectators teased, "Oh? Look at you drooling. If you couldn't buy good stock, would you have to go home and become the breeding boar yourself?"

Laughter instantly broke out. The burly man was not embarrassed in the least. He raised his head, waved a hand, and declared proudly, "Nonsense. One drop of essence costs ten drops of blood. I'm only thirty-five, and I can still charge toward late Qi Condensation. If you aren't tempted, why don't you go home and take a few more concubines?"

As long as cultivators still had potential, they would not exhaust their bodies too early. Only cultivators whose potential had been spent and whose road ahead held no hope would indulge in life's pleasures.

Thanks to fellow cultivator 'Nine Top Lots' for the support of 100 coins.

Tomorrow is Tuesday. I ask all fellow cultivators to lend Koi a hand and charge onto the trial recommendation list. Many thanks.