At a Loss

She knew the world was small, but she had never expected it to be this small. She had merely come out for a stroll, yet she actually ran into this thing!?

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Dai Mubai, who was walking toward her with a girl in his arms, her eyes filled with disgust.

However, because of the bamboo hat, although she recognized Dai Mubai, Dai Mubai did not recognize her.

No, even without the bamboo hat, Dai Mubai would never have recognized her.

In her eyes, even being glanced at by that bastard Dai Mubai was a loss to herself.

After shooting the flirtatious young master Dai Mubai a glance, Zhu Zhuqing walked straight toward the side of the street, determined to keep at least three meters away from that scum.

Otherwise, she could not guarantee that she would be able to control her fists.

And so, the two passed each other at a distance of three meters.

"Hiss, what's going on? Why do I suddenly feel a chill?"

After walking some distance, Dai Mubai subconsciously shuddered and muttered to himself.

"Breathe. Restrain yourself. He has nothing to do with you now. There's no reason to casually attack him, okay?"

Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing grabbed her left hand with her right and muttered to herself.

Just now, she had truly wanted to finish Dai Mubai off with one slash, but she ultimately restrained herself.

Whether Dai Mubai was scum or not had nothing to do with her anymore. Whether he lived or died had nothing to do with her either.

Uh!

Anyway, judging by the current situation, he was as good as dead.

At most, he would get to enjoy himself for a few more years.

Since out of sight meant out of mind, Zhu Zhuqing planned to buy the Hair Crystal and leave as quickly as possible.

She now felt that simply staying in this city was contaminating her.

With that thought, Zhu Zhuqing quickened her pace again. It was not until she had wandered around for ten minutes that she finally spotted the little shop that looked most like Flender's.

Run-down!

Old!

If not for the three Soul Master emblems out front, no one would have associated it with Soul Masters at all.

With light steps, Zhu Zhuqing entered the dilapidated little shop.

Swish!

The instant Zhu Zhuqing stepped inside, Flender, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

There was a sound, yet he could not sense any Soul Power. An expert!

Looking up, he saw a figure concealed beneath a bamboo hat.

A mysterious identity!

Almost instinctively, Flender circulated Soul Power into his eyes, intending to use an owl's powerful vision to see through that tiny bamboo hat.

Zhu Zhuqing also sensed Flender's probing gaze. A vast dark aura erupted from her body, directly blocking his line of sight.

Seeing that his little move had been discovered, Flender was startled as well. However, with his excellent mental fortitude, he immediately composed himself.

"May I ask what this friend wishes to buy from my humble shop?"

Flender truly lived up to his thick skin. He skipped over apologizing and went straight to the point.

Zhu Zhuqing, meanwhile, did not want to speak.

Uh!

She had never learned the Color Changing Technique, nor could she learn any skill that changed one's voice.

So she simply ignored Flender and turned to search through the shop.

She realized that having strong concealment abilities was a good thing. It easily gave others the mistaken impression that she was an expert skilled at hiding her aura.

After making a round through the shop, Zhu Zhuqing discovered that most of the items were inferior Soul Tools.

In other words, they were all damaged. Although they had Soul Power fluctuations on the surface, Soul Power could not be infused into them to activate them at all.

Flender actually dared to put this sort of thing up for sale. Had he never been beaten down by society before!?

Zhu Zhuqing shot Flender a glance.

Flender seemed to sense the strange look Zhu Zhuqing gave him and immediately turned his gaze elsewhere.

Having his scheme exposed before someone who might be no weaker than himself made Flender's old face burn with embarrassment.

"What exactly does this friend wish to buy? If you aren't buying anything, my little shop is closing!"

Flender said fiercely, though he lacked confidence.

Seeing that Flender wanted to drive her away, Zhu Zhuqing stopped hesitating. She directly picked up the only yellow crystal in the entire shop, one that appeared to contain a great deal of impurities.

She placed the crystal before Flender, indicating that this was the one she wanted.

???

Looking at the broken crystal and then at Zhu Zhuqing, Flender wondered whether this friend had come to toy with him.

Or was this thing actually some kind of treasure?

Flender looked up at Zhu Zhuqing. Out of habit, he wanted to see the buyer's expression so he could raise the price accordingly.

But...

He could not see anything!

That made things difficult. How much should he charge?

Looking at the crystal, Flender could not make up his mind.

If he charged too much, he was afraid of offending her. If he charged too little, he was afraid of taking a loss.

Tap! Tap!

Seeing Flender's expression grow increasingly uncertain, Zhu Zhuqing immediately guessed what he was thinking. She knocked on the counter twice, her gaze turning sharp.

Flender felt the sharpness in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes and immediately snapped back to his senses.

"How about... one thousand Gold Soul Coins?"

Flender was not sure whether this broken crystal was valuable, but with the mindset that anyone entering the shop was a fat sheep that ought to be fleeced, he directly named a price of one thousand Gold Soul Coins.

After all, she probably was not short on a few coins, right?

Flender's eyes darted about.

Bang!

Without hesitation, Zhu Zhuqing slapped a bag of Gold Soul Coins onto the counter.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, Zhu Zhuqing stored the Ban Jing away and turned to leave!

Stunned!

As Flender watched Zhu Zhuqing's decisive figure, only one thought flashed through his mind: He had taken a loss. A huge loss!

It was only because Flender did not understand the preciousness of Ban Jing. Otherwise, he probably would not have slept well for the rest of his life.

With a pang in his heart, Flender put away the thousand Gold Soul Coins and watched his Ban Jing disappear before his eyes.

Since he could not gauge Zhu Zhuqing's background, he did not dare stop her and go back on the deal. Not only would that damage his reputation, but if he happened to kick an iron plate, that was not something he wanted to see either.

"Flender really is ruthless. A Ban Jing worth one hundred Gold Soul Coins became one thousand Gold Soul Coins when it reached me. If I weren't too lazy to argue with him, I'd have shown him what bargaining really looks like!"

Zhu Zhuqing tossed the Ban Jing into the deepest part of her Spatial Soul Tool. This thing probably would never see the light of day again in this lifetime.

She had spent a thousand Gold Soul Coins just to buy this?

To be honest, Zhu Zhuqing felt that she had taken a small loss.

But at least she had put another obstacle in Tang San's path of growth, hadn't she?

After buying the Ban Jing, Zhu Zhuqing headed straight for a restaurant and began ordering all kinds of food.

She had nearly eaten through all the food she had stored. If she did not restock soon, she would have to start hunting for herself later.

After storing more than a month's worth of food in her Soul Tool, the sky gradually darkened.

After paying the full bill, Zhu Zhuqing stood and headed outside Suotuo City.

She first needed to retrieve her little carriage, then pass through Suotuo City and head for Heaven Dou City.

However, after walking for only a few minutes, Zhu Zhuqing's brows furrowed again.