Chapter 22

Audrey Gates had wanted a flying Magical Beast for a long time, but unfortunately, she had always been short on money. It was only after completing a deal for her father yesterday and receiving a reward that she was finally able to come out and try her luck.

Fifty Gold Coins was quite a considerable fortune in this world. Unfortunately, flying Magical Beasts were extremely difficult to capture and very expensive.

After much effort, she found an old griffin, but it looked seriously ill. Its belly was already swollen out of shape, and from the shape and color of its beak, it was obvious that the old griffin did not have many decades left to live. Ordinary griffins had a lifespan of two hundred years, after all. This one was probably already a hundred and sixty or seventy.

Audrey could put up with that, though. As long as it could carry her into the sky, that was enough. But this animal alone was actually being sold for 100 Gold Coins. Was the seller bullying her because she was young and inexperienced?

"You swindler. Fifty Gold Coins, and this lady will magnanimously buy it. I'm only doing so because I pity this griffin. Otherwise, you could wait here until it died of old age and still never sell it for 100 Gold Coins."

The secret to bargaining was to belittle the merchandise. This griffin hardly needed any belittling, though. It was already bad enough on its own.

"Miss, go ask around if you don't believe me. You can't buy a healthy griffin for less than 1,000 Gold Coins. It's a little old, but it can still fly for another twenty or thirty years at least." The griffin seller argued his case.

When Kerry heard the seller's words, his eyes suddenly shifted. The Dimensional Exchange sold Medical Robots. He wondered whether they could cure a sick Magical Beast.

If they could, this would be another excellent business opportunity. In the future, he could specifically buy sick Magical Beasts, cure them, and sell them again. The profit margin would probably be more than tenfold—much faster than mining.

With a plan in mind, Kerry walked over. The young woman ahead of him sensed someone behind her and naturally turned around.

Click. Kerry felt as if his heart had skipped a beat.

She was a tall, fair-skinned beauty with long golden hair and blue eyes, just like a princess from a fairy tale. There was a hint of willfulness and playfulness between her brows. Kerry found it completely impossible to connect this appearance with the person who had been haggling with the seller. A girl like her should have been enjoying afternoon tea in a castle, not bargaining with people in a market.

"What are you looking at? Never seen a beauty before?" Audrey sensed someone behind her and turned around, only to find a lecher ogling her.

This was Seattle, the Gates Family's territory. Although she was an illegitimate daughter, no one had the nerve to behave rudely toward a daughter of the Gates Family here.

"If beauties aren't meant to be looked at, how would anyone know whether they're beauties? I'm only looking. Are you going to lose a piece of flesh?" Kerry was not the kind of person who lost his ability to speak whenever he saw a beauty. Since she was a feisty little pepper, he would use a bickering approach to pursue her.

Kerry's body was seventeen, but his soul was thirty-four. In his previous life, he had been single because he could only be considered an ordinary person, and he had been somewhat insecure about being overweight. This life was different. "Young and wealthy" described him perfectly now, and he was handsome and dashing as well. His experience flirting with girls online in his previous life would finally come in handy.

Perhaps his mindset had changed after obtaining the Golden Finger. Perhaps it was because of the excellent mood brought on by completing the transaction. For some reason, Kerry unconsciously wanted to flirt with this beauty.

"You—pervert! Do you know who I am? You can't afford the consequences of harassing me here." Audrey felt that the slightly handsome but lecherous fellow in front of her was truly detestable. She had to teach him a lesson.

"I wasn't harassing you. I was looking at this griffin, but you're blocking my view. Sorry for the trouble, would you mind moving aside?" Kerry continued to provoke Audrey in that nonchalant tone. It seemed she had some status, so he should not take the teasing too far. He could be a little more indirect.

"You—you wanted to look at the griffin, right? Did you figure out anything?" Audrey had seen through him. This little hooligan probably had some influence at home and was used to harassing respectable women outside. He likely had no real ability. If he could not figure anything out, she would see whether he still had the face to remain here.

"I figured it out. This griffin is seriously ill." Kerry obviously could not tell what was wrong with the griffin, but anyone could repeat what they had heard.

"Tch, I already said that it was seriously ill. Its belly is deformed. Why are you repeating me?" Audrey had something to throw back at him now. If Kerry did not say anything useful next, she would put on the airs of a young lady and viciously mock him.

"Boss, how much?" Kerry did not answer Audrey. Instead, he turned and asked the seller.

"My lord, you certainly have a good eye. Only 100 Gold Coins. You won't lose out, and you won't be cheated. Take home a fully grown griffin." The boss knew how to seize an opportunity. Seeing the two of them bickering, he realized he might actually sell the old griffin, so of course he had to praise Kerry's good judgment.

"Are you blind? A fully grown griffin? This is just an old, weak, and sick animal. And you say I won't lose out or be cheated? I say you'll never sell this griffin for 100 Gold Coins in your lifetime." When Audrey heard the seller praising Kerry's good judgment, she nearly choked with anger.

"I'll take it. Here are 100 Gold Coins. Where's the Beast Ring?" Kerry immediately took out the money and bought the old griffin.

The Beast Ring was a Magic Alchemy Item used to control fully grown Magical Beasts. Unless a Magical Beast had been raised from a young age, most Magical Beasts had to either sign a contract or be controlled with a Beast Ring to ensure they obeyed their master and did not hurt them.

"Here's the Beast Ring. Keep it safe, my lord. I've sold everything, so I'll be off. Bye-bye."

With that, the seller fled in a flash, as if afraid Kerry would regret the purchase.

The seller had actually been left with no choice. He was a secondhand dealer. When he had bought this griffin, the seller had claimed that it was pregnant. Although it was a little old, one griffin would soon become two, making it a very profitable deal. Who could have known that a griffin's gestation period was normally two years? Nearly five years had passed, and it still had not given birth. He had been thoroughly swindled.

To reduce his losses, he had brought it to the market and tried to sell it cheaply. Unfortunately, anyone could see that the griffin's belly was no longer the size of a pregnant animal's. It was clearly sick, and he had been unable to sell it for several months.

Audrey, who had just said that it could not be sold for 100 Gold Coins, had been slapped in the face by Kerry. Her face flushed bright red with anger.

"You spendthrift! An old griffin like this couldn't even sell for 50 Gold Coins. You spent 100 just to prove a point. I'd like to see how you explain this to your family when you get home. Get ready to be punished."

Although Audrey had been humiliated, imagining this fellow's miserable state when he returned home eased her anger.

"Sorry, but I'm in charge of my family. Besides, this isn't wasteful spending. I can cure its illness. Once I do, it'll be worth several times what I paid."

Even a fully grown griffin, no matter how old, would still sell for more than 500 Gold Coins.

"Keep boasting. If it could be cured, the seller would have paid to cure it long ago. If you can cure it, I'll give you a griffin too." Audrey did not believe Kerry could cure a griffin. Since she wanted to teach him a lesson, she lured him into making a bet.

"That's what you said. Don't try to welch on the bet later." Kerry's plan was proceeding perfectly. This way, he could naturally find out her name and how to contact her.

"But if you can't cure it, you'll have to give me a young, healthy griffin." Audrey's scheme had succeeded, so she added her own condition.

"No problem." Kerry did not believe the Dimensional Exchange would have no way to cure this griffin.