No Merchant Without Guile

"No merchant without guile—this pack of profiteers is chasing down rogue cultivators to butcher them!"

"Oh, I can be a profiteer too. Then it's fine!"

Su Qing watched with mixed emotions as rogue cultivators crowded around the counters, frantically buying all manner of price-gouged goods, until he finally found the counter selling materials.

Just as he had expected, not only had finished artifacts surged in price, but all sorts of materials for making Talismans and Puppets had risen with the tide as well.

Bah! What a pack of profiteers!

"Give me ten pieces of Spirit-Calling Wood—the longest and thickest ones. Thirty Spirit Crystals per piece? Why don't you just rob me!"

Su Qing complained as he took out his Spirit Crystals. He now understood why Zhang Hai had been so resentful.

As one of the most basic spiritual materials, the price of Spirit-Calling Wood had shot up by more than tenfold!

"Fellow Daoist, what are you saying? How could robbing people be faster than selling this?" The young clerk behind the counter winked and said with a grin.

Fine, they had no shame at all. Cursing him would do no good.

Fortunately, aside from common materials like Spirit-Calling Wood and Mysterious Iron Crystal—

Demon Lizard Claws were still far too obscure for other Talisman Masters and Puppet Masters. Only some alchemists would shave off a little claw skin to use as supplementary material when refining Pills.

Thus, their price remained the same as before, and had even dropped slightly.

Afraid that prices would rise later, Su Qing simply bought out Hundred Treasures Pavilion's entire stock of Demon Lizard Claws.

He obtained a total of one hundred and sixty-two Demon Lizard Claws. Together with the other materials, they cost him over four thousand Spirit Crystals, with the materials for several kinds of Talisman Water and the Profound Iron Essence accounting for the bulk of it.

"These Spirit Crystals would originally have been enough to buy materials for over fifty sets of Lizard Warriors. Now, aside from having more Demon Lizard Claws, the rest of these materials put together will only let me refine twenty-odd more times at most!"

Clutching the thousand-odd Spirit Crystals left in his Storage Bag, Su Qing did not dare look around any longer.

Just as he was about to go upstairs and discuss the Lizard Warrior business with Tong Xin—

He saw five or six Female Cultivators enter Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Some were slender and well-proportioned, others plump and full-bodied; each had her own merits in looks and bearing. Though all of them were currently cloaked in black robes, their entrance still drew the gazes of many cultivators, Su Qing among them.

It was not that he was lecherous. Mainly, he recognized that these women all made their living under Tang Wanqing.

Even with the Demoness Puppets giving them more free time—

There was no reason for them to go hunting demons!

Looking at the azure-green demon python with green eyes and a huge maw that the five or six Female Cultivators carried, Su Qing was full of confusion.

"Well, if it isn't Fellow Daoist Su. You finally decided to leave seclusion?"

The leading Female Cultivator was extremely tall, with long, slender legs. The instant her narrow eyes spotted Su Qing, she gave instructions to the other women and strode toward him on those long legs.

Sun Yan, the Female Cultivator under Tang Wanqing who was most popular among the Market's rogue cultivators, was a Tier-1 Mid-Grade Body Cultivator. It was said that her legwork was exceptionally formidable. Because of Tang Wanqing, Su Qing had never witnessed her legwork firsthand, but they could still be considered acquainted.

"With prices rising so fiercely, if I didn't leave seclusion, I wouldn't even be able to afford food. But you ladies—how did you dare go hunting?" Su Qing asked with cupped hands.

"We're not like you, Fellow Daoist, able to make money while sitting at home. Now that there's a chance to make a fortune, wouldn't it be a pity to miss it? Or does Fellow Daoist think we aren't fit to hunt demons?"

As Sun Yan spoke, she lifted the hem of her robe. Su Qing glanced over and—

Good heavens. Her legs, which had once worn black silk stockings, were now packed with more than ten flying daggers. It was a very convincing sight.

After chatting for a while, Su Qing finally learned what had happened.

It turned out that Tang Wanqing had gotten a taste for demon hunting after killing the Ironback Bear last time. In addition, the Demoness Puppet business had been doing quite well, so the sisters had more free time. She had thus brought them to the Hunting Grounds to try their hand.

With her Late Qi Refining Stage cultivation, plus capable hands among the Female Cultivators like Sun Yan, they had indeed gained quite a bit over the past few days.

The Green-Eyed Python they had killed today was proof enough. According to Sun Yan, while several of them had come to sell their haul, Tang Wanqing had taken the rest out to track another demon beast.

"I need to see how well our goods sell. If Fellow Daoist Su goes to the Hunting Grounds, be sure to come find us. I may not do that kind of business anymore, but if it's Fellow Daoist Su, it's not impossible!"

The once delicate and soft Sun Yan had, after merely a few days of training, become decisive and brisk. After tossing out that teasing remark, she passed Su Qing amid a trace of fragrance and the faint stench of demon beasts—a mingling of sweet and foul.

At that moment, a clerk informed Su Qing that Tong Xin had finished inspecting the goods.

The moment Su Qing reached the second floor, Tong Xin greeted him with a smiling cupped-hand salute.

"First, congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on creating another new Puppet. After inspection by our Hundred Treasures Pavilion, this Puppet absolutely has the potential to become a Tier-1 Mid-Grade Puppet!

"Unfortunately, this one of yours was merely a trial piece. It seems you applied too little Profound Iron Essence, so it is difficult for it to unleash all of its capabilities!"

"That's easily settled. If Hundred Treasures Pavilion is satisfied with this Puppet, I guarantee that every Lizard Warrior I bring in the future will have at least ten layers of coating!

"Any more than that would affect the Lizard Warrior's agility, while also needlessly increasing Usage Consumption. There would be no point!"

Su Qing thumped his chest in assurance.

"Then how many sets of materials do you need to produce one?" Tong Xin asked again.

"How about one Puppet for every ten sets of materials? I have only recently started experimenting with this Puppet. At this output rate, I absolutely won't be making any money!"

He really would not be making money. At his current success rate, ten sets of materials might not even produce one Puppet. But he could use these materials to raise his Proficiency, so he certainly would not lose out.

Tong Xin did not doubt him. Su Qing had only begun working with this Puppet recently; a success rate of around ten percent was already quite good.

But a single set of Lizard Warrior materials now sold for around three hundred Spirit Crystals. Su Qing could assemble a set for just over two hundred Spirit Crystals only because he could prepare Tier 2 Biomimetic Talisman Water and Intelligence Talisman Water. Other cultivators did not possess such skills.

By that calculation, a single Lizard Warrior would cost three thousand Spirit Crystals.

For Hundred Treasures Pavilion, that was exceedingly unprofitable.

"Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist. This Puppet does indeed have some unusual merits, but the cost is simply too high. I truly cannot make the decision," Tong Xin said, declining with cupped hands.

Su Qing knew Tong Xin could make the decision. He simply did not want to do this deal.

Su Qing was somewhat disappointed, but not enough to quarrel with a clerk.

He led the Lizard Warrior out of Hundred Treasures Pavilion, returning in low spirits.

But once outside, he was stopped by a clerk from Fate Comes Pavilion, who said that Vice Pavilion Master Wang Rong wished to see him.

Su Qing had a faint sense of what this was about. Following the clerk to Fate Comes Pavilion, he met the aging Courtesan, whose complexion had recently become ever more rosy.

"For the price of ten sets of materials for one Puppet—if Hundred Treasures Pavilion won't take this deal, then my Fate Comes Pavilion will!"

Wang Rong wore a thin red gauze dress, and the voice that emerged from her red lips sounded incomparably pleasant to Su Qing.

"Will Fellow Daoist not be taking a loss?" Su Qing asked with a smile.

Wang Rong did not care. She had long wanted to invest in Su Qing, but had never found an opportunity. Now that she had finally seized one, how could she possibly let it slip away?

"If there's no loss at the beginning, how can there be profit later? Just remember, it's fine if you sell them individually yourself, but if you make large shipments, then only my Fate Comes Pavilion may handle the Lizard Warrior business!"

"Of course. Though I am a guest elder of Hundred Treasures Pavilion, and in theory should give them priority when I have goods, since they do not value these Lizard Puppets, I imagine they will have nothing to say if I make this deal with your esteemed pavilion."

Su Qing nodded, making clear that he understood the rules.

Afterward, he and Wang Rong signed an agreement on a piece of Spirit Contract Talisman Paper.

Over the next month, Fate Comes Pavilion would provide him with thirty sets of Puppet Materials, and he only needed to deliver three finished products.

After one month, Fate Comes Pavilion could provide at most fifty sets of materials each month, and he would need to deliver ten finished products.

This meant he had to reach a success rate of over twenty percent. If he fell short, he would have to make up the difference in Spirit Crystals at a price of one thousand five hundred Spirit Crystals per Puppet.

"This humble woman believes in Fellow Daoist's abilities. Fellow Daoist won't disappoint me, will you?"

With the deal concluded, Wang Rong stretched languidly. The movement pulled her red dress taut and wrinkled it, outlining an increasingly sultry figure.

Su Qing did not dare look too much. Taking the thirty sets of materials, he promptly said his farewells.

"Hmph. Since you've swallowed the bait I offered, I'm not afraid of you running away!"

Wang Rong watched Su Qing's departing back and smiled with slight satisfaction.

She absolutely did not believe he could raise his success rate by another ten percent in a month.

"When the time comes, if he cannot make up the missing Lizard Warriors, I can suggest that he become a guest elder of my Fate Comes Pavilion instead!" Wang Rong muttered softly.