Shopping

"How could this happen? Didn't you say Linglong Pavilion had everything? How can you not even put together a mere hundred-year-old Crimson Gold Snake Eye and a Bear King Gallbladder!"

Yuan Qinghua's face turned cold. Earlier, he had boasted to Xu Yi that Linglong Pavilion was a rare sight in the heavens and almost unmatched on earth. Yet the moment he opened his mouth, he'd been dealt a heavy blow.

Xu Yi was just as displeased. After hearing Master Zhou's explanation, he'd become extremely interested in the Overlord Strength Art. Master Zhou had said that the hardest part of training in the Overlord Strength Art was enduring the unbearable pain when reversing the meridians. Xu Yi was confident in his ability to endure pain. He'd planned to gather the medicinal ingredients and master the Overlord Strength Art at once, gaining a life-saving technique in the process. Who would've thought he'd run into this situation?

"Could your shop procure them for us? I refuse to believe that in all of Guang'an City, these are the only two missing medicinal ingredients. With your shop's capabilities, it shouldn't be difficult. We can wait here."

Xu Yi offered a compromise.

The brown-haired woman said, "Esteemed guest, you may not understand Linglong Pavilion's influence. Let me put it this way: if Linglong Pavilion is missing an ingredient, no other shop in all of Guang'an City could possibly have it. To be honest, ingredients like a hundred-year-old Crimson Gold Snake Eye and a Bear King Gallbladder aren't especially precious, but they're hard to come by. Demonic creatures are difficult to find, and when someone does manage to obtain one, the ingredients are bought immediately."

"So you're saying that if we want to gather all seven ingredients, we'll just have to get lucky?"

Seeing the deal slip through his fingers, Yuan Qinghua was extremely displeased.

"Quiet!"

Xu Yi glared at him. Anger had never solved a problem. "When this sort of thing happens, there must be a usual way to handle it. I'm sure your shop can advise us."

At last, the brown-haired woman focused her attention on Xu Yi's face and realized that this disheveled, bearded man was probably the real buyer. "Esteemed guest, you're too kind. In this situation, the usual practice is for the guest to place an order and pay a deposit. Once Linglong Pavilion has gathered all the ingredients, we'll notify you. You can pay the balance, collect your goods, and complete the transaction."

"Then let's do that. How much will it cost to gather all seven ingredients, and how much is the deposit?"

There was no helping it; the timing was wrong, and Xu Yi could only wait.

As soon as Xu Yi finished speaking, the brown-haired woman's smile finally turned sincere. She knew the deal was all but settled, and immediately named a price.

Before Xu Yi could respond, Yuan Qinghua, determined to redeem himself after his earlier embarrassment, swooped in from the side.

After a fierce exchange of words, he haggled the ingredients down from one hundred and fifty gold to one hundred and twenty, and the deposit from fifty to thirty. He also made Linglong Pavilion promise to deliver within two months; otherwise, they'd have to return the deposit and compensate them for the time lost.

Both Yuan Qinghua and Xu Yi were delighted with the result.

Yuan Qinghua had shaved off thirty gold. As agreed, one-tenth of the savings went to him, so he'd netted three gold from the deal.

When Xu Yi had first heard Master Zhou say that he and his former teacher had gone to great lengths to gather these seven ingredients, he'd assumed they must be worth a fortune—perhaps several hundred gold. He hadn't expected to get them for a little over a hundred, far below what he'd anticipated, and couldn't help feeling pleased. In truth, Xu Yi had misjudged things. He made money quickly by killing and robbing, but had no idea how difficult it was for ordinary people to come by a hundred gold.

Only the brown-haired woman's joy had faded a little. She hadn't expected Yuan Qinghua to be so difficult to deal with; he'd taken the shine off the satisfaction of closing a major deal. Putting on a pretty expression, she asked, "Will you be paying in cash or with gold notes?"

"Gold notes? Is there a bank here?" Xu Yi was greatly surprised.

Yuan Qinghua already knew his employer was rather uninformed. He glanced at the brown-haired woman, whose face was covered in exasperation, and hurriedly explained, "Boss, you came from the countryside, so you probably don't know. Crimson Gold Coins are valuable, but they're heavy. Transactions of a hundred or a thousand gold are manageable, but ten thousand or a hundred thousand would be a problem—they'd be practically impossible to carry. To make things easier for the people, the Great Yue Royal Court joined with the five Aristocratic Clans and four orthodox sects to establish the Tianxia Money House, which handles the transfer of money throughout the realm."

"I see!"

Xu Yi quickly understood. After all, some principles were the same everywhere. In both the world of his past life and the one he was in now, hungry people needed food and thirsty people needed water. This world had money houses instead of banks; it felt a little strange, but it made sense.

"I'll pay in cash." Xu Yi took a Gold Cake from his money pouch and handed it over.

"Whoosh!"

"Gasp!"

Yuan Qinghua and the brown-haired woman both widened their eyes, mouths agape as they let out great, breathy exclamations.

With a thud, Yuan Qinghua's legs gave way, and he fell to his knees.

The brown-haired woman stared fixedly at the Gold Cake in Xu Yi's hand. It gleamed beneath the warm lamplight with a dazzling, soul-hooking brilliance. For a long moment, she was speechless.

"Settle the bill quickly. Exchange the rest for twenty gold coins, eight hundred-gold notes, and fifteen ten-gold notes."

Xu Yi spoke firmly.

Only then did the brown-haired woman snap out of it. But she didn't dare take the Gold Cake herself. After apologizing, she hurried out.

"Boss, you... you really know how to keep a low profile!"

Yuan Qinghua got back to his feet and praised him from the bottom of his heart.

He'd called Xu Yi "Boss" earlier merely to save face. He'd always looked down on Xu Yi, thinking him an ignorant employer, and had viewed their cooperation as nothing more than a business deal.

But Xu Yi had casually produced a Gold Cake worth a thousand gold. It had completely floored him.

"Calm yourself and get a grip. Don't forget, I still have another deal for you. In this state, I'm afraid to entrust you with the next one."

Xu Yi naturally knew how much a Gold Cake was worth. Even the wealthy Zhou Family had spent three years saving just two Gold Cakes, which it planned to pay to Lingxiao Pavilion.

"Don't worry, Boss! I'd risk my life to carry out your orders."

Profit was a powerful motivator. At that moment, the Gold Cake worth a thousand gold had Yuan Qinghua fired up as if he'd been injected with chicken blood.

As the two were talking, the brown-haired woman hurried back. Soon after, a portly old man in brocade robes and a jade belt entered with a smile.

The brown-haired woman introduced him as Steward Wu of Linglong Pavilion.

After they had exchanged greetings, Steward Wu clapped his hands. A servant hurried over, carrying a tray piled with a stack of golden notes, each as wide as a palm and two fingers long, along with several gold coins.

Pointing to the tray, Steward Wu said, "These are the gold notes you requested, esteemed guest. Please count them."

Xu Yi didn't stand on ceremony. He placed the Gold Cake on the tray, took the gold notes and coins, and began counting them. Once he'd finished, he frowned. "What's the meaning of this?"

He had asked for eight hundred-gold notes, fifteen ten-gold notes, and twenty gold coins. After deducting the thirty-gold deposit, the remainder should have been nine hundred and seventy gold.

But the tray held eight hundred-gold notes, eighteen ten-gold notes, and twenty gold coins, for a total of one thousand gold.