Sun Zhicheng

The voice from outside the door was Meng Xiaoran's.

Upon hearing it, Meng Haoran quickly withdrew from his cultivation state, opened the door, and saw Meng Xiaoran looking anxious.

"Xiaoran, what's wrong? Did something happen at the pavilion?"

Yesterday, after Meng Haoran had performed the Daoist Magic "Minor Cloud Rain Art," he had rushed to the Xinghua Meng Pavilion in Qingyang County with the "Thunderfire Tiger."

After resting for a night, just as he entered his cultivation state, he heard Meng Xiaoran's shouts.

Meng Xiaoran ran up to Meng Haoran, panting heavily, and replied, "Someone's here to cause trouble!"

While Meng Haoran had been living a monotonous life, Meng Xiaoran, under his guidance, had broken through to the Third Layer of Qi Refining. This gave him the opportunity to go to the Xinghua Meng Pavilion in Qingyang County for practical experience.

Meng Haoran asked, "Cause trouble? Who is it?"

Meng Xiaoran's face flushed slightly as he replied, "It's some rogue cultivator customers from yesterday. They bought some talismans in the front pavilion yesterday afternoon. Now, after just one night, for some reason, they've come to the front pavilion, clamoring for a refund!"

Meng Haoran nodded slightly, pulling Meng Xiaoran along towards the front pavilion as he asked, "Besides them, are there any other outsiders?"

Meng Haoran asked this because he was worried that people from other merchant pavilions might be secretly plotting against them!

"There shouldn't be. Besides those few rogue cultivators, the rest outside are just onlookers," Meng Xiaoran replied.

Meng Haoran's expression darkened. "I understand!"

Currently, the clan member in charge of the Xinghua Meng Pavilion was Meng Luohai, but he had returned to Xinghua Village yesterday due to clan matters.

Now, all the Meng clan members in the Xinghua Meng Pavilion were juniors whose cultivation was at the Third or Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.

Meng Haoran had the highest cultivation among them and had been favored by the high-ranking members of the Meng Family during this period.

Therefore, as soon as Meng Xiaoran saw trouble at the front pavilion, he immediately came to seek Meng Haoran's help.

As Meng Haoran walked from the backyard to the front pavilion, he heard extremely noisy shouts.

"Don't give us any excuses. We're here today to demand a refund and get our Spirit Stones back!"

"If you don't refund our Spirit Stones, we'll go to the county yamen and ask the magistrate to uphold justice for us!"

"Heh heh! Once the yamen officials arrive, your merchant pavilion might not be able to continue operating!"

Meng Haoran first recognized the faces of those rogue cultivators, then said to Meng Xiaoran, "Xiaoran, get on the Flying Star Horse and leave through the back door. Hurry back to Xinghua Village and tell the elders that something has happened at the pavilion!"

Meng Xiaoran knew the seriousness of the matter. He nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Then, Meng Haoran took a few steps forward, entered the front pavilion, cupped his hands, and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoists, what is causing such unpleasantness?"

When those rogue cultivators heard this, they thought the pavilion master of the Xinghua Meng Pavilion had arrived. Just as they were about to discuss the matter, they suddenly saw that the person who had arrived was a young man, and their confidence grew.

The leader of the group said sternly, "What kind of greenhorn is this? Has your Meng Family run out of people?"

As soon as he said this, not only did the rogue cultivators beside him laugh, but even the crowd of onlookers at the entrance outside the pavilion burst into laughter.

Meng Haoran was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then he chuckled, "Could it be that this Fellow Daoist suffers from an eye ailment?"

The man heard this and angrily retorted, "Brat! What do you mean by that?"

Meng Haoran retorted, "There are more than ten people in the Xinghua Meng Pavilion, to your left and right, in front of you, yet you say my Meng Family has no one. Could it be that you don't suffer from an eye ailment?"

As soon as this sentence was spoken, it caused another burst of laughter from the crowd outside the door.

The few clan members behind Meng Haoran saw this and their embarrassment eased considerably.

"I don't care. I'm here at your Xinghua Meng Pavilion today to get a refund for my Spirit Stones!"

The man continued to shout, "If you don't refund my Spirit Stones, I'm not afraid. I'll wait here for the yamen officials. By then, I'll see whose methods are tougher!"

Hearing this tone, Meng Haoran knew that this matter would not be easily resolved!

"Esteemed Fellow Daoist, may I know your name?" Meng Haoran asked.

The man replied, "My surname is Sun, Sun Zhicheng."

Meng Haoran cupped his fists. "A good name! Where there's a will, there's a way! Fellow Daoist Sun's name is truly excellent!"

Sun Zhicheng did not expect this young man to be so patient and to flatter him.

"Don't give me any of that nonsensical talk. I'm just asking you, can you refund our Spirit Stones today?" Sun Zhicheng stared into Meng Haoran's eyes and questioned.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, I just made some inquiries and saw that you purchased five talismans at our Xinghua Meng Pavilion yesterday. Since you bought talismans, you must also be a Cultivator."

Meng Haoran replied, "As a Cultivator, you should also understand a principle. Even in mortal shops, you can return or exchange goods you've purchased. In cultivation shops, whether it's our Xinghua Meng Pavilion or any other merchant pavilion in Qingyang County Town, there's no reason for returns or exchanges."

Sun Zhicheng was slightly stunned and asked coldly, "What principle is this? I've never heard of it!"

Meng Haoran continued to explain, "For any item sold in a cultivation shop, once it's sold and leaves the pavilion, it cannot be returned or exchanged. This is a consensus among all merchant pavilions. Fellow Daoist Sun, as a Cultivator, don't you even know this common knowledge?"

After speaking, Meng Haoran raised his index finger and pointed to the most conspicuous position hanging in the front pavilion.

Sun Zhicheng followed the direction of his finger and saw a rectangular wooden plaque hanging there, inscribed with large golden characters.

"Once sold and out of the pavilion, no returns or exchanges!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Zhicheng was instantly silenced, not knowing how to speak for a moment.

From a moral standpoint, Sun Zhicheng had clearly inspected the talismans and found them to be intact before taking them when he purchased them.

From a logical standpoint, the Xinghua Meng Pavilion had the terms of sale clearly posted, but Sun Zhicheng had simply failed to see them.

With this thought, Sun Zhicheng felt the urge to retreat.

Just then, a cough suddenly rang out from among the many onlookers outside the door.

After hearing this cough, Sun Zhicheng suddenly raised his voice, saying, "It's not that I want to return your Meng Family's talismans, it's just that as rogue cultivators, we don't have many Spirit Stones accumulated, so naturally, those Spirit Stones must be spent wisely, kid."

Meng Haoran had originally thought that Sun Zhicheng would leave on his own accord because of what he had said.

He had not expected that a cough from the crowd would make Sun Zhicheng once again consider returning the goods.

When Meng Haoran looked towards the onlookers, the dense crowd made it impossible for him to tell who had made the cough.

He could only turn back to Sun Zhicheng and ask, "Fellow Daoist Sun, what do you mean by that?"