Seeking Out Hao Ran

"What do you mean, talk things over properly? I refuse!"

Zhang Mingyuan was furious. He had originally planned to spend eight hundred Spirit Stones on an excellent Spirit Beast cub, a Mysterious Earth Barbarian Bull, yet after living for several decades, he had actually been deceived in public!

If that youngster had not warned him just now, he might have already made it home by this point.

If the woman at home found out that he had spent eight hundred Spirit Stones on a Mysterious Earth Barbarian Bull cub whose quality had been artificially forced up, she would surely scold him black and blue!

Seeing Zhang Mingyuan grow ever more enraged, Lin Qingbai's expression darkened. He said coldly, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, I told you to talk things over properly!"

As he spoke, the spiritual energy within Lin Qingbai erupted. The aura rushing toward Zhang Mingyuan lashed against his face, instantly lowering the volume of his previously booming voice.

"Eighth Layer of the Qi Refining Realm!"

Zhang Mingyuan was currently at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining. Naturally, he could tell Lin Qingbai's cultivation at a glance.

Seeing Zhang Mingyuan fall silent, Lin Qingbai withdrew his aura in the blink of an eye.

He did not want to drive Zhang Mingyuan away merely with the pressure of his Eighth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation, much less place the enormous label of bullying others with power upon himself and the Lin Family.

Lin Qingbai smiled faintly. "Fellow Daoist Zhang, are you calmer now?"

Although Zhang Mingyuan feared Lin Qingbai's cultivation somewhat, he did not want to leave people with something to gossip about in broad daylight. Besides, he was the one in the right now!

Zhang Mingyuan snorted softly. "Hmph! Whether I, Zhang, am calm or not depends on how you handle this!"

Lin Qingbai asked, "I heard everything Fellow Daoist Zhang said just now. I only wonder, where did you hear it from?"

"You need not concern yourself with where I heard it. You have only two paths to take now."

Zhang Mingyuan paused slightly before saying, "First, return my eight hundred Spirit Stones. Second, find me another flawless Spirit Beast! Otherwise, we will meet directly at the county yamen!"

Lin Qingbai smiled. "Fellow Daoist Zhang, you have misunderstood what I meant. Everything you said just now pointed to the shortcomings of the Spirit Beasts we sell, but that is merely your own one-sided claim. Just because you say the Spirit Beasts sold by our Lin Family are no good, does that truly mean there is a quality problem with our Lin Family's Spirit Beasts?"

After saying this, Lin Qingbai raised his head and looked at the onlookers below the stage. He called out, "Surely you must give our Lin Family a satisfactory explanation, no? Don't you agree?"

Hearing this, Zhang Mingyuan turned to look at the crowd's reaction below the stage, then nodded. "Not long after I left your place, two young fellows came up to me and told me about the flaws in the Spirit Beasts your Lin Family sells. That was why I hurried back!"

"Young fellows?"

Lin Qingbai frowned and thought to himself, Could they be disciples from some family? Seeing that the Lin Family's business is doing well, they came to stir up trouble?

With that thought, Lin Qingbai swept his gaze around, searching for the young fellows Zhang Mingyuan had mentioned.

Lin Qingbai's gaze instantly met Meng Xiaoran's, who was hiding amid the crowd!

However, Lin Qingbai had never met Meng Xiaoran before, so naturally he could not recognize which family the latter belonged to.

At that moment, Lin Jiangfeng behind him followed his gaze and quietly reminded him, "Clan Uncle Qingbai, that boy is from the Meng Family. His name is Meng Xiaoran!"

Lin Qingbai said in surprise, "What? He is from the Meng Family!"

Below the stage, when Meng Xiaoran saw Lin Qingbai and Lin Jiangfeng looking his way, his heart immediately skipped a beat, and he hurriedly retreated backward.

"Jiangfeng, go seize that boy for me!"

Lin Qingbai's mind moved swiftly as he shouted, "I will go capture that other member of the Meng Family!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Qingbai moved to head down from the stage.

Zhang Mingyuan grabbed Lin Qingbai's sleeve and shouted sternly, "Trying to leave? Even if you are leaving, you must settle this matter for me first!"

Lin Qingbai instantly shook off Zhang Mingyuan's hand and turned back to call, "Brother Jinmeng, I'll leave this place to you!"

With that, Lin Qingbai leaped into the air, crossing over the dense crowd and charging onto the street, where he sprinted toward the inner street.

"Meng Family! You dare ruin my, Lin Qingbai's, grand plan! If I catch you, I will make sure you cannot eat it all and carry it away!"

Meanwhile, on the inner street of West Market, Meng Haoran had no idea that danger was closing in on him step by step!

After persuading Zhang Mingyuan to leave, Meng Haoran encountered two more customers who had bought Spirit Beasts from the Lin Family's high platform.

After a round of persuasion from him, those two customers, like Zhang Mingyuan, cursed furiously before turning around and storming back toward the Lin Family.

After persuading yet another person to leave, Meng Haoran chuckled. "Hehe, enough people have gone over now. Lin Qingbai's head has surely grown several sizes by now!"

Just then, Lin Qingbai happened to see Meng Haoran brush past someone leading a Spirit Beast.

He instantly decided that Meng Haoran was the one secretly causing trouble.

"Meng Haoran! You dare ruin my plans!"

Lin Qingbai's furious roar suddenly exploded from the end of the alley.

When Meng Haoran turned around and saw this, his heart thumped. He thought to himself, Oh no! Lin Qingbai found out!

Without another word, before Lin Qingbai could react, Meng Haoran turned and ran!

Meng Haoran was only a cultivator at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. When he had last met Lin Qingbai, Meng Luohai had privately told him that if he encountered Lin Qingbai in the future, he should run if he could.

That was because Lin Qingbai was an Eighth Layer Qi Refining cultivator with several decades of life-and-death combat experience!

If Meng Haoran faced Lin Qingbai, he would have no chance of victory whatsoever.

"Swift Snake Step!"

Meng Haoran instantly used his escape Daoist Magic.

He knew that Lin Qingbai's furious appearance was certainly because Meng Haoran's running around and persuading people had ruined Lin Qingbai's scheme to sell inferior Spirit Beasts.

Cutting off someone's path to wealth was like killing their parents.

Though Meng Haoran was young, he understood this principle as well!

"Trying to run? Do you think you can?"

"Dragon Roaming Step!"

Spiritual energy immediately surged beneath Lin Qingbai's feet, instantly closing the distance between him and Meng Haoran.

Feeling the dense killing intent behind him, Meng Haoran thought rapidly, Run! Run somewhere with more people! Only then will Lin Qingbai have some scruples!

With that thought, Meng Haoran suddenly turned around and hurled a Daoist Magic at the charging Lin Qingbai.

"Water Cloud Sword!"

A tiny streak of sword light shot violently from Meng Haoran's hand, flying straight at Lin Qingbai's face!

Just as the Water Cloud Sword came within three feet of Lin Qingbai, he swept out a hand and shouted sternly, "Adamantine Shield!"

A half-man-tall shield filled with the intent of gold and iron instantly appeared before Lin Qingbai, shattering the Water Cloud Sword!

With that brief respite, Meng Haoran once again widened the distance between himself and Lin Qingbai.

"Let's see where you can run to now!"

As he spoke, Lin Qingbai leaped forward!