Cheng Daqi

"You don't even know that?"

The cultivator at the stall beside him raised an eyebrow, eyeing Zhao Huaian with some suspicion.

"I've been in seclusion these past days, with little contact with the outside world, so I'm not quite clear on why Greenwood Market is so crowded today."

Shaking his head, Zhao Huaian looked at the neighboring stall cultivator with a face full of sincerity.

"I think that seclusion has addled your brains!"

The stall cultivator shot Zhao Huaian an amused glance. "Today's already the start of the fourth month—it's just the time when stipends are handed out, and plenty of people are heading out on missions. Naturally, the market's busier than usual."

With that, the stall cultivator shook his head in some disappointment. "With business as good as yours, I thought you had a firm grasp on Greenwood Market's situation. Never expected you wouldn't even know that the first few days of the month are the busiest."

He'd originally seen how booming Zhao Huaian's stall was and wanted to ask for some tips on setting up shop.

Now it seemed like the other guy might know even less than he did.

Hearing this, Zhao Huaian suddenly understood. "So that's it. I've been in seclusion these days and lost track of time—my mistake, my mistake."

"With a slip-up like that, how did you build such a hot business? And with so many repeat customers?"

Even though he now suspected Zhao Huaian might not know as much as he did, the stall cultivator couldn't help blurting out the question on his mind.

At the stall cultivator's words, Zhao Huaian smiled and pointed at the Spirit Talismans on his own stall. "As long as the goods you sell are good quality, word gets around, and repeat customers naturally follow."

"Really?"

The stall cultivator gave Zhao Huaian a skeptical look.

"Why not buy one and try it? I'll give you ten percent off—maybe you'll become a repeat customer too."

Seeing the stall cultivator's disbelief, Zhao Huaian didn't bother explaining further. Instead, he smoothly shifted gears and warmly pitched his wares.

"Then... I'll take a few Spirit Talismans..." A flicker of interest passed through the stall cultivator's eyes.

With Zhao Huaian's stall doing so well, the quality of his talismans had to be decent. With a ten percent discount, he might even snag a bargain.

"Hahaha..."

Zhao Huaian laughed heartily.

Soon, under his enthusiastic salesmanship, the neighboring stall cultivator spent over thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

But Zhao Huaian's smile didn't last long.

Because after buying talismans worth more than thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones from him, that cultivator set them up for sale on his own stall.

He priced them exactly the same as Zhao Huaian, even throwing in some trinkets worth next to nothing.

"Senior Brother, this is a bit..."

Zhao Huaian looked at the cultivator, at a loss for words.

If this cultivator had bought talismans from him and sold them at another stall, he'd be happy—it saved him time.

But this guy's stall was right next to his, with the same prices, clearly siphoning off some of his customer traffic.

Feeling Zhao Huaian's displeased gaze, the cultivator chuckled. "Just testing the waters. If they sell, I make a little profit on the spread. If not, I'll use them myself—no loss either way."

Fine...

Zhao Huaian was genuinely speechless.

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Still, he didn't say much. There was no need to stir up trouble over something so trivial in Greenwood Market.

And if words escalated into a conflict, the market patrol would get involved—that would be more trouble than it was worth.

Pushing that little hiccup aside, With such a massive flow of people, Zhao Huaian soon threw himself back into enthusiastically hawking his wares.

In just over half an hour, with both new and old customers stopping by, Zhao Huaian pocketed another few dozen Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Just as he was feeling pleased, a wrinkled old face squeezed in beside him.

Seeing that face, Zhao Huaian let out a cold snort and ignored him.

It was the stall cultivator from earlier.

Seeing Zhao Huaian brush him off, the stall cultivator forced a smile and acted familiar. "Young friend, this old man's name is Cheng Daqi. I've been a disciple of Greenwood Sect for fifty years now. My cultivation's nothing special—only Qi Refining Layer Seven—but I know everything about the Outer Sect."

In less than half an hour, he'd sold all the talismans he'd bought from Zhao Huaian, pocketing a few spirit stones in profit.

That had sharpened Cheng Daqi's senses to a business opportunity.

"Oh... and what does that have to do with me?" Zhao Huaian replied coldly, staring at Cheng Daqi.

Earlier, with Cheng Daqi selling the same talismans right next to him, a noticeable chunk of his customer traffic had been diverted.

Otherwise, with such a bustling crowd, he could have sold over a hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones' worth of talismans in just half an hour.

"You can ask me anything you don't understand. From now on, you can focus on seclusion—I'll keep you fully informed of everything happening outside."

Seeing Zhao Huaian's cold expression, Cheng Daqi's face showed some urgency.

"Enough, enough—spare me the fluff. You just want to get some talismans from me at a discount again and then flip them for profit, don't you?"

Zhao Huaian waved his hand impatiently. "Don't even think about it. At least not today. Your stall is right next to mine—you'll definitely siphon off my foot traffic. If you keep this up, how am I supposed to do business?"

"No, no, no! Young friend, let's talk this out!" Cheng Daqi's expression grew even more anxious. "Actually, we can cooperate. I can see you're still young, Fellow Daoist—surely you don't have all day to waste on these trivial stall-keeping matters. How about I sell them for you?"

"You sell them for me?"

Zhao Huaian shot Cheng Daqi a strange look. "We're not exactly close. How can you expect me to trust you?"

But Cheng Daqi's words did strike a chord with Zhao Huaian.

He really didn't have time to waste setting up a stall at Greenwood Market.

For now, it might be fine.

But as his cultivation advanced and his Art of Drawing Spirit Talismans grew more refined, the number of talismans he could draw each day would naturally increase dramatically.

Under those circumstances, he'd definitely end up wasting even more time at the market.

Yet it was unavoidable—he had to sell the talismans in hand, or where else would he get Spirit Stones to buy Cultivation Resources?

"I'll buy! I'll buy from you—just at a slightly lower price—and then I'll resell them here at Greenwood Market."

Afraid Zhao Huaian would refuse, Cheng Daqi quickly added, "Young friend, you need plenty of time to cultivate. I'll make sure to stagger our stall hours, and even if we're both here the same day, I'll pick a spot far away from yours."

"So what price are you thinking? And how many talismans can you take in one go?"

Zhao Huaian's heart stirred at the offer.

If Cheng Daqi could buy a large batch of talismans at once, he wouldn't mind offering a discount and wholesaling them to him.