When Shi Yue bought them, Blood Qi Fruits had cost three Spirit Stones per jin, and Purple Luo Apricots had cost five. When he sold them, each jin fetched one Spirit Stone less. He wasn't surprised. If the selling price were the same as the buying price, who would bother doing business?
"Very well. Please weigh these Blood Qi Fruits and Purple Luo Apricots and calculate how many Spirit Stones they're worth." Shi Yue took two bulging Storage Bags from his robes and handed them to the Green-robed Old Man.
The Green-robed Old Man took the Storage Bags and produced a palm-sized Silver Disc with a flip of his hand. Numbers were engraved on its surface.
After he infused it with magic power, the Silver Disc expanded to five or six zhang across.
He tossed one Storage Bag into the air and struck it with a Hand Seal. The bag opened, and a stream of rosy light shot out, landing on the Silver Disc.
When the rosy light faded, a huge pile of fist-sized, blood-red fruits lay atop the Silver Disc.
A flicker of surprise quickly crossed the Green-robed Old Man's cloudy eyes.
The fruits were plump and brightly colored, and looked quite appealing.
After noting the weight of the Blood Qi Fruits, the Green-robed Old Man put them into a new Storage Bag. He struck the other Storage Bag with a Hand Seal, and a sweep of rosy light revealed a huge pile of fist-sized purple fruits.
Then, after noting the weight of the purple fruits, the Green-robed Old Man put the Purple Luo Apricots away in the new Storage Bag.
"The Blood Qi Fruits weigh one hundred and sixty-one jin, and the Purple Luo Apricots weigh one hundred and two. At the prices we agreed on, that comes to seven hundred and thirty Spirit Stones in total. Fellow Daoist Zhao, please check the calculation." The Green-robed Old Man narrowed his eyes and said with a broad smile.
"No problem. Let's settle at that price." Shi Yue nodded, his expression calm.
Seeing Shi Yue's expression remain unchanged, a flicker of surprise quickly crossed the Green-robed Old Man's eyes. In his view, a Qi Refining Level Three cultivator selling spirit fruits for more than seven hundred Spirit Stones should have been overjoyed. Yet the other man was far too composed, as though seven hundred Spirit Stones were a mere pittance to him. Could he be a disciple of a Cultivation Family?
At that thought, the Green-robed Old Man gave Shi Yue a careful look.
Shi Yue's clothes were plain, and his bearing didn't resemble that of a Cultivation Family disciple.
"What is it? Is there a problem?" Shi Yue asked with a frown, displeasure showing on his face.
After the deal was struck, the other party was supposed to pay him. But not only had he failed to hand over the Spirit Stones, he kept staring at Shi Yue. That made him quite unhappy.
"Nothing. Here are the seven hundred and thirty Spirit Stones. Please check the amount, Fellow Daoist Zhao." The Green-robed Old Man shook his head, took out a Storage Bag, poured out a huge pile of Spirit Stones, and returned the two empty Storage Bags to Shi Yue.
Shi Yue swept the pile with his divine sense and counted it several times before confirming the amount was right.
This was the first time he'd ever had so many Spirit Stones. It was a huge sum to him. How could he possibly feel at ease without counting them several times?
Once the transaction was complete, Shi Yue put the Spirit Stones into a Storage Bag and left.
After leaving Hundred Herbs Studio, Shi Yue headed straight for Green Pill Pavilion.
Green Pill Pavilion was just as lively as ever. As soon as Shi Yue entered, he went straight to a counter.
This time, he bought five bottles of Qi Refining Powder without batting an eye.
What Shi Yue didn't notice was that a short, stout, middle-aged man had watched him buy the pills.
After Shi Yue walked out of Green Pill Pavilion, the middle-aged man followed him.
Shi Yue stopped by a shop selling spirit herb seeds and spent a hundred Spirit Stones on several kinds of seeds used to prepare Qi Refining Powder.
But when he walked out of the shop, he met the gaze of a middle-aged man coming toward him. The man immediately looked away when he saw Shi Yue, his expression somewhat flustered.
At the sight of this, Shi Yue thought it over briefly, then wandered along the street.
He visited several shops, and each time he came out, he spotted the middle-aged man nearby.
At that point, Shi Yue was certain someone was watching him. He'd heard plenty of stories about people being killed for their treasures, but never thought something like that would happen to him.
The middle-aged man was at Qi Refining Level Five, two levels above Shi Yue.
Worse still, Shi Yue didn't know whether the other man had accomplices. If he was alone, Shi Yue had a decent chance of getting away. But if there was more than one of them, Shi Yue would be in trouble.
Once Shi Yue realized he was being watched, his first thought was to change into the robes of a Taixu Sect disciple and leave openly. But he couldn't be sure the other man would let the matter drop. As for returning to the sect with his fellow disciples, Shi Yue had never even considered it.
Ever since his parents had died, he'd had no one to rely on. No one cared whether he lived or died, and no one wanted to be his friend.
Now, he could only rely on himself to deal with the ill-intentioned person trailing him.
After thinking it over, Shi Yue entered a shop with a sign reading "Thousand Talisman Hall."
From the shop's name, it was clear that it sold Talismans.
Shi Yue was two minor levels below the middle-aged man, so his magic power was certainly not as deep as the other man's. That made Talismans—simple to use and less draining on his magic power—the obvious choice.
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a scholarly air. As soon as he saw Shi Yue come in, he hurried over with a smile. "What kind of Talisman are you looking to buy, Fellow Daoist? Would you like me to make some recommendations?"
"Do you have any powerful beginner-level Talismans?" Shi Yue asked bluntly.
"Of course. Great Fireball Talismans, Great Wind Blade Talismans, Ice Spear Talismans, Lightning Spear Talismans. Which would you like, Fellow Daoist?" The middle-aged man said with a broad smile.
"How much do these Talismans cost? Also, how much are Wind Wall Talismans and Earth Escape Talismans?" Shi Yue asked after a moment's thought.
"Great Fireball Talismans are ten Spirit Stones each, Great Wind Blade Talismans are thirteen each, Ice Spear Talismans are thirty each, Lightning Spear Talismans are forty each, Wind Wall Talismans are thirty each, and Earth Escape Talismans are one hundred each. Which would you like, Fellow Daoist?" The middle-aged man said with a genial smile.
"Two Great Fireball Talismans and two Great Wind Blade Talismans. Hmm, I'll also take a Wind Wall Talisman and an Earth Escape Talisman." Shi Yue considered it, then said.
"That'll be one hundred and seventy-five Spirit Stones."
Shi Yue took out one hundred and seventy-five Spirit Stones and accepted six Talismans from the shopkeeper.
After leaving the shop, Shi Yue glanced to either side and saw the middle-aged man inside a bookstore.
A cold glint flashed in Shi Yue's eyes. He suddenly quickened his pace and hurried toward the market's exit.
By then, dusk had fallen, and few people chose to leave the market at that hour.
Five li beyond the market, Shi Yue immediately released his Leaf Magic Tool and flew toward Taixu Sect on it.
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