Huge Sum of Money

Chapter 18: A Huge Sum

When Shi Yue bought them, Blood Qi Fruit cost three spirit stones per catty, and Purple Luo Apricot cost five spirit stones per catty. When selling, the price was one spirit stone less per catty. He wasn't surprised by this; if the selling price matched the buying price, who would bother doing business?

"Very well, please weigh them and calculate how many spirit stones these Blood Qi Fruits and Purple Luo Apricots are worth." Shi Yue took two bulging storage bags from his bosom and handed them to the Green-robed Old Man.

The Green-robed Old Man took the storage bags, flipped his hand, and produced a palm-sized silver disc engraved with some numbers.

After injecting his magic power, the silver disc swelled to five or six zhang in size.

He tossed one storage bag into the air, struck it with a hand seal, and the bag's mouth opened wide, spraying out a beam of multicolored light that landed on the silver disc.

Once the light converged, a large pile of fist-sized, blood-red fruits appeared on the silver disc.

Seeing this, a flicker of surprise quickly passed through the Green-robed Old Man's cloudy eyes.

These fruits were plump, brightly colored, and had a rather good appearance.

After recording the weight of the Blood Qi Fruits, the Green-robed Old Man used a new storage bag to collect them. He then struck a hand seal on the other storage bag, and with a swirl of multicolored light, a large pile of fist-sized purple fruits materialized.

Then, after recording the weight of the purple fruits, the Green-robed Old Man put these Purple Luo Apricots back into a brand-new storage bag.

"Blood Qi Fruit, one hundred sixty-one catties; Purple Luo Apricot, one hundred two catties. According to the price we agreed on, that totals seven hundred thirty spirit stones. Fellow Daoist Zhao, please check if the price is correct." The Green-robed Old Man squinted his eyes and said with a full smile.

"No problem, let's close the deal at this price." Shi Yue nodded and said calmly.

Seeing Shi Yue's unchanged expression, a flash of surprise passed through the Green-robed Old Man's eyes. In his view, a Qi Refining Level Three cultivator selling spirit fruits for over seven hundred spirit stones should be overjoyed, but the other party's expression was far too composed, as if seven hundred spirit stones were just a small sum to him. Could it be that the other party was a member of a cultivation family?

Thinking this, the Green-robed Old Man carefully sized up Shi Yue.

Shi Yue was simply dressed, and the demeanor in his brows didn't resemble that of a cultivation family disciple.

"What's the matter? Is there a problem?" Shi Yue frowned, his expression somewhat displeased.

Logically, after the transaction, the other party should have paid him the spirit stones. Not paying and instead staring at him incessantly made Shi Yue very unhappy.

"Nothing, here are seven hundred thirty spirit stones. Fellow Daoist Zhao, please check the amount." The Green-robed Old Man shook his head, took out a storage bag, poured out a large pile of spirit stones, and returned the two empty storage bags to Shi Yue.

Shi Yue swept his divine sense over them, counting several times before confirming it was correct.

This was the first time he had owned so many spirit stones. To him, it was absolutely a huge sum. He couldn't rest easy without counting it several times to be sure.

After the transaction was complete, Shi Yue used a storage bag to collect the spirit stones, turned around, and left.

Leaving Hundred Herbs Pavilion, Shi Yue headed straight for Green Pill Pavilion.

Green Pill Pavilion was as bustling as ever. As soon as Shi Yue entered, he went straight to a counter.

This time, he generously bought five bottles of Qi Refining Powder.

What Shi Yue didn't notice was that the entire process of his purchase was observed by a short, stout middle-aged man.

When Shi Yue walked out of Green Pill Pavilion, the middle-aged man followed him out.

Shi Yue visited a shop selling spirit herb seeds and spent one hundred spirit stones to buy seeds of several spirit herbs used to refine Qi Refining Powder.

But as he walked out of the spirit herb seed shop, he came face to face with the gaze of a middle-aged man. The moment the middle-aged man saw Shi Yue, he immediately looked away, his expression somewhat flustered.

Seeing this, Shi Yue pondered for a moment, then continued strolling along the street.

He visited several shops, and every time he came out, he could spot the middle-aged man's figure nearby.

Thus, Shi Yue was certain he was being tailed. He had heard plenty about murder and treasure seizure, but he never thought it would happen to him.

The middle-aged man had Qi Refining Level Five cultivation, two levels higher than Shi Yue.

What made it more troublesome was that Shi Yue didn't know if the man had accomplices. If it was just one person, Shi Yue had some confidence in escaping, but if there were more, he would be in trouble.

After realizing he was being followed, Shi Yue's first thought was to change into the attire of a Great Void Sect disciple and leave openly. But he couldn't be sure the other party would stop there. As for returning to the sect with other fellow disciples, Shi Yue never considered it.

Since his parents died, he had lost all support. No one cared about his life or death, and no one befriended him.

At this moment, he could only rely on himself to deal with the scoundrel behind him.

After thinking it over, Shi Yue walked into a shop with a signboard reading "Thousand Talisman Hall."

From the shop's name, it was clear this was a store selling talismans.

Shi Yue was two minor realms lower than the middle-aged man, so his magic power was certainly not as deep. Thus, using simple talismans that consumed little magic power naturally became his choice.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a scholarly air. Seeing Shi Yue enter, he quickly approached and said with a smile, "This fellow Daoist, what kind of talisman would you like to buy? Shall I introduce some to you?"

"Do you have any high-power beginner talismans here?" Shi Yue asked directly.

"Of course. Great Fireball Talisman, Great Wind Blade Talisman, Ice Spear Talisman, Lightning Spear Talisman. Which one does this fellow Daoist want?" the middle-aged man said with a full smile.

"How much are these talismans? And how much for a Wind Wall Talisman and an Earth Escape Talisman?" Shi Yue paused briefly before asking.

"Great Fireball Talisman, ten spirit stones each; Great Wind Blade Talisman, thirteen spirit stones each; Ice Spear Talisman, thirty spirit stones each; Lightning Spear Talisman, forty spirit stones each; Wind Wall Talisman, thirty spirit stones each; Earth Escape Talisman, one hundred spirit stones each. Which ones would you like?" the middle-aged man said with a grin.

"I'll take two Great Fireball Talismans and two Great Wind Blade Talismans, and also one Wind Wall Talisman and one Earth Escape Talisman." Shi Yue thought for a moment and said.

"That totals one hundred seventy-five spirit stones."

Shi Yue took out one hundred seventy-five spirit stones and received six talismans from the shopkeeper.

Walking out of the shop, Shi Yue glanced left and right and spotted the middle-aged man's figure inside a bookstore.

Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Shi Yue's eyes. He suddenly quickened his pace and rushed toward the market exit.

By this time, the sky had darkened, and few people chose to leave the market at this hour.

After leaving the market for five li, Shi Yue immediately released his Leaf Magic Tool and flew toward the Great Void Sect.