Wang Shi Came Knocking

Wang Shi stared outside, speechless. He had been knocking for ages, yet they still refused to open the door.

"Ahem, if you don't open up, I'll force my way in. And I won't pay for anything I break."

Clang!

The great doors swung open with a thunderous crash.

A towering figure appeared before him, even taller and broader than he was.

"Ahem, might I ask what brings you to our Pangu Temple, fellow Daoist?"

"We are in seclusion, cultivating the Dao. If you have no business here, please leave!"

Wang Shi rolled his eyes.

The fellow was huge, and so was his load of nonsense. Who didn't know that the Twelve Ancestral Witches were born without souls and couldn't cultivate? To be more precise, the Witch Clan were essentially living zombies. "An Ancestral Witch, are you? Which one? I've never heard of an Ancestral Witch being able to cultivate."

"Don't you think it's a bit much to build a palace on my body without so much as asking?"

"And you even stole my treasure. What exactly are you trying to do? You came right into my home to steal?"

Wang Shi's barrage left the Ancestral Witch Dijiang's face alternating between livid and red, looking thoroughly unpleasant.

But they had been in the wrong first. Now that the owner had come knocking, what could they do, however aggrieved they felt? They could only grit their teeth until they shattered and swallow the pieces.

"Oh, young fellow, that's putting it too harshly. How were we supposed to know this was your home?"

"But the temple is already built. Surely we can't just tear it down? That would be such a waste."

"How about... we buy the place from you?"

Wang Shi's eyes immediately lit up. You're the ones handing me the knife. I didn't force you.

He had long coveted what the Twelve Ancestral Witches had to offer.

They all cultivated their physical bodies, so they could compare and corroborate their insights in certain areas. Most importantly, there was Pangu's blood essence.

The blood essence within the Twelve Ancestral Witches carried Pangu's Will, which would be enormously beneficial to his cultivation of the Great Dao.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have come looking for trouble with the Twelve Ancestral Witches himself.

"Hehe, in that case, I'll name my price."

"I hear there is a Houtu among the Ancestral Witches, virtuous, lovely, and quite talented. I happen to be unmarried myself. Why not have her marry me?"

The moment he finished speaking, Dijiang's face darkened.

Well now. He was merely showing the Three Pure Ones some respect, not genuinely afraid of them.

This brat had come knocking and immediately demanded their little sister's hand. If they could tolerate that, what couldn't they tolerate?

They were mighty Ancestral Witches. How could they possibly trade away their own sister? It was the greatest joke under heaven.

"Hmph, I think you've come here purely to cause trouble. Don't spout nonsense just because the Three Pure Ones are your masters."

Wang Shi looked at him in surprise. I'm just naming a price, aren't I? If I don't start high, how are you supposed to bargain? How else am I supposed to get what I want?

Are you some hotheaded rookie? Don't you know how to haggle?

Why are you already losing your temper?

"Hehe, so you're dropping the act? Weren't you just saying you didn't know who I was?"

"You aren't afraid of my masters, but do you think I'm afraid of you?"

"I'll make this clear today: unless you give me a satisfactory answer, I absolutely won't let this go."

The more Wang Shi thought about it, the angrier he became. The Ancestral Witches were powerful, but his masters, the Three Pure Ones, were no pushovers either. How could these fellows bully him so outrageously?

Dijiang's face flushed red.

"Hmph, regardless, your demand is far too excessive. We absolutely cannot agree."

Wang Shi snorted, but inwardly he laughed. These fellows really are blockheaded brutes. They don't know the first thing about negotiating.

"Hmph, you won't agree to this, and you won't agree to that. Do you expect to occupy my land for free?"

"If you can't bear to part with a bride, you'll have to give me something else."

"What treasures does the Witch Clan have worth showing? Bring them out and let me take a look. If anything strikes my fancy, I might be willing to overlook your building the Pangu Temple without permission."

Wang Shi chuckled, his face full of cunning.

Dijiang's eyes widened, and he found himself in an agonizing dilemma. When it came to poverty, no one was poorer than the Witch Clan. They often couldn't even get enough to eat and lived on the edge of destitution year-round. Even for the Twelve Ancestral Witches, having a single suitable magical treasure was already quite good.

Other treasures were even further out of reach.

He spoke with some embarrassment.

"We don't have any."

Wang Shi stared at him in surprise.

"Damn, you've got some nerve saying that! You just want to take my land for free, don't you? If you want a fight, I'm not afraid."

"I'm calling for backup right now. Just you wait."

He took out a voice-transmission talisman and spoke directly into it before their eyes.

"My three honored masters, your disciple is being bullied out here. Please uphold justice for me."

Before he had even finished, Dijiang hurried to stop him. Weren't we negotiating perfectly well? Why are you calling in your elders now?

If word got out that the Twelve Ancestral Witches were bullying a junior, how were they supposed to show their faces again?

"Oh, young friend, what are you doing? We can talk this through!"

"How about this? Our Witch Clan really is rather poor, and we don't have many good things on hand. Just tell us what you need. If we don't have it, we can go steal it! At worst, we'll raid the Primordial World. We're bound to get our hands on some treasures."

With that, he looked expectantly at Wang Shi.

Wang Shi gave him an amused glance. Everything was firmly within his grasp.

"Ahem, does that mean you can find me anything I ask for?"

Dijiang nodded.

"Of course. As long as we can beat whoever has it, we'll snatch it for you."

Wang Shi rubbed his chin as he studied them. Silence immediately fell, and the Ancestral Witches watched him apprehensively, afraid he would say something earth-shattering.

"Actually, I don't want much. I hear all Twelve Ancestral Witches carry Pangu's blood essence. I won't ask for too much. Just one bowl each."

Smiling cheerfully, he produced his enormous bowl. It was a truly terrifying sight.

Filling a bowl that size might well drain an Ancestral Witch of every drop of blood.

Sure enough, the Ancestral Witches immediately backed away, all staring at Wang Shi in horror. This fellow was terrifying. Was this really a negotiation, or was he demanding their lives?

Wang Shi burst out laughing.

Their reactions were simply too funny.

"Oh, a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Look at these hands of mine. They're getting clumsy."

"This is the one."

Then he brought out the other bowl he had prepared, which was far more ordinary in size.

Of course, all of this was meant to make the Ancestral Witches willingly give up their blood.

Dijiang immediately breathed a sigh of relief. A bowl that size posed no great problem and wouldn't damage their vitality.

"My two younger sisters aren't here. We'll give their shares for them."

Wang Shi frowned.

"That won't do. The Twelve Ancestral Witches form a whole, and each one's blood essence has its own unique uses."

"How could you leave any of them out?"

"Surely the mighty Ancestral Witches aren't trying to renege?"

Dijiang was speechless, utterly torn. If the Three Pure Ones themselves were here, he could simply fight them.

The problem was that both sides now knew each other's identities. If he attacked, he would lose face once word spread.

After all, Wang Shi was a junior, and Dijiang wasn't even in the right. The Ancestral Witches still had to walk the Primordial World with their heads held high.

"Fine. We'll do as you say."