Lin Ke curled his lips and asked the young man in return:
"A discount? What kind of discount? Should I have you arrested for selling counterfeits, dragged to the Vast Source Hall, and thrown in jail to have your legs broken?"
The young man turned green at those words and hurriedly put on an apologetic smile. "Come now, surely there's no need for that! This is just a small business!"
"Believe me, I must have made a mistake last time. I deserve to die. I'll slap myself."
As he spoke, he gave his own face two token pats to "apologize" to Lin Ke.
Inwardly, however, he only wanted to send Lin Ke away as quickly as possible.
After all, in his eyes, Lin Ke was young and surely inexperienced. As long as he played up his misery a little, wouldn't getting out of this be a breeze?
Seeing the man begin to play the victim to win his sympathy, Lin Ke knew the time was about right. He took the offered slope to get off his donkey and said:
"Stop hitting yourself, fellow cultivator. I know things aren't easy for you either, but think about it. If I buy something, I'm obviously going to want to get full use out of it."
He leaned closer to the young man and lowered his voice. "After all, nobody wants the chain to slip at a critical moment..."
"I understand, I understand." The young man hurriedly picked up the thread, then smoothly offered Lin Ke a solution:
"Last time was definitely a misunderstanding! Since you're already here, of course I'll find a way to resolve this for you."
"Look, these are all newly arrived goods, along with some antiques scavenged from the mountains. Pick any two this time. Keep looking until you're satisfied."