"How much is this crystal?"
Before Xiao Yan could speak, Tang San asked the price of the crystal outright. Xiao Yan groaned inwardly.
Showing his interest in the crystal so openly-wasn't he just waiting for the shopkeeper to fleece him?
"One hundred Gold Soul Coins!"
Sure enough, a calm voice sounded the next moment. The middle-aged man who had been resting in the recliner spoke, gently waving the fan in his hand.
"One hundred Gold Soul Coins? Why don't you just rob us?"
Xiao Wu bristled at the price and spoke up.
"All right!"
Tang San's reaction took them by surprise. He simply reached into his belt, and a bag containing a hundred Gold Soul Coins appeared in his hand.
"Not enough."
Unexpectedly, the old man in the recliner spoke up abruptly without even raising his head.
"There are a hundred Gold Soul Coins in here," Tang San said, hefting the bag in his hand.
"Now it's two hundred Gold Soul Coins." The old man's calm voice made Tang San's brows knit together.
"You!"
"You old man, weren't you the one who said a hundred Gold Soul Coins? Why are you suddenly raising the price?"
Xiao Wu rushed forward to confront him, but Xiao Yan could see perfectly clearly: the man had realized Tang San wanted the crystal and was simply jacking up the price.
"Are you sure you won't change it again?"
Even the price of two hundred Gold Soul Coins failed to make Tang San back down. Instead, he asked the question, prompting Xiao Yan to look at the crystal in surprise.
Judging by Tang San's reaction, Xiao Yan understood that this was probably some extremely rare material.
Unfortunately, he lacked the knowledge Tang San had gained in his previous life and couldn't recognize such things.
"Let me think..." The shopkeeper fell silent for a moment after hearing Tang San's words before speaking:
"Five hundred Gold Soul Coins. Pay up, and the crystal is yours."
"You profiteer! Little San, let's go!"
Xiao Wu couldn't stand watching any longer. She grabbed Tang San and headed for the door.
Faced with the price of five hundred Gold Soul Coins, Tang San could only shake his head. He was willing to buy it, but unfortunately, he and Xiao Wu had only a little over seven hundred Gold Soul Coins between them.
If they spent five hundred on the crystal, there might not be enough to support their living and cultivation after enrollment.
So despite his regret, Tang San could only give up on buying it.
"Young man, if you don't have enough gold coins, you can pay two hundred Gold Soul Coins first and pay the rest at ten Gold Soul Coins a month. There'll be ten percent interest, though."
Seemingly sensing Tang San's financial straits, the middle-aged man in the rocking chair slowly continued.
Xiao Yan had watched Tang San's reaction without speaking. As he remembered it, Tang San was very composed, but he was so excited now that the crystal was probably no ordinary thing.
"Little San, you're not really going to buy it, are you?"
Feeling Tang San stop, Xiao Wu looked at him in disbelief.
Tang San shook his head at Xiao Wu and sighed, then walked over to the shopkeeper and held out two bags.
"Shopkeeper, it's a deal. Here are two hundred Gold Soul Coins!"
Although five hundred Gold Soul Coins was a high price, getting the crystal for that amount was already more than worth it to Tang San.
Even if it cost ten times as much, he would buy it.
"Swish!"
The shopkeeper in the recliner opened his eyes, but his gaze fell on the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at Tang San's waist, and he froze.
He didn't immediately take the money bags from Tang San.
"Boy, where did you get that belt?"
The shopkeeper's voice was low. Something flickered in Xiao Yan's and Tang San's eyes, and Tang San said:
"My teacher gave it to me."
"So you're his disciple... Never mind, I won't charge you for the crystal. Just take it."
The shopkeeper waved his hand. Tang San was still hesitating, but Xiao Wu scooped up the crystal and pulled him toward the shop's exit.
"Come on, Little San, or this black-hearted merchant will change his mind again in a moment..."
Before leaving, though, Tang San still put the two hundred Gold Soul Coins down in the shop.
Xiao Yan exchanged a long look with the shopkeeper, who also noticed the Black Dragon on his hand. Only after Xiao Yan left did the shopkeeper murmur:
"Hehe, how interesting. Have you finally stopped hiding from me, you fellow? Have you taken on two new disciples? Let me see what exactly makes them outstanding..."
Meanwhile, Tang San, having obtained the crystal, took the other two straight back to the hotel. He looked at the crystal in his hands, his face full of excitement.
Seeing the confusion on their faces, Tang San explained the origins of Hair Gold and Plate Crystal to them.
"Clink!"
As Tang San brought down a hammer, the golden beads that scattered everywhere astonished Xiao Yan and Xiao Wu.
"Senior brother, Xiao Wu, watch closely!"
Tang San picked up a tiny golden bead and infused it with a wisp of Soul Power. The bead immediately straightened into a golden whisker finer than a strand of hair and about a finger's length.
"How sharp!"
Xiao Yan was a little surprised by the sharpness he sensed at the tip of the golden thread.
"That's not all!"
Tang San smiled and flicked his finger, sending the golden thread into the bedding. Under Xiao Yan and Xiao Wu's eyes, the bedding instantly shrank into a ball.
"As soon as this golden thread loses the support of Soul Power, it automatically returns to its original shape and contracts into a tiny ball like this. The thread is also extremely sharp. With Soul Power supporting it, once it penetrates deep into a person's body..."
"How terrifying!"
Xiao Wu's eyes widened.
If this thing pierced her body, Xiao Wu could hardly imagine how painful it would be.
"If this pierced someone's body, it would contract and twist their meridians and muscles together. Apart from using a special technique, the only way to remove it completely would be to cut out that piece of muscle."
An unusual, infatuated gleam flickered in Tang San's eyes as he explained to the two:
"I call this thing the Dragon Whisker Needle!"
"Little San, this hidden weapon is so vicious!"
Xiao Wu couldn't help shivering at his words. Even Xiao Yan gave it a few more looks.
The golden beads that had just burst out of that one crystal were packed so densely that there were probably close to twenty thousand of them!
"There are no vicious hidden weapons. It only depends on how the user uses them."
Tang San shook his head and carefully stored the Dragon Whisker Needles in the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
At the same time, he hid a golden bead formed from a Dragon Whisker Needle under the tip of each fingernail. Obtaining the Dragon Whisker Needles, which ranked among the top ten Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, put Tang San in an excellent mood.
None of them went out wandering again before it was time to report in the next day.
The three went straight out through Suotuo City's south gate. According to what they had learned in the city, they only needed to leave through the south gate and keep going straight to reach Shrek Academy.
After leaving Suotuo City, the three followed the main road for quite a while without seeing any obvious academy buildings or bustling places. Instead, the farther they went, the more remote it became.