"I owe you money? What money do I owe you?" the man asked, looking puzzled.
"Oh, look at you! You said my carriage damaged your armor, and I compensated you. But your armor also damaged my carriage. Shouldn't you compensate me for that?" Qi Ling laughed.
The man thought to himself, "It's just a carriage; how much can I pay for a minor collision?" So he asked, "How much do you want me to pay?"
"Hehe, simple. The wood in my vehicle is top-grade ten-thousand-year-old agarwood, and the paint is a special material exclusively supplied to Heaven Dou City. Not to mention the craftsmanship, it's patented." Qi Ling laughed, "Honest and fair, I only need you to compensate me with 20,000 Gold Soul Coin."
"What? Are you crazy? I touched your carriage and you want me to pay you 20,000 Gold Soul Coin?" the man said, his eyes wide.
"If you don't believe me, you can go and ask around how much my carriage cost," Qi Ling said. "Look, look, such a long scratch! It breaks my heart!"
As Qi Ling spoke, she pointed to a scratch on the side of the carriage. The man who had staged the accident was immediately enraged and retorted, "You're lying! Your carriage didn't even touch me, how could it have left such a scratch!"
"Oh? It didn't bump into you? That's strange. If it didn't bump into you, how did it collide with you?" Qi Ling said. "Are you trying to extort money from me by saying my carriage hit you?"
"I, I didn't, I was, I was..." The man trying to stage an accident quickly added, his eyes darting around, "I was hit by this horse! Not by the carriage!"
"What did you say? You were bumped by my horse?" Qi Ling exclaimed in surprise. "Oh my goodness! Do you know how much my horse is worth?"
"What? You're not trying to say your horse is worth 20,000 Gold Soul Coin, are you?" the person trying to scam him said cautiously.
"Twenty thousand? You can't even buy one of its legs for twenty thousand!" Qi Ling said. "This is Soul Beast horse that I carefully bred. Even the imperial family might not be able to afford it. Do you think it's an ordinary horse?"
"You just bumped into my horse, which will upset it! If it's upset, it won't eat its feed properly! If it doesn't eat its feed properly, its coat will become dull, its health will decline, it will lack energy, and it might even die of depression!" Qi Ling said. "This is much more troublesome than scratching my car! You'll have to compensate me at least 30,000 Gold Soul Coin!"
"I, I, I just bumped into it, how could it cause such a consequence!" the person who staged the accident said unwillingly.
"Why not? You're so ugly, I can't even eat when I see you, let alone my horse!" Qi Ling laughed. "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and pay up. There are so many witnesses here, don't even think about going back on your word!"
Behind Qi Ling, Tang San and the others had already disembarked from the carriage. Watching Qi Ling's incredible maneuver, Tai Tan couldn't help but exclaim, "As expected of the Alliance Leader! This nonsense just rolls off his tongue so effortlessly, without a single pause!"
Hu Liena exclaimed admiringly, "Now I finally understand why Qi Ling is the owner of Tianhua Bank! Her money-making skills are truly eye-opening!"
Ning Rongrong then said, "Now you know, right? Dragon's Glory letting me manage the money is actually quite good to everyone! At most, I won't give you any money. If Qi Ling were in charge, not only would he not give you any, but he would also swindle you out of your money!"
Watching the person who was trying to scam him suddenly become the one being scammed, he was so embarrassed that his face turned red. He couldn't understand why he owed Qi Ling money.
In the end, Tai Tan had no choice but to step in and plead for this man, because he was the apprentice of the apprentice of the master craftsman Lou Gao, so they had some connection.
The group boarded the carriage again and headed towards the Blacksmith Association. Before long, the carriage stopped in front of a tall building, which was presumably the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association.
The group disembarked from the carriage and entered the Blacksmith Association, where they were astonished to see a scene resembling a bustling market.
"This is the Blacksmith Association. The first and second floors are the trading area, the third floor is the blacksmith registration and assessment area, the fourth floor is the VIP area, which is also the auction area, and the fifth floor is the Blacksmith Association's office area," Tai Tan said. "If we want to find the Lou Gao, we can just go to the fifth floor."
Using a token from Tai Tan, the group made their way to the fourth floor. There, two guards, upon seeing Tai Tan, exclaimed in surprise, "Vice President Tai Tan? What brings you here? It's been a long time!"
Tai Tan chuckled and said, "It really has been a long time. Are you two still guarding the stairs for Lou Gao?"
Tai Tan then introduced the two men to the group. They were the personal disciples of the master craftsman Lou Gao, possessing the strength of Soul Saint and being highly skilled blacksmiths. Under their guidance, the group finally got to meet the master craftsman Lou Gao.
The master craftsman Lou Gao was a short, stout old man, only about 1.6 meters tall, but his waist was probably also 1.6 meters. His messy hair looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time, and you couldn't tell that he was the highest-ranking person in the city.
Lou Gao was naturally delighted to see Tai Tan. After catching up, Lou Gao asked the group why they had come. Tai Tan laughed and said, "Haha, what else would we do in the City of Metal? We're here to buy some rare metals!"
"Hmph! Buy metal? If you want to buy something, why don't you just go find those guys? With your status, they wouldn't dare to rip you off. Why are you coming to me?" Lou Gao said.
"Hehe, it's not because what we need is particularly special. If we didn't come to you, it would be difficult to handle this," Tai Tan said helplessly.
Lou Gao frowned and said, "Difficult? How difficult? Is there some metal that City of Metal?"
"This... well, you'll see when you see it." Tai Tan said, handing the document Qi Ling had given him to Lou Gao.
As expected, Lou Gao was also surprised when he saw the materials and said, "So many kinds of materials? What are you going to make?"
"This..." Tai Tan hesitated, "Don't worry about it. This isn't something I want; it's for our leader. Old Lou, are you even able to prepare everything?"
"It'll take some effort, but it shouldn't be a problem," Lou Gao said. "But I have one condition: you must tell me what you plan to do with these things! I really can't imagine what you're going to make with all these things together!"
Tai Tan felt a pang of unease and looked at Qi Ling. Qi Ling sighed and said helplessly, "Senior Lou Gao, it's not that I don't want to show you, it's just that you wouldn't understand it even if you did."
"Heh, what a joke! I'm the master craftsman Lou Gao, the president of the Blacksmith Association! What could possibly be beyond my understanding?" Lou Gao laughed loudly. "Just bring it out! If I truly can't understand it, I'll give these materials to you for free!"
"Really? Such a good thing?" Qi Ling immediately laughed, "Then I'll accept it without hesitation! Senior Lou Gao, please take a look."