Chapter 14: So Brilliant, So Ruthless, So Damn Greedy—If He Doesn

Ten days have passed, and the arrival of the Red Lantern Merit Hall’s branch in Qingxi Fang draws ever closer.

The number of cultivators flooding into Qingxi Fang has grown ever greater—solitary cultivators, disguised raiders, cultivators from minor immortal clans, disciples of vassal sects tied to major ones—all manner of types, too numerous to count.

A marketplace that normally hosted a few thousand people was utterly crammed by cultivators from hundreds, even a thousand li around.

Taking 750 li as the radius, the actual area equals 3.14 × 375² = 440,000 square kilometers, roughly one-twentieth of China.

Applied to the Wunan Immortal Realm, which spans 54 million square kilometers like Eurasia, the Red Lantern Sect, as one of the Ten Sects, controls one-tenth—five million square kilometers.

Qingxi Fang, as a Qi Refining marketplace under the Red Lantern Sect, serves as the final hub in the commodity circulation chain; given the special event period, this radius remains reasonable.

At Qingxi Fang’s horse-parking yard, staff wearing temporary armbands were frantically handling cultivators’ demands for horse parking.

Wang Rongwen did not ride here; he arrived aboard his clan chief’s flying spiritual device.

He glanced at the crowd flow and winced slightly.

Walking into Lao Gui’s beast medicine shop, Wang Rongwen immediately noticed Lao Gui speaking with a middle-aged man in a white robe, pale-faced and beardless.

Seeing Wang Rongwen enter, the white-robed man paused his conversation.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Naturally,” Lao Gui replied with a smile, watching the white-robed man depart.

“Business good lately?”

Wang Rongwen and Lao Gui were old acquaintances; he didn’t bother with formalities and sat right down at Lao Gui’s tea table.

First closing the shop door to prevent further entry, Lao Gui put on a face of bitter complaint.

“Ah, just scraping together a hard-earned wage.”

He poured himself a cup of tea.

He’d just spent ages dealing with that raider and was parched—needed spiritual tea to moisten his throat.

Wang Rongwen’s uncle smiled quietly, watching the teacup, waiting for Lao Gui to pour for him.

But for some reason, after pouring his own, Lao Gui clutched the teapot in his hand.

He didn’t pour for Wang Rongwen, didn’t speak, just stared straight at him.

“What’s this?” Wang Rongwen asked, startled.

“Your Wang family are no ordinary folk, Friend Rongwen. Say what you want outright.”

I won’t let you drink!

If I pour even one cup for any Wang, I’ve wasted my decades in this world!

Wang Rongwen, slightly absurded, frowned lightly.

Fine, fine, you wanna play like this?

You look down on me?

Just wait—I’ll teach you a lesson!

He picked up an empty teacup from the table and placed it before Lao Gui, sighing.

“It’s troublesome—our clan chief wants to organize a ghost market auction with the Gu family, before the Red Lantern Merit Hall arrives, to make a quick profit.

I’ve come on his orders; he wants you to handle the distribution of the auction invitations. But it seems you don’t welcome me?”

Lao Gui switched expressions instantly, pulling from his storage bag a pot of grade-eight monkey wine and a gold cup of inferior magic treasure quality, pouring for Wang Rongwen.

“Welcome! Welcome! I had a small misunderstanding with Friend Rongyuan.

But for Friend Rongwen, for the Wang family of Anbei State, I am utterly welcoming, utterly warm, utterly trusting.

Friend Rongwen, this is grade-eight monkey wine, just acquired yesterday—a small token, nothing much, please taste, please taste!”

Where’s that arrogance you showed me just now?

You had a misunderstanding with Rongyuan?

What misunderstanding?

Do you have a grudge against the Wang family?

Thinking of this, Wang Rongwen picked up the gold cup.

He didn’t drink—just stared at it, admiring.

“This cup is excellent, Friend. Truly excellent.”

Lao Gui’s forced smile froze, his face locked as if stuck.

The Wang family is too cruel! You, Wang Rongwen and Wang Rongyuan—you’re both too cruel!

He clenched his teeth, thinking: If you’re not ruthless, you won’t stand firm!

Only by being ruthless with yourself can you earn spirit stones!

“If you like it, take it, haha!” Lao Gui laughed loudly.

He seems quite generous.

“The clan chief and the second elder of the Tea King Gu family are leading this, and Elder Zhuochi from Di Shui Cave will join too.

We’ll likely invite the garrison cultivator, Elder Jiang. With these four present, the auction will be utterly secure.”

Wang Rongwen smiled as he introduced it, but when he reached the key point, he stopped.

“How many invitations do I need to send out?” Lao Gui asked eagerly.

Wang Rongwen acted as if he hadn’t heard, sighing.

“Well, ah, our clan chief loves monkey wine, but grade-eight monkey wine is rare.

You have some here, but I can’t ask you to part with it—it’d be too much to ask.”

Second sigh—double trouble!

Wang Rongwen’s still going!

Clan Chief: Rongwen, I’m your uncle. I don’t mind you using my name to mooch wine—but can’t you at least not make me sound so low-class?

Lao Gui said nothing now, his expression unchanged.

Quietly, he pulled another pot of grade-eight monkey wine from his storage bag, placed it on the tea table, and gently pushed it toward Wang Rongwen.

Then he stared at Wang Rongwen with a look of wounded resentment.

Friend, isn’t this enough?

I just didn’t pour you tea—blame Rongyuan, not me... I’m innocent!

“Hahaha, your generosity, Rongwen accepts it. The auction is set for the night after next, same place.

Send out three hundred invitations—remember, target those with higher cultivation!”

“The hidden treasures include four or five superior magic treasures, over a dozen grade-one elixirs for Qi Refining cultivators, and some fine grade-eight spiritual materials.”

Hearing the number three hundred, Lao Gui nearly fainted from joy.

He could sell each invitation for at least two spirit stones.

Just this one round—Rongyuan mooching his tea, Rongwen blackmailed his wine and cup—he’d already recouped everything, and made a huge profit!

Of course, he bore corresponding risks—if anyone investigated, he’d have to take the blame.

“Brother Rongwen, rest assured, I understand, I understand everything. After it’s done, there’ll be more thanks!”

Lao Gui gripped Wang Rongwen’s hand, barely holding back tears of emotion.

“Hmm, I’ll be off then. See you.”

Without a trace, Wang Rongwen tucked the cup of monkey wine just poured onto the table into his storage bag and left.

Watching him go, Lao Gui muttered under his breath, “The Wang family are all pigs,” then cheerfully set to crafting invitations.

Recently, the number of cultivators in Qingxi Fang has surged—all here for the Red Lantern Merit Hall, planning to spend big.

Spending requires wealth—these people carried no shortage of spirit stones or treasures.

Why did the Wang clan chief and other Foundation Establishment elders choose this moment to hold the ghost market auction?

Precisely to seize the golden window for harvesting high-quality “vegetables”—to make their profit before the Red Lantern Merit Hall arrives!

Lao Gui had a bold idea—this time, charge three spirit stones per invitation!

“Yulou, do you think Master Hongmei’s Dao refinement skill is high or low? Today he shattered three inferior magic treasures while refining one.”

In the evening, after a day’s study, the two brothers walked home to Fuyuan Residence, and Yuan complained to his elder brother.

“You don’t understand—Master has skill.

Cut a block of cold steel into six pieces to make magic treasures: two make break-even, three make small profit, four make big profit.

Today he made eleven and only shattered three—he made a huge profit.”

Yulou truly admired Hongmei—he was a genius at business.

In cost-cutting and efficiency, Hongmei’s skill was at least ten stories high.

“Do people even buy those inferior magic treasures? Our family’s donkey-hair incense pouches have at least four seals...”

Yuan simply couldn’t understand.

What made Hongmei so great?

He’d cut a fist-sized block of cold steel, add scraps of other spiritual materials, and somehow forge three or four seals into a magic treasure the size of a fingertip—one even had five.

Of the three shattered, two failed while attempting the sixth seal!

So brilliant, so ruthless, so damn greedy.

If Hongmei doesn’t succeed, who will?

“The number of cultivators in Qingxi Fang has grown—three- or four-seal inferior magic treasures are meant for those who can’t afford better ones.

Even Master’s three-seal ones are forged from cold steel; if used well, they can shatter my Ink Jade Oil Beads.”

Yulou and Yuan chatted all the way back to Fuyuan Residence.

Bai Lu, who had been lounging behind the counter reading a storybook, noticed them and hurried over to warn them.

The clan chief has arrived, and so have your parents; they said that once you return, you should go see them.