Chapter 314: Token of Trust

Xu Yuan grabbed a ghost woman, whipped her backward—the Sinew Pill stretched along with her, binding the other three ghost women together.

The Sinew Pill had already refined the materials of the Wild Boar Fang into itself.

The three ghost women screamed, shaking their yin souls until they nearly scattered like broken egg yolks, yet still could not escape the single rope.

The ghost women then knew they had kicked a steel plate today!

Xu Yuan grabbed one, dragged three, and strode toward the stairs: "Today I shall make the entire Old Market pass judgment on this matter!

You of the Yin-Yang Shop boasted so loudly, yet lured this lord in only to produce nothing!

Are you playing with me?"

Miao Yan stood dumbfounded: recalling his two visits to the Old Market, he had always been cautious, even striving to conceal his identity as a living person.

How could Lord Xu's thoughts be so different from ordinary people?

He is a living person; how could he not fear causing a scene in the Old Market?

Moreover, he seemed to look forward to making a scene!

The four ghost women shrieked: "If you dare tarnish our Yin-Yang Shop's reputation, you are doomed! No one can save your life!"

Xu Yuan sneered: "Oh? The evil spirits have started acting unreasonable?"

Then, utterly unthreatened, he dragged and pulled his way toward the first-floor entrance.

On the third floor, the Yin-Yang Python spat yin qi from all four nostrils in anger.

These foolish women!

Although the Yin-Yang Python cared little for such business dealings, he understood that if you swindle a guest and then act like a bully to threaten them... such business cannot last long.

The Yin-Yang Python's handsome male head flicked his tongue toward the floor below.

"Hiss—hiss—"

The Shopkeeper, dozing behind the first-floor counter, suddenly jolted awake; his head banged against the counter with a thud, causing him to grimace in pain as a few yellow whiskers on his lips trembled.

He was a weasel, and the counter stood far higher than him.

While other Shopkeepers slept atop the counter, he could only crouch beneath it.

But he dared not delay even a moment; the master was furious.

Shopkeeper Huang rushed up to the second floor, clasping his two small paws before him, bowing and kowtowing incessantly to Xu Yuan: "Guest, guest, calm your anger; this old man offers his greetings."

"I dare not!" Xu Yuan said without ceremony: "Your Yin-Yang Shop is something else; you swindle people and won't even let them speak? Today I shall see how the Yin-Yang Shop makes me doomed!"

Shopkeeper Huang raised a paw and slapped the ghost woman who had just spoken arrogantly.

"Wretched wench! If you speak nonsense again, I will eat you raw!"

The ghost woman felt aggrieved but dared not resist.

They were not very smart, but even the stupidest ghosts should have realized by now: this guest before them was no ordinary person!

Shopkeepers usually did not interfere; in the past, when the four of them cheated and deceived, the Shopkeeper would only watch the show from the side, cracking chicken claws and cheering.

After chastising the ghost women, Shopkeeper Huang smiled at Xu Yuan and said: "This establishment indeed possesses a few treasures; please wait a moment, guest, and this old man shall fetch them for you immediately."

He could not refuse to do business with this person now; otherwise, getting through today would be difficult.

Shopkeeper Huang also walked to the cabinet evil spirit.

The latter had already received the master's message and reopened the three drawers.

Shopkeeper Huang took out three items from inside.

Placed on an exquisite redwood tray, he held them respectfully with both paws before Xu Yuan.

"Guest, please take a look."

Miao Yan stood aside, no longer surprised.

Because the Great Wei Wei Huoshi had suddenly realized: these dog evil spirits had already discerned Lord Xu's identity.

They spoke tough to outsiders.

Claiming "Little Xiao Xi Miao does not receive officials," yet when a real high official entered, they not only dared not offend him but had to serve him carefully.

Think of me, the Great Wei Wei Huoshi of the honorable Three Sisters Society; I entered twice, spent a great deal of money, yet you still tried to tease and frighten me!

Truly detestable!

Xu Yuan looked at those three "treasures."

The first was an ancient wine flask.

Judging by its form, it was clearly not an item of this dynasty.

Shopkeeper Huang introduced them to Xu Yuan one by one.

This wine flask contained wine that, when poured into a cup, remained normal fine wine.

However, once swallowed into the stomach, it would turn into a sedative.

Even a sixth-rate cultivator would be knocked out by a single cup.

Xu Yuan curled his lip: "Harmful things."

The second item was a lantern.

If the lantern is lit and hung before the door, then everything in the house, whether human, beast, or evil spirit, will be extremely obedient and compliant; as long as they remain within the house, they will do whatever they are told.

Xu Yuan curled his lip again: "Harmful things."

The third was a brass key.

If there is a locked object before you, this item has a fifty percent chance of helping you open it.

Xu Yuan curled his lip for the third time: "Still harmful things!"

Shopkeeper Huang lowered his head, his small eyes darting about: "Guest, when you come to the Old Market to buy things from evil spirits, aren't they all harmful things?"

Xu Yuan, however, frowned, because these three treasures were not suitable for him to refine into a "Dharma Object."

But Xu Yuan intended to buy them—harmful things must be kept in one's own hands as much as possible, lest others buy them and use them to harm oneself.

Xu Yuan haggled with Shopkeeper Huang.

Shopkeeper Huang did not want to sell; the shop possessed only five treasures in total.

They were all "treasures that anchor the shop."

Sell one, and one fewer remains.

Not to mention Xu Yuan demanded to buy three outright from the very start.

Yet it dared not set an arbitrary price; this was not a person one could offend lightly.

"These three... each shall be priced at two pieces of sixth-grade material."

Generally, one sixth-grade evil spirit yields one or two pieces of material of the same standard; three or more are quite rare.

But the Wild Boar Tusk is an exception.

Its body is far too formidable.

Take the Naga, for instance; if slain, it yields more material than the Wild Boar Tusk.

These three treasures are all sixth-grade in quality; treasures surpass raw material, so this price is quite fair.

Yet producing six pieces of sixth-grade material at once would strain even a fifth-grade cultivator.

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "For a deal this large, I must see your master."

"This..."

The Yin-Yang Python was upstairs; both heads pondered together:

Do not wish to meet.

Thus, both heads spoke at once, male and female voices blending: "Unnecessary. This price is extremely fair, one might even say cheap.

Your Excellency cannot possibly claim our Yin-Yang Shop is swindling customers again, can you?"

Xu Yuan rubbed his nose; encountering a reasonable evil spirit was truly somewhat difficult to handle.

But he indeed did not possess enough material.

Xu Yuan brought out all the material on his person: "Enough to buy one piece; the surplus counts as a deposit. I will make up the remainder within three months. How about that?"

The voice from upstairs offered no reply.

The Yin-Yang Python's two mouths curled in disdain; your material barely suffices to buy even one piece.

What "deposit" are you calculating?

Earlier you accused our Yin-Yang Shop of swindling customers; now you are blatantly extorting our Yin-Yang Shop.

Xu Yuan waited a while, found the other party still had not answered, then thrust his hand into his robe: "If Your Excellency is uneasy, I can leave behind a token.

Rest assured, I will certainly redeem this token."

The Yin-Yang Python upstairs paused for a moment, then both mouths began to silently curse furiously.

As long as it refused, this fellow would likely pull out the patrol badge of the Evil-Purging Bureau right then!

This was forcing me to agree!

If I do not agree, he will truly produce the badge—the rules of the Small Western Temple dictate no reception of officials.

I would have no choice but to fight him and drive him out; that would truly mean tearing off the face of civility.

Afterwards, within Zhan City, there would be no peaceful days.

"Agreed!" The Yin-Yang Python's voice, gnashing its teeth, came from upstairs.

"The token is unnecessary!"

(End of this chapter)