Chapter 119

Hearing Chen Wuji's words, Licentiate Yuan shifted his body and lay flat on the grass, "Brother Wuji, is your injury alright?"

"Not bad. If we had encountered this much game a couple of days ago, we two could only bear the pain and throw it away, there's no way we could bring it back." Chen Wuji shook his head as he spoke, his heartbeat never having been so clear before.

Like a war drum, it thumped thump-thump in his ears.

Just then, a group of people suddenly walked over.

"You little brat, finally deigned to come back, huh?" a woman's voice shouted aggressively.

Chen Wuji turned his head with a bewildered expression and looked over.

It turned out to be Shopkeeper Xiao Yuji from See Mountain.

He had thought it was Qin Zanhong coming.

"Shopkeeper Xiao, you can't talk nonsense like that; your words make me sound like a faithless lover. Heaven and earth as my witness, I haven't done anything to wrong you!" Chen Wuji said.

Xiao Yuji gave a light snort, "You swindled me out of fifteen taels; isn't that bad enough?"

"I hinted at it already; you insisted on buying, so I had to give it to you." Chen Wuji said.

Xiao Yuji glared at Chen Wuji, cheeks puffed, "Your hint wasn't obvious enough; it doesn't count."

"As a merchant, I naturally want to earn a bit more; a hint is already pretty good. Do you still want me to spell it out? That's impossible." Chen Wuji waved his hand, "I'm not returning the money!"

"I didn't ask you to return it; it's only fifteen taels, I can afford to toss it aside. What good stuff did you bring back today?" Xiao Yuji strode over with her long legs, her manner aggressive.

After looking at Chen Wuji's haul today, Xiao Yuji didn't waste a word and pulled out her money pouch.

"I'll take all of these, thirty taels!"

An old man beside them suddenly reached out to stop Xiao Yuji, "Niece Xiao, your business practices are not upright. One thing for another; you can't blame your earlier mistake on Chen Xiaoyou and then try to make up for it with today's game."

"Never mind the rest, just this gray wolf alone is worth fifteen taels; the yellow goat is a delicacy beloved by the city's gourmets, fifteen taels is neither low nor high, and adding the fox and badger, how could it be worth only thirty taels?"

After lecturing Xiao Yuji, the old man turned to Chen Wuji and said, "Young friend Chen, I am the venerable Han Chunshen; Han Mountain Goods is my shop, a century-old establishment that deals fairly with young and old. I am willing to offer forty taels for your game. How about that?"

Before Chen Wuji could speak, Xiao Yuji objected, "Uncle Han, you and I weren't talking like that on the road; why are you now competing with me?"

"Niece, I too am excited by the sight of game. Yellow goats are extremely hard to catch; coming across one is no easy feat, and their meat is a supreme delicacy, exquisitely tasty. This gray wolf is also rare; such a large gray wolf, even if not the pack leader, is certainly a contender for leadership—seeing it, I couldn't help myself." Han Chunshen sighed.

Xiao Yuji glared at Han Chunshen, cheeks puffed, and raised her hand, opening her five fingers as green and lush as scallions toward Chen Wuji.

"I bid fifty taels!"

Han Chunshen shouted in vexation, "Niece, why bother? Fifty taels—what profit do you still have?"

"Yes, this wolf skin is large enough to make a fine cloak. Uncle, you should know how well my cloaks sell in Yunan City—I'm not losing anything at all. If you keep competing with me, I can still add more!" Xiao Yuji raised her eyebrows, provokingly lifting her chin at Han Chunshen.

Chen Wuji immediately gave Han Chunshen an encouraging glance.

Han Chunshen pretended not to notice, turning his head aside and repeatedly examining the fox's fur, "All good stuff—white fox, gray wolf, yellow goat—but fifty taels is already a sky‑high price, sigh, forget it!"

"Niece, these things are yours; I won't contend with you any further. Once you've sealed the deal, I'd like to take that white fox, if you could bear to part with it."

"Make your offer!" Xiao Yuji declared haughtily.

"No, wait a moment."

She hastily pulled a silver ingot from her money pouch and handed it to Chen Wuji, "These game animals are now mine; no matter what price I sell them for, you must pay me quietly, without a word."

"Wait, the things inside the sack aren't for sale!" Chen Wuji said.

He accepted the fifty‑tael price, but the crickets and crabs, as well as those three baby fish, were not to be sold.

Xiao Yuji glared at Chen Wuji, cheeks puffed, "Here we go again? Let me first see what's in the sack."

She merely opened it and glanced inside, then jumped aside as if she'd stepped on a snake, crying out in shock, "What is this? Why did you catch these things?"

"It's none of your business; anyway, these aren't for sale!" Chen Wuji couldn't be bothered to explain further.

"If you won't sell, I won't buy—take it away, take it away, hurry up and take it." Xiao Yuji waved her hand, speaking with utter disdain.

She had heard of those myriad little worms; they sounded like poisonous insects.

Chen Wuji shook his head; yet another clueless woman, wasting such a pretty face.

But, speaking of which, this woman's lips are genuinely sexy.

In an age without lip balm or lipstick, how does she keep her lips so plump and moist?

"Uncle Han, now you can make your offer!" Xiao Yuji said.

Han Chunshen gave Xiao Yuji a meaningful glance, "Let's talk over there."

"No need; let's talk right in front of this guy—I want to anger him to death today. Uncle Han, you'd better gauge your offer when you make it; I know the market for white fox pelts, and I won't sell low." Xiao Yuji glanced provocatively at Chen Wuji and spoke loudly.

Upon hearing that, Han Chunshen's face instantly filled with resignation, "How about ten taels?"

"Uncle Han, are you still trying to swindle me? I won't sell for under fifty taels!" Xiao Yuji declared haughtily.

"This white fox's fur is gorgeous, its appearance cute and lovable, its quality excellent—just a slight leg injury; a few doses of medicine will heal it quickly, posing no problem at all."

Han Chunshen's old face was full of helplessness, "Virtuous niece, at least give me some leeway."

"Then I won't sell; I'll handle it myself. Come to think of it, I still have some connections with the city's notables—if I happen to meet someone who loves a good hunt, this pure profit of forty or fifty taels is a business I'd like to try." Xiao Yuji said with a light smile.

Han Chunshen was stunned, "Virtuous niece, didn't you notice I just let you win on purpose? How… how can you not understand this old man's painstaking efforts? Twenty taels, then!"

Xiao Yuji giggled, "Then I won't sell."

Han Chunshen heaved a long, heart‑broken sigh, "Young people have no martial virtue—I spent fifty taels to buy just a fox; why didn't I add a bit more and buy the whole lot? This old man feels awful."

"Uncle Han, fifty taels—want it or not?" Xiao Yuji asked with a grin.

"Yes, why wouldn't I!" Han Chunshen gritted his teeth and agreed, his face turning as black as a pot bottom from anger.

Chen Wuji wasn't much better off either; his expression was like that of someone constipated.

That Miss Xiao woman had succeeded; he was indeed provoked.

He had bundled up the goods sold for fifty taels, but the other party turned around and reclaimed them with just a single fox.

Is there any justice left in this damn world?

A fox bought for fifty taels will surely sell for far more than that.

At such a high price, perhaps someone in the city keeps a fox as a pet.