A piece of pale black cloth was spread flat on the ground, displaying pills, artifacts, cultivation manuals, medicinal herbs, and various miscellaneous items. The stall owner was someone completely wrapped in black cloth, as if he couldn’t stand even a sliver of light.
“Take a look, all good things here.”
A hoarse voice sounded.
Lin Huanhuan nodded, her gaze casually sweeping over the items on the stall. The things here all looked a little old and worn.
But when her gaze skimmed over one particular cultivation manual, a hint of interest finally flickered in Lin Huanhuan’s eyes—this was what she’d come for today!
Lin Huanhuan seemed a bit bored. “Nothing here looks that great. Who knows if these are even real.”
It was obvious to the naked eye that the stall owner trembled violently, seeming about to argue, but in the end, he said nothing.
“This one, this one, and this one, I’ll take them all. How many spirit stones? Make it cheaper, or I’ll go buy elsewhere.”
Lin Huanhuan pointed out several items at random. The stall owner replied hoarsely, “…Let’s say fifty spirit stones, that’s already very cheap. Any cheaper and I’d be losing money.”
‘Even if these are just miscellaneous things, there must have been some cost. He can’t have just stolen everything, right?’ Lin Huanhuan thought to herself and nodded.
“Fine, I’ll take them. Here are fifty spirit stones, count them.”
With that, Lin Huanhuan took out her Qiankun Pouch, made a gesture, and a large pile of spirit stones floated in her palm.
Spirit stones, formed by the condensation of spiritual energy between heaven and earth, can be used for cultivation and also to restore lost spiritual energy. They are the main currency in the cultivation world and have considerable purchasing power. In the mortal realm, the exchange rate between spirit stones and silver is roughly 1:1000, and they are usually priceless when available.
A sharp gleam flashed in the stall owner’s eyes as he prepared to complete the transaction with Lin Huanhuan.
“Wait, I’ll take these for eighty spirit stones. Sell them to me.”
Just then, a small-framed person wearing a fox mask walked over.
“Hmm?” Lin Huanhuan glanced at him with a hint of doubt.
He glared back arrogantly and sneered, “You haven’t completed the deal yet, right? Whoever offers more gets it, got a problem? If you don’t like it, bite me.”
The stall owner chimed in, “This customer, it’s always first come, first served, but since the deal’s not done yet, how about this? If you pay a little more than he does, I’ll sell to you. How about it?”
“Besides, you don’t look like someone short on spirit stones. Let’s have some fair competition, yes?”
For customers to fight over an item, even to the point of competing, was just what every stall owner loved to see—it meant he could make more profit.
“Fair competition? Heh.”
Lin Huanhuan snorted coldly and shot them a frosty look, then simply turned and walked away.
The stall owner and the fox-masked person were left dumbfounded, clearly not expecting this turn of events. Shouldn’t the person in front of them have gotten angry and started bidding madly by now?
‘Do they really think I’m some clueless fool? This is clearly a setup to scam me.’
‘If I’m not wrong, in just a few seconds, they’ll try to call me back.’
Lin Huanhuan strode quickly away, and sure enough, after only a few seconds, the stall owner hastily called out.
“Hey, customer, don’t go! I’ll sell to you, is that good enough?”
Only then did Lin Huanhuan stop.
“Since you came first, I’ll sell to you. I still have some integrity—fifty spirit stones, goods for money, fair and square.”
The stall owner quickly packed up the items and spoke rapidly.
“Fifty spirit stones? What fifty? That was the price just now. Now it’s only forty!”
“You!” the stall owner shouted angrily. “Don’t push it too far, or I won’t sell to you!”
He tried to threaten with harsh words, but happened to meet Lin Huanhuan’s deep, blood-red eyes. His courage instantly vanished.
Lin Huanhuan said, “Don’t think I don’t know your tricks. Hurry up, or in a moment I’ll lose interest completely, and you won’t even get thirty!”
The stall owner was so angry he trembled all over, but in the end, like a deflated ball, he let out a long sigh. “Fine, let’s do the deal.”
After the transaction, the stall owner looked as though he had aged several years, while Lin Huanhuan simply took her things and left.
‘Such an act. I don’t have the time to play along with you.’
*****
“Big brother, what about it?”
The fox-masked customer stared coldly at Lin Huanhuan’s departing figure, making a slicing motion across his neck with his hand.
The stall owner hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
“Forget it. It’s not like we really lost anything, and there was no cost anyway.”
Lin Huanhuan walked to the middle of the street, when suddenly a loud commotion broke out ahead. A large crowd had gathered—it was obvious someone was fighting.
She frowned slightly and walked around, not wanting to get involved in such obvious trouble.
Noticing the market’s staff rushing over, Lin Huanhuan quickened her pace and left the area.
Afterward, she bought a few Thunder Beads and defensive talismans—all of which would come in handy soon.
After buying what she needed, Lin Huanhuan swiftly left the Ghost Market.
Making a few detours and carefully checking to make sure she wasn’t being followed, Lin Huanhuan sighed regretfully.
“Looks like things like killing for treasure don’t fall to me after all. I even got ready to call for backup. Oh well.”
Back at her residence, Lin Huanhuan was immediately greeted by a tempting aroma.
On the table, several plates of exquisitely prepared dishes were laid out: braised pork, eggplant stewed with meat, West Lake vinegar fish…
Every single one was something she loved to eat.
Her close maid, Dong Yun’er, was waiting at the side. “Miss, you’re finally back. You must be hungry. Would you like to try some?”
At the Qi Refining stage, she hadn’t yet reached the point of fasting; aside from cultivating, she still needed to eat.
There was, however, a special kind of miraculous pill called the Ration Pill—one pill could last a week, but it tasted bland. Normally, only those in closed-door cultivation or fanatical cultivators would use them for long.
Lin Huanhuan was certainly not someone who had no desires. She ate every day and only ate the best. Naturally, the one cooking was Dong Yun’er, whose culinary skills were top-notch.
So much so that most of the time, when Lin Huanhuan ate outside, she found the food never as good as Dong Yun’er’s, and didn’t want to eat.
“Not bad, you knew I was coming back.” Lin Huanhuan nodded in praise.
“It’s what I should do.” Dong Yun’er replied softly.
Lin Huanhuan sat down. Seeing that Dong Yun’er was still standing, she frowned slightly. “Why are you still standing? Sit down quickly.”
“Oh, yes, Miss.” Dong Yun’er finally sat, perching only half her bottom on the stool.
“Hmph!”
Lin Huanhuan gave a dissatisfied huff. “Do I have to say this every time? Next time, if I have to remind you again, I’ll punish you. I’ll spank your bottom hard and see if you dare do it again!”