Seeing that the little girl in front of her actually wanted to scam her, Lin Huanhuan could not possibly agree and directly refuted her without mercy.
Although selling fake goods was prohibited here, buying low and selling high was relatively normal. After all, it truly came down to a matter of insight, which was considered an acceptable practice by default.
Lin Mengdie stood there, dumbfounded, and her originally cheerful mood instantly plummeted. ‘I didn’t expect her to be such an expert. It seems I won’t be able to make a huge profit.’
“I didn’t realize Senior Sister Huanhuan was such a connoisseur. I’ve made a fool of myself. This was originally just the custom of the trade, but since Senior Sister Huanhuan knows her stuff, let’s go with that price.”
Lin Mengdie did not feel embarrassed. She smiled and continued to calculate the price.
“Wow, it’s a total of 3,500 spirit stones.”
Lin Mengdie had a look of pleasant surprise on her face. ‘Even without the scam, I still earned over 100 spirit stones.’
Lin Mengdie’s eyes darted around, and she said temptingly, “Senior Sister Huanhuan, it’s not very convenient to carry so many spirit stones, is it? Why don’t you deposit them here at Yancui Pavilion? If you deposit 3,000 spirit stones at once, you can enjoy a 20% discount the next time you buy something at Yancui Pavilion.”
“It’s much cheaper than other places. Don’t miss out as you pass by!”
Lin Mengdie’s face wore an expression that suggested she was entirely looking out for Huanhuan’s best interests. Lin Huanhuan could not help but roll her eyes. If she had not been subjected to this kind of routine in her previous life, she might have actually fallen for it.
“Forget it, there’s no need. Just give me the spirit stones directly.”
“Alright.” Lin Mengdie’s voice sounded a bit regretful, but she still quickly brought out 3,500 spirit stones, which piled up like a small mountain in front of them.
“Senior Sister Huanhuan, they are all here. Do you want to count them?”
“No need, I trust you. Then, I’ll see you next time.”
Lin Huanhuan made a casual gesture and swept all the spirit stones into her Cosmos Bag. During the process, she surreptitiously scanned them with her spiritual sense without leaving a trace.
The two chatted for a while longer. Under Lin Huanhuan’s intentional and unintentional hints, Lin Mengdie gave her several of those chairs for free, and then Huanhuan departed.
Yancui Pavilion became quiet again. Lin Mengdie lay down directly, squinting her eyes as she thought secretly: ‘The direct daughter of the Lin family… I didn’t expect to run into her today. My luck is truly quite good.’
‘The plan has already begun. Since we’ve made an acquaintance this time, I might be able to make use of her.’
A lean man walked in, looked around, and asked, “Excuse me, how much do the things here cost? Why aren’t there any price tags?”
Lin Mengdie lifted her eyes to glance at him. She did not even bother to sit up, merely saying indifferently, “It’s getting late, and we’re closed for the day. You’re late, customer. Come back next time.”
The lean man was dumbfounded. “Isn’t it the middle of the day? How can you be closed so early? Do you people even want to do business!”
“Whether we do business or not, what does it have to do with you?”
Hearing this, the lean man flew into a rage. “What do you mean by that? Are you trying to humiliate me? You dare to insult a customer while running a shop? I think you don’t want to stay in business anymore!”
“Apologize to me right now and give me a gift as compensation, or I’ll make sure to spread word of this matter everywhere!”
Lin Mengdie only gave a faint smile.
One second later, the lean man was sent tumbling out. He coughed several times before standing up and dusting himself off. He looked resentfully at Yancui Pavilion as the doors slowly closed.
“Just you wait, this won’t end here. I’m going to report you, Yancui—”
As he spoke, the lean man’s voice grew weaker. The anger in his eyes gradually dissipated, becoming clear and vacant.
The lean man scratched his head, his face full of confusion. “What am I doing here? Didn’t I come to buy something? Oh, right, I’m here to buy something, I need to go quickly!”
The lean man suddenly realized his purpose, slapped his thigh, and quickly walked toward a neighboring shop.
A breeze blew past, causing the sign of Yancui Pavilion to sway slightly.
—
“That Lin Mengdie just now was not simple,” Lin Huanhuan murmured as she walked down another street.
She had only just realized that when Lin Mengdie was trying to scam her earlier, her Inner Demon had actually shown no reaction at all, as if it had been neutralized.
‘Well, I can’t say it was neutralized; it was more like it was being shielded.’
Lin Huanhuan thought about it briefly and understood the key issue. ‘Back then, I inexplicably felt a faint sense of familiarity from Lin Mengdie, as if I had seen her somewhere before.’
‘It should be the effect of some powerful cultivation technique. I couldn’t see through her strength either, but I estimate she is at least a mid-Foundation Establishment expert. If we were to fight, the Inner Demon should still be useful.’
‘And what power is this Yancui Pavilion? Why have I never heard of it? It wasn’t mentioned in the original book either. Interesting, this world is quite exciting.’
Lin Huanhuan shook her head, not bothering to think about it further. Thinking would be useless. She spent a few more hours wandering around this cultivation market, looking at many things, before finally leaving satisfied.
Halfway back to the Lingyun Sect, she suddenly noticed a gaze directed toward her. Looking up, she saw a young girl dressed in black watching her.
The girl was standing on the treetops, her body as light as willow catkins, her black clothes fluttering in the wind. She had a small, oval face that would move anyone to pity, and her features were as beautiful as a painting.
What surprised Lin Huanhuan the most was that the girl exuded a faint aura of death, and her eyes were like a pool of stagnant water. To put it in the terms of her previous life, she had a heavy look of soul-crushing work exhaustion.
“How interesting.”
Lin Huanhuan could not help but feel curious. Just as she intended to go forward and speak with her, the black-clad girl seemed to sense her intention. With a light tap of her toes, her figure moved like lightning, and she disappeared at the end of her vision in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only the slightly trembling branches.
The black-clad girl was at the Qi Refinement stage. If Lin Huanhuan used her wind-riding technique, she could catch up in an instant, but she just stood where she was.
‘Forget it. If she ran, she ran. She isn’t an important character anyway. If we are fated, we will meet again; if not, then we are just passing by.’
Lin Huanhuan gave a faint smile and returned to the Lingyun Sect.
A few days passed quickly, and Dong Yuner successfully broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Her Dao Foundation was named: Chilled Blade!
Lin Huanhuan pulled her along to celebrate, and only then did they finish.
The date for the second heroine’s appearance was drawing closer, and Lin Huanhuan was actively making preparations, striving to give the other party a perfect surprise.
On this day, Lin Shuangye came to her door first and opened her mouth to give her a warning.
“Huanhuan, don’t go to the Monster Mountain Range to slaughter monsters like that again. I suppressed it for you this time, but if there’s a next time, you’ll have to go to other places yourself to catch enough to replace the quota.”
“The monsters inside take a long time to grow to that level. They are specially prepared for Qi Refinement disciples. Foundation Establishment cultivators are generally not allowed to enter.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is. I was wondering why no one else was doing that.”
Lin Huanhuan immediately realized the situation and nodded, promising she would not do such a thing again.
“That’s good then.”
Lin Shuangye smiled with relief and then dropped a bombshell. “Alright, since you have already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, come with me to formally acknowledge a master.”