Lü Shaoqing turned to see a young woman staring intently at the item in his hand.
"Who are you?"
He wasn't pleased. Couldn't she see he was in the middle of haggling?
The girl replied, "I'm Bian Rourou from Shuangyue Valley. May I take a look at that item? If it's suitable, I'm willing to buy it."
The attendant's eyes lit up upon hearing she was from Shuangyue Valley. Disciples from that sect were famously wealthy—definitely richer than this penny-pincher in front of him. He quickly addressed Bian Rourou, "Please wait a moment, miss."
Then, he turned to Lü Shaoqing with a stern expression, "Sir, could you let go of the item?"
He reached out to take the object, only to find that Lü Shaoqing was holding it firmly. The attendant's gaze sharpened, and he warned Lü Shaoqing, "This is Tang's Trading Company. If you don't plan to buy it, don't block others."
It was a thinly veiled threat, a warning to Lü Shaoqing not to cause trouble.
With a flick of his wrist, Lü Shaoqing made the item disappear, storing it in his ring. The attendant was horrified, shouting, "Thief!"
"Thief, my foot!" Lü Shaoqing tossed out a handful of spirit stones. "I'm buying it."
The attendant stared, dumbfounded. "Y-You're really buying it?"
He was in disbelief. This stingy guy had suddenly paid up?
Even Bian Rourou seemed stunned, watching Lü Shaoqing with wide eyes.
Lü Shaoqing shot her a glare.
This woman was nothing but trouble.
Originally, he planned to keep haggling to get a discount, but Bian Rourou's appearance forced him to pay the full price of 3,000 low-grade spirit stones. This item was extraordinary; the reaction of his ring confirmed it. He couldn't afford to let it fall into someone else's hands.
Frustrated, he glared at Bian Rourou again before walking away.
This place had become a reminder of his loss—3,000 spirit stones gone just like that. That woman was infuriating.
Seeing his expression, Bian Rourou stomped her foot in anger and ran after him. "Hey, what's your problem?"
"What's yours?" Lü Shaoqing shot back. "Don't you have any sense?"
"Who are you calling senseless?"
"I'm talking about you! I was in the middle of negotiating, and you just barged in."
Bian Rourou, equally irritated, retorted, "Had you bought it? No, right? So what's the problem if I want to check it out?"
"Dream on."
Now that it was his, there was no way he'd take it out again. What if someone recognized its value and caused trouble for him?
"You—"
Bian Rourou was furious. This guy was insufferable.
She continued, "I'm Bian Rourou from Shuangyue Valley. If you're willing to sell it to me, I'd be grateful."
Lü Shaoqing smirked. "Oh? Trying to scare me by bringing up Shuangyue Valley?"
"You think Guiyuan Pavilion is easy to push around?"
Bian Rourou's eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly corrected herself, "Oh, you're from Guiyuan Pavilion? I apologize, senior brother. I'm willing to pay double the price."
Lü Shaoqing's eyes lit up as he looked at her.
Was this a little rich girl?
He scanned Bian Rourou up and down.
Immediately, she felt his fiery gaze, as if a thousand ants were crawling all over her, making her extremely uncomfortable.
This guy—was he a pervert?
Her impression of Lü Shaoqing worsened.
Lü Shaoqing, meanwhile, was contemplating his next move.
Should he rob her?
This little rich girl must have a lot of money, right? Shuangyue Valley was known to be built on a massive mineral vein; they were loaded.
However, after some thought, he dismissed the idea. It was too risky and could expose him.
With difficulty, Lü Shaoqing turned her down, "You may not look that pretty, but you sure have big dreams."
He then hurried away.
Facing a little rich girl, he was worried she might offer a price he couldn't refuse.
"Bastard! You jerk!"
Bian Rourou stomped her foot in anger, wishing she could smack Lü Shaoqing to death.
"Just you wait. Don't let me run into you again!"
As Lü Shaoqing walked away, he was filled with frustration. Thanks to Bian Rourou's interference, he had to pay the full 3,000 spirit stones, losing more than half his savings in one go.
"I really hope this thing is worth it. Otherwise, I'm screwed."
He was curious about the object's nature but knew now wasn't the time to investigate. He needed to set it aside for the moment.
"Next, let's deal with Tang Yuanwei."
He had already learned from the trading company where Tang Yuanwei was.
"Hanging around brothels and pretending it's about appreciating music and poetry—what a hypocrite."
Lü Shaoqing scoffed.
"Well, it works out. It'll be easy to lure him out with bait."
"With my junior sister as the lure, he'll come running for sure."
He immediately put his plan into action.
Meanwhile, at a brothel, Tang Yuanwei received a note.
After reading it, he perked up and smirked. "Heh, so that's where you've been hiding."
"Alright, little brat, let's see how you escape my grasp now."
Thinking of Xiao Yi's sweet and lovely face, Tang Yuanwei's thoughts turned heated, and his desires flared up.
Without delay, he left the brothel and headed straight for the address on the note.
Before long, he arrived at a location in the western part of the city.
Lingxiao City had its slums, areas filled with chaos and poverty. Most of the residents in the west were commoners, struggling daily to make a living.
Although cultivators and commoners lived in the same city, they belonged to entirely different worlds.
Xiao Yi had always presented herself as an ordinary person, so Tang Yuanwei assumed she was a commoner. Now, knowing her address, he swaggered up confidently.
She's just a mortal. What's there to worry about?
Upon reaching the address, he found the place empty and shouted, "Where are you? Come out, now!"
Suddenly, a powerful force crashed down on him, and before Tang Yuanwei could react, the pressure overwhelmed him, knocking him unconscious.
Lü Shaoqing emerged, smirking. "Heh, that was even easier than I thought."