Park Su prided himself on having thick skin, but having been caught peeking at this man and then being stared at so directly, he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.
What's more, this man's face was even more striking from the front than from the side. Unlike Park Su's own baby face, which gave off an impression of youthfulness, this man had a cold expression, his thin lips slightly pursed, and those fox-like eyes slightly upturned, making Park Su's heart skip a beat. He swallowed nervously and quickly averted his gaze, his face flushing a bit.
"D*mn, he's really freaking handsome. Shouldn't someone with eyes like that look effeminate? How can he be so cool? And his physique looks good too. If he's gay, he must be very popular in the circle, right?"
Even someone like him, who swore off romance, felt a bit enchanted after seeing his face, let alone those in the community who are more inclined to judge by looks alone.
Xu Nuo, noticing the man had turned away and was avoiding his gaze, thought to himself that this guy had surprisingly thin skin. Then, his eyes fell upon the box beside Park Su, which was open, revealing the space ring inside.
He turned to the shopkeeper, his tone casual, "Haven't you sold this yet?"
The shopkeeper, who was calculating, hadn't paid attention to the conversation before. Upon hearing this, he looked up following Xu Nuo's gaze and realized he was talking about the space ring.
Park Su didn't know, but the shopkeeper was well aware that this ring was crafted by Xu Nuo himself. He feared Xu Nuo might think he couldn't sell his creations and might not offer such good items in the future, so he quickly explained, "Isn't it just too precious and rare to come by, so I've been reluctant to sell it?"
Xu Nuo had just asked out of curiosity and didn't intend to interfere, but hearing the shopkeeper call it too precious, he couldn't help but smirk. After all, this item was something he had made on a whim after reading some fantasy novels and messing around with the concept of a sub-space.
Once he realized that the space was too small to be of much practical use, he had lost interest in refining it further. He didn't go out often anyway, so he had no real need for it, and even if he did, he wouldn't use something with such a limited space.
He had sold the few he made to the shopkeeper for some pocket money, as they were more like failed experiments to him. He didn't expect that in the shopkeeper's words, they had become precious items.
However, Xu Nuo roughly understood that the young man wanted it, and the shopkeeper didn't want to sell it cheaply, so he was deliberately talking it up.
Blocking someone's source of income was akin to killing their parents, a principle Xu Nuo was well aware of, especially since he needed to maintain a long-term relationship with this shopkeeper. Thus, he just nodded, quietly waiting for the shopkeeper to finish the transaction.
Although Park Su had turned his face away, it didn't mean he wasn't paying attention to their conversation. He gathered from Xu Nuo's tone that he seemed familiar with space rings and even had a slightly disdainful tone when speaking about them.
He remembered the shopkeeper calling him Daoist Xu when he entered, and he knew that space rings were typically engraved with Daoist spells. However, not every Daoist could make them; it required a high level of cultivation, spiritual power, and meticulous craftsmanship to even produce one. This is why space rings, even in the apocalypse, were highly sought after but due to their scarcity, sold out quickly whenever they appeared.
It was because of this that Park Su had hoped to snag a deal before the apocalypse, but he hadn't anticipated how difficult it would be to find a bargain. He had already used up nearly all his assets to save up a month's worth of food, buy seeds for future use, modify his house's doors and windows, install solar panels, and learn how to make a small solar generator, leaving him with just one or two million in spare change.
He had asked for some money from his family earlier, specifically to rent a car and prepare for this space ring, but he hadn't expected the ring to far exceed his budget. He wished he had asked for more at the time.
Now, if he were to ask for more money, he could already imagine the faces of those on the other side, and he could foresee the rumors they would spread, even subjecting his mother to ridicule. Moreover, he doubted he could get the money in the next six days.
This left him with a headache. If the apocalypse really came, being scolded a bit would be fine since having more means of survival was more important than pride. Besides, after the apocalypse, he probably wouldn't see them for years, at least until he had the strength to provide a better life for his mother. Asking for money before the apocalypse was far better than asking for supplies afterward.
However, if the apocalypse didn't come, the space ring would be of little use to him, as he wasn't into smuggling or personal shopping. At most, it would save him from needing a large suitcase when traveling, certainly not worth spending five million on!
Seeing the current situation, Park Su suddenly had an idea. Perhaps he could ask this Daoist Xu for help.
He didn't think this young Daoist could make a space ring for him, but judging by his tone, he likely knew someone who could.
With the thought of cutting out the middleman to save on costs, Park Su decided to approach Xu Nuo first.
So, as Xu Nuo was about to leave with his money, Park Su closed the box with the space ring, "I think five million is quite a sum, and I need some time to consider it. I'll give you an answer in a couple of days!" Without waiting for the shopkeeper's response, he hurried out to catch up with Xu Nuo.
The shopkeeper, understanding that a young man like Park Su, especially an illegitimate son, wouldn't have five million readily available, didn't suspect much.
In his eyes, Xu Nuo was always proud and aloof, and many had followed him out with intentions in the past, but none had succeeded.
Thus, the shopkeeper didn't try to stop Park Su from leaving; he couldn't stop him anyway. Once outside, Park Su saw the black-clad Daoist walking leisurely ahead. He wanted to approach and strike up a conversation but felt it might be too abrupt.
Especially with Xu Nuo's intimidatingly distant expression, Park Su didn't know how to start. So, he decided to follow him discreetly, which turned out to be quite an adventure lasting half an hour.
Until Xu Nuo walked into an alley, turned around, and looked directly at him. Seeing this, Park Su's mind only had one thought: he's been caught.
Then, he heard that icy voice say, "Speak, what do you want following me all this way?" Meeting those beautiful yet cold fox-like eyes, Park Su swallowed, "Actually, I wanted to ask if you know any Daoists who make space rings. I want one, but I don't have enough money, so..."
Looking at this rather awkward young man, Xu Nuo maintained an air of profound mystery (pretending to be enigmatic), though inwardly, he found Park Su quite adorable. Having just made some money, he was in a good mood, and this boy seemed earnest enough, so he decided to ask, "How much money do you have?"
Park Su hadn't expected such a direct question and was taken aback. He then said somewhat sheepishly, "One million..."
Xu Nuo's heart skipped a beat; he thought he might have misheard. After all, he had sold a three-square-meter space ring to the shopkeeper for thirty thousand, and the four-square-meter one just now for forty thousand.
But from Park Su's tone, it was clear the shopkeeper was asking for more than that for the four-square-meter ring. One million would mean he wouldn't need to come down from the mountain to earn money for quite a while and could buy a lot of talismans and supplies. So, he maintained his cold expression and asked, "You said how much?" Park Su thought he was dissatisfied with the amount and swallowed, "One million, I know it's a bit low, but I really can't come up with more right now. If you're not satisfied, can I owe you the rest and pay you back slowly when I have the money?"
It wouldn't be an issue if the apocalypse arrived, as people would be too busy surviving to care about returning goods, and money would eventually become useless paper. Who would bother to come looking for a debt then?
Xu Nuo saw the anxious look on the young man's face and knew he was genuinely interested in what he considered a flawed product of his own making. Although he didn't understand why, having someone willing to pay so much for something he made, and with such urgency, made him quite pleased.
Since the other party was willing to pay a premium, with the mindset of not missing out on easy money, Xu Nuo pulled out a ring from his own collection and tossed it over, "You decide how much to give. Give me one million now, and you can figure out the rest." He emphasized the "you decide" part to make it clear that while he was saying this, Park Su couldn't just offer any random amount.