Shang Yanting had just walked out of the auction and was blocked in a narrow alley.
Three young men dressed in short shirts, with sinister expressions, surrounded him, holding various weapons.
“Kid, you’re quite arrogant.”
“Damn it, hand over everything valuable you have.”
The man leading the group showed off his exaggerated muscles as he slowly approached Shang Yanting.
Xie Qingxian was humiliated at the auction, and he naturally couldn’t swallow this resentment.
He knew Shang Yanting was merely at the Middle stage Martial Apprentice, and the people he found were also of middle stage strength, with the leading man at the Late stage Martial Apprentice, determined to teach him a lesson.
Jia Xitong observed from the Sea of Consciousness, “Host, they look so fierce.”
She found her remaining stock of 11 Exploding Talismans.
Shang Yanting glanced over the three men, his Spiritual Power quietly running through his body.
In the alley, there was a flash of cold light, and the three men fell silently.
Though he was a Middle stage Martial Apprentice, he had trained in movement techniques since childhood.
Moreover, entry-level Source Cultivation Technique allowed breathing and releasing spiritual energy.
A Middle stage Martial Apprentice’s strength could be stronger than that of a Late stage Martial Apprentice.
Killing without leaving any trace, decisive and ruthless.
A slight sound came from the end of the alley.
Shang Yanting immediately looked up, “Who is it?”
A figure appeared in front, bowing slightly to him, “I am Liang Wanxi, Manager of Wan Bao Pavilion, hurried here hoping to invite the young master to speak with my lord.”
He was not just here.
In fact, he had arrived for quite a while.
Liang Wanxi, as the Manager of Wan Bao Pavilion, possessed the strength of the Early Stage Martial Realm.
Seeing the three men surround Shang Yanting, he initially intended to wait and then offer assistance, hoping to earn Shang Yanting’s favor.
Unexpectedly, Shang Yanting, being a Middle stage Martial Apprentice, demonstrated strength surpassing the Late stage Martial Apprentice and just killed them.
A potential genius in Talisman and Martial Dual Cultivation, with an unlimited future ahead.
For this reason, his attitude became ever more respectful.
##
Fourth floor of Wan Bao Pavilion.
As the largest force in Zhaoyang City, this place was even more splendid than the Divine Doctor Mansion.
A plump man with a large round head sat at the front, looking at the visitor with a smiling expression, “Young Master Shang, please have a seat.”
Liang Ting.
In “Proud Heavenly Demon”, he grew from the richest person in a small city to the richest in the nation, and then to the richest across the continent.
The novel did not specifically describe the appearance of this man, only saying he had a slick personality, adept at navigating different situations, and rose from an unknown ordinary person to the richest in the world.
Outstanding abilities, yet a smiling tiger.
Unfortunately, in the later stages of the narrative, he was treated as a resource depot and killed by the protagonist.
If Jia Xitong did not know the original book’s description of him, she would surely be deceived by his chubby face and honest appearance.
He himself was very adept at utilizing this appearance.
As soon as Shang Yanting entered the room, he revealed his entire plan, looking at him with the eyes of an honest person,
“We are willing to pay a unit price of 200 taels, asking you to provide us with 100 Solidification Talismans and 100 Healing Talismans monthly.
Moreover, only if you are unwilling, we will not expose your identity as a talisman cultivator.”
“Two hundred talismans per month?”
Shang Yanting leaned against the expensive Jue Duan, seemingly asking him, actually asking Jia Xitong.
Making money, eh!
If I put in the effort, three hundred talismans a month are still feasible.
[Hello, task participant, it is necessary to remind you, you currently owe the system 10,000 basic talismans.]
[10,000 basic talismans must be repaid within 3 years, otherwise, a 5% monthly interest rate will apply. Failing to clear the debt within five years will result in the task participant’s credit value being declared bankrupt, marking a mission failure.]
10,000 talismans over 3 years
Which means a monthly supply of 277 talismans.
She must paint at least 9 talismans a day to repay.
With the current success rate of one talisman per eighty talisman papers, she needs to paint over eight hundred talismans daily to meet the target, right?
Jia Xitong thought she was about to sprint down the road to wealth, only to be awakened by the sudden system notification,
“Host, I can’t do it.”
Her small money ran off, but life is indeed more important than money, “At most thirty basic talismans per month.”
Shang Yanting nearly forgot about the ‘system’s’ day of crafting one talisman per 10,000 talisman papers.
Hearing her words, he wasn’t surprised.
“Boss Liang, for such talismans, I can only provide 20 pieces monthly.”
“Are there no more than twenty?”
Liang Ting sat back asking.
“No.”
Shang Yanting replied definitely, “Sorry, my capability is limited.”
“Twenty will do as well.”
Liang Ting slightly nodded, compromising, “But I would ask you to provide us for a year.”
The method of painting talismans has long been lost.
Yet one year is sufficient for him to send people to study the painting methods of these two types of talismans, “Additionally, I’d like to ask you, if you have new talismans for sale, to think of Wan Bao Pavilion first.
The price and such are all negotiable.
In the future, if Young Master Shang needs assistance, Wan Bao Pavilion will spare no effort.”
“Certainly.”
Shang Yanting nodded with a warm smile, “Moreover, I indeed have a somewhat tricky request.
I wish to buy an artifact capable of changing appearances.
Does Wan Bao Pavilion have one?”
“Wan Bao Pavilion recently acquired a batch of novel items, and incidentally possesses a mask called the ‘Thousand-faced Ghost’.”
Liang Ting raised his hand to have the mask sent over, “Its sole function is to alter one’s appearance, with a purchase price back then of 80 silver taels.
However, continuous use may cause facial redness and itching at best, disfigurement at worst.
Young Master Shang still needs to be prudent when using it.”
“Thank you.”
The two conversed back and forth, though not truly sharing hearts, their conversation was highly engaging.
Upon exiting, Shang Yanting held an additional mask in hand.
Outside, the sky had already darkened.
The lights at each household’s doorway were dim, and pedestrians hurried along the road.
Shang Yanting walked alone on the empty street, having gone in the wrong direction.
Jia Xitong reminded, “Host, to return to the inn, you should go left.”
“Indeed.”
Shang Yanting’s pace didn’t halt, walking ever more towards desolation, eventually reaching an abandoned broken courtyard.
The beggars residing inside heard the sound outside and stood up one after another, thinking someone was going to compete for their territory.
The leading beggar shouted in anger first, “Everybody grab your weapons!”
More than a dozen beggars, wielding various sticks, aggressively walked out.
Then…
they were hit with Copper Coins.
Beggars: ?
Shang Yanting leaned against the pillar at the door, still fiddling with two Silver Ingots in his palm.
Under the moonlight, his expression was gentle yet bewildered, his voice gentle yet venomous,
“Tomorrow, I want everyone in the city to know the news about ‘Divine Doctor Xie Qingxian and Wan Bao Pavilion maliciously inflating the price of medicine, buying and selling at twelve thousand silver taels’ — is that possible?”
The leading beggar was the smartest, quickly understanding his meaning.
Although Wan Bao Pavilion and the Divine Doctor were the top forces in Zhaoyang City, those without shoes feared not those who wore them, earning this sum was all about moving to another city for begging.
“No problem, rest assured!”
Shang Yanting nodded slightly, tossing the silver in his hand to him.
Watching Shang Yanting, Jia Xitong suddenly remembered something she forgot—a matter concerning the protagonist’s harem—harem!
Shang Yanting came to Zhaoyang City, treating hands and feet was the chance to open the first harem.
She healed him, so Xie Ziyang wouldn’t get the chance to appear!
Not only did he not appear, but now the protagonist wants to go after his former father-in-law!
This is heinous!
Readers have meddled and lost the protagonist’s harem!
### Original Literature Section ###
As I crawled out of the abyss believing I could embrace the light,
Fools spat on me for harming my kin;
The world cursed me to die a horrible death;
The hands and feet treated by quack doctors endured torment in the night, suspicion and murderous thoughts growing like weeds.
I hid my broken body and rotten soul, approaching people under a false guise—
All things can be fooled;
The world deserves death