"Why are you being so cold, Brother Guan? We're close acquaintances, are we not? As for why I came to see you, it's actually these two fellow daoists who wanted to see you. They want to buy some Purple Sun Warm Jade in Black Weasel City, so I introduced them to come here," Hei Lang replied as he gestured to Han Li and Shi Chuankong.
"How could a small shop like mine possibly have stock of something as precious as Purple Sun Warm Jade? If you're looking for Purple Sun Warm Jade, I suggest you go to the larger shops in the city," the shopkeeper said with a cold expression.
Han Li offered no response, merely turning to Hei Lang to see what he had to say.
"Let's not waste any time here, Brother Guan. All of us risked our lives to secure that batch of Purple Sun Warm Jade. In fact, Ri Xi and Ri Xie even lost their lives in the process. Perhaps you can proclaim that you went into hiding in order to keep yourself safe, but don't even think about claiming all of the Purple Sun Warm Jade for yourself!" Hei Lang said in a cold voice.
"How could you say that, Hei Lang? Am I that kind of person in your eyes? I thought that the three of you had perished, but now you've come to me alive and well, I'm naturally not going to claim all of the Purple Sun Warm Jade for myself. Having said that, how could you divulge this matter to outsiders? Have you forgotten the vow that we swore together?" the shopkeeper accused as a furious look appeared on his face.
"We did indeed swear a vow together, but you know better than anyone how Ri Xi and Ri Xie died. You betrayed us first, so don't go bringing up the vow when it suits you!" Hei Lang sneered.
"Fine. Let's not dwell on the past, Hei Lang. Just tell me what you want," the shopkeeper said as the enraged look on his face faded away.
"I'm assuming that you've chosen to remain in Black Weasel City for two reasons, the first of which is to hide from the Black Weasel Army, while the second is to try and find a suitable buyer for the Purple Sun Warm Jade. These two fellow daoists aren't from the Ten Hazards Mountain Range, and they possess a great deal of wealth.
“Both of them have come to Black Weasel City on this occasion to purchase large amounts of Purple Sun Warm Jade, so they're the perfect buyers. I've already negotiated a deal with them for this price, and I'm willing to let bygones be bygones as long as you split half of the Devilish Origin Stones with me," Hei Lang said as he pulled out a jade slip before tossing it at the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper caught the jade slip, then injected his spiritual sense into it, following which a contemplative look appeared on his face.
After a brief silence, he said, "I have no objections to this deal, but I have a condition."
"Go ahead," Han Li prompted.
"The two of you need to swear a vow on your inner demons to leave Black Weasel City right away after our deal is complete, and to never tell anyone about what you saw and heard here," the shopkeeper said.
"That's fine. We're only here for the Purple Sun Warm Jade and have no interest in anything else," Han Li replied with a nod after exchanging a glance with Shi Chuankong.
With that, the two of them promptly swore their inner demon vows in accordance with the shopkeeper's request.
The shopkeeper's expression instantly eased significantly upon seeing this, and he flipped a hand over to produce a purple storage bracelet before placing it on the table as he said, "You've shown me a great deal of sincerity, so I won't waste any more of your time. This is what you're looking for."
Han Li flipped a hand over to summon two storage rings before placing them onto the table, then picked up the storage bracelet before injecting his spiritual sense into it.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com
The shopkeeper and Hei Lang also each picked up one of the storage rings before examining their contents, and it was quickly confirmed that no one had attempted any trickery.
"Now that the deal is complete, I won't keep you any longer," the shopkeeper said.
The three balls of black flames drew to an abrupt halt several dozen feet in front of them, and they were all sliced in half before glancing past them.
At this point, only the lower half of the shopkeeper's body had sunk into the ground, and his upper body suddenly fell to the side, having been severed in an instant.
The shopkeeper turned to the two figures with a frantic expression as he yelled, "Please forgive me, Your Highness! I let my greed get to my head in a momentary lapse in judgment! I'm willing to return all of the Purple Sun Warm Jade that I stole, and I'm also willing to sign a servant contract with you..."
The white-robed young man flicked a finger through the air, releasing a streak of crimson light that pierced into the shopkeeper's glabella in a flash like a dagger.
The shopkeeper's voice instantly cut off, while the light in his eyes faded away.
The white-robed young man made a beckoning motion, and the crimson light flew out of the shopkeeper's glabella with his nascent soul trapped inside.
The nascent soul was struggling with all its might, but to no avail.
"You certainly weren't easy to track down! Even my father was made aware of this incident, and he severely reprimanded me, yet here you are, hoping that I would spare you? I'm going to torment your soul for ten thousand years to make sure you learn your lesson!" the white-robed young man sneered before swallowing the black nascent soul.
After that, he turned to Han Li and Shi Chuankong with a slightly wary look in his eyes.
The two of them had been standing right in between him and the shopkeeper, yet they had been completely unaffected by the battle that had just taken place.
"Who are you, and how are you related to Guan Sheng and Hei Lang?" the white-robed young man asked as he descended to the ground.
"We're just customers visiting this shop, and we have no relation to those two at all. We'll be taking our leave now," Han Li replied as he cupped his fist in a parting salute, then turned to depart with Shi Chuankong.
A furious look flashed through the white-robed young man's eyes upon hearing this.
One of the armorclad figures immediately stepped into Han Li's path and yelled, "How dare you! Do you know who our young master is? How dare you speak to him with such blatant insolence?!"
"Get out of the way," Han Li said in an expressionless manner.
"You're a fool!" the armorclad man scoffed. "If you surrender now, perhaps you'll be spared."
He found it downright laughable that a pair of True Immortal Stage ants dared to be so insolent, but he didn't dare to attack without receiving any orders from the white-robed young man.
"Young Master, these two must be somehow associated with Guan Sheng and Hei Lang, so we should capture them right away!" another armorclad figure yelled.
"That's right! We don't know how many people snuck into the mine, and these two are most likely their accomplices! The Black Weasel King doesn't permit us to capture people in the city for no good reason, but we certainly can't just spare these people after committing such a severe crime!" a third armorclad figure chimed in.