Chapter 00183: Helping You Round Up the Total
# Helping You Round Up the Total
Chapter 183
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 183: Helping You Round Up the Total
Ding Huan arrived at Shengdao Street after some inquiries.
Standing in front of the Star Talisman Tool House, he used his spirit sense to scan inside, discovering that they sold talismans.
He thought to himself, this must be the right shop.
Extending his spirit sense, he quickly noticed Yan Mei and several others in the distance, with Yan Mei conversing loudly on the street.
Three city patrol guards were busy clearing away corpses.
Ding Huan knew these four bodies were killed by Lao Liu.
Ding Huan was quite pleased with Yan Mei’s words; she was clever and understood what he wanted, helping him articulate his thoughts completely.
Reclaiming his spirit sense, he walked into the Talisman Tool House.
As he surveyed the shop, he noted that it was filled with various low-grade talismans, with Level One talismans being the best on display.
As for the Level Two talismans, there were one or two, all locked away by low-level constraints, clearly the treasures of the shop.
His gaze fell upon a talisman brush; it appeared to be a low-grade magical tool.
“What do you seek, friend?” asked a shop attendant, noticing Ding Huan lingering.
Ding Huan pointed to a Level One Binding Vine Talisman and asked, “How much for this Binding Vine Talisman?”
“Three crystal stones,” the attendant replied.
“Let me take a look.” Ding Huan said casually.
The attendant looked at him with surprise, then shook his head. “If you’re not buying, I can’t show it to you.”
Ding Huan focused his spirit sense on the Binding Vine Talisman; he felt it was of average quality, likely inferior to the Level One talismans he had crafted himself.
Thinking of this, he pulled out a talisman and handed it to the attendant. “Take a look at my talisman.”
“This is a Level One Fireball Talisman?” The attendant instantly recognized it upon seeing the talisman in his hand.
He was astonished as this Fireball Talisman was of better quality than any of the Level One talismans in the shop.
“How much do you buy this talisman for?” Ding Huan inquired.
The attendant placed the talisman down nonchalantly and said, “One crystal stone.”
Ding Huan chuckled, “You want to sell me this Talisman for three crystal stones, yet my better one is only worth one crystal stone to you? Your business practices are quite something.”
“If you’re not buying, please do as you wish.” The attendant was unfazed by Ding Huan’s tone.
Ding Huan didn’t leave; he took out a bundle and tossed it on the counter. “I have two hundred of these talismans, are you sure you won’t take them?”
The attendant was shocked and immediately reached for Ding Huan’s bundle.
Ding Huan pressed down, “Offer a reasonable price. If you can’t, have your boss come. If your boss can’t offer a price, I’ll leave.”
Ding Huan had already sensed a pair of eyes watching him from within; judging by this person’s aura, he seemed to be a Level Four Qi Practitioner...
No, here it couldn’t just be called a genetic practitioner; rather, it was a fourth-level Qi Cultivator.
Upon seeing Ding Huan pull out a stack of Level One talismans, this person sent out a message.
“How much do you want for these?” A middle-aged man emerged as the voice sounded.
To suppress Ding Huan, the moment this man stepped out, Ding Huan felt an overwhelming aura exuding from him.
Ding Huan quietly laughed inside; he truly did not wish to come to blows.
However, this boss did not seem willing to pay whatever it took to acquire his talismans.
That made sense; in the chaotic Western Wind City, instances of strong-arm robbery were all too frequent.
A nameless figure like him, carrying such a load of talismans, would surely be subjected to scrutiny.
“One talisman for two crystal stones; if it works, we’re done, if not, I’ll leave.” After saying this, Ding Huan grabbed his bundle.
The middle-aged man scoffed, a powerful aura surged toward Ding Huan.
Ding Huan stood still, not even fluttering his clothes.
The man's expression changed; the result of his probing made him realize Ding Huan was far stronger.
At this moment, two thugs positioned themselves at the door; the middle-aged man knew that combined with his two thugs, they were not Ding Huan's match.
“Friend, I’ll accept all these talismans at your price.”
The middle-aged man was quick on the uptake; realizing he had met someone formidable, he changed his mind without hesitation.
Ding Huan tossed the bundle toward the man. “Two crystal stones per talisman is the previous price; now, it’s three crystal stones per talisman. Count them; I have limited time.”
“Friend, we can sell for this price in the shop. If you offer three crystal stones, we wouldn't make a profit...”
The middle-aged man's face turned pale.
Ding Huan coldly snorted; a powerful Cultivator's aura pressed down, making the middle-aged man feel as if a massive hammer had crashed against his chest, causing him to involuntarily stagger backward.
Fortunately, the oppressive aura soon dissipated; otherwise, he would have spat out blood.
“Do you have any objections? Speak again and the price will increase.”
Ding Huan looked at the middle-aged man with a teasing tone.
“No, no objections.” Having long roamed Shengdao Street, the man understood what it meant to run into someone tough.
If he dared resist, not only would he risk his shop being robbed, but his life might be at stake.
“Excellent, there are two hundred and three Level One talismans in this bundle. I’ll be generous and round it up, counting it as two hundred and ten talismans. That'll be six hundred and fifty crystal stones, is that acceptable?”
Ding Huan’s expression suggested he was alright with taking a small loss.
The middle-aged man looked pained. “Friend, there's no need to round up. We’ll count it as two hundred and three talismans...”
Ding Huan's expression darkened.
“What? As a shopkeeper, you think you can trick me with your calculations? You want to cheat me?”
“Dare not.” The middle-aged man felt an intense killing intent.
After he blurted those two words, he immediately pulled out a box and quickly counted six hundred and fifty crystal stones, handing them to Ding Huan.
Ding Huan tossed the stones into his backpack, then looked at the shopkeeper with a grin. “Today is your last chance to cheat a customer. Next time, be honest. Remember, you don’t get a second chance.”
Just as Ding Huan finished speaking, he heard commotion from afar.
His spirit sense swept over and saw that Yan Mei and Lao Liu were surrounded by a crowd.
The good show was about to begin; Ding Huan slung his bag over his shoulder and exited the shop.
“Yuan, shall we settle this matter?” As soon as Ding Huan stepped out, the attendant asked anxiously.
Yuan, the middle-aged man, glared at Ding Huan’s retreating figure, his tone icy: “A mere ant in Qi Refinement dares to take advantage in our shop; he’ll get what’s coming to him. You two, watch him and see where he goes.”
The second part was directed at the two robust men standing at the door.
These two men had been summoned by the middle-aged man, intending to subdue Ding Huan.
Yet, upon realizing Ding Huan's strength, they dared not make a move.
At this moment, Yan Mei and Lao Liu were surrounded by a crowd, the three city patrol veterans trembling in fear.
“Daring to kill members of the Iron Strength Alliance, you must have lived too long.”
A burly figure stepped forward, coldly staring at Yan Mei.
“Leader Ji, if you act, we will support you. Let’s join forces and take down these city guards.”
As the leader of the Iron Strength Alliance spoke, voices of support quickly rose from the crowd.
This outburst acted like a fuse, and while the Iron Strength Alliance had just over twenty people, suddenly hundreds emerged to shout on their side.
People from various shops began pouring out to join in the support of the Iron Strength Alliance, as if they were the official righteous side, while Yan Mei and Lao Liu with the three city guards were considered the criminals.
From a distance, Ding Huan watched and couldn’t help but feel sorry for these people.
They were being robbed, their people killed, yet they were still calling for support.
“Seventh Uncle, many shops are coming out in support; should we...”
Seeing so many people encircling the city guards, the only woman from the grocery store couldn’t help but speak up.
Before she could finish, the white-haired Seventh Uncle stopped her, seemingly worried she might actually go out: “Let’s watch for now. Besides, even if you go, you won’t gain anyone’s favor.”
“What now, Lao Liu?” Yan Mei said, a hint of panic in her voice.
His own strength was average, and if a fight broke out, he feared he wouldn’t even match a member of the Iron Strength Alliance.
“What now? Let’s kill!” Lao Liu said carelessly, then opened his mouth and spewed forth a dozen water arrows.
The first eight or so members of the Iron Strength Alliance in the front suddenly spat blood from their brows and collapsed.
In addition to the members of the Iron Strength Alliance, five supporting figures also fell victim to Lao Liu's water arrows.
Seeing that a dozen people had dropped dead in an instant, those who were about to rush forward halted their steps and began to retreat.
They weren’t getting involved only because the Iron Strength Alliance had such great influence; it was out of terror due to the Alliance's cruelty.
They came over to help just to build goodwill, thinking if they encountered trouble with the Iron Strength Alliance in the future, they could casually bring this incident up.
Who wouldn’t want a situation where one could come out unscathed while building a favor?
However, once they realized the situation was life-threatening, nobody wanted to step forward.
The leader of the Iron Strength Alliance had never imagined that a monkey would dare to take action.
Seeing dozens of his men were killed, he was filled with rage.
He drew a long knife, summoning a storm-like wind.
In this moment, Yan Mei felt that the wind was filled with knife light; before the wind even reached him, his skin already bore cuts...
“Lao Liu...” Yan Mei cried out in fear.
Lao Liu could only spit out a few water arrows and dash back frantically.
He couldn’t withstand the fierce wind and knife light; retreating was his only option.
As for Yan Mei, he could only hope for the best.
A streak of blood shot out, followed by a scream.
All eyes turned toward Yan Mei, for the powerful wind knife light from the leader of the Iron Strength Alliance had aimed at him.
What puzzled everyone was that Yan Mei, too, was shocked; however, his gaze was on the leader of the Iron Strength Alliance.
As blood spattered from the leader, it dawned on everyone that the one who had just cried out was none other than the leader himself.
“Thud!” The leader of the Iron Strength Alliance fell to the ground, and only then did everyone realize his back had been cleaved open by a knife without anyone noticing.
(End of Chapter)