Chapter 10: Conflict (Part 1)

Three people walked in from outside. The shopkeeper’s expression changed instantly, and he hurried over, saying, “Young Master Wu, hehe, it’s rare to see you at our humble shop. Please come in! Please come in!”
Young Master Wu ignored the shopkeeper entirely and went straight to the counter, reaching out to touch the talisman bear skin. Guo Shierun frowned slightly and said, “Don’t touch things randomly… You’re already so grown up, yet you have no manners at all!” Luo Zhan lifted Young Master Wu’s hand and said, “Step aside!”
The shopkeeper broke into cold sweat. He didn’t know who Guo Shierun was. Qin Zilu had only told him that Guo Shierun and the others were distinguished guests of the Qin family, without detailing their identities.
Young Master Wu’s name was Wu Shenxi. He was the son of the representative of the West Talisman Sect in Qin Guang City. He was a well-known playboy there and also a beast spellcaster, known for his arrogance.
No business or family dared to provoke the people from the Four Great Sects. Even though the Qin family had great influence in Qin Guang City, they still didn’t dare to mess with the West Talisman Sect’s members—not out of fear, but due to a lack of strength. Only among sects did people not fear each other.
The shopkeeper grabbed Qin Zilu and whispered, “What should we do? What’s the solution?”
Wu Shenxi flew into a rage. He stepped back and placed his hand on his waist—a standard posture before casting a spell. Guo Shierun turned and said, “Uncle Luo, if he dares to act, kill him!” His voice was clear and loud.
Luo Zhan immediately drew his talisman sword and stared at Wu Shenxi, saying, “Kid, think carefully before acting. Just don’t regret it later!”
It was then that Wu Shenxi noticed the symbols on Guo Shierun and the others’ chests. Though he was arrogant and unreasonable, he wasn’t stupid. He knew they were disciples of the North Talisman Sect, and judging from the symbols, they were inner sect disciples—people not to be trifled with. Gathering his courage, he said, “I’m here to buy things, not to fight!”
Guo Shierun replied, “Buy your own things. Why come to steal mine?”
Only then did the shopkeeper see his chance and hurriedly said, “This was taken out by the young master… It’s not from our shop!”
Smack!
Wu Shenxi snapped, “Why the hell didn’t you say that earlier?”
Guo Shierun had always hated such people in his past life. He said, “Are you trying to show off in front of me? Uncle Luo! Hit him!”
Wu Shenxi also had a professional symbol on his chest, indicating he was a disciple of the West Talisman Sect. Luo Zhan and the others already disliked people from the West Talisman Sect. Hearing Guo Shierun’s order, they didn’t hesitate and swiftly delivered a slap. The blow stunned Wu Shenxi. The two beast warriors beside him finally reacted and charged forward, shouting angrily.

Xiao Feng laughed and said, “I hate this guy!” He leaped forward abruptly, swinging his big feet to kick repeatedly—each kick sending one of the beast warriors flying far away. Wu Shenxi also saw the symbols on Luo Zhan and Xiao Feng’s chests; they were both rune warriors. Without both of them attacking, just one could slaughter all three of them. Covering his face in disbelief, he said, “How dare you hit me?” Guo Shier laughed and said, “Uncle Luo, kick him again!” He had seen plenty of such people in his past life—arrogant, domineering, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. For people like this, a good beating solved everything. Luo Zhan laughed loudly as he rushed over. He really liked Guo Shier’s way of handling problems—it was extremely satisfying. He grabbed Wu Shenxi by the collar and slapped him hard, making his head sway wildly and blood stream from the corner of his mouth. Wu Shenxi screamed in desperation, “I won’t let you go… I’ll kill you…” Guo Shier smiled and said, “Not bad, quite stubborn… I like it!” He pulled out a dagger, stepped in front of Wu Shenxi, and gently pressed it against his chin, saying, “I can pierce through your brain right here with one cut. Hehe, want to give it a try?” Wu Shenxi suddenly realized that the other party truly dared to kill him. The cold intent could be seen in their smiling eyes. A wave of fear rushed to his forehead, and he shamefully wet himself. “No… don’t kill me… please don’t… uuuu…” Guo Shier suddenly noticed a puddle of water spreading down Wu Shenxi’s pants. He was stunned, sighed, put away the dagger, and said, “Uncle Luo, let him go… Hey! You can go now!” He had no mood to bully such a weakling. Muttering to himself, he said, “Since you know you’re scared… why be so arrogant? Why bother? Really… wetting your pants? I’ll tolerate it! I thought you were some kind of little tyrant…” Wu Shenxi ran away crying. Luo Zhan held back his laughter and said, “Shier, you’re the one who acts like a little tyrant.” Guo Shier shook his head with a wry smile and said, “Uncle Luo, I’m just a kid, not a little tyrant. Hehe, but it’s fun to act like one occasionally.” Luo Zhan didn’t understand what “acting” meant, but that didn’t stop him from understanding. He said, “That kid isn’t ordinary. He seems to be less than thirty years old but is already a spellcaster. You need to be careful.” Guo Shier replied, “I won’t bother him. I’m still young… and naive.” Luo Zhan smiled bitterly in resignation. Guo Shier was indeed young, only nine years old, but his actions were even worse than those of adults.

Guo Shieru walked up to the shopkeeper and asked, “Are you okay?”
The shopkeeper, with tears in his eyes, replied, “I… I’m fine…” He inwardly blamed Guo Shieru for offending the people from the Xi Fu Sect, knowing it would bring trouble to him in the future.
Guo Shieru didn’t know what the man was thinking. He said, “Get the best tailors for me to make several leather coats from this talisman beast skin. Yes, as quickly as possible. I’ll give you two days—how about that?”
The shopkeeper smiled bitterly. “This is talisman beast skin, not ordinary wild animal skin. It’s different. Only a specialized talisman master can process it. Our Qin family only has talisman scholars, who can’t handle this kind of skin. Would you like to entrust it to another merchant?”
Guo Shieru was surprised. “It requires a talisman master to make it?” Then he realized that talisman beast skin was extremely tough—ordinary people might not even be able to cut it, let alone process it. He must have assumed too much. He said, “Never mind. I won’t trouble you then.” He reached out to take back the talisman beast skin.
Suddenly, someone shouted, “Wait!”
This was the second time. Guo Shieru understood that in his past life, this was called wealth tempting people’s hearts, but here, the rare talisman beast skin was even more tempting than wealth. He turned to look, and five more people walked in. The middle-aged man at the head had an imposing presence, with a talisman master’s symbol on his chest.
Guo Shieru ignored them, picked up the talisman beast skin, and slowly put the talisman bag back in his chest.
The middle-aged man showed a hint of displeasure. Only after seeing the professional symbols on their chests did he lower his stance and ask politely, “Whose is this talisman beast skin?”
Guo Shieru tilted his head, staring into his eyes. After a while, he said, “Uncle, this talisman beast skin is mine. May I ask… what’s the matter?”
The middle-aged man looked at the symbol on Guo Shieru’s chest—a talisman caster—and couldn’t help asking, “Young man, what’s your surname? How old are you?”
Guo Shieru wasn’t ashamed of his young age. Sometimes he thought being young had its advantages. He smiled and said, “My name is Guo Shieru. I’m nine years old.”
The middle-aged man felt like vomiting. He exclaimed in shock, “Nine years old! A talisman caster!” Then he saw two talisman warriors and four more children, and was even more astonished. With talisman warriors as guards, this child’s status must be extraordinary. He wasn’t as ignorant as the shopkeeper of the Rare Skin Shop. He knew very well how difficult it was to become a talisman caster at just nine years old. Without being a supreme genius, it would be impossible to advance so quickly.
“Hehe, my name is Zhu Dachang. I’m a talisman master from the Zhu Family Merchant Group. Pleased to meet you!”

Guo Shier was stunned and said, “Pig intestines? Uncle, your name is really… amazing!”
Zhu Dachang smiled joyfully and said, “Yeah, people always say it’s a great name! Hehe.”
Guo Shier thought to himself, “Alright, should I pretend to be stupid? I can do that too…” He smiled and said, “Uncle, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out first. You go ahead and get busy.” He waved at everyone and turned to walk out.
“Hey, hey… Brother Guo, please wait.”
Guo Shier turned back with a smile and said, “Oh, is there something, Uncle Zhu?” His acting skills at pretending to be naive were excellent. Luo Zhan couldn’t help but laugh. Having spent so much time with Guo Shier, he knew the kid was up to no good again.
Zhu Dachang felt uneasy. Why was this kid so hard to deal with? He forced himself to smile kindly and said, “I saw a talisman beast skin just now. Is it yours?”
Guo Shier replied, “Yeah, what’s the problem?”
Zhu Dachang forced a smile and said, “No, no problem…”
Before he could continue, Guo Shier nodded and said with a smile, “Oh, no problem then. Let’s go!”
Zhu Dachang was both angry and anxious, so he quickly called out, “Brother Guo!”
Guo Shier stopped and turned around, saying, “Look, Uncle Zhu, you’re just teasing the kid…”
Pfft!
Luo Zhan turned his head away, trying hard to hold back his laughter. This kid was too mischievous—making a talisman master so frustrated that he still had to force a smile.
Zhu Dachang smiled awkwardly and said, “Ah, it’s not that. I just wanted to… see that talisman beast skin!” He finally said what he wanted to say, feeling relieved. It had been so uncomfortable holding it in; he could finally speak up.
Guo Shier said, “What’s so special about a talisman beast skin? Haven’t you seen one before?”
Zhu Dachang not only forced a smile but also felt a bit afraid of this kid. A simple question had hit his weak point. He had indeed seen talisman beast skins before, but he had never seen a complete one. A complete talisman beast skin necessarily contained a series of natural talisman patterns, making it invaluable and one of the best materials for crafting talisman armor.
Zhu Dachang was too embarrassed to admit he had never seen a complete talisman beast skin, so he said, “Hehe, of course I’ve seen talisman beast skins. I just haven’t seen a bear talisman beast skin yet. Hehe, it can’t hurt to learn more, right?”

Guo Shier thought it better not to insist. Zhu Dachang had always been friendly and not as domineering as Wu Shenxi. He was the type who would yield to soft tactics rather than force, so he smiled and said, “Alright, I can show it to you, but I hope you won’t make unreasonable requests. This talisman bear skin belongs to my master.” In the blink of an eye, the talisman bear skin became his master’s property.
Zhu Dachang rubbed his hands excitedly, saying repeatedly, “Let me see! Hehe!”
Guo Shier felt a bit disdain for this guy. He casually took out his talisman bag, pulled out the talisman bear skin, and said, “This is the skin of a talisman bear; it’s still pretty intact. Take a look! Don’t keep it too long—I still have things to do.”