Chapter 4: Shopping (Part 1)

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Lao Tong, are you reluctant to part with them? Your shop sells talismans—selling them to me is no different from selling them to anyone else. Lao Tong, let’s settle the money…”
Tong Zhi looked depressed. He hadn’t expected Guo Shier to be so decisive, taking the three precious talismans without even looking at them, as if he were getting them for free. He said, “It’s not… that’s not what I mean. What I meant is…”
Guo Shier interrupted him, “You mean there are other advanced talismans?”
Xie Xiaoping couldn’t help but laugh. He rarely saw Tong Zhi embarrassed like this. He also couldn’t understand why Guo Shier needed so many talismans. A talisman master usually only needed to master a few advanced talismans—having too many wasn’t good; it could even affect the effectiveness of attacks. This was common knowledge in the world of talismans.
Tong Zhi said, “Alright, alright… Young junior uncle, you’re ruthless. I’ll sell them to you! Each precious talisman is worth 50,000 Da Fu coins, so 150,000 in total…”
Guo Shier frowned slightly. He didn’t have that much Da Fu money. The local currency didn’t match that of the North Talisman Sect, and the two couldn’t be exchanged. He said, “Xiaoping, Young junior uncle isn’t in a position to pay right now. You can pay first… I’ll tell my wife to repay you.”
Xie Xiaoping readily agreed, “No problem.”
Guo Shier complained, “Lao Tong… You know, I’m young, and my wife gives me little pocket money. These three talismans are quite expensive. Can you give me a better discount?”
Ying Mo couldn’t help but snicker. He had seen this kid haggle many times before.
Tong Zhi originally wanted to say that advanced talismans like precious talismans didn’t come with discounts—there was no room for negotiation. But Guo Shier was different, and he was just a child. Tong Zhi didn’t know how to explain it and stammered for a while before saying, “Um… Young junior uncle, these are precious talismans…”
Guo Shier said, “I know. Precious talismans, advanced talismans. How about this—each talisman is worth 10,000 Da Fu coins?” Without blinking, he offered a price that shocked everyone.
Surprised, Tong Zhi exclaimed, “That’s impossible!”
Guo Shier pretended to be shocked and said, “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work… Why are you shouting at me?”
Xie Xiaoping was also startled by Tong Zhi’s loud voice. He quickly stepped forward and said, “Hey, Lao Tong, stop shouting… Don’t scare Young junior uncle.”
Tong Zhi said, “It’s not me shouting! At this price… even if I finish my work here, I won’t be able to earn enough… How am I supposed to cover this loss?” He was truly desperate.

Guo Shier suddenly asked, “What’s the bottom price?”
Tong Zhi replied casually, “The bottom price is 22,000!”
Guo Shier said, “Alright, to avoid putting you in a difficult position, it’ll be 22,000! I can afford that price!”
Tong Zhi was on the verge of crying. It was too unfair—after struggling so hard to acquire such a high-quality talisman, he wouldn’t make any profit at all. How could he keep running this shop?
Xie Xiaoping was also stunned. This kid was too cunning. He said, “How about 25,000? Young junior uncle, we also need to let Old Tong have something to report, otherwise he won’t be able to explain to Da Chen Shop.”
Guo Shier replied promptly, “Okay, that works!”
Tong Zhi realized Guo Shier was tough to deal with and knew arguing further wouldn’t yield any advantage. He said, “Alright, I’ll consider it as showing respect to the young junior uncle.”
Guo Shier reacted quickly, saying, “You want to show me respect? Fine, then you pay for it!” He wasn’t polite at all.
Tong Zhi panicked and kept saying, “That’s not what I meant… that’s not what I meant…”
Xie Xiaoping helped explain, “Young junior uncle, what Old Tong means is that this discount… is his way of showing you respect.”
Tong Zhi nodded frantically. He was already exhausted from dealing with Guo Shier.
Ying Mo went outside alone, unable to resist the urge to laugh out loud. Guo Shier wasn’t an ordinary child; Xie Xiaoping and Tong Zhi had no chance of beating him.
Knowing he couldn’t go too far, Guo Shier said with a smile, “I see. Well, thank you. I’ll treat you all to a meal at a restaurant today.”
According to Xie Xiaoping’s suggestion, a genuine treasure talisman was worth 25,000 large talisman coins. Tong Zhi could barely justify that amount, but with Xie Xiaoping around, he could explain it to his father. After all this, the two of them regarded Guo Shier with much more respect. This kid was extraordinary—he was not only shrewd but also eloquent, leaving the two in a mess.
Guo Shier stood up and said, “Let’s go to the restaurant. Old Tong, come with us.”
Tong Zhi, a playboy, had never met a kid like him before. He said, “I lost today. Hmph, I’m going to make it up!”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “Go ahead and eat. If you can eat up 1,000 large talisman coins’ worth of food, I’ll give you the talisman coins at the original price.”
Tong Zhi said, “1,000 large talisman coins? Forget it. Even if I were a talisman beast, I couldn’t eat that much.” Ten large talisman coins could get a really good meal, and 100 could get top-quality talisman food. How could he possibly finish 1,000?

The four of them left the shop laughing. Guo Shier said, “Xiaoping, you know this place well—find a better restaurant.”
Guo Shier was very satisfied. With these sixteen talismans, he had enough to give as gifts, and he could use a few himself. If he endured another ten days or so, he could return to the Secret Sanctuary of the Altar and perhaps see Master Luo Jie. His mood improved, and he spoke more politely. They chatted and laughed all the way, much to Xiaoping Xie and Tong Zhi’s surprise.
Guo Shier noticed that these two indeed dominated the area. Passersby reacted to them as if they were ghosts, quickly avoiding them. It was unclear what evil deeds they had committed to earn such dislike from the locals.
Xinghu Restaurant.
Looking at the huge black plaque, Guo Shier asked, “Is this the best restaurant?”
Xiaoping Xie replied, “Yes, it’s the best restaurant in Wuyu Town! It’s also the tallest.”
Guo Shier said, “It should be called the Xinghu Wine Tower. This isn’t even a building—it’s just a wooden tower!”
Xinghu Restaurant was about ten stories tall, with wide wooden eaves on each floor. There were no wooden partitions, only a railing, so people could see those moving around on each floor from below. It had an open layout, which was quite unique. Each floor had several staff members, one of whom was responsible for delivering meals using a basket that moved up and down along a slide—a clever design.
As soon as Tong Zhi reached the door, several staff members rushed out at top speed, bowing and greeting them eagerly. One of them kept saying, “Master Tong, welcome! Please… please! Hehe, Erzi, go call the owner! Ah, isn’t this Master Xie? Please, come in!”
Xiaoping Xie tossed a large talisman coin and said, “As usual, the tenth floor!”
The staff member smiled and said, “I’m sorry, gentlemen. The tenth floor is reserved by a group of guests. Hehe, the ninth floor is still available…”
Tong Zhi asked, “Who has reserved the tenth floor?”
Before the staff member could answer, the owner of Xinghu Restaurant came out. Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh—this man was actually part of Xiaoping Xie’s group. Back on the street, among the three people riding horses, he was one of them, also an inner disciple.

Xie Xiaoping said with a smile, “Brother Guan, who is on the tenth floor that has reserved all our exclusive floors?” He then turned to Guo Shier, “This is Guan Yuntao, the owner of Xinghu Restaurant, and also a disciple from the inner sect who’s here to gain experience. Brother Guan, this is Guo Shier, a senior grand talisman master and our junior uncle, hehe.”
Guo Shier nodded. Guan Yuntao had actually seen Guo Shier before—during the incident on the street when Monier took action, there was a child standing nearby; he never expected it to be such a skilled person from the inner sect.
Guan Yuntao was slightly surprised. Kuumu was a notorious figure in the Chenxiao Sect, with no one daring to provoke him. However, Kuumu rarely wandered around the inner sect; he was either in the underground talisman-making hall, searching for materials elsewhere, or entering secret realms to kill. Thus, his reputation was widespread, and most disciples knew of this skilled person in the inner sect.
“Hehe, Junior Uncle, please come up to the ninth floor.”
The group climbed up the wooden stairs to the ninth floor. In the hustle and bustle, Guan Yuntao forgot to answer who had reserved the tenth floor.
The ninth floor wasn’t large, about a hundred square meters, with four large tables—one in each corner. There was a wooden staircase in the middle, and the space around it was open, surrounded only by wooden railings. Bamboo curtains could be lowered, and several screens were placed aside.
Guo Shier went to the northwest corner, from where he could see Xinghu Lake not far away. He hadn’t expected there to be such a large lake in the mountains, its edges barely visible. The lake’s surface was dotted with boats, and several white birds flew in the sky. A cool breeze blew, making people feel very comfortable.
The tables and chairs here were similar to those from his past life. Seeing some familiar ones, Guo Shier felt a sense of familiarity. He pulled out a chair and sat down, saying with a smile, “I’ll treat everyone today. Go ahead and order whatever you want, hehe.”
Guan Yuntao said, “Since we’re on my territory, let me treat everyone.”
Guo Shier asked, “Do you really want to treat us?”
Guan Yuntao replied, “Of course… It’s rare for Junior Uncle to come here, so it’s only right that I treat you!”
Guo Shier replied straightforwardly, “Then fine. Old Xie, Old Tong, did you all hear that? Old Guan wants to treat us. He’s very sincere, and I accept his offer wholeheartedly. Does anyone have any objections?”
Old Xie? Old Tong? Old Guan?
The three of them didn’t know what to say. They couldn’t say Guo Shier was wrong, but it still sounded awkward.
Guan Yuntao gave a few instructions to the staff and then said, “Everyone, sit down… By the way, what does Junior Uncle like to eat?”
“Talisman food! I want talisman food.”

Tong Zhixian started shouting. Xie Xiaoping nodded in agreement, “We need the best talismanic food!”
Guo Shier said, “Hmm, I have no objections. Uncle Eagle Demon, what do you want to eat?”
Eagle Demon replied, “Meat! A lot of meat, fresh meat—whether roasted or boiled… it doesn’t matter. Also, some pasta would be good. I’ve been feeling very hungry lately.”
Guan Yuntao smiled and said, “This is the standard food for talismanic warriors. Alright, it will surely satisfy you.” He was indeed generous, bringing out plates after plates of talismanic food. He also cooked large pieces of meat for Eagle Demon—spicy marinated meat—and served rice wine from large copper pots. After warming it slightly, he brought it over in big bowls.
After taking a few bites, Guo Shier couldn’t help but praise it highly. The talismanic food was cooked excellently, on par with his own skills. Although there weren’t many varieties, it was extremely delicious.
There was only their table on the ninth floor; the other three tables were empty. Guo Shier sipped the rice wine slowly. It contained no water added—pure rice wine with a sweet taste. He didn’t dare drink a whole bowl at once like Tong Zhixian and the others. As he sipped slowly, he listened to the three of them chatting.
Xie Xiaoping downed a whole bowl of rice wine in one gulp, wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and said with a smile, “A few days ago, I heard that people from the sect raided a lower-level Talisman Continent and captured many slaves. It’s a shame they ran out of time and were forced to leave that continent before they could expand their gains.”