Chapter 7: Wangwang (Part 1)

A professional behind Guo Shieru said, “Those are ordinary people. They need approval to enter the city. If they don’t get it, they’re not allowed in. I guess they were denied entry.”
Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “Ordinary people pose no threat. Why not let them in? What a strange rule.”
Guo Shieru replied, “This world has always been unfair.” He didn’t pay much attention and continued to move slowly in line. Bibo City imposed few restrictions on professionals; they could enter as long as they showed their identity badges.
It wasn’t long before it was Guo Shieru and the other two’s turn. They still showed the identity badges from the Core Continent, indicating they were itinerant professionals. At that moment, Guo Shieru saw clearly that it was a mother crying bitterly while holding her young daughter. He couldn’t help asking, “Why are they crying? Is it because they can’t enter?”
The gatekeepers were mostly master-level professionals. After seeing Guo Shieru’s identity badge and realizing this young man was a high-ranking holy master, they spoke politely, “We can’t do anything either. The rule is that ordinary people need permission to enter, and since she doesn’t have it, she can’t come in.”
Guo Shieru was puzzled, “Just because they can’t enter, there’s no need to cry like that.”
The professional replied, “I heard she wanted to enter the city to buy a low-grade talisman pill. Apparently, someone in her family was injured.”
Guo Shieru asked, “What kind of injury?”
The professional found it strange why this young high-ranking holy master would care about an ordinary person. He said, “It seems she was bitten by some kind of talisman worm and lost a leg.”
Guo Shieru nodded, turned to the mother and daughter, and said, “Don’t enter. Here’s a talisman pill.” He took out a pill, placed it in the mother’s hand, then went through the checkpoint with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan.
The mother was stunned. She never expected someone to give her a talisman pill. For professionals, a low-grade talisman pill was worthless, but for an ordinary person, it was like a miracle cure. She clutched the pill tightly, tears streaming down as she looked up, only to see Guo Shieru’s back disappear into the checkpoint.
Overwhelmed with joy, she cried even harder, gradually calming down after a while before leaving in a hurry with her young daughter.
Eagle Demon asked, “Shieru, why did you give her a talisman pill?”
Guo Shieru replied, “Why not? We’re not short of talisman pills. I can make them myself. What’s wrong with helping out?”

The Eagle Demon wasn’t opposed to Guo Shier giving away the talisman pills; it was just a bit strange. Professionals generally didn’t associate with ordinary people, as their short lifespans made it impossible to become friends. Entering a secret realm, three to five years was normal, and seven, eight, or even ten years wasn’t unusual. By the time they had visited several secret realms, ordinary people would already be old or dead, which is why professionals avoided interacting with them.

Guo Shier understood what the Eagle Demon meant and said, “I’m just helping out; there’s no other intention.”

The Eagle Demon nodded and asked, “Where are we going?”

Guo Shier replied, “Let’s walk along the street. I really like this place.”

The street was wide, with most buildings not being very tall. Shops lined the street. Guo Shier saw a flag with runes that read—Jingming Rice.

He entered the shop. Neatly stacked there were bags of rice. A low-level professional sat behind the counter; it was a spellcaster, reading a book of spells.

Guo Shier asked, “How much is this rice?”

Without even looking up, the spellcaster replied, “One hundred large talisman coins per bag.”

Guo Shier estimated that a bag of rice weighed about fifty jin, yet it cost a hundred large talisman coins—quite expensive. He asked, “Can it be exchanged for materials?”

The spellcaster immediately put down the book and then realized that three high-level professionals had entered, as he couldn’t discern their levels at all. Glancing at the talismans on their waists, he was stunned—high-level saints! He hurriedly said, “Elders, it’s possible. Please wait a moment…” Then he turned around and shouted, “Dad! Dad! We have customers!”

The spellcaster was still a child, around ten years old, with a youthful face, but tall and sturdy. If not for his face, one might have thought he was an adult.

An old man with deep wrinkles came out of the back room. He was an intermediate-level great talisman martial artist, clearly having exhausted his potential and unable to advance further.

The old man said, “It can be exchanged. Either with ready-made talismans or materials.”

Guo Shier took out a pile of talismans, all relatively low-level and now of little use. He said, “Take a look at these. How much rice can I get in exchange?”

The old man examined each talisman carefully. After a while, he said, “They’re all good talismans. Well, I’ll give you a round figure—one thousand bags of rice.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Two thousand bags of rice. If not, I’ll go to another shop.” He knew well that these talismans were highly attractive to low-level professionals, and even two thousand bags of rice still underestimated their value.

The old man sighed and said, “That’s too much. How about one thousand two hundred bags?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Two thousand bags!”
Eagle Demon frowned. He was always straightforward when exchanging things and never haggled. Seeing Guo Shier haggle with a low-level professional, he found it incomprehensible.
The old man wore a pained expression and said, “One thousand six hundred bags—really, I can’t go any higher.”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “Actually, you know yourself that even if it’s two thousand bags, you’re still making a profit! I’m just too lazy to bid too high. Two thousand bags… forget it, how about one thousand eight hundred bags? That way you can make a bit more.”
The old man immediately said, “Okay, I’ll take a loss—just one thousand eight hundred bags!”
Eagle Demon said, “One thousand bags… versus one thousand eight hundred bags—there’s too big a difference.”
Guo Shier replied, “If I really haggled, these talismans… could at least get me two thousand eight hundred bags! If you don’t believe me, ask the boss!”
The old man said with a pained face, “How is that possible! It’s because the kid needs some low-level talismans that I agreed…” He tried his best to deny it, leaving Eagle Demon utterly confused.
Guo Shier smiled without further explanation. Whether in this life or the previous one, the nature of businessmen remained the same. As the saying goes, there are only wrong buyers, never wrong sellers.
Luo Zhan put one thousand eight hundred bags of rice into a talisman bag and handed it to Guo Shier. They were already used to Guo Shier’s habit of collecting food. Whenever he arrived in a city, his first task was to gather local specialties, especially food, and he wouldn’t hesitate to spend a lot of money on it.
After Guo Shier and the others left, the talisman caster asked, “Dad, did you lose money?”
The old man beamed with a smile and said, “I made a huge profit… There are over twenty talismans here, and I can use several of them. Hehe, not to mention exchanging them for one thousand eight hundred bags, if I really sold these talismans for money and used it to buy higher-tier talismans, I could definitely get over three thousand five hundred bags!”
The old man’s son was stunned and said, “Dad, they’re high-level professionals. I took a look—that man is a high-level sage.”
The old man dismissed it and said, “I know. It’s a matter of supply and demand. That’s how business works. If you’re capable, make the other party pay more. If not, don’t do business—otherwise, you’ll definitely lose money and have to close down. Son, didn’t you notice that man actually understood very well, but he was too lazy to argue with me. Hehe, letting me reap this big profit.”
…
Guo Shier didn’t know that the father and son were still talking about him. He saw an elegant restaurant and said, “This restaurant looks good. Let’s go in and sit down.”

The restaurant was huge, three stories high, built on both sides of the street with a footbridge connecting them—in other words, it occupied the entire width of the street. Guo Shier and the others walked in, and immediately someone came forward to politely invite them upstairs.

The third floor was spacious, with bright windows and clean surroundings. There were low tables everywhere, and the floor was covered with thick animal skins. This floor was reserved for high-level professionals, only serving those at the level of Sage or above. Although Luo Zhan was a high-level Mad Master, Guo Shier and Eagle Demon were Sages, so they could enter as well.

The waiter led them to a low table and said, “Please! Have a seat!”

Guo Shier nodded in satisfaction. The table was near the window facing the street. He gestured for Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan to sit down and asked, “What special talismanic dishes do you have here?”

The waiter replied, “We have many special talismanic dishes. The best ones are rice made from Jingming rice, as well as rice wine brewed from it.” He listed a series of dishes.

Guo Shier said, “Just choose the specialty dishes of your restaurant. We’re outsiders and don’t know what’s special here.”

The waiter showed a pleased expression, saying they could pick whatever they wanted—no matter what dishes were served, they wouldn’t refuse. “Alright, I’ll order the dishes. Please sit comfortably.” Then he turned and left.

There were many high-level professionals on the third floor. Guo Shier listened attentively, hoping to get some information. After listening for a while, he found nothing valuable and sighed regretfully. “I wonder where the old man has gone. There’s no news from him at all. Since Grandpa Nanshan left, there’s been no sign of him either; we don’t even know where he is.”

Eagle Demon said, “I think… they must not be on the Earthfire Continent.”

Guo Shier agreed, “Yes. If they were on the Earthfire Continent, given their heritage, it would surely cause a sensation. But since we haven’t heard anything, they definitely aren’t on that continent.”

Luo Zhan asked, “Could they have gone to… the continent where the Ancient Talisman People live?”

Guo Shier was surprised. “Huh, that’s quite possible. The heritage they obtained… is also from the Ancient Talisman People series. Maybe they also got some coordinates. Grandpa Nanshan is a Talisman-Warrior, so he might not be aware of it, but the old man is a Talisman-Caster. If he got coordinates, it’s very likely he’d try to go there…”

Eagle Demon sighed, “That would make it hard to find them.”

Seven or eight waiters came in carrying plates, each with a large tray, and quickly filled the low table with dishes—at least thirty different dishes. Guo Shier was stunned and said, “So many?”

The waiter said with a smile, “These are all our restaurant’s specialty dishes!”
Eagle Demon laughed heartily, “Guo Shier, you’re screwed! Haha!”
The waiter also smiled and said, “Since you wanted specialty dishes, I added some that are truly characteristic of this area. Hehe, there’s a bit too much, but take your time… you can finish it. The portions aren’t huge.”
Guo Shier was both annoyed and amused, saying, “Alright, that’ll do.”
The waiter bowed respectfully and couldn’t help but chuckle as he turned to leave.
Luo Zhan said with a smile, “This guy is quite clever.”
Eagle Demon sighed, “He really has a lot of nerve, not afraid that we might turn on him.”