Chapter 43: Old Ginger is Spicier

## Chapter 43: Ginger is Old's Spicy

The night sky was profound, the scattered stars like dust.

Ye Chen once again found himself at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. As luck would have it, Old Pang Da Hai was alone, humming a tune and sipping on some fine wine.

"Ho there! Quite late to still be buying things," Old Pang Da Hai exclaimed, seeing a customer arrive. He quickly stood up, his bright, large eyes as full of spirit as ever.

"Elder is in good spirits tonight!" Ye Chen smiled, handing over a storage bag. "Elder, please help me appraise these items and see how much they are worth."

Old Pang Da Hai took the storage bag, glanced inside, then looked back at Ye Chen. "Did you... acquire all of this from Qi Hao?"

Ye Chen coughed dryly, touching the tip of his nose, but nodded nonetheless.

Withdrawing his gaze, Old Pang Da Hai pulled out a small abacus from his robes and meticulously began counting each item within the storage bag. Finally, he set down the abacus, stroking his small beard in thought for a moment before raising three fingers.

"Thirty thousand is too little," Ye Chen mumbled, secretly telling himself that he wasn't in urgent need of money. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here selling these treasures.

"Thirty-one thousand. No more," Old Pang Da Hai said, casting a quick glance at Ye Chen. However, the expression on Ye Chen's face clearly indicated he wasn't eager to sell. Seeing this, Old Pang Da Hai tentatively asked, "Perhaps thirty-two thousand?"

"Not selling," Ye Chen immediately retrieved his storage bag. Although he wasn't particularly sensitive to prices, the treasures in Qi Hao's storage bag were worth far more than thirty-two thousand. Just the value of those several extraordinary spirit tools alone exceeded that amount.

Seeing Ye Chen preparing to leave, Old Pang Da Hai quickly grabbed him. "Don't go! We can add more!"

"Fifty thousand," Ye Chen countered directly.

"Thirty-eight thousand," Old Pang Da Hai, equally sharp, bargained fiercely downwards.

"I'll drop two thousand. Forty-eight thousand."

"Forty thousand. No more."

"Elder, you're too ruthless! Forty-seven thousand. That's the price, otherwise..."

"Deal." Unexpectedly, Old Pang Da Hai interrupted Ye Chen, agreeing with surprising straightforwardness.

Bargained too low?

The corner of Ye Chen's mouth twitched. He silently cursed, realizing he had been tricked by this fellow, Old Pang Da Hai.

"Come, come, forty-seven thousand. Not much, not much, count it." Old Pang Da Hai wore a smug smile, shoving a storage bag into Ye Chen's hand, fearing he might regret the deal.

Ye Chen simply pushed it back. "Give me three Heavenly Spirit Charms and one Heavenly Travel Charm."

"That won't do. It's still three thousand short," Old Pang Da Hai immediately objected.

"Then I won't sell."

"Hey, you little brat..." Old Pang Da Hai was about to flare up, but instead plastered on a lewd smile. "How about this: you add another two thousand, and I'll give you a discount of a thousand spirit stones?"

"At most, I'll add five hundred." Having been fooled once, Ye Chen had learned his lesson and bargained down relentlessly.

"Deal." To his surprise, Old Pang Da Hai *again* readily agreed.

Oh, my heavens!

Ye Chen couldn't help but mentally slap himself twice. Did he offer too much *again*?

Ginger was truly old and spicy. Ye Chen had put his all into bargaining down the price, but he still couldn't outmaneuver Old Pang Da Hai. It seemed there was a reason why this old fellow was an elder at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

"Three Heavenly Spirit Charms, one Heavenly Travel Charm. Take good care of them," this time, Old Pang Da Hai carefully placed the four spirit talismans into Ye Chen's hand. Then, this fellow quickly snatched Ye Chen's storage bag.

With a dark expression, Ye Chen stuffed the four spirit talismans into his own storage bag. "Elder, be careful not to fall into a pit on your way home tonight."

"Hey, you little brat..."

Before Old Pang Da Hai could erupt, Ye Chen had already sprinted out of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

By the time he returned to the small spirit garden, it was late into the night.

*Buzz!*

*Buzz!*

Inside the small garden, the air resonated with the sound of an iron rod striking. Hu Wa was still awake, cultivating diligently. The black iron rod in his hand felt quite natural to him, and though his movements were somewhat clumsy, he was gradually gaining proficiency. Perhaps Hu Wa was so focused on his practice that he hadn't even noticed Ye Chen's return.

Ye Chen didn't disturb him, quietly making his way towards his own room. As he stepped inside, he still glanced back at the sweat-drenched Hu Wa. "The rod... perhaps Hu Wa was born to be its companion."

Saying this, Ye Chen lifted his foot and entered his room.

The night passed in silence, and in an instant, dawn arrived.

The next day, just as the sky began to brighten, Ye Chen walked out of the small spirit garden.

At the foot of the mountain, Xiong Er appeared shortly after. Today, in addition to his floral shorts and small vest, Xiong Er had acquired another item: a shimmering chest-protecting mirror hanging from his chest, emitting a subdued light.

"Should we rent a spirit bird and fly?" Ye Chen suggested, looking at the sky.

"That won't do," Xiong Er immediately refused. "The strong cultivators are all flying in the air. Sitting on a spirit bird is very unsafe. Trust me, the ground is far safer than the sky."

Saying this, Xiong Er produced two spirit talismans from his pants pocket.

"Thousand Travel Talismans," Ye Chen's eyes lit up. He seemed to recognize this spirit talisman and knew its ability: with a single use, one could travel a thousand *li* in a day.

"Oh, hey, you actually recognize the Thousand Travel Talisman," Xiong Er seemed a bit surprised.

"I've heard of them."

Xiong Er didn't press further, handing one Thousand Travel Talisman to Ye Chen. "Stick it on your leg, infuse it with true *qi*, and be sure to grasp the direction. This spirit talisman is very fast. Don't you dare crash into a mountain!"

"Look at what you're saying." Ye Chen waved his hand and affixed the spirit talisman to his leg. Immediately, he channeled a strand of true *qi* into it. The spirit talisman instantly lit up, and patterns flowed into his body.

*Whoosh!*

The moment before, Ye Chen was standing still; the next moment, he shot out like an arrow. Xiong Er wasn't far behind, following in Ye Chen's wake like a rainbow.

The sudden increase in speed made Ye Chen feel a bit disoriented. This was his first time using a Thousand Travel Talisman.

"This Thousand Travel Talisman is quite good."

Ye Chen, while controlling his direction, said with a smile. The wind whistled past his ears. Although the speed of the Thousand Travel Talisman wasn't as fast as the Swift Shadow Thousand Illusions, it consumed far less true *qi*.

*Whoosh!*

*Whoosh!*

The two figures left a trail of afterimages, behind them, a swirling cloud of dust. After a night's journey, the two men dashed into a desolate forest.

"Another hour, and we should be there," Xiong Er roughly estimated the time and distance.

"I can already smell the scent of blood," Ye Chen said thoughtfully.

"Relax, it's fine. Isn't your brother here?" Xiong Er's chubby hand patted Ye Chen.

"Careful!" Ye Chen suddenly exclaimed. With one hand, he grabbed Xiong Er and quickly retreated backwards.

*Boom!*

Just as the two left the area where they had been standing, it exploded with a deafening roar. Immediately, shattered stones flew, surrounding sturdy trees toppled, and even the ground was blasted into a deep pit three *zhang* wide.

"Fuck!"

Seeing the situation, Xiong Er immediately cursed loudly. If Ye Chen hadn't reacted quickly, they would have been blown away on the spot.

"Damn it! Which one of those sons of a thousand blades set a trap here?" Xiong Er howled at the top of his lungs.

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. Back to back with Xiong Er, he vigilantly scanned their surroundings. Encountering trouble so soon after setting out made him involuntarily worry about the safety of this journey.

*Rustle, rustle!*

*Rustle, rustle!*

Soon, in the darkness of the night, came a rustling sound. Waves of chilling wind assaulted them, carrying the scent of blood.

"You actually managed to avoid my array trap. I underestimated you." Accompanied by a cold laugh, a burly man carrying a ghost-headed broadsword walked out.

This man was bare-chested, his hair disheveled, his eye sockets sunken, his eyes blood-red. A ferocious knife scar marked his face, and his entire body exuded a violent aura. Coupled with that ferocious face, he was clearly not someone to be trifled with at first glance.

"True Yang Realm," feeling the aura the large man emitted, Ye Chen and Xiong Er's faces instantly turned grim.

"Hand over your storage bags, and I can let you die more quickly," the burly man, carrying his broadsword, slowly advanced. The violent aura around him intensified. The broad, heavy blade gleamed with a faint cold light.

Seeing this, Xiong Er turned his head to look at Ye Chen. "Are we fighting or not?"

(End of Chapter)