An Elaborate Scam

Nie Chang's lips twitched. 'Seal of Doom'? Seriously? He really wondered if this was something his little darling had come up with or something the system provided based on Su Yan's previous efforts. Well, if it was the system's work, then he really had to congratulate it. It was doing a good job guessing just what kind of thing Su Yan would put into his novel. A 'Seal of Doom' was probably just like the 'Chaos Cultivation' he had thought of: Something that sounded cool but had no actual meaning.

The stall owner also rolled his eyes at the mention of this artifact. This was the scam they had thought of? As if anyone would offer a priceless mythical artifact in exchange for a tanghulu! This was so stupid he felt offended they even tried it!

Just when he wanted to call them out, another person got the drop on him.

"What? A level seven mythical artifact? And even one that was crafted by Grandmaster Ziju himself? Do you think everyone here are idiots without eyes to see? That thing —" The man's eyes bulged when he saw the thing in Nie Chang's hands. "Fuck! That's really the Seal of Doom! Where did you get this?" He looked at Nie Chang only to be stunned into silence. White hair, golden eyes … This was obviously a powerhouse! Shit. Could a powerhouse be casually asked about private affairs? He gulped and nervously glanced around. If he leaped into the crowd, then maybe this Master would let him off?

Nie Chang only glanced at the man before turning back to the stall owner. "How is it? Would you exchange against this?"

The owner looked from Nie Chang's face to the seal in his hands and over to the two men that watched them with bewildered expressions. This really was … an elaborate scam. They had actually gotten so many people just to rob him of his little bit of money!

The first man that had arrived cleared his throat. "This Daoist Master, might I ask what you want to exchange the Seal of Doom for?"

"That tanghulu!" Su Yan helpfully pointed at the one he had decided on before. Seeing the doubtful looks of the two men, he couldn't help but turn to Nie Chang. "Or do you think that one isn't good, after all? Should we take another one?"

Nie Chang smiled wryly. "I don't think the tanghulu is the problem." Rather … could it be that this simple-looking seal was actually something extremely valuable? Exchanging that for one tanghulu was over-the-top, wasn't it? Well, there was nothing he could do. Su Yan wanted the tanghulu and he had never been good at denying him anything he wanted. He couldn't pay any other way though and in the end, it didn't matter. This wasn't something they owned but something from a novel. Giving it away wouldn't make them lose out.

The men stared at them blankly. "You … want to exchange a level seven mythical artifact … against … one tanghulu?"

Su Yan blinked. "Do you think we should take two?" He tugged at Nie Chang's sleeve. "Do you also want one?"

"No …"

"Then one is alright." He happily nodded at the stall owner. "You can keep the change."

"I …" The owner wanted to remind them that he hadn't agreed yet when the other man already hurried closer.

"Ah, Daoist Master, look this good man here is obviously an ordinary person. He isn't cultivating. Wouldn't giving him the Seal of Doom be a waste? How about this? You can give the seal to me and I'll buy the tanghulu for you?"

Su Yan pursed his lips. Who wanted this random guy to buy him a tanghulu? He wanted his boyfriend to buy him one! This absolutely wasn't the same!

Nie Chang didn't mind either way but the second man from before finally decided that he didn't need to fear this Daoist Master and jumped back into the conversation. "This friend, what are you saying? It's just a tanghulu! How can you expect His Excellency to give up a level seven mythical artifact for that? No, no. Since it's always a pleasure to meet new people, how about I gift this tanghulu to you, Your Excellency?" The man even went so far as to cup his fists and bow.

Don't kid him! Having a level seven mythical artifact was great but you also needed the strength to keep it. If you didn't have that, then in the worst case, you'd end up dead before being able to carry the treasure home. Gaining the favorable impression or maybe even the friendship of a mighty cultivator was worth much more. Especially since a person that could casually take out such a rarity to pay for a tanghulu certainly had even more valuable things, hehe!

Nie Chang once again tried to speak up but was interrupted by his little darling tugging at his sleeve. He looked back and was met with a highly dissatisfied gaze. "Uh … What is it?"

"Didn't you want to buy me one? How did it turn into some random dude giving a tanghulu to you?"

The man who had been dubbed 'some random dude' really wanted to lecture the brat but seeing the Daoist Master reach out and pat his head, he hurriedly gulped his dissatisfaction down and plastered a good-natured smile onto his face.

Nie Chang ignored him and instead concentrated on pacifying his little darling. "How could that be? That man was just making a suggestion. We don't have to accept." With that, he turned back to the stall owner. "Owner, how about it? This Seal of Doom against that tanghulu?"

The stall owner's expression twisted. He still felt that something was wrong here. These people had turned in a circle once and now it was back to him to decide whether or not he wanted to exchange. Well, if this really was some priceless artifact, then naturally he wanted to! But what if this was indeed an elaborate scam? Ah, what should he do!

Nie Chang saw his expression and furrowed his brows. "You won't? Uh … How about exchanging against something else? Maybe something more practical?" He looked through his spatial ring again. Suddenly, his expression brightened. "Ah! How about this? I'm sure your wife would like it!" The thing he produced this time was a silver hairpin, embedded with several jewels.

The stall owner's eyes went wide. His wife would indeed like this! Just when he wanted to accept, the two cultivators two the side screamed.

"The ninth-grade spirit artifact Hairpin of Regeneration?!"

"One of the five highest-acclaimed healing artifacts?!"

This time their cries drew even more people over. The stall owner's lips twitched. If this was a scam, it truly was too elaborate.