Premonition (1)

"Deal. Eighteen grains of Yang Yuan Sand it is." Chen Xuan smiled as he accepted the shopkeeper's counteroffer without a bit of hesitation on his face. He had the overbearingness of a skillful merchant for a brief moment here when replying to the shopkeeper.

As an Ex-conman with plenty of experience dealing with dumb, intelligent, and sly individuals, Chen Xuan knew that each second of delay would definitely affect his profit. This is also why he had no hesitation accepting when the shopkeeper cut away four grains from the price he offered.

He would not hesitate to accept even if the price ended up as sixteen grains of Yang Yuan Sand per pearl. With the system in his hand, his profit would still be doubled if Chen Xuan relied on crafting to turn the grains into a pearl.

And with eighteen grains multiplying by three, that's a total of fifty-four Yang Yuan Sand.

Honestly saying, this is not a bad price, considering that Chen Xuan only makes a loss of six Yang Yuan Sand from this deal. If he was to convert this according to the Standard-Tier Yang Yuan Pearl's rate, fifty-four grains would be equivalent to a little more than five pearls.

But if Chen Xuan does the math using the System's Crafting into the account. His profit won't be a mere five Standard-Tier pearls. With eight grains rate per Uncommon-Tier pearl, the fifty-four grains can be made into seven pearls.

That would be the price of fourteen Standard-Tier Yang Yuan Pearls if he were to sell them.

The shopkeeper was slightly surprised by Chen Xuan's decisiveness in accepting his offer. He was about to increase the bid to fifty-seven grains if Chen Xuan decided to continue to barter with him. But to his surprise, this youngster was quite an easygoing opponent, although his decisiveness is entirely unexpected.

"Young one, the way you do business doesn't look like your first time at all. Are you trying to take advantage of this senior?" the shopkeeper said while he studied Chen Xuan from head to toe again. He had a feeling that he was the one that made a loss here by offering fifty-four grains.

But even if he were to buy them at the price of two Standard-Tier pearls each, he won't be making a loss when he resells them later.

It was not a secret that the Guangming Sect needed a lot of Uncommon-Tier Yang Yuan Pearls. They even loudly announced that they were willing to offer the price of two hundred and twenty Standard-Tier pearls for every hundred Uncommon-Tier pearls.

This is also why the shopkeepers all around this town scattered around seeking them.

"Anyway, count the grains inside the bag. There should be fifty-four grains as per our deal. If you're satisfied, I'll be keeping the three pearls here." the shopkeeper said and placed a small pouch above the counter.

Without further ado, Chen Xuan opened the bag to have a look. He thought he would have to use some time to count the content. But it seems that the Yang Energy in his had a minor effect in improving his visual and arithmetic quality.

A quick glance is all he needs to count the fifty-four grains piled inside the pouch.

"I've checked. It's precisely fifty-four grains inside the bag, not one more, not one less." Chen Xuan accepted the payment and hung the pouch around his waist belt. In return, the shopkeeper placed the three Uncommon-Tier Yang Yuan Pearls into the exquisite box earlier.

"Now... Since I bought something from you, shouldn't you do the same to me? Choose something, I'll give you a discount." said the shopkeeper. It seems that he's bent to profit from Chen Xuan today.

"Shopkeeper, I'm only left with the grains right now. What can I buy?" Chen Xuan shrugged his shoulders in uncertainty.

"Fine. Choose one thing to take and pay me back the next time you come back. With so many grains in your pocket, I'm sure you'll have to use the Town's Forge anyway." the shopkeeper said.

"Hmm..." Chen Xuan was in deep thought as he subconsciously pinched his nose.

'Looks like I had to get something on credit no matter what... What a sly shopkeeper. If in that case... Should I ask if he had "that" in his stash?' Chen Xuan chuckled and opened his mouth towards the shopkeeper.

-----

While Chen Xuan is busy bargaining with the shopkeeper on the merchandise, something else happened in a place further than the King Wen's River.

This place which rarely had visitors, ended up turning into a major battlefield between the Hunters and the Jiangshi.

It was a ruthless battlefield. Over a hundred Jiangshi Hunters were gathered at this location to kill an extremely dangerous Jiangshi known as "Guan-Jiangshi."

Similar to everything in this Lingyu Realm, everything grown and originated here were divided into nine grades. And the Guan-Jiangshi was a hopping vampire of the second grade. The attack pattern, appearance, and movement of the Guan-Jiangshi were about the same as the Standard Jiangshi, but the former is capable of summoning.

"WHEEE!!!" a screech that could burst the hunter's eardrum came without notice. And in less than ten seconds, the number of Jiangshi present suddenly doubled in numbers. While their numbers might not threaten mighty hunters, the weaker and unprepared people could instantly fall victim if they're not careful.

And in less than a minute after making their appearance, close to ten Jiangshi Hunters have fallen. To make it worse, The one who landed the killing blow is not the Standard Jiangshi but the Guan-Jiangshi itself.

As a higher-grade Jiangshi, Guan-Jiangshi can immediately turn the victim fallen to its poisonous fang into a Jiangshi right away. Furthermore, a Jiangshi that has yet to undergo rigor mortis could fight much better than the standard Jiangshi.

The addition of ten skillful Jiangshi quickly turned the situation around. From advantage to a sudden disadvantage, the hunters had no other choice but to ask for help.

"Launch the Guangming Signal now! Request the Guangming Sect to provide help!" a leader-rank Jiangshi Hunter ordered. But his order was answered by silence.

"Damn! Is this where I'm going to meet my end?" the leader-rank hunter took a Yang Yuan Pearl out from his item pouch and swallowed it. And instantly, a hint of Yang Force in his body recovered.

But this was a crude way to utilize the Yang Yuan Pearl. Unless they're in a dire situation, hardly anyone will use this method to digest the Yang Force within the pearl. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to rely on this crudeness.

Desperate one had no other option, especially when a quarter of the Jiangshi Hunters had escaped from the battlefield. At the same time, most of them died in Jiangshi's hands.

"Great Flames of Heaven's Fate!" the leader-rank hunter smeared his blood across his blade. And the moment he poured his Yang Force onto the edge, burning flames appeared on his weapon.

Because blood was the most conductive agent of Yang Force, the burning flames surrounding the hunter's sword look deadlier than the Great Qi of Divine Light executed by Yanran Liuli.

But instead of trying to kill the Guan-Jiangshi, the leader-rank hunter decided to use this method to protect himself while retreating. It was not a wrong move, seeing how swiftly he defeats the hopping vampires in his path.

Unfortunately, his action seems to be under Guan-Jiangshi's prediction. While he continues to kill his way out of the hopping vampires' hunting zone, the Guan-Jiangshi would follow behind him closely while absorbing the ashes left from the exorcized Jiangshi.

The cat and mouse game continued until they slightly passed the King Wen's River.

And as they were getting closer to the human settlement, the Guan-Jiangshi no longer had the urge to continue playing with the escaping hunter.

"WHEEE!!!" it screeched for the second time. And just like its first summoning, close to thirty or so hopping vampires appeared out of nowhere. And there's no explanation at all how did the Standard Jiangshi appear out of thin air.

"Almost there! I'm almost there!" the leader-rank hunter hoped that his stamina could last until he arrived at the western entrance. As it was already night, the distance of more than a quarter kilometers was shrouded by complete darkness.

All the guards could see was the flame on his blade, which looked like an evil fire wisp from afar.

As for his worries about why the hunter prayed his stamina could last, it was due to the constant consumption of Yang Force while he maintained the flame on his blade. This was also the reason why Yanran Liuli collapsed after exhausting her Yang Force back then.

"Help me!" the leader-rank hunter could hold his anxiety no longer and screamed for the guard's attention. His running speed is considerably fast, but he was bound to get overrun against a school of hopping vampires that closed three to four steps in a jump.

"Can you hear that?" one of the three guards overlooking the outside asked. But he doesn't seem serious about his job at all. Of course, it's wrong to say he's fooling around.

While the scream seems loud to the hunter, it was actually softer than the sound of a needle falling on the ground at night. Added with the distance between the hunter and the guards above the walls, that distance itself is more than enough to silence his yelling.

"Hear what? The hunters knew what they had to do. If they return, the first thing they'll do is to lit up a few Maplewood Charcoal, ignite a Rune Lantern Talisman, or bring out a bunch of Yang Yuan Pearls to create light."

"Let's ignore that wisp of fire. Who knows if it's some trick from the hopping vampire to lure people out of the town." said another guard.

"You're correct." the former guard nodded. By the time he turned his head back to the darkness, the fire wisp had already gone.

"Hel... Argh!" the hunter's hand was struggling like he wanted to grab the guards from the wall. With the Guan-Jiangshi holding on to him tightly while burying its sharp fang on the hunter's neck, his blood was greedily sucked to the last drop.

A minute of struggle later, the leader-rank hunter finally breathed his last. In exchange for the last breath, he's now a walking corpse, with both eyes opened wide as he stares into the darkness.

And with the light slowly returned to the surface of this Lingyu Realm, all the hopping vampires returned to their refuge where sunlight could hardly reach.

-----

As for Chen Xuan, who knew nothing, he was still busy talking with the shopkeeper.

"Senior, do you sell weapons or cultivation techniques here? I'm thinking of trying my luck as a Jiangshi Hunter." Chen Xuan said with a smile plastered on his face.

"Hahaha, do you think this is a weapon shop? We sell materials and cultivation resources, but not books or weapons. For those, you'll have to get to the blacksmith or the Record's Pavilion. You won't get them from a small store like this one." said the shopkeeper.

"But listen to me, unless you have over a hundred Yang Yuan Pearl in the pocket, don't try to be a Jiangshi Hunter. It might look like a job with lucrative rewards, but at the same time, you'll lose your life if you're unprepared."

"Out of a hundred Jiangshi Hunters you've seen here, ten of them would die out there maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. This is why, without sufficient funds to protect yourself, don't simply go and try that dangerous profession." said the shopkeeper. Chen Xuan could guess that this senior had some sad stories from how sorrowful his eyes are while talking about this.

"It seems you have no idea what to take. Here, take this. The Talisman might be old, but it's a working single-use Jiangshi Deterrence Talisman. Pouring some Yang Force into the Rune Talisman will activate a shield that bounces away all the Jiangshi around you."

"Make sure you pay me two Standard-Tier pearls the next time you visit. Now, go back, and don't disturb me from doing business with others." the shopkeeper finished what he was going to say and started to pack his item chest.

"Then... See you again, senior." Chen Xuan left with a smile on his face.