Chapter 722: Chapter 722: There’s Something Wrong with This Woman_1
Walking into Juxin Bank, Qin Sisi was greeted by a young man. He wasn’t old, but his eyes darted around quickly. Just by looking at him, you could tell he was quick-witted.
Qin Sisi explained her purpose, and the young man cheerfully said, "Exchange money, sure, sure! But we do charge a five percent service fee."
Qin Sisi furrowed her brows. Banks in the Human World seemed to exchange small bills for free, albeit with mixed levels of service.
However, in this foreign land, she had to submit to their rules. Qin Sisi nodded, indicating her agreement with the bank’s regulation.
The young fellow continued beaming. "May I ask how much you wish to exchange?"
Qin Sisi took out her middle-grade Spirit Stone. The young man glanced at it and immediately said, "A middle-grade Spirit Stone can be exchanged for a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones. We’ll deduct our service fee of five low-grade Spirit Stones, leaving you with ninety-five low-grade Spirit Stones."
Much can be said for his slick talk.
Qin Sisi nodded again. But when the young man placed the ninety-five low-grade Spirit Stones on the counter for her to take away, she was taken aback.
A single Spirit Stone was about the size of a quail egg. One wasn’t too big, but ninety-five made a small pile.
At that moment, thoughts of Ye You’s Portable Space made Qin Sisi envious. If she had a marvelous portable space in which to store all her items, life would be wonderful!
After her reverie passed, Qin Sisi had to figure out how to carry these Spirit Stones. She looked at the young man at the bank and asked, "Can you give me a bag?"
The young man maintained his warm smile and replied, "Certainly, a bag costs five low-grade Spirit Stones."
"..." Qin Sisi’s eyes widened. Silently cursing "swindler" in her heart, she ended up reluctantly accepting the price and handed over five Spirit Stones from her pile to the young man.
"Right on!" The young man cheerfully responded, his eyes sparkling as if they had gold inside them.
Accepting the bag, Qin Sisi took the task of packaging the stones into her own hands before leaving Juxin Bank, bag in tow.
Looking back at the massive sign above the shop, she sighed, "So it’s true to its name ’Juxin,’ they virtually did nothing but ended up raking in all the money."
Returning to the golden rice cake snack bar, Qin Sisi gave the owner fifty low-grade Spirit Stones to purchase fifty rice cakes.
The owner was decent enough, helping her package all the cakes into a sturdy bag.
Qin Sisi asked with a lingering fear, "This bag doesn’t cost anything, right?"
The owner was surprised, then quickly waved his hands, reassuring, "No, no, the bag is free."
Qin Sisi heaved a sigh of relief as she complained, "That Juxin Bank certainly charged me for the bag."
The owner indicated to Qin Sisi to keep quiet and glanced around. He then lowered his voice and said: "Madam, it seems you’re a foreigner. You need to be careful with what you say in Wang City these days. That bank is owned by the wife of one of the Sage Ruler’s generals. If they hear your comments, they might throw you in jail. Look around this street; this is the only bank standing after the other two were driven off."
Qin Sisi’s expression became grave. If these stories were to be believed, then it would appear that to consolidate his power, the Sage Ruler had been indulging his subordinates. If things continued this way, the situation in Wang City might escalate further.
But she was in no position to care about such issues right now. Saying her goodbyes to the rice cake shop owner, she trudged off, carrying the bag of cakes in one hand and the remaining forty low-grade Spirit Stones in the other.
First, she needed to find a secluded place to hand these items over to Ye You to keep in his Portable Space.
People streamed past her in pairs or small groups on the street. The urgent need to move fast conflicted with her current "pregnant" persona, making it a challenge to move quickly without drawing attention.
She hadn’t moved far when she felt a strong pull. By the time she reacted, she realized her bag of Spirit Stones had been snatched.
Turning around, she saw a man dressed in brown attire running away with her Stones.
Her first instinct was to give chase, but she stopped after two steps. She was currently posing as a "pregnant woman", running furiously in public would definitely raise eyebrows.
Could she... use magic?
Qin Sisi glanced around; nearby pedestrians stared sympathetically at her. She wasn’t sure if they knew magic. She regretted neglecting to ask Ye You if there were any taboos around using magic.
What if magic was prohibited in residential areas? If she used magic, would she draw the Sage Ruler’s guards?
Her moment’s hesitation caused the thief to disappear into the distance, uncatchable even if she wanted to give chase now.
Although it hurt to part with the Spirit Stones, Qin Sisi could only sigh resignedly. She turned to continue her journey, hoping to escape this dangerous place as soon as possible.
Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere, blocking the thief’s path. With a swift kick, he knocked the thief to the ground.
The thief cried out in pain, quickly surrendered the stolen Stones, kneeling and begging for mercy.
The man collected the bag of Spirit Stones from the thief. With a slight wave of his hand, the thief took the cue, escaping as fast as his legs could carry him.
Blinking in astonishment, Qin Sisi wondered if this was a noble hero, stepping in to right a wrong.
The "hero" strolled over to Qin Sisi. From his appearance, he seemed to be in his fifties. Though he was tall and well-built, his face was swarthy. His goat-like beard sported a few strands of gray hair which hung from his shoulder.
He stood before Qin Sisi, wordless, presenting the bag of Spirit Stones to her.
Accepting the bag, Qin Sisi expressed her gratitude, "Thank you."
"You’re welcome." His worn and raspy voice was all she got in return.
After those three words, the hero fell silent. But he didn’t depart, simply standing there, his stare firmly on Qin Sisi.
With much experience dealing with ghosts, Qin Sisi had developed a sharp eye for suspicious behaviour. She spotted a glint in the gray-haired hero’s eyes.
Made uncomfortable by this, she hastily said, "I have to go now."
With that, she turned and headed towards the city entrance. She felt his gaze never leaving her, making her feel as though needles were prickling her back.
Not daring to look back or walk too fast, she concentrated on making her movements seem as natural as possible.
A man with a pencil moustache approached the hero and murmured while watching Qin Sisi’s retreating figure, "Something is off about that woman."
