Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Spirit Gourd
"Wait!"
Just as Steward Wang turned to leave, Jiang Xu suddenly stopped him.
"Um, a Tier One Middle Grade one will be fine."
A Tier One Upper Grade Magical Artifact, even the worst one, costs three to four hundred Spirit Stones. Jiang Xu couldn’t afford that even if he sold himself.
Meanwhile, a typical Tier One Middle Grade Magical Artifact cost seventy to eighty Spirit Stones, with better ones going for over a hundred.
It was still expensive, but it was within Jiang Xu’s budget.
...
Before long, Steward Wang returned to the reception room.
"Come, Grandmaster Zong, I’ve handpicked a few Magical Artifacts for you. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!"
Seeing Steward Wang puff out his chest and make such a guarantee piqued Jiang Xu’s interest.
Steward Wang first retrieved a large saber from his Storage Bag.
The blade was broad and thick, with a deep silver sheen, as if forged from steel hammered a thousand times. Its edge was razor-sharp, glinting with a cold light that was intimidating to behold.
"This saber is called Crescent Moon. It was forged with Hundred-Forged Refined Iron as the main component and Silver Essence as a supplement. It is incredibly sharp and exceptionally sturdy!"
Jiang Xu nodded without a word.
The meaning was clear: Jiang Xu wasn’t particularly satisfied with this one and wanted to see the next item.
Influenced by Zong Ziqi, Jiang Xu was more interested in swords than sabers.
Steward Wang, seeing Jiang Xu’s lack of reaction, felt a bit awkward and moved on to the next item.
"Take a look at this one!"
In his hands was a well-tailored and magnificent-looking Magic Robe.
"Behold this Celestial Crystal Magic Robe. It’s Tier One Middle Grade, inscribed with four permanent arrays: a Water-Repelling Array, Fireproofing, a Dust-Repelling Array, and Gathering Spirit. The robe also comes with a once-a-day instant-cast Golden Light Spell.
"Most importantly, it looks amazing! With your status, how could you not have a decent Magic Robe? Not having one would be a loss of face!"
Jiang Xu nearly spat out a mouthful of water at him.
’I’m a Junior Cultivator from the lowest rungs of the Outer Sect. If I wear something this conspicuous, am I just asking for trouble because I’m bored? I’m more worried about becoming someone else’s idea of a good time.’
"No, no, show me something else!"
"Ah? Another one?"
Steward Wang was in a bind.
He decided to just take out the last two items and display them.
"These are the last two. If you don’t like them, I’ll go get something else."
Then, Steward Wang pointed to an exquisite, palm-sized small gourd and said:
"This is a Tier One Middle Grade Spiritual Gourd Spiritual Artifact, refined from a Tier One Upper Grade Spiritual Material, the Spirit-Severing Gourd.
"The Artifact Refiner originally intended to create a Tier One Upper Grade Magical Artifact, but the Artifact Refining failed, resulting in this Spirit Gourd being only Tier One Middle Grade.
"The Artifact Refiner’s original design was for the Spirit Gourd to absorb an opponent’s Magic and then release it back at them.
"In other words, a superior Magical Artifact that combines both Defense and offense.
"But after the failure, this Spirit Gourd has only one function: it allows its owner to store Magic inside it ahead of time.
"And there are limitations. It can store a maximum of three types of Magic, with up to three charges of each."
Steward Wang had only brought out the Spirit Gourd to make up the numbers; he had assumed the first two Magical Artifacts would satisfy Jiang Xu.
After quickly introducing the Spirit Gourd, he was about to move on to the next artifact, never imagining Jiang Xu would be interested in such a niche item.
You have to understand, people who buy Magical Artifacts are usually those who lack confidence in their own Magic!
But this Spirit Gourd was only useful for people who were already powerful with Magic, making it utterly niche.
And so, ever since Steward Wang took over this shop, he had been unable to sell this Spirit Gourd.
He pretty much considered it dead stock.
Even when he listed it at the rock-bottom price of seventy Spirit Stones, there were no takers.
But to Steward Wang’s surprise, Jiang Xu acted completely out of character and took the Spirit Gourd right from his hands.
He actually seemed quite interested.
"This Magical Artifact is quite interesting. Steward Wang, what’s the asking price for this Spirit Gourd?"
Steward Wang’s heart leaped with joy. He saw a glimmer of hope for selling it.
"Ah, Grandmaster, you have a truly discerning eye!
"This Magical Artifact is a hot commodity! Several fellow cultivators have already put down deposits, saying they’ll come to pick it up tomorrow morning.
"However, if you want it, as our honored guest, you naturally have the right of first refusal.
"How about this: normally, this Magical Artifact sells for one hundred Spirit Stones. But for someone of your status, we’ll give you a special 12% discount—it’ll be just eighty-eight Spirit Stones!"
"Next item."
"Alright, the next... Wait, Grandmaster Zong, aren’t you going to take another look at this Spirit Gourd?"
"To be honest, my pockets are a bit empty at the moment. Your Spirit Gourd is simply too expensive. I can’t afford it, so I must reluctantly part with my love for it. SIGH!"
Seeing Jiang Xu’s pained and helpless expression, Steward Wang grumbled internally:
’Who would believe you don’t have Spirit Stones? You’re a Talisman Maker who can even create Top Grade Talismans. You must be rolling in Spirit Stones, yet you’re here playing poor with me. Fine, maybe I should lower the price a bit. If I’m really stuck with this thing, my superiors will punish me for it.’
With this in mind, Steward Wang suddenly slammed his hand on the table, startling Jiang Xu, who thought he was about to do something untoward. But then he heard him say:
"I can see you’re an honest man. If you really want it, then I can’t just take away something you love! How about this? I’ll take a small loss. Heck, I’ll even chip in some of my own Spirit Stones for you. I’ll sell it to you for just seventy-five Spirit Stones. This is a once-in-a-lifetime clearance sale!"
After speaking, Steward Wang gave Elder Qian a subtle look.
Elder Qian understood immediately. He instantly paled and grabbed Steward Wang, exclaiming:
"Xiaowang, how can you lower the price by so much? Have you lost your mind? If the higher-ups find out you dropped the price of this Spirit Gourd by this much, they’ll definitely punish you!"
Steward Wang flicked his sleeve and said in a cold voice:
"Hmph, enough talk. My mind is made up. What can I say? Grandmaster Zong and I hit it off from the moment we met, it feels like we should have met sooner!"
"You, you, you... Ugh, I wash my hands of you!"
With that, Elder Qian left in a huff, slamming the door heavily on his way out.
"Grandmaster Zong, please don’t mind Elder Qian. I know he means well, but what can I do when we’re such good brothers!"
With just a few words, he had instantly tried to bridge the gap between them.
Even Jiang Xu had to admire Steward Wang’s performance.
’It seems you live and you learn. My acting skills are still inferior to his. I’ll just have to practice more in the future.’
Jiang Xu said, feigning shame:
"Don’t laugh, Brother Wang, but to make these Talismans, I actually had to borrow some Spirit Stones. If I spend all seventy-five Spirit Stones on this Spirit Gourd, I won’t be able to pay back my debts. Since you’re already helping me out, Brother, why not go all the way and knock off another five Spirit Stones?"
Steward Wang was inwardly shocked. He felt he had met his match, a worthy opponent. This young man’s haggling skills were even better than his own.
He even felt a genuine sense of mutual appreciation for a kindred spirit.
...
「After a fierce, half-hour-long showdown.」
The Spirit Gourd was successfully sold for the price of sixty-nine and a half Spirit Stones.
Jiang Xu himself didn’t even know how they had arrived at that final price.
Why was there even half a stone involved at the end?
After buying the Spirit Gourd, Jiang Xu didn’t purchase any other Magical Artifacts and walked straight out of the reception room.
BAM—
It was completely unexpected.
Jiang Xu slammed right into someone.
It was as if the other person had been waiting right there for Jiang Xu to come out.
