56: Switching the goods on the spot, seeing through the trick

Li Yinglong was ultimately experienced in the Jianghu, and his bargaining tactic actually worked.

When the short,fat Cultivator saw the bottle of Venomous Crocodile Essence Blood, his small eyes immediately lit up, but he quickly hid it, feigning contemplation and exchanging a glance with the tall, thin Cultivator beside him.

The tall, thin Cultivator still had a stern face and said stiffly:

"Although these things are not bad, after conversion, they are worth at most two hundred Spirit Stones! Together with that girl's Spirit Stones, there's still a hundred short!"

The short, stout Cultivator immediately interjected, looking troubled:

"That's right, Old Sir, your items are good, but they are not as easy to sell as Spirit Stones. Our brothers are in a hurry to travel, what do you think about this..."

Li Yinglong was clear-minded; the other party was not going to give up without seeing a rabbit, sticking to their price bottom line, while constantly emphasizing "in a hurry to travel" to exert psychological pressure.

He was not anxious; instead, he put the items back and said unhurriedly:

"Since Fellow Daoist is in a hurry to travel, then it's even more important to complete the transaction quickly. The child's two hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, plus my Materials, are already worth far more than five hundred. If Fellow Daoist is sincere about the transaction, then be straightforward. If you feel you're losing out..."

He changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over the two, his voice rising a few notches:

"When this old man just came over, I seemed to hear the shopkeeper of the 'Hundred Herb Pavilion' over there asking if anyone had any ice-elemental spiritual Materials for sale recently. His family is missing a main ingredient to refine 'Ice Heart Pills'. Perhaps he would be more interested in this ice soul spirit ginseng, and the price might be fairer."

"Two Fellow Daoists, why not go over there and ask?"

As soon as these words came out, the short, stout Cultivator's face changed slightly.

The tall, thin Cultivator's eyes also sharpened a bit.

"Old Sir is joking!"

The short, stout Cultivator gave two dry laughs:

"The Hundred Herb Pavilion is notoriously ruthless when it comes to suppressing prices for goods... Forget it, forget it, seeing that you are also a straightforward person, and these two young friends are indeed in urgent need, my brothers will take a loss and make a friend! Just as you said, two hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, plus your bottle of Venomous Crocodile Essence Blood and two pieces of Blazing Heart Copper! How about it? This is already the bottom price!"

He looked extremely pained, as if he had made a huge sacrifice.

Yan Gang and Aya, upon hearing this, instantly showed immense surprise and gratitude on their faces, almost ready to nod in agreement immediately.

However, Li Yinglong's sneer grew even colder in his heart.

There was no 'Hundred Herb Pavilion' shopkeeper seeking spiritual Materials; he was merely bluffing.

The more elaborate the other party's act, the more it revealed their guilt.

From insisting on five hundred Spirit Stones to actively lowering the price to Spirit Stones plus specific items, the extent and rhythm of this concession were perfectly controlled, appearing reluctantly made yet precisely hitting the buyer's psychological expectation. Without being experienced in this Dao, such precision would be impossible.

However, he was too lazy to continue arguing with the other party; completing the transaction was enough. He wasn't stingy with those Materials; he just didn't want to make it too easy for the other party.

However, just as Li Yinglong was about to complete the transaction, the corner of his eye sharply caught an incongruous detail.

The short, thin Cultivator, who had always played the bad cop and been taciturn, at the moment the short, stout Cultivator shouted "bottom price," his left pinky finger, which was holding the cold jade box, twitched almost imperceptibly.

At the same time, his seemingly indifferent gaze quickly met the short, stout Cultivator's, and what flashed in his eyes was not the annoyance of a losing sale, but a look of... a plan succeeding?

"Hmm? Are these two fellows still up to something?"

In a flash of lightning, Li Yinglong's mind replayed all the details from earlier like thunder and lightning:

The skilled cooperation of the two, one singing and the other harmonizing, their insistence on Spirit Stones and specific items, especially this seemingly significant concession in price that was actually precisely calculated... "No!"

A thought suddenly became clear:

These two are definitely not raising prices on a whim, but are a well-coordinated pair of old hands specializing in precisely fleecing buyers who urgently need certain spiritual Materials and appear to be "easy to manipulate"!

They might not be Loose Cultivators who urgently need to sell and travel, but rather experts who have been lurking here for a long time!

This ice soul spirit ginseng... Li Yinglong's hand, which had just reached for his Storage Pouch to take out Spirit Stones, suddenly froze in mid-air.

He showed no anger on his face, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the two tall and short Cultivators, finally resting on the cold jade box.

"Transactions are about integrity."

His voice was steady as he slowly began:

"Aya, although you've already examined it, this item concerns the lives of your kin, and it's a serious matter. Why don't you examine it carefully again to ensure absolute certainty? Little Wan, you help Aya examine it together."

As soon as these words were uttered, Yan Gang and Aya had not yet reacted, but the short, stout Cultivator's face stiffened for a moment, then his tone changed, taking on a feigned helpless urgency:

"Oh, Old Sir, you're too cautious! Didn't this young lady just see it clearly? A fifty-year-old ice soul spirit ginseng, genuine beyond doubt! Our brothers are still in a hurry to travel, what do you think of this..."

The tall, thin Cultivator snorted even colder, his tone harsh:

"Examining it repeatedly, do you not trust my brothers? If you want to buy, then buy; if not, then stop! Don't dawdle here!"

Saying that, he even made a gesture to close the cold jade box.

The other party's overly eager reaction was like cold water dripping into hot oil, instantly igniting Li Yinglong's suspicion.

If one has nothing to hide, why fear another inspection?

Li Yinglong laughed heartily, but there was no warmth in his laughter:

"Fellow Daoist, why get angry? It's common sense to inspect a large item once more. After all... a few hundred Spirit Stones is not a small sum."

He specifically emphasized "a few hundred Spirit Stones."

At the same time, his right hand seemingly casually brushed his waist, and in his palm, there was already an egg-sized, peculiar stone glowing with a faint fluorescence.

He weighed the stone in his palm, his gaze piercing directly at the two, and his voice instantly turned cold:

"Moreover, this old man has a habit: when traveling outside, I like to use this 'shadow stone' to record some local customs, just for remembrance. Just now... from the two Fellow Daoists' eloquent speeches to this Fellow Daoist's..."

He turned his gaze to the tall, thin Cultivator, pausing meaningfully:

"...that exquisitely subtle twitch of spiritual Qi at the fingertip, every detail, has been recorded, crystal clear."

"You two,"

His tone was chilling:

"You say, if this old man were to take this shadow stone right now and go to the Blood Gu Village's guard team to seek justice, and then slightly spread these 'interesting events' and your esteemed faces through the Hundred Scholars Sect... I wonder if the two Fellow Daoists will still find it convenient to 'travel' and do business in this Southern Border region in the future?"

"shadow stone?!"

The three words exploded like thunder in the ears of the tall and short Cultivators!

Their faces instantly turned ashen, and cold sweat immediately beaded on their foreheads!

They had calculated everything, but never in their wildest dreams did they expect that this seemingly ordinary old man would be so meticulous and ruthless!

During the transaction, he had secretly activated such a device for recording images!

They were indeed habitual offenders who roamed various places, using this trick of singing and harmonizing and switching items at the last minute to swindle countless Cultivators who were eager to buy goods.

Each time they succeeded, they would quickly flee far away, never failing.

But they never expected that today they would capsize in a ditch, caught red-handed!

This was Blood Gu Village! This was the territory of the Hundred Clans of the Southern Border!

These two young children in front of them were clearly people from the Hundred Clans of the Southern Border. Although there were internal disputes within the Hundred Clans of the Southern Border, they were extremely cohesive and protective of their own externally.

If the matter truly came to light, with conclusive evidence, the two of them, let alone continuing to deceive, would probably be immediately apprehended by the enraged village guards. The best outcome would be to have their cultivation crippled and be thrown out of the village. A greater probability was that they would be directly thrown into the horrifying Ten Thousand Gu Poison Pool, refined until no bones remained!

Thinking of that terrifying consequence, both of them felt their legs go weak. Where was even a hint of their previous arrogance and impatience?

The short, stout Cultivator reacted extremely quickly, his face instantly plastered with a fawning smile uglier than crying, repeatedly bowing:

"Mis... Misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! Old Sir! Fellow Daoist! Please calm down, please calm down! We... we absolutely meant no harm! Absolutely no harm!"

As he spoke, he elbowed the tall, thin Cultivator beside him, who was still dazed.

The tall, thin Cultivator also came to his senses, hastily forcing out a stiff smile, his voice dry:

"Yes... Yes indeed! A misunderstanding! Fellow Daoist... Fellow Daoist is truly... truly meticulous, we admire... admire..."

The short, stout Cultivator wiped his cold sweat and said urgently:

"Fellow Daoist, you see... this... this is truly... Alas! It's our brothers' fault for not knowing how to speak, offending you, Old Sir! How about this, how about this? When traveling outside, everyone is a friend! This ice soul spirit ginseng, we... we sincerely want to make friends with you! And... and we'll concede another fifty Spirit Stones! No! A hundred Spirit Stones! Only one hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, plus your bottle of precious blood and two pieces of spiritual ore, and you can take this ginseng immediately! Consider it our brothers apologizing to Old Sir and these two young friends! How about it?"

His speech was extremely fast, and his posture was extremely low, almost pleading.

Li Yinglong watched their ugly transformation from arrogance to deference with a cold sneer in his heart; his goal had been achieved.

His original intention was not to push them to a dead end and forge a mortal enmity.

Traveling the Jianghu is not all about fighting and killing; sometimes deterrence is far more effective than tearing off all pretense.

His expression softened slightly, but still carried scrutiny:

"Oh? So, you two are sincere about the transaction?"

"Sincere! Absolutely sincere!"

The two nodded like pounding garlic.

"Aya, Little Wan, go and look carefully again, confirm there are no issues."

Only then did Li Yinglong signal to Aya and Lin Xiaowan behind him, who were already staring blankly.

The two girls then awoke as if from a dream, quickly stepped forward, carefully took the cold jade box from the other party's hands, and meticulously examined it inside and out several times. Aya even used her clan's secret technique to sense it, finally confirming there were no issues, and nodded heavily to Li Yinglong:

"Old Sir, no problem, it's genuine, and the medicinal properties are intact!"

"Mm."

Only then did Li Yinglong nod slightly, no longer speaking, and handed over the pouch containing the Spirit Stones and spiritual Materials.

The short, stout Cultivator almost snatched it, not daring to look at it much, haphazardly stuffing it into his bosom, and repeatedly said:

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist! Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for your generosity! My brothers and I will leave now! We'll leave now!"

Having said that, he and the tall, thin Cultivator, as if granted a great pardon, didn't even bother to pack up their stall. They turned and pushed through the crowd, scurrying away in a panic, disappearing into the bustling crowd in the blink of an eye, as if afraid Li Yinglong would change his mind.

The transaction was finally completed, and it even saved a hundred Spirit Stones.