34: Chapter 34: The Awkward Situation Due to Currency Incompatibility

Crossing the threshold, the scene before them opened up. The interior space was vast, divided into several orderly sections. The weapon area, armor area, material area, medicinal herb area, spirit tool area... the dazzling array of goods was dizzying. Clerks in uniform attire moved between them, greeting guests who were luxuriously dressed or possessed extraordinary auras.

Lu Jing had a clear goal and pulled Wang Donger straight towards the counter at the deepest part of the medicinal herb area. The scent of herbs was most concentrated here, and the counter was lined with various jade boxes and wooden caskets containing rare medicinal herbs, clearly of high value. A middle-aged shopkeeper in a neat silk shirt with a shrewd face was checking an account book.

"Boss, do you have whale glue?" Lu Jing asked, his voice not loud, but it reached the shopkeeper's ears clearly.

The middle-aged shopkeeper looked up at the sound, a professional smile in his eyes, but when his gaze touched Lu Jing's clearly youthful face, a flicker of imperceptible surprise flashed through them.

And when his gaze fell upon Wang Donger, who stood gracefully beside Lu Jing with peerless beauty and temperament, that trace of surprise instantly turned into amazement and deep curiosity. This pair—the child was too young, but the young girl was so beautiful she didn't seem mortal, and judging by her clothing and temperament, she was certainly not from an ordinary family.

The shopkeeper was a businessman after all, and he quickly reined in his emotions, his smile becoming even more enthusiastic: "Yes, yes, yes! Are the young master and young miss looking for whale glue? Our shop certainly has some fine quality stock!"

As he spoke, he subtly sized the two of them up, seemingly evaluating their purchasing power and true intentions. After all, while whale glue was good, it was expensive and mainly used for medicine refining and that aspect, so it was normal to have such thoughts.

"We want the best, the oldest." Lu Jing added, his tone flat but carrying an unquestionable certainty.

"The best?" The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, his smile unchanged, but his inner mutterings increased.

He asked tentatively: "Is the young master purchasing this for an elder in your family?" He really couldn't think of any other reason a child would want top-tier whale glue. Could it be for use with this beautiful girl beside him who clearly came from an extraordinary background? But wouldn't that be a bit exaggerated?

"Why ask so many questions?" Wang Donger was slightly displeased, her delicate brows furrowing. She didn't like the way he was prying, especially with the disdain for Lu Jing's age, and said: "If you have it, bring it out for us to see. If not, we'll go to another shop."

The shopkeeper was startled by her cold, haughty tone and immediately put away his petty thoughts. He could tell this young girl was not just a pretty face; that noble air in her bones couldn't be faked.

He hurriedly apologized with a smile: "Young miss, please calm your anger. It's not that I'm being nosy, it's just... the price of the best whale glue is indeed high, and I was just afraid the two of you would be disappointed after seeing the price. Since you both want the best, please wait a moment; I will go fetch it now."

After saying this, the shopkeeper turned around and carefully opened a hidden compartment on the cabinet behind him that had a special seal attached. The compartment looked ordinary, but it was actually guarded by faint fluctuations of Soul Power. He cautiously took out two square boxes carved from deep purple sandalwood. The wood was warm and moist, with fine grain, emitting a faint, exotic fragrance—it was clear at a glance that these were not ordinary items.

He placed the two wooden boxes solemnly on the counter, then gently opened the lids, as if revealing a rare treasure.

These two pieces of whale glue displayed an almost transparent amber color, with golden liquid seemingly flowing slowly inside, containing a halo with no impurities at all. The glue itself emitted a slight, warm heat, and the surrounding space seemed to have a subtle distortion due to the immense life energy it contained. A majestic aura from the deep sea, originating from an ancient giant beast, faintly permeated the air, making one's heart tremble slightly.

"Hiss..." Wang Donger couldn't help but gasp, her beautiful eyes filled with shock. She came from the Clear Sky Sect and had seen plenty of good things, but ten-thousand-year whale glue this pure and rich in energy was extremely rare even ten thousand years later!

Things are precious when they are rare; whale glue of this quality would likely be astronomical in price ten thousand years later, and simply impossible to find even with money!

"Young master, young miss, please take a look," the shopkeeper's voice held a trace of pride and reverence as he explained: "These two pieces are the treasures at the very bottom of our Wanbao Pavilion's collection. They were taken from a ten-thousand-year-level Deep Sea Demon Whale! After being refined by top-level pharmacists using secret methods, all impurities have been removed, making the medicinal power gentle yet majestic—a supreme delicacy! I'm afraid you won't find a third piece in all of Spirit City."

He paused and announced an astonishing figure: "Thirty thousand gold coins each."

"Thirty thousand?!" Wang Donger exclaimed instinctively. Although she was mentally prepared, hearing this price with her own ears still made her heart jump. If this price were placed ten thousand years later, let alone buying whale glue of this level, it would be good to even buy a thousand-year one of the same quality.

"Boss," Lu Jing tapped the counter lightly with his finger, his gaze fixed on the two tempting pieces of whale glue, his tone calm and waveless: "The items are good, but thirty thousand is too expensive."

The smile on the shopkeeper's face stiffened slightly: "Young master, this is ten-thousand-year Deep Sea Demon Whale glue! It is absolutely worth this price! You can go and ask around..."

"I know it's precious," Lu Jing interrupted him, looking at the shopkeeper with sharp eyes: "But no matter how precious something is, it's only valuable if there is demand. While whale glue is good, its uses are ultimately limited, and how many people in the entire Douluo Continent can afford this price? Boss, how long has this 'bottom-of-the-box' treasure been sitting there? Twenty thousand, and I'll take both."

"Twenty thousand?!" The shopkeeper's eyes nearly popped out, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, young master, you are cutting the price too ruthlessly! This is ten-thousand-year Deep Sea Demon Whale glue, not Chinese cabbage! How about this, if you are sincere, eighty thousand for both, that's the lowest I can go!"

"Fifty thousand." Lu Jing did not change his expression, directly stating his psychological price point in a firm, decisive tone, reminding him: "Boss, business is all about circulation. Can this whale glue reproduce or lay eggs while in your hands? If you don't sell it to us today, we will turn around and leave. This treasure of yours will have to continue 'sitting at the bottom of the box' in the hidden compartment—how long will you keep it? Who knows, one day the medicinal power might dissipate, and it will become worthless. Fifty thousand, cash on delivery, how about it?"

His speaking speed was not fast, but every sentence hit the nail on the head, pointing directly to the pain points of top-tier luxury goods like whale glue—slow turnover and capital occupation. That confident and experienced bargaining posture didn't look like a child at all; it looked more like a shrewd veteran who had been in the business world for a long time, leaving Wang Donger beside him dumbfounded.

The shopkeeper's face turned from green to white, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead. He admitted that what Lu Jing said made sense. These two pieces of whale glue were indeed acquired by chance years ago from a powerful spirit hunting group in the deep sea; the price was extremely high, but few had ever shown interest, let alone buying two at once. If he kept holding onto them and the medicinal power really dissipated, the loss would be even greater.

He looked at Lu Jing's unquestionable gaze, then looked at the stunningly beautiful young girl beside him who, despite being surprised by Lu Jing's bargaining method, clearly wasn't short on money and was waiting to pay. He gritted his teeth and said, as if cutting off a piece of his own flesh: "This... young master, you are really... fine, fine! I'll treat today as making a sale and building a good connection! Fifty thousand it is! Take both pieces!" As he said this, he quickly closed the wooden boxes, as if afraid Lu Jing would go back on his word.

"Straightforward!" A smile finally appeared on Lu Jing's face.

Seeing this, while Wang Donger admired Lu Jing, she also acted immediately. She took out a card from an exquisite spatial spirit tool at her waist. The card was brilliant all over, with fine diamonds embedded along the edges. The card itself shimmered with a gentle luster of Soul Power, and on the front, the emblem of the Clear Sky Hammer and the logo of the Continental United Bank were etched with extremely complex and fine craftsmanship—this was a symbol of status and wealth ten thousand years later.

"Here, fifty thousand." Wang Donger handed the card to the shopkeeper, her movements natural and fluid.

The smile on the shopkeeper's face froze completely the moment he saw this card. The muscles on his face twitched, his eyes widened, and he was filled with extreme bewilderment and confusion.

He stared fixedly at the card he had never seen before—with its distinct design style, strange material, and faint aura of Soul Power—as if he were looking at something from another world.