35: Chapter 35: A teasing remark from Qian Renxue: Are you buying whale glue to nourish your girlfriend?

"This... this young lady... what is... this object?"

Looking at what she handed over, the shopkeeper's voice was dry, filled with extreme disbelief, and he asked: "Is this... some kind of new... spirit tool?"

He truly couldn't connect this absurdly beautiful card with heavy gold coins.

Wang Donger's hand froze in mid-air, and the expression on her face instantly stiffened.

She blinked her eyes, seemingly not having reacted yet.

Lu Jing's heart skipped a beat, and he secretly thought, "Oh no."

He immediately realized the problem—the generation gap! He had only been focused on haggling and the Whale Glue itself, ignoring the most fundamental issue: payment! The spirit tool gold card that was widely circulated ten thousand years later was, in this era, simply a useless card!

In fact, gold cards and purple-gold cards already existed at this time, just not the kind that Wang Donger had brought out.

"Young lady... are you joking?"

The shopkeeper's expression gradually turned from confusion to something unpleasant, and his tone carried a hint of suspicion as he asked: "Fifty thousand gold coins, and you want to use this... card?"

He subconsciously glanced in the direction of the guards in the shop.

Wang Donger finally understood, and her pretty face flushed red instantly.

She looked down at the card in her hand, which represented massive wealth ten thousand years later but now looked incredibly ridiculous, and a wave of immense embarrassment and absurdity swept over her.

As the dignified young Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect, the pride of heaven ten thousand years later, she had actually lost face ten thousand years ago because of "having no money"!

"I..." Wang Donger opened her mouth, wanting to say that she had gold coins, but in the space spirit tool she carried, besides this gold card, there were only a small amount of emergency gold coins and some cultivation resources, which were far from enough to reach the astronomical figure of fifty thousand.

She did indeed have some gold coins in her space spirit tool, but they were minted ten thousand years later; their style, weight, and markings were completely different from those of ten thousand years ago, and taking them out would likely be even harder to explain.

The atmosphere at this moment instantly became incredibly awkward.

The shopkeeper's eyes turned from confusion to vigilance, even carrying a hint of scrutiny as if looking at a con artist.

Some customers nearby who had noticed the commotion here also cast curious glances.

Lu Jing reacted extremely quickly. He stepped forward, unobtrusively pressed down Wang Donger's hand holding the gold card, and said to the displeased shopkeeper: "Boss, I am truly sorry. My sister was in a hurry and took the wrong thing. We definitely want this Whale Glue, fifty thousand gold coins, not a penny less. Please give us a moment, we will go back to get the money."

His voice was steady and powerful, his gaze open and honest, instantly suppressing the suspicion of being a "con artist."

The shopkeeper looked at the young boy before him who, despite his age, had an extraordinary bearing and earnest words, and then looked at the young girl beside him who was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole, yet whose appearance and temperament definitely didn't look like a con artist. His expression softened slightly, though he still remained suspicious.

"You two... please don't toy with me. This Whale Glue is of extraordinary value, and the price we just agreed upon..."

"Rest assured, Boss, we will be back very soon." Lu Jing guaranteed again, his tone firm and decisive.

He pulled up Wang Donger, who was still in a state of embarrassment and confusion, and quickly turned to leave Wanbao Pavilion.

Behind them, they could faintly hear the shopkeeper whispering instructions to his assistant to "keep a close eye on those two pieces of Whale Glue."

Walking out of the shop, the sunlight was somewhat dazzling. Wang Donger seemed to have only just recovered from the huge blow. She looked at Lu Jing, her pink-blue eyes misting over with tears, feeling both aggrieved and annoyed: "I... I forgot... they don't recognize this card... I..."

As she spoke, she habitually reached for her space spirit tool again, saying: "I still have some gold coins, but..."

"It's useless, Sister Donger."

Lu Jing shook his head gently, stopping her actions, and explained: "The style and purity of currency ten thousand years later and now might not be the same. Taking them out would be even more troublesome. A large shop like Wanbao Pavilion has a knowledgeable shopkeeper; if you bring out gold coins with strange styles, he will be even more suspicious that they are counterfeit or something else."

He pulled Wang Donger and walked quickly toward the Elder Hall, whispering as they walked: "The only way now is to go back and find Qian Renxue. Only she can immediately produce fifty thousand gold coins, and they will be currency recognized by the Spirit Hall."

Wang Donger bit her lower lip and nodded; she also understood that this was the only way.

But thinking of the embarrassment just now, and the fact that she had to ask Qian Renxue to borrow money, she felt a wave of stifling frustration in her heart.

The two hurried along, unable to pay attention to the street scene, and returned to the Elder Hall as quickly as possible.

When the two appeared before Qian Renxue again, she was just preparing to leave. Seeing the two return, their expressions carrying a trace of embarrassment and urgency, especially the blush that hadn't completely faded from Wang Donger's face and her slight grievance, a flash of understanding crossed Qian Renxue's eyes, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Why are you back so soon? Is strolling around Spirit City boring?" she asked intentionally, her tone carrying a hint of playfulness.

Lu Jing took a deep breath and went straight to the point without any hesitation: "Sister Xue, I'm truly sorry, we ran into a bit of trouble and wanted to borrow some money from you."

"Borrow money?" Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow, seemingly a bit surprised by this reason.

Lu Jing briefly explained the situation, emphasizing that they had taken a liking to two pieces of ten-thousand-year Whale Glue at Wanbao Pavilion and had agreed on a price of fifty thousand gold coins, but the other party couldn't recognize Wang Donger's gold card, and they didn't have enough gold coins on them, nor did they have ones of the correct style.

"Fifty thousand gold coins?" Qian Renxue was slightly moved; this was not a small sum.

Her gaze swept over Wang Donger, and seeing her nod slightly in confirmation, her eyes became even more profound.

If she wasn't mistaken, this young girl should be from an aristocratic family and not from the same background as Lu Jing; they had just met due to some circumstance.

She didn't ask further, just pondered for a moment, then took out a purple-gold card from her person and said with a smile: "This is a money card issued by the Spirit Hall's bank. You can use this for future purchases."

Although these fifty thousand gold coins were nothing to her, she still didn't quite understand spending them on Whale Glue.

"Thank you, Sister Xue." Lu Jing took it.

Just as Lu Jing was preparing to leave with Wang Donger, Qian Renxue suddenly spoke, her tone carrying a hint of inquiry as she asked: "Ten-thousand-year Whale Glue... is indeed a good thing. However, Xiao Jing, what are you buying this for? Could it be for the future, to nourish your girlfriend's body, and to make it easier to do that kind of thing?"

Her gaze glanced meaningfully at the stunningly elegant Wang Donger beside him, her tone carrying a hint of teasing, but also implying a probe.

She didn't believe that these two were just out for shopping; after all, under normal circumstances, basically no one was willing to buy ten-thousand-year-level Whale Glue, even if used for brewing medicine and enhancing that aspect, so there must be some other reason, just one she didn't know about.