94: Where did you get so much money, old man?

“Hey, what’s with that expression? Are you here to help me, or to scare away customers?” Old He asked, displeased.

Xiao Shen quickly waved his hand, “No, no, I just… my face was a little itchy, so I moved it a bit.”

He had thought Old He was too busy attracting customers to notice his expression, which turned out to be embarrassing.

“Oh.” Old He didn’t know if he believed him or not, but he didn’t ask again. “Young lady, I’ll take beast crystals of any tier, it’s just that the prices vary. Please take out the beast crystals you want to sell so I can see them.”

“I have this many here.” Ge Yunying took out the beast crystals from her storage bag.

There were ten first-tier beast crystals and four second-tier beast crystals in total.

Old He immediately perked up, no longer sitting in his recliner. He stood up and examined them carefully.

“Hmm, the quality of these beast crystals is decent, but they’re not that rare; they’re all quite common,” Old He said as he inspected them.

Ge Yunying nodded. These were all obtained from hunting in the outer regions. Some were acquired while completing missions; the fierce beast carcasses were submitted, and the beast crystals were kept for herself. They were all beast crystals from common fierce beasts, nothing special.

“These four second-tier beast crystals are one hundred low-grade spirit stones each, for a total of four hundred. As for these ten first-tier beast crystals, they’re fifty low-grade spirit stones each, for a total of five hundred low-grade spirit stones. That adds up to nine hundred in total. If you think the price is fair, I’ll take them.”

Old He quickly calculated the total.

First-tier, second-tier, and even third-tier beast crystals were common in the Guild’s shops, and their prices weren’t high; this was the usual collection price.

However, if they were fourth-tier beast crystals or higher, the price would not simply double.

Because beast crystals from fourth-tier and above were much rarer than those below fourth-tier, their prices were also much higher.

Ge Yunying thought about it and felt it was acceptable, so she agreed, “Alright, I’ll sell all of these.”

“Excellent!” Business was open, and Old He was very happy. He readily took out the spirit stones. “Please take these, and come again next time!”

“Mhm.” Ge Yunying put the spirit stones into her storage bag. Her haul from this trip was considerable; she was taking back a total of one thousand six hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones.

After Ge Yunying left, Old He put away the beast crystals and sat back in his recliner.

At this moment, Xiao Shen couldn't help but ask, “Old He, I see you collect beast crystals but never sell them. Do you use them all for medicine?”

Old He removed the palm-leaf fan from his face, looked at Xiao Shen, and said, “Kids shouldn’t always ask so many questions. You don’t understand the ways of the world.”

Xiao Shen: “…”

“Alright, I don’t understand. But Old He, where do you get so many spirit stones to collect beast crystals?”

He had only ever seen Old He spend spirit stones to collect beast crystals, but he had never seen him earn any money.

Even when Old He treated his neighbors, he rarely charged money; people could pay whatever they felt was appropriate for the consultation.

However, generally, no one could afford much in consultation fees. Some even directly paid with vegetables from their own gardens or a few eggs, and Old He accepted everything without complaint.

Moreover, he was never seen taking missions at the Mission Hall, and he rarely went into the forest.

Old He had to pay rent to the Mall for his stall here, and Xiao Shen only ever saw money going out from him, never coming back in.

So, how had Old He been living all these years?

Relying on his neighbors’ charity? Impossible; the neighbors also had no money and lived hard lives.

Xiao Shen was somewhat baffled and didn’t know what to make of it. When he asked Old He, he refused to say, so he could only continue to ponder the question.

“You shouldn’t ask people about their savings, you know? Otherwise, you might get hit,” Old He said, lightly tapping Xiao Shen’s head with the palm-leaf fan in his hand.

“Ow.” Xiao Shen quickly covered his head. “I was just asking! Look at you, such an old man, still bullying a kid like me.”

“You…” Old He fumed for a long time before finally saying, “Forget it, I won’t argue with a kid like you.”

Xiao Shen smiled slyly, “You can’t win against me, can you?”

Old He simply turned his head away, ignoring him.

Xiao Shen finally gave in, “Alright, alright, I won’t ask anymore. Everyone has secrets, even old men.”

Old He: “Hmm, that’s right… Wait, who are you calling an old man! Show some respect.”

...The next day.

Outside the Bastion, at the Guild.

“Cousin, wait, why are you running so fast?”

Su Duo chased after Zhuang Sanming, panting.

Zhuang Sanming was tall and took large strides, and he was already eager to go to the Mission Hall to accept a mission, so he moved a bit faster.

“It’s not that I’m fast, it’s that you’re too slow.” Zhuang Sanming stopped and waited for Su Duo for a moment.

Su Duo finally caught up to him, waved her hand, and said, “Even if we’re going to take a mission, there’s no need to be so rushed, is there?”

Zhuang Sanming raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you enjoy making new friends every day? How come this time, when Ximen Chuifeng and I agreed to take a group mission together, you’re dragging your feet?”

Group missions could only be accepted by three or more people. Ximen Chuifeng was also tempted by that third-grade wood-attribute cultivation technique, which was why he came out to take missions, all to gather the money as quickly as possible.

After all, that was twenty thousand spirit stones!

If they didn't hurry and take missions, how could they earn so many spirit stones?

“I just hit the snooze button a few times…” Su Duo smiled sheepishly.

“Hit the snooze button a few times? It’s already noon!” Zhuang Sanming rolled his eyes.

Su Duo also knew it was her fault, so she laughed it off, “Oh, let’s hurry up. We’re almost at the Mission Hall. If you don’t go, I’ll go first!”

With that, she immediately scurried away from her spot.

Zhuang Sanming: “…”

What to do with a sister who's as swift as a startled rabbit?

What else could he do? Spoil her, of course!

Upon arriving at the Mission Hall, Ximen Chuifeng was indeed already waiting for them.

“Brother Ximen!” Su Duo waved, signaling Ximen Chuifeng to look their way.

Ximen Chuifeng saw them at once. “Come quickly and choose a mission. There are quite a few group missions.”

“Sorry, we’re late.” Zhuang Sanming apologized first.

Ximen Chuifeng raised an eyebrow. Yesterday, when Zhuang Sanming threatened him, he hadn't apologized.

“It’s fine, I just arrived too,” Ximen Chuifeng said.

To see through something but not say it was the self-cultivation of an information broker.

The three of them chose a mission together. Group missions were a bit more difficult than solo ones, and correspondingly, the rewards were also higher.

They ultimately chose a mission to cooperatively kill a third-tier Demonic Chicken and bring back at least three Demonic Chicken eggs. They could dispose of the beast crystal themselves, but the Demonic Chicken's carcass and eggs had to be brought back for submission.

“Let’s go, off to the forest.”