20: I don't sell goods, I sell choices

Three days passed in a flash.

Zhang Xuanyi was still under the old locust tree, only that his tattered stall seemed to possess an even more inexplicable and profound aura than usual.

His eyelids were lowered, but his mind had long since sunk into the azure light screen that only he could see.

The system interface silently refreshed, and a brand new module, "spirit coin Exchange," shimmered with a soft glow, officially unlocked.

This function was simple and crude, yet overwhelmingly powerful.

Firstly, he could use his accumulated spirit coins to permanently upgrade any item on his stall, granting those seemingly insignificant trinkets truly incredible power.

Secondly, and what truly interested Zhang Xuanyi at this moment, was the option to "Deploy Goods to Marked Targets."

By spending spirit coins, he could precisely and accurately send any item from his stall to any person or location he had previously marked with spirit coins.

This had already transcended the scope of a mere stall, resembling more a divine punishment or blessing that ignored space and barriers.

His gaze fell upon the Profound Bird Jade Talisman, which he had repeatedly "played with" using spirit coins.

Yan Jiuzhang, the Chairman of the Under Heaven Society, the man who wanted to crush his future with money.

A cold, sharp curve appeared at the corner of Zhang Xuanyi's mouth.

"Chairman Yan wants to buy out my technology? Alright, then I, as his 'supplier,' will give him some free goods to try first."

With a thought, he skillfully operated the system interface.

Consume 50 spirit coins.

Set deployment.

"Item: photocopy yellow paper (Trial Version x 1)."

"Target: Under Heaven Society Southern Liaison Point."

"Message: 'First order free, delivery to your door.'"

[System Notification: Deployment successful.]

The light screen vanished, and Zhang Xuanyi, as if nothing had happened, pulled out a handful of melon seeds from his pocket and leisurely began to crack them.

Su Qingzhu, standing nearby, watched in stunned silence. She had distinctly felt a faint but extremely pure spatial fluctuation just now.

"You... what did you just do?" she whispered, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Are you selling goods, or are you playing psychological warfare?"

With a "crunch," Zhang Xuanyi spat out a melon seed shell and lazily replied, "It's all the same. The best way to deal with greedy people isn't to be more ruthless than them, but to give them something they desperately want but can never truly control. The more they try to monopolize, the less they can tolerate this 'free truth.'"

A hint of mischief flickered in his eyes; this game had just begun.

That evening, in a heavily guarded courtyard house in the southern suburbs of Jiangcheng.

This was the new southern outpost established by the Under Heaven Society, specifically responsible for handling all matters related to Zhang Xuanyi.

A steward, dressed in black tight-fitting clothes with an arrogant expression, was somewhat impatiently unwrapping a package that had appeared out of thin air on his desk.

The package was small, unsigned, yet it exuded an eerie aura.

Once opened, it contained only an unremarkable yellow paper and a small note.

"Copy any talisman, once only."

The steward sneered, his eyes full of disdain: "Playing tricks, petty parlor games."

Although he found the origin of this item peculiar, as a core member of the Under Heaven Society, he had seen countless strange people and events, and was confident that such a small scene wouldn't faze him.

To verify, and to satisfy a hint of curiosity, he casually pulled out a standard "Swiftness Talisman" from his Pregnant and placed the yellow paper over it.

A faint light flashed, and indeed, the exact cinnabar patterns of the Swiftness Talisman appeared on the yellow paper.

"That's rather interesting," the steward mumbled, a slight curl on his lips. He casually slapped the copied Swiftness Talisman onto his leg and activated the Qi within his body. "I want to see..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the smile on his face abruptly froze!

The expected feeling of lightning speed did not appear. Instead, a violent and chaotic torrent of talisman Qi, like an unbridled wild horse, surged madly upwards from his feet!

"Ah—!"

A piercing scream tore through the night's tranquility.

The steward was struck as if by an invisible sledgehammer. The meridians in his legs felt as if countless red-hot knives were cutting back and forth. In extreme pain, he fell straight backward, his body convulsing, frothing at the mouth, his legs twisted at a grotesque angle, already crippled.

"What's going on!"

The door was kicked open, and a sharp figure rushed in—it was Luo Shisan.

She looked at the fallen steward, groaning in pain, her brows tightly furrowed. Her gaze quickly swept across the desk, settling on the yellow paper used for copying.

She put on special silk gloves and carefully picked up the yellow paper.

From the surface, the paper's material and runes were perfectly fine; one could even say it was a flawless copy.

But when Luo Shisan sent a wisp of pure Qi into it, her expression instantly changed dramatically.

Within the core of the yellow paper's runes, she sensed a faint but incredibly resilient "power of vows."

This power of vows was like a judgment law, cold and impartial—anyone who used this talisman for copying with a utilitarian, greedy, or predatory heart would have the power of the copied talisman backlash upon them a hundredfold!

This was not a technical flaw, but a deliberately imposed rule!

Luo Shisan suddenly looked up,

"I understand... I understand everything!" she murmured, her voice trembling slightly. "This isn't technology, this is a test! Zhang Xuanyi... he's not selling things, he's forcing us... forcing us to use 'true hearts' to exchange for his 'true methods'!"

The next morning, an unexpected guest arrived at the tattered stall under the locust tree.

Wei Zhen arrived quietly, not wearing the conspicuous official robes of the Black Armor Division, nor bringing any attendants. Dressed in plain clothes, he looked like an ordinary scholar.

He didn't look at any of the goods on the stall, but his gaze was fixed on the spirit coin light points slowly flowing across the tattered cloth, as if he could see a glimpse of the future within them.

"The Under Heaven Society has already infiltrated three people into the high ranks of the Black Armor Division," Wei Zhen's voice was very low, carrying a hint of fatigue and gravity. "They are pushing hard for an 'Ability Industrialization Act.'"

Zhang Xuanyi raised his eyelids, a half-smile on his face: "To put it bluntly, they want to nationalize all 'unstable variables' like us, label them with official certification, right?"

"This is more thorough than sealing your stall," Wei Zhen didn't deny it. "Once the bill passes, all your technology will be considered 'public strategic resources.' Either you hand them over, or... you'll be legally 'dealt with.'"

Zhang Xuanyi sneered: "So, Director Wei is here to give me a heads-up to run away?"

"No." Wei Zhen shook his head. He finally looked up, meeting Zhang Xuanyi's eyes. In those eyes, which were usually as still as an ancient well, there was now a hint of struggle and a plea.

"I came to ask you one thing—if I help you, using my power internally to delay the review process of this bill for three months, can you... give me a 'non-backlashing' yellow paper?"

This question made Zhang Xuanyi raise an eyebrow.

"Conditions?"

Wei Zhen took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Let me copy a 'People Protection Talisman.' The children in the southern slum have been frequently harassed by evil spirits recently, and the Black Armor Division's standard talismans are being consumed at a huge rate. I... I want to leave them more protection."

The air seemed to freeze at this moment.

Zhang Xuanyi looked at him, for a long time.

Suddenly, he smiled.

There was no mockery, no calculation in that smile, only a pure hint of approval.

He casually pulled out an ordinary photocopy yellow paper from under the stall and handed it over.

"This one, I won't charge you spirit coins," Zhang Xuanyi's voice was soft. "I'll take a promise from you: don't let those official robes truly become shackles."

Wei Zhen took the yellow paper, his fingertips trembling slightly.

He nodded heavily, without another word, turned and quickly left, his back much straighter than when he arrived.

Late at night, the moon was cool as water.

That familiar, steel-hard figure reappeared before the stall.

Iron Lady.

But this time, she carried no killing intent.

She silently walked to the stall and gently placed a talisman paper, its edges charred and almost unrecognizable, onto the tattered cloth.

"This was the last talisman my master drew before he died," her voice was hoarse, devoid of emotion, yet it seemed to suppress immense sorrow. "He protected the village by himself, blocking an entire team of demonic beasts... In the end, he perished with them."

She looked up, and for the first time, her perpetually frozen eyes showed a flicker of emotion.

"They all said he died terribly. But I want to see... if he smiled in his last moments."

Zhang Xuanyi gazed at her for a moment. The hatred this woman carried was almost crushing her.

He said nothing, but silently took out a green bean, as if it contained stars.

"heavenly eye mung beans," he calmly introduced. "Eat it, and within three hours, you can see the last lingering obsession of any deceased person left in the world."

Iron Lady didn't hesitate. She picked up the mung bean and swallowed it whole.

She closed her eyes, her body trembling slightly.

A moment later, two lines of clear tears silently slid from the corners of her tightly closed eyes.

In that vision, an old man, covered in blood, looked at the safe and sound village behind him amidst the flames, revealing a relieved and contented smile.

After a long while, she slowly opened her eyes. The tears had dried, but the ice in her eyes seemed to have melted.

"He... was smiling."

She said softly, as if confirming it to herself.

"I don't want revenge anymore," she said to Zhang Xuanyi, word by word. "I just want to... know if what he did was worth it."

Zhang Xuanyi looked at her and said softly: "It was worth it. Because you came to ask."

The sacrifice of a person, if no one remembers it, is merely a disappearance.

If someone seeks its meaning, then that sacrifice transforms into immortality.

Iron Lady fell silent.

She looked deeply at Zhang Xuanyi, then silently took out an ancient-looking brass key from her bosom and placed it on the stall.

"Under Heaven Society, Southern Outpost, Qi Vault location."

Having said that, she turned and left with the wind.

This time, her back was no longer cold; instead, it held a lightness of release.

Zhang Xuanyi put away the key, his heart undisturbed.

He spoke faintly to the void: "The next mission, I accept."

The system light screen before him responded with a new prompt.

[Mission Issued: Make an enemy voluntarily return the harm.]

[Mission Progress: 0%]

Zhang Xuanyi slowly looked up, gazing towards the distant Kunlun Mountain, where the Under Heaven Society's headquarters were located.

He murmured to himself, his voice seemingly carried to the horizon by the night wind.

"Yan Jiuzhang, what you owe is not me, but the Dao."

On the tattered stall, the flowing spirit coin light points seemed to converge into a brilliant river of stars at this moment, glowing faintly, as if silently whispering:

True transactions are never about buying and selling, but about—choice.

On the third day after the plane crash fires extinguished, the mountain wind still carried a smell of char.

Zhang Xuanyi squatted in front of his stall, toying with a half-melted piece of plane wreckage.