Chapter 29: Preparations

  "I was ambushed twice and nearly lost my life after purchasing several hundred pieces of spiritual stones and elixirs from your store. Is this how the Gathering Treasures Pavilion keeps secrets for its customers? Or are you intentionally colluding with those despicable cultivators to seek personal gain?" Shi Chuan said coldly, looking at the shop assistant.

  "What?!" Gong Yuanlin's face changed greatly. In the cultivation world, robbery was a common occurrence, and there were many despicable cultivators who colluded with black markets, but a large shop like Jibao Hall would never do such things. After all, its reputation of hundreds of years could be ruined in an instant because of a small matter.

  Although Jibaozhai's rules did not allow such things to happen, it was inevitable that the small servants in the store would be bribed by people and do things that would make the cultivators ashamed.

  If Shiina were to spread this matter out, who would still dare come to Jūbō to buy things?

  "Is this really true?" Gong Yuanlin stared at the shopkeeper with a piercing gaze.

  The young shop assistant was trembling with fear, from the moment he saw Ishikawa, he had a bad premonition. "N-no... it wasn't me who told them." The shop assistant stuttered.

  Looking at the appearance of this shopkeeper, Kong Yuanlin has already understood more than half. It must be this shopkeeper who leaked Ishikawa's secret.

  Gong Yuanlin struck out a spell, and soon two Qi-refining stage 2nd layer young men walked in.

  "Take him away from me, abolish his cultivation, and drive him out of Xiuzhen Town. If I see him again, he will be doomed." Kuang Yuanlin said angrily.

  Before long, the sound of the little servant's wailing and pleading for mercy came from outside the door.

  "Have a sip of tea, Brother Dao, to calm down. This shopkeeper still has some connections, so I spared his life; otherwise, I would have killed him on the spot to apologize to you." Gong Yuanlin bowed his hands respectfully and said to Shi Chuan.

  Ishikawa's expression didn't change as he said, "Gong Daoyou is indeed fair in meting out rewards and punishments. This matter was handled fairly, but for me, the victim, it doesn't seem to have much significance. Even if this little scoundrel died, it can't erase the sneak attack I suffered..."

  Gong Yuanlin naturally knew the importance of this matter, which was related to the reputation of Jibao Pawnshop for hundreds of years.

  "Is that what you're saying? Alright, I'll give you a discount. Only when you come to the store, all dan medicines below the Qi Refining stage will be 10% off. How about it?" Guan Yuanlin secretly calculated in his heart that even if Shi Chuan bought 1,000 pieces of spiritual stone worth of dan medicine, he would only lose over a hundred pieces of spiritual stone in profit. The profit margin for dan medicines was around 20%, so Jibao Zhai still had something to gain from it.

  Furthermore, a cultivator at the sixth layer of Qi Refining would not possibly need a thousand pieces of spirit stones for a single elixir.

  "Kong Dao, you're really a businessman, thinking of doing business at this time!" Ishikawa said with some displeasure: "I've been ambushed twice, can I just get a 10% discount? I'm not short on spirit stones, it's just that I swallowed my pride! If Kong Dao doesn't have any sincerity, then I'll take my leave!"

  Ishikawa stood up and pretended to leave.

  "Wait... fellow Daoist, slow down!" Hong Yuanlin's heart couldn't help but worry, if this matter were to be spread out, he wouldn't be able to run the shop anymore.

  "To show my sincerity, no matter how many elixirs you buy today, I'll give you an 80% discount on all of them. This is already the lowest limit for me. What do you think, fellow Daoist?"

  Although Ishikawa's expression didn't change, he was secretly delighted: "Wasn't all this chit-chat with the shopkeeper just for this sentence?"

  "Since the shopkeeper has said so, I don't think it's good to mention any other requests." Ishikawa took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Gong Yuanlin: "Gong Dao friend, this is the dan medicine I want to purchase. Would you mind helping me get it?"

  "I'll go find someone right away." Gong Yuanlin secretly let out a sigh of relief, this matter was finally settled, although he had lost a lot of spirit stones, but resolving the matter satisfactorily was worth it.

  Gong Yuanlin's face wore a faint smile as he slowly opened the list given by Ishikawa, but his expression suddenly changed drastically, as if he had been stimulated by something. It wasn't until after a long while that he came to his senses.

  Hong Yuanlin looked at the list again and asked in a low voice: "Fellow Taoist, are all the medicinal herbs on this list what you want to purchase?"

  "What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Ishikawa tried his best to hold back his laughter.

  "No... nothing's wrong." Gong Yuanlin muttered the names of the medicinal pills on the list: Ju Yuan Dan ten bottles, Ning Ling Dan ten bottles, Yuan Qi fifteen bottles...

  "A total of 10,258 spirit stones." Gong Yuanlin was indeed a businessman, and in an instant, he had already calculated the total price.

  The dan medicine purchased by Ishikawa can last for a year's worth of consumption for a small sect, and it is also half of the current storage of Jibaozhai.

  If they are all sold at a discount of 20%, it will be difficult to replenish so many elixirs in a short period of time. If these elixirs fall into the hands of other shops, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  Not mentioning the problem of Dan medicine reserve, selling such a large amount of Dan medicine at 20% off is still the first time for Jibao Pavilion in Xiuzhen Town's branch.

  From a businessman's point of view, anything unprofitable is a losing deal.

  Gong Yuanlin wouldn't be unaware of this principle. However, he is now like a mute eating bitter melon, with grievances that cannot be expressed.

  Ishikawa casually tossed over a bulging storage bag and said lightly, "Gong Daoyou, take stock of the spirit stones and see if there's enough."

  Gong Yuanlin took over the storage bag with a suspicious expression, and his heart immediately showed surprise. He had originally hoped that Ishikawa wouldn't be able to produce such a large amount of spiritual stones, but unexpectedly, Ishikawa really did bring them out.

  Now, Kong Yuanlin has no choice but to sell.

  Although this is a big business, it is indeed a business that does not make a single penny. Moreover, it has a great impact on the entire store's reserves.

  Gong Yuanlin looked at Ishikawa with a pained expression as he carefully packed bottle after bottle of medicine into his storage bag, still chatting with him with a smile on his face. In his heart, however, he was secretly calculating how to make up for this loss.

  It's not something that can be made up for in just a few months with such a huge loss of profit.

  "Boss, business is really good today, shouldn't you give us a red envelope?" Just as Ishikawa had stepped out of the store, a shop assistant came running up to him with a flattering smile.

  Today so many elixirs were sold, the shopkeeper should be in high spirits.

  "Do you want a red envelope? I'd rather have your life." Gong Yuanlin flung his hand and stormed into the inner room, seething with rage.

  The shop assistant stood there inexplicably, his heart secretly puzzled. What was wrong with the boss today? He was smiling just a moment ago, but now he seemed like a completely different person.