His action made the shopkeeper twitch the corner of his mouth. Giving him a sideways glance, the shopkeeper said:
"What is it, kid? After your master finishes drawing a talisman, does he never use this method to test its quality? What's there to make such a fuss about?"
Hearing this, Xu Feng recalled and found that he indeed had no memories of this.
However, his Master had also taught him knowledge about this and the reason why they didn't test them. Thinking of this, he scratched his head somewhat sheepishly and explained:
"You wouldn't understand, Shopkeeper. My master and I live in the outer district of the market town, and the house we rent is the cheapest wooden shack.
The space is extremely cramped, and since there are no protective measures, my master has never dared to test them inside the room, fearing it would trigger an explosion.
If that happened, we would really be in trouble. Every year, the market town patrol guard comes to inspect the wooden shacks, and if any damage is found, I reckon our master and apprentice would have to spend the rest of our lives digging in the mines to pay off the debt."
Hearing this, the shopkeeper didn't say anything. He knew about the outer district, though he had never been there, but he had often heard people talk about the living conditions there.
After the three talismans had each flashed ten times, the shopkeeper nodded with satisfaction.
He put them back into his hand, turned, and went behind the counter, while signaling for him to come over as well. Once Xu Feng stood firmly in front of the counter, the shopkeeper said:
"The quality of the talismans you brought is quite good, and they can be considered the absolute top-tier among Rank 1 Low-Grade talismans.
From this, it is evident that your master is likely about to break through and become a Rank 1 Mid-Grade Amulet Master, and I offer my congratulations in advance.
As for the price of this batch of talismans, originally I could only give you one hundred and twenty-five low-grade spirit stones, seeing as my shop has to make a profit too.
However, since your esteemed master's Amulet-Making is about to break through, it means our opportunities for cooperation will increase in the future.
Therefore, as long as you are willing to go back and put in a good word for me with your master, asking him to bring all the talismans he draws to my shop for sale in the future,
I will give you an extra ten spirit stones as a bonus. What do you think?"
The shopkeeper was a decisive person. With a pat on the storage bag hanging from his waist, a pile of colorful spirit stones—numbering over three hundred—instantly appeared on the counter.
Then he counted them out, separating a pile of one hundred and twenty-five, and then separating a small pile of ten, putting the rest back into the storage bag.
As for that pile of ten, whether intentional or not, it was stacked squarely in front of Xu Feng, so that as long as he reached out his hand, he could pocket all of those spirit stones.
Xu Feng kept a calm expression on the outside, but inside he was overjoyed. However, he didn't agree immediately; instead, he began to calculate.
Even if the shopkeeper of Gathered Talisman Pavilion was willing to give an extra ten spirit stones, it still wouldn't be enough to cover the rent.
There was still a shortfall of more than ten spirit stones, so to avoid being driven out of the market town, he put on a troubled expression and said:
"Sigh, Shopkeeper, to tell you the truth, I'm afraid I won't be able to earn these ten spirit stones. You'd better put them away first!"
Originally, the shopkeeper thought this matter was in the bag. In his view, what cultivator didn't love spirit stones?
Yet he heard an unexpected reply. Looking at Xu Feng's troubled expression, he didn't rashly raise the price, but instead asked:
"Why is that? Could it be that your master has already found a cooperative shop, and you are worried about disobeying your master's orders, which is why you feel troubled?"
"That's not it. It's just that recently, while trying to break through to become a Rank 1 Mid-Grade Amulet Master, my master has spent all of our spirit stones. But his luck hasn't been good, and he's always fallen just a little short of breaking through. No doubt you could tell this as well."
At this point, he raised his head and glanced at the shopkeeper standing behind the counter. Seeing the latter nod, he continued:
"Right now, our master and apprentice have no extra spirit stones left on us. Coupled with the fact that the lease on our living quarters has recently expired,
if we want to continue living in the market town, we have to pay the rent. But we only have these talismans left in our hands. After calculating their value, we found that even if we exchanged all of them for spirit stones, it wouldn't be enough to pay the rent.
So, having no other choice, my master made a decision: he told me to exchange all of these talismans for spirit stones, and then he will take me to live outside the market town. Therefore, Shopkeeper, I can only look at these ten spirit stones."
Once he finished explaining, the shopkeeper immediately praised him:
"This little friend is truly a man of his word! Actually, you didn't have to tell me all this; you could have just taken the spirit stones and left. Yet you didn't do that, and instead told the truth, which I admire greatly.
How about this? How many spirit stones are you still short for your rent? I will make up the difference for you, and you can repay me with talismans in the future.
Right, since you don't have any extra spirit stones left, let me also advance you some spirit ink and Talisman Paper for drawing talismans. You can just pay these back with finished talismans as well!"
Hearing this, Xu Feng thought to himself that it worked, and his acting for so long hadn't been in vain.
Out loud, however, he expressed his gratitude profusely:
"Thank you so much, Shopkeeper! My master and I will never forget your immense kindness. In the future, whenever we draw talismans, we will definitely bring them to your esteemed pavilion to sell."
"Think nothing of it, think nothing of it!"
The shopkeeper first gave a modest reply, then took out some Amulet-Making materials from his storage bag and handed them to him, before calling out toward the back hall:
"Yinglong, come out for a moment."
As soon as the voice fell, a male cultivator in green robes walked out from the back hall. In terms of age, he looked comparable to Xu Feng, but his cultivation was one level higher than his, having already stepped into the realm of Mid Qi Condensation.
The man called Yinglong came behind the shopkeeper, gave a salute, and asked respectfully:
"Shopkeeper, is there something you need?"
"Well, this little friend's dwelling is about to expire. I'll give you one hundred and fifty spirit stones; you go with him to the housing rental office and renew the rent for another year. There's no problem with you handling this, right?"
"No problem, Shopkeeper. I go there often and know the procedure well. Taking this fellow Daoist there will definitely be no problem,"
the green-robed cultivator replied with full confidence.
"Good, then I'll leave it to you. Remember to send this little friend back after you're done. Although the market town is relatively safe, one still has to be on guard."
"I understand, Shopkeeper! Fellow Daoist, let's leave now. I don't know where in the outer district you live; the places for paying rent in the four areas are not in the same spot."
Having answered the shopkeeper, the green-robed man turned his head toward him and asked.
Good thing I was prepared!
Xu Feng thought to himself, and he also understood that the shopkeeper didn't completely trust him yet.
Still, that was understandable. It was the first time the two sides had met; how could they build a trusting relationship so quickly?
Thinking this, he took out the notice that the patrol guard had pasted on his door from his storage bag. Leaning back against the counter to ensure the shopkeeper could see it completely, he pointed at the words on it and said:
"This fellow Daoist, the place where my master and I live is wooden shack '301' in the Si District. Look, today is the final ultimatum, let's go handle it quickly."
Seeing this notice, along with the bright seal of the patrol guard on it, the shopkeeper felt much more at ease and secretly gave a look to the young man named Yinglong.
"Alright, let's go then!"
With that, the young cultivator bowed to the shopkeeper and walked out the door first.
Xu Feng once again expressed his gratitude to the shopkeeper, then quickly hurried after him.