Making a Deal

The sound of forging ceased as the youth lowered his hammer. He looked up to see a middle-aged man with his hair tied in a pin, wearing a green sword robe. Several copper coins hung as ornaments from his waist. Above the man's head, floating text appeared:

[Soul Transformation Stage · Middle]

Seeing Xu Xian look his way, the middle-aged man bowed with his hands clasped. "Liu Qinghui, a third-generation disciple of the Merchant Hall, pays his respects to the Little Grand-Uncle."

Xu Xian nodded slightly and smiled. "No need for such formality while we are away from the sect. Let's talk inside."

"I obey the Little Grand-Uncle's command."

Xu Xian entered the house and sat at a long table. Liu Qinghui followed closely, standing before the table with no intention of sitting down.

Yao Xiaoxiao brought over some freshly brewed hot tea. After pouring two cups, she smiled and said, "Little Grand-Uncle, since you don't need me for anything, I'm going to go refine some pills, okay?"

"Mhm." The youth smiled and nodded.

The white-haired young girl hopped and skipped out of the room, heading into the alchemy room next door.

Xu Xian had opened a shop called Demon-Slaying City's Number One Forging Workshop.

Not long after, Yao Xiaoxiao had opened a shop right next to it called Demon-Slaying City's Most Honest Pill Shop.

The boy sold weapons, and the girl sold pills.

While Xu Xian forged iron, Yao Xiaoxiao refined pills. Benefiting from her proximity to Xu Xian and her relatively low prices, her business was quite good, even though she only sold low-grade pills.

It could be said she was making a decent profit every day.

However, all the money she earned ended up being funneled into Xu Xian's forging workshop.

After all, two months had passed.

Although Xu Xian's workshop was constantly crowded with visitors, it had been all expenses and no income. To this day, he hadn't made a single spirit stone in profit.

He had only made it this far by relying on the savings he had accumulated over the past few years.

After Yao Xiaoxiao left, Xu Xian picked up the bitter tea on the table, took a sip to moisten his throat, and gestured to the man before him. "Sit!"

"Very well!"

Liu Qinghui sat down obediently.

"Drink some tea!"

Liu Qinghui picked up the cup, took a symbolic sip, and set it back down.

Xu Xian teased, "I don't eat people."

Liu Qinghui froze, looking confused.

"Hmm?"

Xu Xian chuckled. "So, you don't need to be so nervous."

Liu Qinghui realized what he meant and laughed sheepishly. "The Little Grand-Uncle truly is a humorous man."

It was clear that the man before him was a man of few words, perhaps even a bit dull. While such a personality was common among swordsmen, it was quite rare to find in the Merchant Hall.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"Absolutely not."

"Then don't be so stiff."

Liu Qinghui nodded in agreement and then asked, "I wonder why the Little Grand-Uncle summoned me here so late at night?"

Xu Xian savored the strong tea and asked a question of his own. "Are you the one in charge of the Merchant Hall's business here in Demon-Slaying City?"

Liu Qinghui replied truthfully, "Not entirely. I am only responsible for acquisitions within the city. The purchasing and transport of goods for sale are handled by two of my martial brothers."

Xu Xian looked thoughtful and continued, "How has business been lately?"

Liu Qinghui's expression turned bitter. "It's... alright."

"Alright?" Xu Xian murmured, his gaze falling on Liu Qinghui.

Liu Qinghui explained, "Overall, things are fine. More people have been coming to Demon-Slaying City recently, and more demon hunters are heading into the Demon Suppression Abyss, so our intake has been good. It's just..."

He hesitated.

Xu Xian narrowed his eyes slightly.

Liu Qinghui's voice softened as he continued, "We haven't been able to acquire any high-grade beast materials. Of course, it's not just our sect; other merchant caravans are facing the same issue. As you know, Little Grand-Uncle, you have a monopoly on all the fifth-grade beast corpses in Demon-Slaying City. None of them reach our hands, and the prices keep rising."

Xu Xian did not deny it.

He had heard that many people were now waiting at the city gates, offering high prices to buy fifth-grade beast corpses. Regardless of the quality, the price had been driven up from the original thousand-plus spirit stones to nearly two thousand per corpse.

Then, most of those who successfully bought them would come to Xu Xian and exchange ten corpses for a high-tier earth weapon.

Therefore, the selling price of Xu Xian's high-tier earth weapons was now infinitely close to twenty thousand spirit stones.

At this price, they weren't considered cheap among other high-tier earth weapons. What these people valued was the fact that they could be custom-made.

Even so, orders were still pouring in, and beast corpses were becoming increasingly hard to find in Demon-Slaying City.

It could be said that Xu Xian had single-handedly raised the economic prosperity of the entire Demon-Slaying City by several levels. This was also why the city was becoming more and more crowded.

As the saying goes, the world flocks where profit lies, and scatters where it dies.

However, Xu Xian estimated that the price had likely reached its peak.

Once he finished the current batch of orders, prices would probably drop slightly, but it wouldn't affect him much.

Xu Xian gestured for Liu Qinghui to drink tea and asked casually, "What are the prices for fifth-grade beast hide and meat like in the Central Plains right now? They've gone up, haven't they?"

Liu Qinghui hurriedly set down his teacup and said quickly, "They've gone up, of course they've gone up! In just two months, the price of beast hide has risen by fifty percent, and the price of meat has nearly doubled. These items were already too expensive for ordinary people, but the prices are soaring now. Making armor, forging weapons, refining pills... all of these require high-grade beast hides and meat. Now that you've collected them all, Little Grand-Uncle, there's no supply left. Those who do have stock are unwilling to sell, so the prices are naturally skyrocketing."

Xu Xian seemed very satisfied with this answer. His eyes crinkled into slits as he smiled. No longer beating around the bush, he got straight to the point. "Alright, let's talk business."

Liu Qinghui was no fool; he had already guessed why the Little Grand-Uncle had called him. It had to be related to the sale of the fifth-grade beast materials.

He straightened his posture. "Please, go ahead, Little Grand-Uncle."

Xu Xian smiled and said, "As you've probably guessed, I've called you here because I want the Merchant Hall to sell the fifth-grade beast hide and meat I have on hand. I wonder if you are interested in this deal, Deacon Liu?"

Liu Qinghui thought to himself that his guess was correct. Suppressing his excitement, he declared, "Absolutely! We are very interested. As long as the Little Grand-Uncle needs us, the Merchant Hall will cooperate unconditionally."

Xu Xian emphasized, "I must clarify—I am only selling the hide and meat. I am not selling the bones."

"That's fine!"

Although Liu Qinghui didn't know what Xu Xian wanted the bones for, he knew better than to ask unnecessary questions. The meat and hide alone would be a massive deal.

Furthermore, it was a monopoly.

After all, almost all the high-grade beast hide and meat in Demon-Slaying City were currently in the hands of the youth before him. Barring any accidents, it would remain that way for a long time to come.

Xu Xian laughed heartily.

"Splendid."

Liu Qinghui asked eagerly, "How does the Little Grand-Uncle intend to sell them? What is the arrangement?"

Xu Xian didn't hide his terms and stated directly, "I will provide the goods. I don't care how you sell them, but in the end, we will split the proceeds sixty-forty."

Liu Qinghui agreed immediately.

"Deal!"

Xu Xian added playfully, "I get sixty, and the Merchant Hall gets forty."

"Deal!"

Xu Xian made sure to emphasize, "I am talking about sixty percent of the final sale price. The Merchant Hall will be responsible for all costs related to storage, transport, and everything else."

Without hesitation, Liu Qinghui agreed again.

"No problem at all!"