Chapter 93
“Junior Brother, your advancement speed is much faster than that of an average dual-spirit root!” Han Qi exclaimed.
Zheng Fa could see that the three of them were genuinely happy for him—after all, having someone with good talent join them meant brighter days ahead.
“Junior Brother, this is the money from selling talismans over the past two days.”
Han Qi took out a spirit stone from his pocket and handed it to Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa thought for a moment but didn’t reach out to take it.
“Junior Brother?”
“Senior Brother, you should keep this spirit stone for yourselves.”
Zheng Fa spoke up.
Han Qi’s lips quivered, a hint of bitterness in his voice: “Did we do something wrong?”
“…” Zheng Fa was taken aback and explained, “You three have worked hard for me this past month; I should give you some compensation.”
“Compensation?”
“Yeah, I calculated it the other day. After deducting the stall costs, our talisman business has made about eleven or twelve spirit stones this month, which includes the hard work of the three of you.”
“…” Han Qi held the spirit stone in his hand, looking a bit dazed. He opened his mouth, dryly saying, “You’re really giving this to us?”
The two behind him looked equally astonished, their expressions as if they were dreaming.
“Is it too little for you, Senior Brother?” Zheng Fa frowned and asked. “I don’t know the market rates of Jiu Shan Sect; why don’t you suggest a number?”
“Not at all, not at all!” Han Qi quickly replied. “Junior Brother, you misunderstood. I just… let me put it this way: we’ve helped quite a few seniors before and never received any compensation!”
“…Then how do you live?” Zheng Fa’s eyes widened.
“Senior Brother eats from us, and we eat from Junior Brother…”
Han Qi’s voice grew softer.
Zheng Fa understood now; their previous mode of operation was somewhat like that of the underworld—relying on a big boss for protection money.
No wonder when he first encountered them, they hadn’t done much.
“Senior Brother Han, don’t forget I’m just at the second level of Qi Refining. I’m not like those seniors who can bully you with their status. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to. Do you understand?”
“We understand, we understand!” Han Qi and the others nodded vigorously. “Who would want to do something immoral when they can earn clean money?”
Zheng Fa nodded and asked, “Did you come to find me today for something specific? Just to deliver the spirit stone?”
“No! Senior Sister Yuan ran into us last night and asked us to pass on a message. She wants you to organize the accounts for tomorrow; Senior Sister Zhang will be checking them in the evening.”
(End of this chapter)
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**Chapter 106: Account Check**
The next day, in the market.
Senior Sister Yuan strolled through the stalls, occasionally glancing at the prices of goods in the shops.
She wore a veil over her face, obscuring her features, making it hard to discern her true appearance. Even her figure seemed to have changed a bit.
As the market manager, she took her responsibilities seriously and made it a point to inspect the market every day.
Partly for leisure, but also to check for any signs of bullying or unfair practices.
The veil was also to prevent anyone from recognizing her and engaging in deceit.
Today, something felt off in the market; it seemed different from usual.
As for what exactly was amiss, Senior Sister Yuan couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“Golden Armor Talisman! High-grade Golden Armor Talisman!”
“Drawn by Junior Brother Zheng, the best in the business!”
“Even if you don’t use it, it’s great for observation and study!”
Hearing the name “Junior Brother Zheng,” Senior Sister Yuan couldn’t help but look toward the source of the shouting.
At a somewhat secluded stall, Han Qi stood upright, shouting enthusiastically to attract passing customers.
His two companions were doing the same, their passionate voices blending together, drowning out the calls of other vendors in the bustling market, making them quite eye-catching.
Not only the customers, but even other stall owners nearby were watching the three.
Their stall had gathered quite a crowd.
Especially when compared to the desolate scenes at other talisman stalls, Han Qi and his friends were doing remarkably well.
Senior Sister Yuan finally understood; the market was filled with the fervent shouts of these highly motivated sellers!
She couldn’t help but move closer.
However, their stall didn’t only feature the high-grade talismans drawn by Zheng Fa.
They had also somehow acquired some low-grade yellow talismans to sell alongside.
“Buy one high-grade talisman, and we’ll throw in three yellow talismans for free!”
Han Qi shouted to the onlookers.
The surrounding customers whispered among themselves, clearly intrigued.
“One high-grade talisman drawn by Junior Brother Zheng! Plus three yellow talismans for free!” Seeing their interest, Han Qi raised his voice: “If we didn’t consider you all family, we wouldn’t offer this price! Once this opportunity is gone, it’s gone!”
Whether it was due to Zheng Fa’s reputation or the enticing offer of three yellow talismans, one cultivator couldn’t resist and bought three high-grade talismans.
Han Qi happily tucked away a spirit stone, and when he looked up, he saw Senior Sister Yuan standing right in front of him.
“Do you have something you want, Miss?” Han Qi greeted warmly. “Look, these are all drawn by our renowned genius, Junior Brother Zheng!”
“This is your stall?”
“No!” Han Qi shook his head, half-explaining, half-showing off. “This is Junior Brother Zheng’s stall; otherwise, how could we get his talismans?”
“So you’re helping him?”
“Of course! Miss, what kind of talisman do you want to buy?”
Han Qi answered loudly, then followed up with a question.
“…You’re working so hard for him? The whole market can hear your shouts!” Looking at Han Qi, who still wore a hint of pride, Senior Sister Yuan huffed.
“?” Han Qi sensed something was off and scrutinized Senior Sister Yuan closely.
She removed her veil.
“Yuan…”
“Shut up!” Putting the veil back on, Senior Sister Yuan frowned at the three of them. “You three, you weren’t like this when you were working for me.”
“…”
“Selling my books, raising prices without permission!”
“Doing a little work, dragging your feet!”
“Not committing major sins, but constantly making small mistakes!”
The more Senior Sister Yuan spoke, the angrier she became.
Han Qi and the others hung their heads, not daring to speak.
“If you had been like this from the start, I could have… forget it!”
At this point, Senior Sister Yuan paused, and after a long moment, she waved her hand, feeling it was pointless.
She just felt that these three had changed too quickly, making her feel less favored compared to Zheng Fa.
Han Qi raised his head and eagerly asked, “So, Senior Sister Yuan, do you want to buy a talisman?”
“?”
…
Zheng Fa felt that Senior Sister Yuan’s gaze toward him was a bit strange.
As soon as he reached the second floor, he noticed her occasionally staring at him. Besides a hint of anger in her eyes, there was also a rare look of contemplation—rare because Zheng Fa had hardly ever seen her face reflect such thoughtfulness.
“Senior Sister Yuan? Is there something wrong with my face?”
He couldn’t help but ask in confusion.
“It’s not you that’s wrong; it’s me that’s about to be!” Senior Sister Yuan seemed to snap back to reality, pouting slightly. “You need to teach me quickly!”
“Ah?”
“What ‘ah’? Didn’t Han Qi tell you? Senior Sister Zhang is coming to check the accounts tonight.”
“I know about the account check.” Zheng Fa was taken aback. “I’ve already organized the account book!”
For the past month, he had been coming to the market every day to help Senior Sister Yuan with the accounts.
The account book was just a bit tedious, but not difficult; Zheng Fa felt he had done a pretty good job.
“Is that really an account check? It’s more like a check on me!” Senior Sister Yuan’s expression was a bit gloomy. “Senior Sister didn’t manage the accounts before and said I’m not fit to be the market manager, wanting to replace me.”
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but nod slightly.
“…What are you nodding for?” Senior Sister Yuan glared at him, then seemed to remember she needed something from him, her tone softening a bit. “I just bragged to Senior Sister that handling these accounts is a piece of cake for me!”
“…So?”
Zheng Fa began to understand what Senior Sister Yuan meant.
“So I didn’t tell Senior Sister Zhang that you’re helping me with the accounts… Senior Sister Zhang thinks I’m the one managing everything.”
…So I’m just a contractor?
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**Chapter 107: Help Me**
“If it’s not urgent, it’s better for me and Senior Sister Yuan to jointly manage the market for a while.”
“You’re quite considerate of her.”
“Junior Brother wants Senior Sister Yuan to help me maintain appearances a bit longer,” Zheng Fa smiled and said.
“That’s fine; it’s really not urgent.” Senior Sister Zhang nodded. “She wants to be the market manager because she’s been too lonely in the past; now she enjoys the hustle and bustle and likes wandering around the market.”
“Lonely?”
“She’s a Qing Luan, raised by the sect leader.”
“…”
Zheng Fa’s pupils dilated as he recalled the enormous bird that had once blocked out the sky.
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