56 Shopping and gathering

Ancestral Grotto, Capital City

Jin Ju was closing his deal on the Golden Pouch Toad gu.

He smiled as Yang Jian handed over the primeval stones for his newly purchased Golden Pouch Toad gu.

"Thank you for your business, Yang Jian. I'm glad to see you're pleased with your purchase."

Yang Jian nodded.

"And I appreciate the offer of the month's worth of food for my new gu worm. That's very generous of you."

Jin Ju grinned.

"It's nothing, really. I just want to make sure my customers are satisfied with their purchases. Remember my offer, if you tell others to shop by me, I'll pay you a hundred primeval stones each. So don't forget to mention them to tell me, that you sent them." - Jin Ju waved bye to the leaving figure.

Yang Jian walked out of the Jade Gu Palace, the Golden Pouch Toad gu safely in his possession. As Jin Ju turned to go back to the counter, he saw Yu Lingxin standing there, a curious look on her face.

"Hey, Jin Ju, can I ask you something?" - Yu Lingxin said.

"Of course. What's on your mind?" - Jin Ju replied.

"I noticed that you sold the Golden Pouch Toad gu to that man for a lower price than what it says on the label." - Yu Lingxin pointed at the shelf.

"Why did you do that?"

Jin Ju chuckled.

"Ah, you noticed that, didn't you? Well, the truth is, those prices are deliberately set higher than what I'm willing to sell for. I always leave room to negotiate, you see. Even if a customer doesn't start to bargain, I still give them a deal. Makes them feel that they get special treatment. When they come in with a good offer from another store, I would still match it, even if it cuts into my margins. Of course, not everyone can be satisfied, and I can't run a charity. I wouldn't make losses if I didn't see the potential for that customer to return again."

Yu Lingxin nodded, understanding Jin Ju's reasoning.

"I see. That makes sense."

Jin Ju smiled. "Glad you think so. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?"

"Yes, actually." - Yu Lingxin said.

"What's this I hear about you paying people for referrals?"

Jin Ju's smile grew wider.

"Ah, that's my system of bird-dogs. I pay other people for their legwork, you see. It enables me to focus on what I do best, which is closing the sales, leaving the marketing to the word of mouth, greasing the wheels with the incentive of primeval stones. It's a win-win situation for everyone. They get some extra income, and I get new customers."

Yu Lingxin looked impressed.

"That's clever. And how much do you pay for referrals?"

"It depends on the rank of the gu master. As you heard, for rank three, I pay a hundred primeval stones. It's really important that the amount is not too much for me to bear, but also enough for them to consider." - Jin Ju said.

"So how much would you pay me?" - Yu Lingxin asked him straight.

Jin Ju felt himself froze at Yu Lingxin's direct question.

"Uh, well, I, um..." - Jin Ju stammered, his composure slipping.

He drew a clear line when it came to personal matters and business. He was at a loss for her unexpected question.

Yu Lingxin chuckled at his embarrassment. But then her tone turned serious.

"You know, Jin Ju, I haven't forgotten your kindness to me when you gave me that Unprocessed Jade gu to raise my cultivation aptitude. It made a big difference for me, and I want to repay you now." - She began.

"So, I was thinking, instead of just repaying you with the money I got from the first mission, I could also be one of your 'bird-dogs' and tell my acquaintances to come and shop here, right? That would help repay my debt to you." - She clarified.

Jin Ju's face lit up.

"That's a great idea, Yu Lingxin. I'd be happy to have you on board. And while you're here, why don't you buy yourself a gu worm? I have some good ones in stock." - Jin Ju snapped back to his business-like attitude at once.

At the next moment another person entered the store.

"You brat! You sold anything yet? No? Haha, I thought so..." - Came the sneer from the individual as he came in.

"Ao Shi, mind your own business. I'm in the middle of something." - Jin Ju replied in a displeased tone.

"Who is he?" - Yu Lingxin transmitted through the gu in her ear.

"He's my colleague, the other salesman in this store. I found out he only has this position because the owner is indebted to Ao Shi's father." - Replied Jin Ju secretly.

Ao Shi walked up to them. He stammered on his way but he caught the shelf next to him, almost dragging it down as well.

"For a store of this size, a single salesman would be enough. But they had to hire one more, because he just couldn't sell. Look, he got drunk again in his lunch break." - Jin Ju transmitted.

*Hicc*

Ao Shi bumped into Yu Lingxin, and grabbed her shoulder.

"Pretty lady, tell me what gu... *hicc* you want." - He blurted out.

"Don't touch me! You reek of alcohol." - Yu Lingxin reclined instinctively.

But Yu Lingxin's complaints fell on deaf ears, Ao Shi persisted.

"Brat, go clean the storage while I'll handle this sale, hehe." - Ao Shi turned back to face Yu Lingxin.

Jin Ju narrowed his eyes in disgust. Usually he would not try to butt in the matters of others. It wasn't his business how others ruined themselves and their careers.

But this was different. He knew Yu Lingxin for a good while now, they were even teammates.

Not only did Ao Shi assault her. No, Yu Lingxin was about to purchase gu from him, and Ao Shi tried to snatch his sale away.

This was what ticked Jin Ju off the most!

It was a huge taboo to begin with.

A vein popped on Jin Ju's head in anger. He grabbed Ao Shi's wrist and twisted it backwards with force.

"Wha..?" - Ao Shi was caught unprepared.

He tipped forward as he lost his balance again.

Jin Ju released his wrist while he was falling and kicked him in the back.

Ao Shi landed on the floor face first and slid forward unceremoniously.

As Jin Ju watched Ao Shi slide across the floor, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. He had always found Ao Shi to be a sleazy character.

"You should learn to keep your hands to yourself." - Jin Ju said as he stood over Ao Shi.

Ao Shi groaned and slowly pushed himself up onto his knees. He turned to face Jin Ju with a look of anger in his eyes.

"You'll regret this..."

*Hicc*

Ao Shi stumbled forward, his fists swinging wildly as he tried to land a blow on Jin Ju. But Jin Ju was too quick for him, easily dodging the clumsy attacks.

Just as Jin Ju was about to counter-attack, he saw a green flash move out of the corner of his eye.

Bamm!

Yu Lingxin had activated her Leaf Skin gu, and her skin had taken on a green texture and strength of a tree's bark. She lunged forward and delivered a powerful punch straight to Ao Shi's face.

Ao Shi didn't stand a chance.

The force of the blow sent him flying backwards, and he landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Jin Ju watched as Ao Shi lay there, unconscious. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret. How will he deal with this?

Jin Ju had a dumbfounded expression, he turned to Yu Lingxin in surprise, but she just shrugged.

"Hmph! That does it!" - She sneered at the man on the ground.

Jin Ju laughed awkwardly, not sure what to say.

"This lowlife had it coming! So where were we?" - She steered back the converstion decisively.

"Right, buying gu! Tell me, sister Lingxin, what do you have in mind!" - Jin Ju rubbed his palms in his mind.

"You should know, I..."

Yu Lingxin paused for a moment.

"I need gu for Shui Liu's part of the Three Demons' inheritance." - She transmitted secretly.

"You need gu for refinement, right?" - Jin Ju said alound.

"Yes, that's it."

"Come, the water path gu are among the miscelaneous refinement materials." - He transmitted.

Jin Ju dragged Ao Shi behind the counter before the two of them started to deliberate on the different water path gu the shop had to offer.

* * * * *

Lingering Mountains Grotto, Wen Bao Academy

Qinyang sat cross-legged on her bed, her notebook open on her lap, as she scribbled furiously. The pages were quickly filling up with notes and sketches as she tried to capture every detail of the gu master inheritances she was just shown.

She had always been a diligent student, but this was different. The knowledge she was seeking wasn't just for a grade or a degree; now it was a matter of her survival.

She had transmigrated to this world from Earth and found herself without any cheats.

"I might not have awakened any system, but don't look down on how much a university student can cram before the last minute! This is half a superpower in itself!" - She gloated.

Qinyang began to note down the most important details first, jotting down any insights that might help her in the future.

"I can't let any of this slip my mind." - She muttered to herself resolutely.

"I need to remember every detail, every nuance. Making a mistake now, could be disastrous later."

She was used to cramming for exams at the last minute, and she was confident she could memorize everything she needed in the brief time Hao Meng allowed her.

"Wisdom path is very impressive, it has many applications, such as deducing and plotting. One is always one step ahead if they have wisdom path methods. It is said to be the best path for strategizing and predicting the future."

She read through the page before her to double-check it before turning to an empty one.

"It is also one of the most difficult paths to master. I will have to work hard if I want to master it." - She thought.

"But there was only one wisdom path inheritance I found. Wisdom path inheritances are rare. I can't cross-reference this with other ones, so I can't know how good it is. Anyway, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth."

As she wrote, her mind raced.

"I cast my net wide. If wisdom path is no good, then rule path can also be considered. It is very broad and captures the natural rules and relations of the world. It should be somewhat analogous to mathematics and physics."

"Information path was third on my list. Even if it has low battle strength, I can make up for it by forming agreements. Making others fight for me, while I relieve my responsibility behind their backs. But the most important part is that it excels at gathering and storing data. I feel that is an understated factor in this world. The people here just don't know how much value data has." - She thought.

"Lastly, I copied a single lightning path inheritance. Lightning path is always powerful in the cultivation novels. And what is it? Just some electrical discharge. Current flows when there is a big enough difference in potential. It isn't rocket science." - She thought smugly.

She was drawn to the information, wisdom, and rule path inheritances, but she knew they were difficult to master. If they proved too challenging, she had also taken note of a lightning path inheritance that looked promising.

She glanced out her window and frowned. It was late, and she knew she should get some sleep, but she couldn't shake the excitement of the possibilities before her.

"While the memory is fresh, I have to note everything down."

She continued writing until the early hours of the morning, and only then did she allow herself to take a break.

"What kind of face would Hao Meng have if he knew I memorized all these?" - She mused aloud.

"You gu masters have it nice, you can use all your techniques on your tests. While I had to commit everything to memory in my university days. But now!" - She laughed silently and shook her head.

With a satisfied smile, she closed her notebook, and a few moments later, she fell asleep.

* * * * *