Ding Wei listened and looked again, saying, "Senior, there are a total of one thousand three hundred initial-stage beast skins and nine hundred and ten mid-stage beast skins here. I'll give you three low grade True Essence Pills for each initial-stage one, and six for each mid-stage one, totaling nine thousand three hundred and sixty pills."
"You have a large quantity, so let me round it up to nine thousand five hundred for you. What do you think?"
"Nine thousand five hundred, huh."
Lu Li calculated in his mind. This price exceeded his expectations, but hearing the name Earth Tiger Village, it clearly wasn't comparable to a small mountain stronghold like Water Cloud Village. He hesitated somewhat about whether to take this risk.
Seeming to notice Lu Li's hesitation, Ding Wei patted his chest and assured him, "Senior, don't worry. Our Earth Tiger Village has a large foundation, and the great chieftain is a very righteous person. We would absolutely not engage in bullying and monopoly. You see..."
"Alright, I'll wait half an hour for you." Lu Li finally decided to sell here after all. Being careful when traveling outside was indeed correct, but being timid and hesitant in doing things wasn't good.
Upon hearing this, Ding Wei repeatedly said it wouldn't take half an hour, then summoned a young attendant to watch the shop before hastily rushing out the door.
Lu Li put away his Storage Bag and looked around the shop. After a round of viewing, Lu Li asked the attendant, "Do you have any alchemy furnaces for sale here?"
The attendant shook his head, "Senior, alchemy furnaces are far too valuable. Not just here, even the direct shops of the other five great mountain strongholds probably don't have them."
No alchemy furnace?
Hearing this, Lu Li immediately felt troubled. He hadn't expected alchemy furnaces to be so hard to find. What should he do now?
Seeing this, the attendant thought for a moment and said, "Senior, we hold an exchange meeting here on the first day of every month. Many cultivators take this opportunity to trade for items they want. The location is at Tiger Might Square in the southern part of the town. Senior can go try your luck."
"Oh? There's such a thing." Lu Li suddenly became interested and said gratefully, "Thank you for telling me."
"You're too polite, Senior."
"..."
Afterwards, Lu Li casually chatted with the attendant.
Before long, Ding Wei, who had left, returned, accompanied by a middle-aged man in a cloud-patterned robe.
The middle-aged man entered the door and went straight toward Lu Li. On the way, he slightly sensed and then withdrew his Divine Sense. When he reached Lu Li, he was already wearing a smile and cupped his hands, "Brother, you're a young hero!"
Lu Li saw Ding Wei nodding at him from behind and understood. This person was probably the hall master he mentioned. He quickly cupped his hands in return, "Just a mountain wild lad, unworthy of Hall Master's praise."
"Hahaha, brother is too humble. You've achieved such cultivation at such a young age. Though dwelling in the mountains and wilderness, you're much stronger than those Sect prodigies."
Upon hearing this, Lu Li smiled without speaking.
Sect prodigies? He dared not compare.
Seeing this, the cloud-robed middle-aged man didn't waste words and got straight to the point, "I heard brother wants to sell a large quantity of beast skins. Is that true?"
Lu Li nodded, "That's indeed the case. I just agreed with that manager earlier."
The cloud-robed middle-aged man nodded and smiled, "That fellow lacks understanding and perception. I, Lei Ming, will decide to give you an extra five thousand True Essence Pills. How about it?"
Hearing this, Ding Wei behind them showed a hint of confusion. Even if they sold all this stock, they'd only earn two thousand at most. Adding five thousand more would mean a loss.
But since Lei Ming spoke, he couldn't interrupt, so he just listened quietly.
Upon hearing this, Lu Li didn't become happy but instead frowned, "What do you mean by this, brother?"
"Haha, nothing else. I just love making friends..."
"Brother, please state your intentions clearly, otherwise... I won't sell these beast skins either." Lu Li didn't believe pies would fall from the sky. This person being so enthusiastic probably wasn't just about making friends.
"Cough, brother still doesn't trust me." Lei Ming laughed awkwardly, turning to look at Ding Wei behind him, "First proceed with the transaction you discussed earlier."
Then looking back at Lu Li, he said, "Brother, let's complete your transaction first, then we'll find a place to chat."
What does this person actually want to do?
Lu Li frowned, suspicion growing in his heart, but the other party didn't seem domineering. For now, he couldn't figure out the situation. His eyes flickered briefly as he smiled, "Alright."
---
Since it was previously agreed upon, the transaction was quickly completed.
Lu Li received nine thousand five hundred True Essence Pills. If this was when he first left the Qingyang Sect, he would have been ecstatic, but now Lu Li showed little expression, calmly putting away the True Essence Pills.
Lei Ming observed Lu Li's expression closely, thinking that this kid was actually so composed. He really didn't choose the wrong person. Perhaps he could really help him.
Even as a hall master of Earth Tiger Village, his annual salary was only about one thousand True Essence Pills. These nine thousand True Essence Pills were equivalent to five years of his salary, yet this kid showed no change in expression-definitely not something an ordinary person could do.
After the transaction was completed, Lei Ming took Lu Li out of the shop.
After winding around, the two arrived at a place called Falling Tiger Restaurant.
Seeing them enter, the fat manager behind the counter personally came out to greet them respectfully. It seemed this Falling Tiger Restaurant was also Earth Tiger Village's property, causing Lu Li to secretly frown.
Lei Ming smiled and gave some instructions, then gestured, "Brother, please."
It seemed they were preparing to go to the second floor.
Lu Li was momentarily stunned, suddenly remembering his previous experience at Bairi Restaurant. His expression became strange, wondering if this guy, seeing he had obtained several thousand True Essence Pills, wanted him to spend them here.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Seeing Lu Li spacing out, Lei Ming asked suspiciously.
"Cough, I think the first floor is quite good. How about..."
"How could that work? Brother is a young hero, must go to the second floor. Our fate has arrived, let me, your brother, fulfill the duty of host."
Fulfill the duty of host?
Confirming it wasn't spending his own money, Lu Li couldn't help but feel slightly relieved. Although he had quite a bit of money, this amount probably wasn't enough to buy a good alchemy furnace, so he still needed to be thrifty.
The second floor was arranged even more elegantly than Bairi Restaurant. Each table was surrounded by a circle of screens, with ornaments and flowers placed along the corridors. The environment was quite good.
"Let's sit over there."
At the stairway, Lei Ming glanced at the corner table by the window and said.
After the two sat down, they had only spoken a couple of sentences when several attendants came carrying various delicacies. They didn't stop until the entire table was full.
The table full of delicacies looked extremely tempting, but Lu Li seemed somewhat distracted.
"Brother, eat. Don't be polite." Lei Ming smiled warmly while greeting, moving some dishes he considered particularly good in front of Lu Li.
"Since brother is so hospitable, then I won't stand on ceremony." Lu Li smiled faintly, too lazy for formalities anymore.
Besides, he had been in secluded cultivation in the Thunder Flame Mountain Range too long, and his stomach was starving. So he began eating and drinking heartily without caring about appearances.
However, while eating and drinking, Lu Li kept occasionally looking up at Lei Ming.
Actually, there was one question he couldn't understand.
With this person's status, what couldn't he accomplish himself that required being so enthusiastic toward a stranger like him?