Chapter 34: Forced Purchase
Chapter 34: Forced Purchase
Initially, upon hearing this soft and delicate voice, Chu Ning did not realize it was calling out to him.
It was only when the voice spoke again that he looked up in surprise.
"Is that Junior Brother Chu Ning from the Spirit Planting House? Please wait a moment."
A petite and slender female disciple, dressed in a green sect robe, was quickly approaching him from the right.
Although she was petite, her chest was full and ample.
The female disciple, Mu Ling, stopped in front of Chu Ning, tilted her head slightly, and asked with a smile, "Are you Junior Brother Chu Ning from the Spirit Planting House?"
Chu Ning was a little puzzled as to how she knew him, but he nodded.
"I'm Mu Ling, also a disciple of the Hall of Hundred Crafts. Elder Brother Zhuang Yunde asked me to wait here for you."
Hearing the petite woman's words, Chu Ning finally realized and bowed slightly, "Greetings, Senior Sister Mu."
As he bowed, he noticed Mu Ling's eyes sparkling as she stared at him, and he couldn't help but wonder what had caught her interest.
Why would this senior sister be so interested in him? His displayed cultivation base was only at the third level of refining qi, which was nothing remarkable.
After all, with his cloud viewing technique, he couldn't discern her depth, indicating that she was at least at the sixth layer of qi refining or above.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Mu Ling quickly spoke up, "Is Junior Brother Chu here to submit the talisman papers as the harvest fee for the Ink Spirit Bamboo?"
Chu Ning nodded again, now certain that it was indeed Elder Brother Zhuang who had informed her about him.
"Then it's perfect timing. Why don't you give the talisman papers to me? Elder Brother Zhuang is out at the moment, but giving them to me is the same thing."
As she spoke, Mu Ling stared at the cloth bag in Chu Ning's hand, her hand reaching out as if she was eager to take it.
Hearing this, Chu Ning immediately became alert, and his face showed his dilemma. "Well, Senior Sister, Elder Brother Zhuang specifically instructed me to hand the talisman papers to him personally, to be submitted to the Hall as the harvest fee."
"Giving them to me is also submitting the harvest fee." Mu Ling glared at him, her eyebrows knitting together. "Do you think I would cheat you, a new disciple?"
Not necessarily.
Chu Ning had a nagging feeling that something about this situation seemed odd.
However, he was absolutely unwilling to hand over the talisman papers to Mu Ling just like that.
Aside from the fact that he wasn't sure if she was really a disciple of the Hall of Hundred Crafts, even if she was, what if she didn't submit the talisman papers to the Hall or reported a lesser amount?
"Of course, Senior Sister wouldn't cheat a new disciple like me. But since I've just joined the sect recently, I'm not familiar with the rules. I'll come back another day when Elder Brother Zhuang is around. Thank you for your help, Senior Sister."
Mu Ling's face turned slightly sour upon hearing Chu Ning's refusal, but the annoyed expression on her face only made her look more adorable.
Chu Ning noticed this, but the thought that she was after his talisman papers made him feel less inclined to find her cute.
Just then, Mu Ling quickly replaced her annoyed expression with a sweet smile. "How about this, Junior Brother. You don't have to give me the talisman papers meant for the harvest fee, but I'm sure you have some extra ones, right?"
Chu Ning was about to speak when Mu Ling's black, shiny eyes fixed on him. "Don't tell me you don't have any, or I'll just have to take them by force."
Chu Ning's face changed slightly, and his grip tightened on the cloth bag.
Mu Ling's cultivation was obviously higher than his.
Moreover, she boldly threatened to take them by force, as if she really intended to make a move.
This gave him a headache.
Seeing that her threat worked, a hint of satisfaction appeared on Mu Ling's face, and she continued, "Rest assured, I won't take them for free. I'll pay you with spirit stones."
"So, are you selling or not?"
Chu Ning sighed inwardly. How could he dare refuse now that she had made her intentions clear? If he didn't sell, she might just take them by force.
So, he asked, "Senior Sister, how many talisman papers do you want to buy?"
"I'll take all that you have!" Mu Ling boasted, waving her storage bag confidently. "I have plenty of spirit stones."
Chu Ning looked at the spirit stones, then picked up the smaller of the two cloth bags he was carrying, preparing to open it.
Indeed, he had brought extra talisman papers this time, intending to inquire if the sect would be interested in purchasing them.
After all, he couldn't claim that he hadn't made any extra; however, Chu Ning didn't want to reveal too much.
The small cloth bag he held contained exactly 2,050 talismans, which he planned to declare as his entire stock.
At this moment, he intended to separate the 550 talismans meant for Zhuang Yunde and give the rest to Mu Ling.
But before he could make a move, Mu Ling performed a hand seal and instantly sucked all the talismans into her storage bag.
Chu Ning's expression changed slightly, and Mu Ling promptly took out one of the talismans to examine it. After a moment, she nodded in satisfaction and said, "These talismans are of decent quality. I'll keep this one just in case you change your mind later."
She paused for a moment, as if using her spiritual sense to check a storage bag, then continued, "There are a total of 2,050 talisman papers here, which amounts to 41 low-grade spirit stones."
Having said that, Mu Ling took out a small pile of spirit stones from her storage bag and handed them to Chu Ning.
Chu Ning quickly accepted them and tucked them into his robe.
Noticing that Chu Ning had put the spirit stones directly into his robe, Mu Ling asked in surprise, "Hey, don't you have a storage bag?"
Chu Ning shook his head. "This is my first season's harvest. I don't have enough spirit stones to buy a storage bag yet."
Mu Ling blinked, then quickly fished out a small bag from her bosom and said, "Chu Ning, I have an extra storage bag here. If you're willing to do me a small favor, I'll give it to you."
Chu Ning didn't respond, feeling that this whole situation was a bit too good to be true.
However, Mu Ling didn't seem insistent and merely smiled at him. "You don't have to answer right away, Chu Ning. Why don't you go see Elder Brother Zhuang first? I think I saw him in his house just now."
With that, Mu Ling turned and left, leaving a bewildered Chu Ning behind.
After some thought, Chu Ning decided to continue on his way to find Zhuang Yunde.
Initially, he had planned to return to his residence, retrieve the 550 talismans meant for Zhuang Yunde, and then pay him a visit.
But now that he knew Zhuang Yunde was at home, he felt compelled to seek him out first.
Mu Ling's sudden appearance and forceful purchase were odd, but despite this forced transaction, Chu Ning hadn't suffered any losses.
However, he still wanted to clarify the situation with Zhuang Yunde to put his mind at ease.
(End of Chapter)
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