Instant Kill - Volume 8 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Guo Shi’er smiled and said, “Are you reluctant to sell things? Your shop is the one that sells talismans . Is there a difference between selling them to me… and selling them to someone else? Tell me the price . ”

Tong Zhi looked frustrated . He did not expect Guo Shi’er to be so straightforward and take away the three True Treasure Talismans without even looking at them as if he had picked up something unimportant! He said, “No… that’s not what I meant . I meant…”

Guo Shi’er didn’t let him continue and interrupted, “You mean there are other advanced talismans?”

Xie Xiaoping couldn’t help but smile, he rarely saw Tong Zhi eat his words . He actually couldn’t figure out why Guo Shi’er needed so many talismans, a Runemaster usually only needed to be proficient in a few advanced runes . For him, that was enough . Too many talismans would affect the attacks . This was the common sense of this world .

Tong Zhi said, “Alright, alright… Little Uncle, you’re tough . They will be sold to you! Fifty thousand Great Magic Coins per True Treasure Talisman . A total of one hundred and fifty thousand…”

Guo Shi’er frowned slightly, he didn’t have that much money . The local currency was different from the Great Magic Coins of the Northern Talisman Sect . The two couldn’t be used interchangeably . He said, “Xiaoping, I’m a bit short on money . You lend me some… I’ll tell my Martial Aunt to repay it to you . ”

Xie Xiaoping said readily, “No problem . ”

Guo Shi’er complained, “Old Tong ah… you know, I’m young and my Martial Aunt gives me little pocket money . These three talismans are not cheap . Can you offer a little more discount?”

The Eagle Demon couldn’t help but smirk . He had seen the little guy’s bargaining skills many times .

Tong Zhi originally wanted to say that high-grade talismans like the True Treasure Talismans don’t have discounts, but Guo Shi’er’s identity was special and he was a child . He didn’t know how to explain it and he fiddled for half a day before saying, “This… Little Uncle, this is a True Treasure Talisman…”

Guo Shi’er said, “I know, a True Treasure Talisman, a High Grade Talisman, how about this… One talisman will be ten thousand Great Magic Coins . ” Without blinking an eye, he offered a price that stunned people .

In a surprise, Tong Zhi shouted, “Impossible!”

Guo Shi’er looked frightened and said, “I know that no means no… Why are you yelling at me?”

Xie Xiaoping was also shocked . Tong Zhi’s voice just now was just too loud . He hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Hey, Old Tong, what are you yelling for… Don’t scare Little Uncle . ”

Tong Zhi said, “It’s not that I’m yelling, this price… Even if I do sell it, I won’t be able to earn anything… What will I fill my stomach with?” He was really anxious .

Guo Shi’er coldly blurted out, “What’s the minimum price?”

Tong Zhi casually replied, “The minimum price is twenty-two thousand!”

Guo Shi’er said, “Alright, I won’t embarrass you, 22,000! I can afford to pay for that price!”

Tong Zhi almost cried out, “Don’t bully me like this . It was not easy to acquire such high-level talismans . If I don’t earn any money, how else can I run this shop?”

Xie Xiaoping also wasn’t stupid . This kid was too cunning . He said, “How about this? Twenty-five thousand! Little Uncle, we also need to make sure that Old Tong can earn some or else he won’t be able to report to the Dasun Shop . ”

Guo Shi’er replied briskly, “Good, that’s it!”

Tong Zhi had already seen that Guo Shi’er was difficult to deal with and knew that there was no advantage to be gained by fighting any longer . He said, “Alright, consider this my filial respect to Little Uncle . ”

Guo Shi’er’s reaction was extremely quick and immediately said, “You want to be filial to me? Well, you can pay for it!” He wasn’t polite at all .

Tong Zhi was so frightened that he kept saying, “That’s not what I meant… That’s not what I meant…”

Xie Xiaoping helped Tong Zhi explain, “Little Uncle, what Old Tong means is that the discount this time… is his filial respect to you . ”

Tong Zhi Maniac nodded, he was already being tossed around by Guo Shi’er .

Eagle Demon walked outside alone and couldn’t help but want to let out a laugh . Guo Shi’er was no ordinary child . Xie Xiaoping and Tong Zhi couldn’t even play with him .

Guo Shi’er knew he couldn’t go too far, so he smiled and said, “So that’s how it is . As thanks, I’ll treat you to a meal at a restaurant today!”

According to Xie Xiaoping’s proposal, it was twenty-five thousand Great Magic Coins for one True Treasure Talisman and Tong Zhi could barely manage to deliver .  

After all this, the two of them were clearly in awe of Guo Shi’er . This boy was not ordinary, he was not only shrewd but his silver tongue also left the two men a mess .

Guo Shi’er stood up and said, “Let’s go to the restaurant, Old Tong, come join us . ”

Tong Zhi was a spendthrift, but he had never seen such a child before . He said, “I lost today, humph . I will get it all back in food!”

Guo Shi’er smiled, “Go ahead and eat . If you can dine for one thousand Great Magic Coins, I’ll give you your money back . ”

Tong Zhi said, “A thousand Great Coins? Forget it, I can’t eat that much even if I was a Fu beast . ” Ten Great Magic Coins could buy a very good meal, a hundred Great magic Coins could get you a top-notch Fu food . How could one use a thousand Great Magic Coins Can? Could you even finish it?

The four of them jokingly left the shop . Guo Shi’er said, “Xiaoping, you are familiar with this place, find us a good restaurant . ”

Guo Shi’er was satisfied . With sixteen talismans, he had enough to give some as gifts and a few spare to use himself . After staying in town for another ten days, he would be able to the Altar Secret Realm and maybe meet Master Luo Jie .  

Guo Shi’er was in a good mood and his speech became polite, laughing and talking along the way, and surprising Xie Xiaoping and Tong Zhi .

Guo Shi’er discovered that these two guys were indeed tyrants in the local area, the looks of the pedestrians on the road when they saw them were basically the same as seeing a ghost! They avoided them immediately .

Guo Shi’er didn’t know what kind of unethical things these two had done to cause the locals to avoid them so badly .

Star Lake Restaurant .

Guo Shi’er looked at the large black plaque and asked, “Is this the best restaurant?”

Xie Xiaoping said, “Yes, this is the best restaurant in Misty Rain Town! It’s also the tallest restaurant building . ”

Guo Shi’er said, “Calling it the Star Lake Wine Tower fits it more . It doesn’t look like a building, it just looks like a wooden tower!”

The Star Lake Restaurant was about ten stories high with wide wooden eaves on each floor, no partition walls and only fences . From outside, one could see people moving around each floor . It was a unique fully open layout .  

It had a couple of people on each floor, including those who specialized in transporting meals in a hanging basket that went up and down a slide . It was an interesting design .

As soon as Tong Zhi reached the door, a few employees came out nodding and incomparably courteous . One of them said, “Master Tong, you’re here, please come in! Go get the waiter! Isn’t this Master Xie? Please come in!”

Xie Xiaoping raised his hand, threw out some coins and said, “The usual, tenth floor!”

The employee followed with a smile and said, “Two gentlemen… I’d like to apologize . The tenth floor was fully reserved by a group of customers . The ninth floor is still vacant…”

Tong Zhi asked, “Who reserved the tenth floor?”

Before the employee could reply, the owner of the Star Lake Restaurant welcomed them . Guo Shi’er couldn’t help but smile . This man turned out to be one of Xie Xiaoping’s gang . He was one of the three Inner Disciples that were galloping on the street .

Xie Xiaoping smiled and said, “Old Brother Guan, who is it on the tenth floor that has taken over our dedicated floor?” He also turned to Guo Shi’er and introduced them, “This is Guan Yuntao, the owner of the Star Lake Restaurant, and also an Inner Disciple out for training . Older brother Guan, this is the disciple of Elder Ku Mu, Guo Shi’er, a Senior Rune Grandmaster and our Junior Martial Uncle . ”

Guo Shi’er nodded while Guan Yuntao remembered Guo Shi’er . The last time he was on the street, when Monier made her move on them, a child was standing right next to her . He didn’t expect him to be an expert from the Inner Sect .

Guan Yuntao was slightly surprised, Ku Mu was a famous fiend in the Chenxiao Sect, no one dared to mess with him . Ku Mu rarely moved around the Inner Sect and he was either in the underground rune-making hall, searching for materials elsewhere or entering the Secret Realm to kill . Thus, Ku Mu’s reputation was well-known and most disciples knew that the Inner Sect had such an expert .

“Oh, Little Uncle, please come up to the ninth floor . ”

The group of people went up the wooden stairs to the ninth floor . In the rush, Guan Yuntao also forgot to answer who had booked the tenth floor .

The ninth floor was small, of about a hundred square meters, with four large tables placed in each corner of the room, the wooden staircase in the middle and the rest empty . There were only wooden railings instead of walls, bamboo curtains to put down and a few screens placed aside .

The group sat at the northwest corner and the Star Lake could be seen not far away . Guo Shi’er did not expect that there would be such a large lake in this mountainous area, almost invisible from the outside, with rippling waves and the shadows of boats on it . A few white birds flew in the air and a cool breeze came in, making it very comfortable .

The tables and chairs here were similar to those in his previous life . Guo Shi’er felt very warm when he saw the familiar things as he pulled out a chair and sat down . Smiling, he said, “I’m treating you today, feel free to order food . ”

Guan Yuntao said, “Since we’re at my place, I should be the one inviting . ”

Guo Shi’er asked, “Do you really want to invite us?”

Guan Yuntao said, “Of course… it’s not often Little Uncle will come here, so it’s only right for me to treat you once!”

Guo Shi’er said simply, “All right then, Old Xie, Old Tong, you all heard that, right? Old Yun wants to treat us and he’s very sincere about it . So we’ll accept it in good faith, right?”

Old Xie? Old Tong? Old Guan?

The three of them didn’t know what to say . They couldn’t say that Guo Shi’er was wrong, but they still felt awkward listening to it .

Guan Yuntao said to the group, “Everyone sit… right, what does Little Uncle like to eat?”

“Fu food! I want to eat Fu food . ” Tong Zhi called out first . Xie Xiaoping nodded his head in agreement, “I want the best Fu food!”

Guo Shi’er said, “Well, I have no problem with that . Uncle Eagle Demon, what do you want to eat?”

The Eagle Demon said, “Meat! Lots of meat! Fresh meat, whether grilled or boiled… . anything goes, and just give me some noodles . I’ve been feeling hungry lately!”

Guan Yuntao smiled, “This is standard Fu food, it will definitely satisfy you . ” He really wasn’t stingy . A plate of Fu food was brought up and also large chunks of meat for Eagle Demon . It was heavily marinated meat, as well as rice wine in a large warm copper kettle served in one large bowl at a time .

Guo Shi’er took a few bites and couldn’t help but praise the food . The Fu food was well cooked . It tasted delicious .

Only they were present on the ninth floor, the other three tables were all empty . It was pure white rice, without any water added to it, and it tasted very sweet . Guo Shi’er drank the rice wine very slowly, not daring to gulp down the bowl, like Tong Zhi and the others . He sipped it while listening to the three chat .

Xie Xiaoping finished off a large bowl of rice wine in one gulp, wiping the wine stains from the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, and said with a smile, “A few days ago, I heard that the fiefdom’s men defeated a Low-level Magic Continent and captured many slaves . Unfortunately, time was limited and they were pushed out of that continent before they could continue their war . ”

Xie Xiaoping downed a large bowl of rice wine in one gulp, wiped the wine stains from the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, and said with a smile, “A few days ago, I heard that the fiefdom’s men arrived a Low-Level Magic Continent and captured a lot of slaves . Unfortunately, time was limited and they were pushed out of that continent before they could expand their war effort . ”

Guo Shi’er felt cold sweat and asked, “What is a fiefdom?”

Tong Zhi said, “The fiefdoms, like our Chenxiao Sect, are both big and very strong organizations . They have expanded very quickly recently, having found a secret realm to enter the Low-Level Magic Continent . It is getting quite large… When will we, the Chenxiao Sect, find one too?! It’s only good to go in and take some of the populace of such secret realm . ”

Guo Shi’er was puzzled, “Why do you need to rob the population?”

Xie Xiaoping asked, “You don’t know?” He felt a little strange but soon got over it . With Guo Shi’er’s young age, although he had entered the ranks of high-level professionals, it didn’t mean that he knew everything .  

He said, “It’s simple, we here in the Mid-level Rune Continent… have too many people and must rely on looting the other populations to support our people… Oh, and most of them are actually the descendants of slaves . ”

Guo Shi’er was surprised, “Descendants of slaves?”

Tong Zhi explained, “Here, we only have one generation of slaves, no second . When slaves give birth to offspring, those offspring become natives .

We have only one generation of slaves here, no second generation . When slaves give birth to offspring those offspring become natives . So there is only one generation of slaves because the population that was kidnapped… was considered spoils of war and can’t be freed . ”

Guo Shi’er said, “This rule is really strange . ”

Guan Yuntao said, “It’s not strange, people die too quickly here . This town has been razed many times . Hehe, every single time, the bodies were left lying everywhere, the blood flowing everywhere and unless the people had the ability to resist, the outcome was… death! In fact, the Low-Level Magic Continent is instead safer . You don’t have to worry too much about the invasion of the outer continents and even if you are invaded, there is a time limit on it! Unlike us here, not only do we have people from equivalent level continents attacking, but there are also people from the High-Level Magic Continent attacking . ”

Xie Xiaoping said, “It’s just that in the last ten years or so, it’s been relatively calm . My old man never allowed me to leave Misty Rain Town saying that it’s peaceful here! It’s still not too late to go back to the Chenxiao Sect if someone attacks, but if it’s from a higher level continent, it’s absolutely impossible to run . You have no choice but to fight for your life! It would be lucky if one out of ten came out alive . ”

Tong Zhi said, “Unless one reaches the level of a Purple Elder, it’s simply a death sentence . ”

Guan Yuntao said, “If you encounter a truly powerful figure from the High-Level Continent, even a Purple Elder may not be able to escape unless they promise to sign a slave contract . Hehe, how many people who could reach the level of a Purple Elder would agree to such a condition? In the end, it’s all about fighting to the death . Being able to escape is considered lucky and those who can’t escape will only die in battle . ”

Xie Xiaoping said, “Yes, I’ve heard from my old father that our Chenxiao Sect had Purple Elders who died in battle . ”

Guo Shi’er asked, “Why would people from the High-Level Continent invade the Mid-Level Continent?”

Guan Yuntao drank a bowl of wine and said, “They don’t want the Mid-Level Continent to rise to the level of a High-Level Continent, so they have to suppress it . The way to do it is simple, come and slaughter regularly… Unlike the Low-Level Continent, the Middle-Level Continent is not protected by the rules . ”

Guo Shi’er scratched his head and asked, “Rules?” He suddenly realized that this was the inscription engraved in his soul after he inherited it from the Void Mist Dao . He said, “So it’s the Runic Rule… There’s even such a rule . ”

Guan Yuntao nodded and said, “Yes, it’s the Runic Rule . Only on continents above the Mid-Level can one clearly understand this kind of rule . It is said that only after reaching Saint level or above, one can touch some of the runic rules, which means that one can condense one’s own Void Talismans . ”

Xie Xiaoping said, “Void talisman, ah… Alas, it’s more powerful than any real talisman!”

Tong Zhi said, “Not necessarily, it is said that certain types of real talismans have a power that is second to that of void talismans . ”

Xie Xiaoping trailed off, “Who has such talismans? I’ve only heard about them . ”

Tong Zhi shook his head and said, “I’ve also only heard about them… It’s said that whether it’s a True Spirit Talisman or a True Ancient Talisman, it will mutate and produce talisman spirits . In other words, the talisman will have a spiritual nature of its own… Oh, drink, drink…” He seemed reluctant to say more, but Guo Shi’er was right . The topic was interesting .

But Tong Zhi no longer continued, he lifted a large bowl of rice wine and gulped it down . By now, each of them had drunk five or six large bowls . Guo Shi’er estimated that such a large copper bowl was almost two pounds per bowl . It made him marvel that the people of this world could not only eat but also drink, and looking at their appearance, this little bit of wine was nothing at all . Their expressions remained the same and they looked at ease .

From the three of them chatting, Guo Shi’er knew quite a few secrets of the Chenxiao Sect, which he couldn’t hear from Ku Mu or Monier . These three were quite well-informed, especially in Misty Rain Town, a transportation hub where all kinds of news were abundant .

As more rice wine was poured on the bowls, the three of them spoke more and more . Eagle Demon hardly said a word, he just ate the meat passionately and drank without using a bowl, directly from the large copper jug .

Guo Shi’er hadn’t finished the bowl of wine until now, he thought it was too sweet . He missed the soju from his last life, that was the only wine for men to drink . Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any here .

Xie Xiaoping said, “I heard that the fiefdom was bringing a group of people out to sell, mainly young women…”

Guo Shi’er asked, “They kidnap women to sell them?”

Xie Xiaoping gnawed on a meat bone and answered, “Well, when you go to rob a population, first is children, followed by relatively young professionals, and lastly, young women . Little Uncle, among the snatched population, children are the most valuable, followed by professionals, while young women are the cheapest . ”

Guo Shi’er understood after a little thought . Children were easy to cultivate, as they knew nothing and were the easiest to shape, so they were the most valuable . Professionals were no less useful as long as they were tamed . Young women, on the other hand, were tools for procreation . He shuddered in his heart, this world was so cruel .

Xie Xiaoping said, “Little Uncle, are you interested in buying a few to play with… er, count me out…”

Guo Shi’er looked at him a bit annoyed .

Tong Zhi and Guan Yuntao couldn’t help but let out a laugh and even Eagle Demon couldn’t help but smile . Letting a kid who was less than eleven years old go and buy a few women to play with . Wasn’t that abusive?

Xie Xiaoping said awkwardly, “Oh, a little too drunk, Little Uncle… I was talking nonsense, hehe . ”

Guo Shi’er said calmly, “No wonder your old man won’t let you go out and travel . It does make sense . ” What he said caused Xie Xiaoping’s face to turn red . This was his way of cursing without dirty words .

Tong Zhi said, “Don’t be angry, Little Uncle, this guy always speaks without thinking…”

Xie Xiaoping was so angry that he shouted, “You’re the one who has no brains!”

Tong Zhi raised his hands and surrendered, “Okay, okay… I don’t have a brain, I don’t have a brain, alright?”

Guo Shi’er found that these three guys were pretty close . When he thought about it, it wasn’t worth getting angry about . He asked, “Where’s that fiefdom?”

Guan Yuntao said, “Fiefdom! Hehe, the fiefdom and we, the Chenxiao Clan, can be considered rivals . I don’t know how many times we have faced each other but they were all skirmishes and none of the senior professionals came out . It was just apprentice-level professionals fighting each other . It wasn’t too serious . ”

Xie Xiaoping filled another large bowl of rice wine . His face finally had a red tone and his voice got louder, “The fiefdom’s disciples are a bunch of villains, a bunch of scoundrels… a bunch of useless trash!”

Tong Zhi and Guan Yuntao were also energetic, and the three cursed . Guo Shi’er was dumbfounded . He never imagined that the three would suddenly start cursing . He looked at Eagle Demon, only to see that guy holding a jug of rice wine, emptying it in his mouth, and looking like it did not matter to him .

Just then, they heard a bang upstairs and someone cursed, “Which bastard is making noise downstairs?!”

Xie Xiaoping was drunk, but not high, and heard the cursing upstairs clearly . He raised his hand and slapped it on the table… Pah! Shouted, “Which asshole is upstairs?! Get out!” He was even fiercer than the people upstairs and just told them to get out .

There was chaos upstairs and a few seconds later they heard someone say, “Go down and see who is so arrogant! Beat him up!”

Guo Shi’er took a sip of wine and leaned back in his chair, his eyes on the wooden stairs .

Two big men rushed down from the stairs .

Guo Shi’er whispered, “Fu Warriors? Or Fu Master Warriors?”

Xie Xiaoping and the three of them were all low-level inner disciples and their perception was not as good as Guo Shi’er, who was at least considered an intermediate disciple . The three could not see the professional level of those two at all . As the two big men had no markings on them, wearing dark satin . He knew at a glance that they were attendants .

Guo Shi’er, however, could tell that they were Fu Warriors, just not sure if they were Fu Master Warriors . He said faintly, “Uncle Eagle Demon, don’t let them get close . If they dare to come over, throw them down the stairs!”

Two big men walked down the stairs and shouted, “Were you the ones shouting just now?”

The Eagle Demon wiped his mouth with his sleeve, holding a large wine jug in his hand, stood up and said coldly, “What?” He was extremely strong, someone who shouldn’t be messed with at first glance . He had a face full of dense runes, layered on top of each other by who knows how many layers . In the Mid-Level Magic Continent, there was a consensus that indigenous  Fu Grandmaster Warriors were the hardest to mess with .

The two big men looked at each other and shouted, “Get down!” Two Fu swords suddenly appeared in their hands, and they roared and pounced over .

Eagle Demon laughed, “It’s been a long time since we fought and my hands are a bit itchy!” He raised his hand and smashed the large wine jug .

Guo Shi’er sat steadily . Tong Zhi, Xie Xiaoping, and Guan Yuntao all stood up, one by one with their hands on their waists in a standard fighting stance .

Guo Shi’er asked indifferently, “Old Guan, who’s upstairs?”