“Honored customers, my surname is Liu. Many within the industry call me Sister Liu. Your noble bearings mark you as extraordinary people. If I may?” The middle-aged woman was adroit at socializing and hobnobbing with her betters.

But Jiang Chen was uninterested in small talk. He was here to transact in business, nothing else.

“My surname is Shao,” he stated coolly. “I’m in the market to make a mutually profitable deal. Are you interested, Sister Liu?”

“Haha, Sir Shao, then. We are open for business, so of course we’re happy to consider all business propositions. What amount of product are you looking to buy or sell?”

Jiang Chen brought out the storage ring with the ancient jade. Opening it up, he laid out a veritable mountain of jade.

Sister Liu drew a sharp breath. Some of the jade was of exceptional quality, which frankly astonished her. Even this store rarely handled jade in such impressive amounts. 

Excavation on this kind of scale was largely impossible. Moreover, Bluesmoke hadn’t seen any events that did involve extensive unearthing of ancient jade. Where did all these come from then?

The woman colored slightly before recovering.

“Are you able to take all of this?” Jiang Chen scrutinized the manager across from him.

Sister Liu breathed in deeply. “We need a few days to gather up the requisite capital. It’s a bit hard for us to rustle up this much cash on the spot.”

“A few days?” Jiang Chen frowned. “Never mind then. Buy as much as you can afford and I’ll look for a few more stores to lighten your load.”

“Please don’t, honored customer,” the Liu surnamed woman hurriedly interrupted. “If you split it up between several stores, you won’t get the best price for such a huge amount of jade.”

“If you can’t purchase all of it, then that is what I must do.”

“Will two days suffice?” Sister Liu looked at Jiang Chen earnestly.

“I can’t wait for even that long. All of this jade will be yours tomorrow at this time if you can furnish the funds. If not, then let that be the end of it,” Jiang Chen declared decisively. He only had a single day to dawdle here for.

Fervor flashed through Sister Liu’s eyes. There was so much jade here that she couldn’t resist its allure. Gathering the stones in just one day was an almost impossible task, but she agreed without hesitation nevertheless. 

“One day is fine! Let us follow through on our agreement tomorrow at this time.”

“Hah, what agreement? We haven’t decided on the price yet,” Jiang Chen smiled coolly.

“We have a systematic method of determining the price based on rank and amount. I guarantee you’ll get fair market value for your jade,” Sister Liu laughed. “Our store is the largest of its kind here in Miracle City, the leader in the industry. We wouldn’t damage our own reputation by ripping off our customers.”

“Alright. I’ll wait a day for you then.” Jiang Chen had nothing further to say. He whisked his ancient jade and Huang’er away.

With a conflicted look, Sister Liu saw the couple off until they disappeared into the street.

She’d made several important deals since getting into this line of work, but none of them had been on the scale of the one she was about to make. 

Many cultivators could only sell a handful of jade at once. The volume of jade that this young man had produced completely defied her understanding. Could he be a scion of the imperial family?

Definitely not!

There were only so many in the imperial family. None of them had the ability to get their hands on so many – nor were they so dignified and beautiful as the young couple she’d just received.

Regardless of her turmoil, Sister Liu absolutely wanted to push the deal through. If she could finalize the purchase of these goods and flip them later, she would make an incredible amount of profit.

“Watch the store,” she directed her employees. “I’m going to gather funds.”

As promised, Jiang Chen and Huang’er didn’t visit any other stores afterward. Instead, they checked into an inn. The young man planned to complete the transaction the next day.

If Sister Liu couldn’t get together the stones in time, he would sell as much jade as she could afford. The leftover amount could be offloaded onto the other stores. 

He wasn’t much interested in what was contained within the ancient jade. There were some neat finds, yes, but nothing particularly valuable to him.

The former half of the night passed relatively peacefully, but this wasn’t to stay the case. Amid Jiang Chen’s meditations, just after midnight, he heard a flurry of quick footsteps from all around. Countless cultivators approached from every direction.

Furrowing his brow, he opened his eyes to find Huang’er staring at him.

“Is something the matter?” She looked a little puzzled. “Are they here for us?”

Jiang Chen frowned a little. “I don’t know yet. If they are, I can only attest to their blindness.”

He was no longer the hot-blooded youth he used to be. He wouldn’t come to a hasty conclusion without evidence. He focused on listening to the commotion outside before declaring, “The place has been surrounded. They’re after someone in this inn, I presume.”

“Everyone inside the inn, listen up! Bluesmoke’s Blue Eagle Guard is looking for a criminal. You should remain in your rooms and await our search. Do not move about or leave. You will incur our wrath if you do.”

The Blue Eagle Guard?

Jiang Chen remembered a force with that name as the imperial family here’s private guard. They occupied a lofty position and possessed considerable strength, a group to be reckoned with.

In the Bluesmoke Isles, they could do as they liked.

He didn’t take them too seriously though. Miracle City was one of the most bustling cities in Bluesmoke, filled with outsiders from every corner of the world.

That the Blue Eagle Guard was operating with such a high profile was utterly irritating, regardless of whether they were actually tending to their duties. Personally, Jiang Chen wouldn’t permit them to search his room for a second.

Many shared his attitude. A number of people began to curse loudly.

“What criminal are you looking for at midnight?! You can do whatever you need to tomorrow. What the hell are you disturbing our sleep for?”

“Exactly. I’m not from Bluesmoke myself. The Blue Eagle Guard has no right to be so obnoxious!”

“Want to search my room? I’d like to see you try!”

There were definitely more than a few uncooperative individuals. The Blue Eagle Guard’s rude, overbearing attitude had provoked quite a crowd.

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