"Bastard!"
To be honest, when the village elder took the poking stick, my heart almost jumped to my throat! Although I had drawn "匿气符" all over the poker stick and coated it with soot, the other party was also a cultivator. If they were to figure out something, it wouldn't be easy to take away the Nine Revolving Thunder Striking Wood smoothly.
Fortunately, after carefully examining it, the village elder seemed not to have found anything, and couldn't help but furrow his brows and ask, "Are you sure this is the stick?"
Lao Wu quickly replied, "It's this stick, it's what our family uses for heating!"
"Weird... Isn't this just an ordinary poking stick..."
Muttering to himself, the village elder immediately returned the stick to Wang Xin, who then gave it to me directly, saying, "Your poking stick! Here you go!"
Seeing that the village elder hadn't found any clues, I was immediately relieved, ready to take it, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw the village elder staring at me intently. A tactic of baiting the prey with a show of weakness?
Humph, trying to play this with me, almost falling for it! So, I didn't show any intention of receiving the stick. Instead, I said, "No! This stick isn't mine, that pearl is!"
"Young man, you can't say that..."
Before Wang Xin could speak, the village elder was the first to say, "Since it was your own misjudgment, mistaking this poking stick for a treasure and wanting to exchange it for the pearl, you should fulfill your previous agreement! This pearl now belongs to Datou!"
"Master!"
It was clear that Sha Biao also saw that his master was coveting the "定风珠", and was about to step forward to speak out, but was stared back by the village elder. He could only look at me apologetically. After all, the other was his master, and he was in a dilemma now.
"Ha..."
Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but smile, and then bowed to the village elder, "Elder, you are absolutely right. Without honesty, one cannot stand. I should indeed fulfill our previous agreement."
"You're right..."
Hearing this, the village elder seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and showed a kindly smile on his face, ready to speak. But I preemptively spoke once again, "But integrity goes both ways. Since I have fulfilled the agreement, I also ask Lao Wu to fulfill our agreement. Yesterday, we had a prior agreement, and I bought this pearl for ten thousand yuan! He also agreed, so..."
"Is that so?"
The village elder suddenly frowned, apparently already knowing about this matter. But at this moment, he pretended to be confused and directly glanced at Lao Wu.
"Yes, yes!"
Lao Wu still had a conscience and quickly stood up, looking apologetic to the village elder, "I'm really sorry, this pearl originally belonged to my benefactor, and I didn't intend to keep it. My benefactor was very kind; since I didn't want the pearl, my benefactor gave me compensation of ten thousand yuan. So, even if you offer a higher price for the pearl, I can't sell it. I have to return it to my benefactor..."
"You fool!"
Before Lao Wu could finish, Wang Xin interrupted him and scolded, "You don't know how to make money, and do you still want to stay in this village? Offending the village elder, you..."
"Shut up, you!"
Shabiao kicked him in the chest as soon as he came up, knocking him to the ground. He said, "Don't think so poorly of my master!"
"Enough!" The village elder's face darkened, immediately stopping Shabiao, and said, "Son, there was an error in my practice the past few days, and I urgently need the life-saving Wind-Sealing Bead!"
"Ah?" Upon hearing this, Shabiao was dumbfounded. However, I couldn't help but frown. Through the sense of the Qi field, this old man was full of vitality, far from being on the brink of death. He was clearly hinting to me that he was determined to obtain this bead.
Seeing Shabiao silent, the village elder turned his gaze to me, saying unequivocally, "Young man, as you heard, name your price. I will buy your bead!"
"Ah?" Before I could respond, Wang Xin on the ground became unhappy and hastily said, "No, Village Elder, this bead is ours. Even if you want to buy it, you should..."
"Shut up!" Before he finished speaking, the village elder glared fiercely, then turned his gaze back to me.
Furrowing my brows, I couldn't help but say to the village elder, "Are you trying to force a trade?"
"No choice!" The village elder shrugged, pretending to look helpless, and said, "For the sake of my life, I can do anything!"
At his words, I fell into silence. It was clear that he was heavily implying that if I didn't sell, he would resort to force. After a moment of silence, I said slowly, "But, I'm not necessarily afraid of you!"
This was what I truly felt. I had the protection of the Dragon Qi, and with the Nine-Turn Lightning Striking Wood, I might actually be able to defeat this old man. However, in reality, I didn't need to do this. After all, my main goal wasn't the Wind-Sealing Bead, it was the burning fire stick. As long as the stick was still there, I didn't care about the bead. Moreover, this was their territory, the entire village was on their side. Even if I defeated the village elder, I might not be able to leave with the Wind-Sealing Bead.
Of course, if he wanted the burning fire stick, I might indeed have to fight him to the end!
Seeing the village elder deeply furrow his brows, I changed my tone and said with a faint smile, "But, after all, you are Shabiao's master, and urgently need this Wind-Sealing Bead for survival. I'll give Shabiao this face!"
"Wang Lin, I..." As soon as this was said, Shabiao was moved, and even became a bit stuttery in his words. However, apart from being moved, he felt more guilty. He had witnessed my strength with his own eyes and knew I wasn’t exaggerating. Even a vicious character like the Centipede Spirit, I could directly kill. There was no reason for him to fear his master. What's more, in this matter, I was originally in the right!
"Thank you then!" The village elder seemed quite indifferent. Then he said, "Good, according to what I said earlier, fifty thousand dollars, I will buy your Wind-Sealing Bead!"
"Heh." Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh again. Subsequently, I politely said to the village elder, "Senior, you're joking! Both of us are practitioners, so naturally we understand the true value of this Wind-Sealing Bead. Isn't fifty thousand a bit too little?"
Since I had decided to sell the Wind-Sealing Bead, I couldn't give them an unfair advantage. Moreover, if I acted too hastily, it might make them suspicious.
"Alright! You name the price!" As expected, the village elder's reaction to me was not surprising at all. He straightforwardly asked me to name the price.
To be honest, I didn't know exactly how much this thing was worth. It's not like buying things in a supermarket, where the price is clearly marked. If this thing was truly as amazing as the legends say, a cure for all ills, then it would be truly priceless.
After thinking for a while, I said, "Let's do this, Senior, why don't you name a fair price? If I find it suitable, we can complete the transaction immediately!"
Upon hearing this, the village elder fell silent as well. After thinking about it, he finally took out a bank card from his pocket and said, "There's a total of around two hundred thousand on this card, it's all of my savings, this is my bottom line."
"Deal!" I had originally planned to squeeze out as much as I could, so when I heard there was over two hundred thousand in the card, I rejoiced in my heart and immediately agreed without hesitation.
The village elder was also straightforward. Upon seeing me agree, he directly handed the bank card to me and said, "The password is six nines. If you don't believe me, you can have Shabiao go to the bank and withdraw the money."
"Heh, no need for that. I believe you, Senior!" As I spoke, I took the bank card from him without hesitation. However, at the moment I touched the bank card, I felt something rush into my body.