The Long Journey to Immortality

"If they mention my name at that time, I would appreciate it if Young Master Lan Ya and Manager Chen could give them some preferential treatment."

Faced with the "Fairy of the Qin" and her series of wonderful fantasies based on the "completion of the transaction," the two who arrived with bad news couldn't help but feel ashamed and reluctant to speak.

Although Lan Ya Gongzi and Store Manager Chen, who were engaged in business in the East China Sea, inevitably experienced some treacherous business stories, they still kept in mind the principle of "treating customers as if they were Nascent Soul cultivators".

Now, they are facing a Golden Core Realm female cultivator who has come from afar, bringing them great business, and who is also quite attractive.

Those who failed to keep their promises and tried to cover it up with deceptive tactics naturally felt their faces burning with shame.

Fortunately, compared to the slight shame, the exposure of the problem and the resulting trouble from both inside and outside the family made Young Master Lanya feel more panicked and even fearful.

At this moment, he had enough shamelessness to interrupt the "Fairy of the Qin"'s good mood and forcefully utter these words that were not very pleasant to hear.

“Fairy Qin, I must interrupt you here,” Lan Ya Gongzi said in a effeminate tone, his words sounding unsure and unreliable. “Actually, although Manager Chen and I came here today for a transaction, we have some bad news for you.”

"What? You think the price is too low and want to back out?" Han Lu deliberately presented them with this option.

Sure enough, upon hearing that Han Lu's guess coincided with his own fabricated excuse, Young Master Lanya couldn't wait to grab the rope, the one whose stability was uncertain.

“That’s true,” said Lan Ya Gongzi, habitually shifting the blame to Manager Chen and the others. “Although Manager Chen’s intentions were good, the preferential terms he offered exceeded the limits that a manager could offer.”

"I argued for Fairy Qin on the Dragon Head Islands, explaining the benefits of trading with such an important figure from the Western Regions who came to the East China Sea, but the high-ranking members of the merchant guild on the Dragon Head Islands still rejected this not-so-profitable deal."

Since the other party was his superior and controlled his fate to a certain extent, Manager Chen naturally dared not disobey the other party's wishes and took the initiative to take the blame, saying, "It's all my fault. I acted on my own and caused trouble for Fairy Qin and the young master."

"So what?" Han Lu feigned anger, her smile fading as she asked with rage, "Are you planning to breach the contract and bully me, a stranger from the Western Regions who has come to the East Sea?"

Emphasizing her identity, Han Lu had already focused her attention on how to extract another large sum of compensation from Young Master Lan Ya.

Hearing the words of "Fairy Qin" escalate the situation to a certain degree, Young Master Lanya thought to himself, "This is bad." He quickly tried to make amends, emphasizing, "Fairy Qin, you misunderstand. I have great respect for experts like you with mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, as well as for the Holy King Sect of the Western Regions. I would only regard you as important clients because of your status. How could I possibly neglect you or target you for this reason?"

"It was really only because of the rules of the Chamber of Commerce that I had no choice but to reject this deal. I'm also very angry."

Lan Ya Gongzi spoke with righteous indignation, as if he were on the side of "Qin Xianzi" and a great philanthropist who firmly safeguarded the interests of his clients.

Even if a fairy who knew nothing about the inside story were here, she wouldn't believe a single word of these words because of the urgency and importance of the situation.

Arguing forcefully and emphasizing her own rights and the reputation of Dongweng Shop, Han Lu showed an intention to make a big fuss about the matter and let her friends in the Western Regions know that there was such a dishonest and shady shop as Dongweng Shop in the East China Sea.

Of course, Han Lu also complained a lot about the procurement of materials, trying her best to make her disguise perfect.

Although she spoke loudly, Han Lu did not make any absolute statements in her series of exaggerated remarks, leaving face for Young Master Lan Ya and giving him room to maneuver.

With a forced smile, Young Master Lanya repeatedly agreed, and even took the opportunity, using Han Lu's words to hurl a few harsh curses, venting his displeasure of the past few days.

After calming down "Fairy Qin", Young Master Lan Ya then proposed the so-called compensation plan. "Fairy Qin is right. It is indeed our Dongweng Shop that did something wrong. That's why I came here today with Manager Chen, bringing the sincerity of our Star Islands branch, to discuss an apology and compensation with Fairy Qin."

"Oh? You're going to compensate me for spirit stones and resources?" Han Lu feigned surprise.

“That’s right, these are the rules of our Dongweng Shop,” Young Master Lanya said, still emphasizing the rules. “We hope that Fairy Qin will accept our compensation and let bygones be bygones, and let this matter rest.”

Young Master Lan had previously inquired about this "Qin Fairy" from Shop Manager Chen and knew that the "Qin Fairy" was also a pragmatic person. Therefore, after concealing part of the truth, he decisively chose to speak frankly so that the matter could be resolved as clearly as possible and quickly.

Upon hearing this, "Fairy Qin" asked, "Young Master Lan Ya, is our deal truly impossible to complete? Although time is of the essence, I can still wait here for another three or four days."

"Compared to the meager compensation you offer, I would much rather complete this transaction and bring back the resources and magical artifacts that my sisters and I need to the East Sea."

Young Master Lanya shook his head and said, "It is indeed impossible to complete. There are too many difficulties involved. Even if the transaction is to be completed, Fairy Qin will probably need to make a trip to Dragon Head Islands in person to see if she can purchase some of the materials from that branch at a lower price."

Only then did the "Fairy Qin" give up her illusion of completing the transaction and focus solely on making up for her losses.

“Very well,” said Fairy Qin, “Young Master Lanya, please tell me in detail how you intend to compensate me for my losses these past few days.”

Chapter 849 Bargaining

Seeing that "Fairy Qin" had agreed as expected, Young Master Lan Ya breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, no matter how powerful the Chamber of Commerce is, it is still just a commercial organization. With Lan Ya Gongzi's current abilities, he has no way to force the powerful "Qin Fairy" to shut up through non-cooperation and violence.

It would be wonderful if they were willing to open up and cooperate.

"Rest assured, the conditions we offer will definitely satisfy Fairy Qin."

As he spoke, Young Master Lanya gave Manager Chen a look and said, "Manager Chen, hurry up and bring everything out."

To show that it was a matter concerning the Star Islands, and that the "breach of contract fee" was paid by the Star Islands, Young Master Lanya stuffed some of the supplies he had selected before departure into Manager Chen's hands.

Store Manager Chen quickly opened the storage bag and placed the various compensation items on the table.

The table was too small to fit everything, so they ended up being laid out on the floor, containing nearly a hundred different items.

These items fall into two categories: one is ordinary ornaments, the kind that female cultivators like, which together might not even be worth fifty spirit stones.

One type is cultivation materials, most of which appeared on the list once compiled by "Qin Fairy", and are worth about two or three thousand spirit stones.

To cover it up, Young Master Lanya went to great lengths.

Aside from those mundane ornaments that were inconvenient to find, these items were either his personal wealth or items he obtained from the Dongweng Shop's public treasury using spirit stones.

At this critical juncture, he dared not use the shop's money to cover his own mess, lest he give others more ammunition against him.

If he hadn't been blinded by the immense profits and his previous resounding victory at the auction, Young Master Lanya would likely not be so deeply entrenched in this trap today.

Han Lu chuckled and said "Okay." Then, like any female cultivator, she picked up the beautiful jewelry on the table and held it up against herself.

To avoid any possibility that Young Master Lanya might use evil magic on it, she did not intend to wear any of these items on her body at this time to show that she liked them.

Even so, it was enough to put Young Master Lanya at ease.

But with victory in hand, how could he let Han Lu avenge the loss of "20,000 spirit stones" without teasing her a little more?

Her expression slowly changed as Han Lu gently lowered the ring in her hand, which was inlaid with a huge sapphire, her face showing worry.

Seeing the "Fairy of the Qin" suddenly change her expression, Manager Chen, who had been enthusiastically introducing the various ornaments on the table and the various materials on the ground, couldn't help but ask, "Fairy of the Qin, do you not like these ornaments?"

“No, that’s not it. Even if I don’t like it, I imagine my sisters would love these things. However…” Han Lu drawled out her words and said slowly, “In our Western Regions, there’s a saying: ‘Those who offer unsolicited kindness are either up to no good or are thieves.’”

"It's just that our business agreement has been broken. It's not like Young Master Lanya and Manager Chen have to use so many materials and ornaments to compensate us as a penalty for breach of contract."

"Could there be some hidden story behind this?"

Upon hearing this, Young Master Lanya quickly explained, "There's no hidden story. Fairy Qin is overthinking it."

"This is just one of the unspoken rules in the Donghai business community."

"In addition, the fact that Dongweng Shop places great emphasis on its reputation is also one of the reasons."

That's why so many materials and ornaments were offered as compensation.

Han Lu didn't want to push the other person too far. After glancing at the other person's embarrassed appearance and thinking about the many magical treasures and resources she still had, she felt that she had already taken her revenge.

"Is that so? If that's the case, then next time I come to Donghai, I will definitely look for your Donghai shops to do business with."

Upon hearing this, Young Master Lan and Shop Manager Chen quickly joined forces to praise "Dongweng Shop" once again.

After taking stock of the supplies one by one, Han Lu even pretended to haggle, forcing Shop Manager Chen to run back and forth between Han Lu's temporary residence and the shop to bring back several supplies worth over a hundred spirit stones before Han Lu finally nodded in agreement.

Before completing the final transaction, Young Master Lan Ya gave a few special instructions, explaining the importance of keeping this matter confidential for him and Dong Weng's shop.

Eager to gather these resources, Han Lu naturally wouldn't tease or make things difficult for Young Master Lan Ya in this place any longer.

Han Lu readily agreed, saying, "I certainly won't reveal our deal to anyone, however..."

"However, I would appreciate your guidance on where I should go to find the magical treasures and materials on the list."

"I don't have much time left before I leave. If I don't bring most of the supplies back to the Western Regions, I'm afraid I won't have the chance to come to the East Sea to trade with you two again."

Having put on a convincing performance, Han Lu didn't mind making another expression at the air after completing the task.

Upon hearing Han Lu's words, Young Master Lanya immediately planned to use this matter to show goodwill and express his stance to his superiors.

"If Fairy Qin is not in a hurry, you might as well go and have a look at my Chamber of Commerce's main store on the Phoenix Wing Islands in the East China Sea."

"The main store has a rich collection, which will certainly not disappoint the Fairy of Qin."

The "Fairy of the Qin" eyes lit up and asked, "Is there a discount?"

This first reaction is very much like that of a Western Region cultivator whose storage bag is not full of spirit stones.

With a thick skin, Young Master Lanya took out a jade token, poured some spiritual energy into it, and then handed it to "Fairy Qin". "This is my token. If Fairy Qin doesn't mind, please take it."

"Once you arrive at the main store and give them my name, they'll probably give you some face and offer you a discount as a big customer, so they can take on this business."

It can barely be considered as attracting customers. Even without discounts, as long as the business is successful, it can be considered a contribution from Young Master Lan Ya.

That was exactly what he was planning.

Holding the jade token, "Fairy Qin" hesitated and asked, "Are the Phoenix Wing Islands far from here?"

"With the fairy's cultivation level, if she were to use a flying magic weapon of the spirit level and have a sea chart to guide her, she could arrive in at most half a month."

Upon hearing this, "Fairy Qin" rejected Young Master Lanya's offer without hesitation.

“That’s too far. A round trip would take too much time,” the Fairy Qin asked again. “Would the name of Young Master Lanya be effective on the nearby Dragon Head Islands?”

Looking troubled, Young Master Lanya was caught in a dilemma.

In the end, all I could say was, "My name doesn't work well on the Dragon Head Islands."

After another round of casual conversation, the "Fairy Qin" finally accepted the "penalty" and said that she would try to find the necessary materials and magical treasures in several other chambers of commerce, and do her best to make her trip fruitful.

Everything should have a beginning and an end.

Over the next two days, Han Lu visited several shops of all sizes in the Starry Islands and indeed spent some spirit stones to purchase some of the materials on the list. Finally, the shopkeeper of the Immortal Pavilion, who had been informed by Lü Zhi in advance, spread the word that Fairy Qin had spent some spirit stones at the Immortal Pavilion to barely purchase 30% of the materials on the list.

Ultimately, in the eyes of Young Master Lan Ya and Shop Manager Chen, the big customer from the Western Regions, "Fairy Qin," left Star Islands disappointed and returned to the Western Regions after buying materials worth 20,000 to 30,000 spirit stones at the Immortal Pavilion.

Everything was done flawlessly, but the matter did not end there.

Lü Zhi also planned to use this as an excuse to stage a grand performance.

Chapter 850 Profit Sharing, Justifying the Pretext of War

Caution and prudence are among the few virtues that Han Lu inherited from Xiaoyaozi.

Having just left the Star Islands, they pretended to return to the Western Regions.

Han Lu would occasionally stop along the way, or temporarily settle on a certain island to observe, wary that Dong Weng's shop might also be using some kind of smokescreen tactic. Everything before was to lull her into a false sense of security so that she would reveal her true colors at the last moment.

This cautious approach, though ultimately proving to be nothing more than a battle of wits with thin air, completely reassured Han Lu, confirming that the plan, known only to her, Wen Erya, Lü Zhi, and a few of Lü Zhi's confidants, had not been leaked.

Finding another opportunity, Han Lu rested for half a day on a remote island inhabited only by a few mortals and cultivators. There, she used illusion magic to transform her appearance into that of Nian Haoge.

Using this image to travel, Han Lu felt that her prepared alibi was pretty perfect, even if the other party really had a vivid imagination and didn't play by the rules.