45.1 Sorry, Xue Jing
Nian Bing gave him a look and asked, "How much are you selling this pot for?"
The shop owner answered with a probing reply, "This pot was originally sold at one gold coin, however, since you seem like you are determined to buy it, I will sell it to you at half price, five silver coins, very cheap."
Nian Bing placed the iron pot back in the box and said indifferently, "You should have left the crown jewel there." Then he turned to leave.
"Ah! Sir, sir, don"t go! We can discuss the price, just name a number." The owner hastily called after Nian Bing.
Nian Bing turned to look at him and said, "If it were full the whole kitchenware set, I would pay one gold coin. If you want to sell, then sell it, if not then let me go. You obviously have counterfeits; those aren"t products of Sky Spring Pavilion."
The shop owner stared at him with his mouth hanging open, "Sir, do not make such irresponsible remarks. How do you know that my goods are counterfeit?"
Nian Bing smiled indifferently. "The material that Sky Spring Pavilion uses has a slightly deeper color. Moreover, the logo is somewhat incorrect. "Sky Spring Pavilion" should be inscribed in a triangle. One gold coin is already a very high price for your entire set. If my guess is not wrong, you should have bought from some place for a cheap price."
The owner made a pained face, "Sir, even if it is fake, for this many pieces, a gold coin is too little."
Nian Bing snorted,. "Too little? Then you should go find the original seller. For this kind of counterfeit, I would at most pay eight silver coins at any other place." Having said this, he started to leave.
"Okay, okay, okay. Anyway,you are the first customer today. I will sell it to you for a gold coin. Ai, I will lose money." The owner wore an unwilling face as he made the concession.
Nian Bing gave the owner a gold coin and carried the pile of kitchen utensils out of the shop. Watching his departing back, the stubby shop keeper snorted and said to himself, "What an idiot. He obviously knows it"s fake but still bought it; I bought it for just 3 silver coins. En, I made quite the profit this time. Hahahaha." A single gold coin was enough to feed a three-person family for half a month.
As he left the shop, Nian Bing was also rejoicing. What an idiot. These are obviously the genuine products, but he sold it like a counterfeit good. I made quite the profit this time. These Sky Spring Pavilion kitchen utensils were not fake; the main reason he was willing to haggle with the shop owner was because the owner quoted a price first. A Sky Spring Pavilion item, even initially, is worth no less than one gold coin. However, the shopkeeper actually quoted him five silver coins for a single pot. Then considering the fact that Ice Orchid City was a trading city, it was easy for him to determine that this set of Sky Spring Pavilion kitchenware was bought from some staff who didn"t really know anything. The Sky Spring Pavilion was located in the Harmonic Flower Empire. It would be difficult for a normal person to see its goods. Since the shop owner didn"t know what was what, Nian Bing naturally would haggle the price down.
Finding a place without people, Nian Bing inspected each kitchen implement before placing them into his s.p.a.ce ring. This time, even if he had to camp out in the wilderness, he wouldn"t be afraid of not having the tools to cook. Before going back to the inn, he also gathered every kind of ingredient that he needed and put it into the s.p.a.ce ring. On top of his treasure knives, he also had a mobile kitchen.
"Jing Jing, are you still not awake?" It was light out when Nian Bing returned to the inn. Naturally, without the guard obstructing the way, he could directly go upstairs to his rooms.
The door opened to Xue Jing looking at Nian Bing dissatisfied. "Where the h.e.l.l did you go last night?"
Nian Bing smiled slightly and said, "I was sleeping on the sofas in the main hall!"
Xue Jing snorted and replied, "You still lie. Yesterday I went back to give you a blanket, but you weren"t there. So where did you go." While speaking, she pulled Nian Bing into the room. When he heard about what Xue Jing had done, NIan Bing couldn"t help but feel warm. However, when he thought about his future freedom, he became determined. "I just randomly found a place to stay the night."
Xue Jing creased her brows. "There was still a place to stay the night that late? Confess, where did you go?" So caught up in interrogating Nian Bing about where he went last night, she didn"t even close the door.
"There"s always wh.o.r.ehouses available. Don"t you think that you"re very annoying?" Nian Bing acted as if he couldn"t stand how annoying she was.
"What?" Xue Jing"s voice immediately turned shrill. "You, you say it again, where did you go?"
"A wh.o.r.ehouse! What"s wrong with that? It"s much more comfortable to stay there." Nian Bing adopted an indifferent look.
Xue Jing"s originally ruddy cheeks instantly paled. She pointed at Nian Bing. "You, you actually to went to that kind of place, you, you…"
Disaffected, Nian Bing said, "It"s my choice to go where I choose. Although we are friends, you absolutely do not have the right to limit my freedom. I am also a man, so isn"t going to wh.o.r.ehouses normal?"
Xue Jing"s voice shook. "Fine, fine, you, Nian Bing, even if I came a thousand miles to find you, you actually treat me like this?"
Nian Bing blinked. "Don"t exaggerate that much. Jing Jing, as I said, this is my own matter. As friends, I am just telling you the truth."
Anger made Xue Jing"s pale, pretty face turn red. "Yesterday I let you stay together with me, but you made all sorts of excuses and went to a brothel. Why? Can you tell me why?"
Nian Bing walked over to one side of the room to sit. He felt somewhat nervous and didn"t know whether or not he should continue. He took a deep breath and replied, "It"s very simple. We are friends, and moreover, prost.i.tutes do not require responsibility."
"You…" With a whoosh, Xue Jing pulled her sword out of its scabbard and pointed at Nian Bing. "In your eyes, am I can"t even match up to a prost.i.tute?"
Nian Bing shook his head and replied, "No, Jing Jing, you need to understand. Besides friends, there"s nothing between us. I don"t feel that what I did was wrong. This is also the second time you"ve pointed your sword at me. I also want to ask you about what right do you have to interfere with my freedom. I never said that I was an upright gentleman, and I didn"t force you to come with me. If you aren"t satisfied, then you are free to leave anytime. I think that Uncle Xue is awaiting your return."
"I will kill you." Xue Jing, in her rage, had already lost all her reason. Nian Bing had all along been taking advantage of her explosive temper, but for some reason, he found it a bit unbearable.
The sword and red qi headed for Nian Bing"s chest. In anger, Xue Jing had lost all misgivings. Nian Bing activated an ice wall scroll; a wave of icy blue light suddenly appeared and shielded him. With a slight ding, Xue Jing"s sword was repelled and was imbedded in one of the walls. A blue light flashed and a long sword was suddenly placed on her shoulder. The pressure trapped Xue jing, making her unable to move the slightest.
Nian Bing looked surprised at the person in front of him. "President Ka Luo."
The person who had come was actually Ka Luo. His gaze fell onto Xue Jing and he said calmly, "Fire attributed qi, floating like a drifting cloud, but when it explodes it can topple mountains and overturn seas. This should be Fire Cloud Qi. What relationship do you have with the Devour of Blood and Extinguisher of Soul, Xue Po?"
A cold aura poked at Xue Jing, and she glared at Ka Luo. "Nothing to do with you. Get out; I will kill him."
Ka Luo looked at Nian Bing with some amus.e.m.e.nt. "So noisy, do I have to hit you? You want to kill him? If it is just a misunderstanding, then say so now. Little Miss, matters of the heart can not be resolved by being impulsive." A sophisticated man like him could read much from the love-hate in Xue Jing"s eyes.
Xue Jing went blank for a moment, but angrily retorted, "Get out, what"s a misunderstanding? He himself admitted that he went to a wh.o.r.ehouse. This, a misunderstanding? Let go me; I will kill him."
Nian Bing stood and walked over to Ka Luo. "Jing Jing, calm down a bit. I have my own life, and you have your own. We are not part of the same world. If you what I do makes you mad, then I wish to apologize to you. However, I will not change anything because of you. At the same time, I hope that you do not change because of me. President Ka Luo, you can let her go."
The sword in Ka Luo"s hands stopped glowing. The aura entrapping Xue Jing vanished. Nian Bing moved over to the side to pull out the sword in the wall and pa.s.sed it to Xue Jing. "There are protective scrolls on me, so you cannot harm me. Sorry, Xue Jing, I probably made you disappointed, but this is my true personality. Rather than let you find out who I am in the future, it"s better to make it clear now."
Taking the sword Nian Bing pa.s.sed to her, Xue Jing"s hands trembled slightly. "Why, why are you all like this to me. How am I not good, could it be that I am not suitable for you? When I found that you had left, I immediately chased after you. I even wanted to accompany you to the Profound Orchid Empire, but you? What else have you done? What will you do to my heart?"
Nian Bing was silent and said in his heart, Sorry, Jing Jing. I do not want to reject you, but right now, I do not have the qualifications to accept your love. There is only vengeance in my heart, vengeance for my parents. I cannot let my heart be split. Jing JIng, you can definitely find a better man than me. I forever wish you the best.
In Nian Bing"s heart, the most precious girl was no doubt Feng Nu. Maybe it was because Feng Nu was the first girl that he had seen, or maybe it was because Feng Nu was the most beautiful out of all the girls, but in his heart, Feng Nu had an almost unshakeable position. Even so, Nian Bing didn"t make any outward overtures to Feng Nu because he knew that he didn"t have the qualifications to do so. Before he had avenged his father and mother, he had no qualifications to pursue his own love. He would always wait until after his revenge to think over these things, but even he didn"t know how long that would take. He didn"t want to hurt any girl, so he could only choose to escape and strive to raise his ability to pursue his goal.
Seeing Nian Bing"s silence, Xue Jing"s anger intensified. The qi on her sword was dimly visible, but she could attack no matter what, even if she was normally someone who would do whatever she pleased. It wasn"t because of the unfathomable Ka Luo next to her, or because of Nian Bing"s concealed magic scrolls. When she saw the handsome man in front of her, although she was angry, she could not resolve herself to harm him for some reason.
Tears streaming down her face, Xue Jing violently threw her sword towards the ground. With her eyes dripping, she turned into a red cloud and floated away.
He had always wanted to cast people away from him, but Nian Bing"s heart was heavy. Jing Jing, stay safe on the road and hurry back to Ice and Snow City. That is the place where you belong.
Ka Luo took two steps forwards, picking up the sword on the ground. He scrutinized it carefully and said, "A pretty good sword. Fire attributed and made from scarlet steel that has been refined one hundred times. This sword is well suited to using fire attributed qi. A rare weapon! Sir Mage, do you not feel that this was somewhat pitiful?"
Nian Bing sighed and took the sword. "What has been done has already been done; there is no such thing as pitiable or not. The sword is a good sword, but I am not a good person. Call me Nian Bing."
Ka Luo smiled slightly and replied, "That girl is pretty good-looking. It looks like though she has a volatile temper, her innate personality is very good. Why must put yourself a thousand a miles away?"
"I have? You"ve heard it, she was angry because I went to a wh.o.r.ehouse last night. It was me who was bad to her, so choosing to leave was the most correct decision. How could someone like me be worthy of her love?"
Ka Luo smiled knowingly. "I am older than you by many decades and I have some experience with observing people. Although outwardly, you seem very gentle, but inside you have arrogance like no other. People cannot be prideful, but need to have an unyielding character. I don"t believe that someone like you would go to a wh.o.r.ehouse to do meaningless things. Did I say it correctly? If my guess is not wrong, you didn"t want to involve that girl because of a particular issue, so you forced her away."
This old fox, evaluated Nian Bing. "These are my personal matters. Don"t ask anymore, President Ka Luo. Since you have come to find me, you must"ve prepared the items."
Ka Luo smiled slightly and replied, "Of course. I don"t know whether Mister Nian Bing was ready to come and get it. Bring it in." Under his invitation, a tall, robust man entered, shouldering a bag. Without opening it, Nian Bing could already sense the aura of magic in the bag. "The things that you wanted are here."
Nian Bing nodded and looked at the bag on the table. He waved his empty right hand, and immediately, seven magic scrolls appeared in his hands. These scrolls were made with the highest quality blank scrolls. "President, you may take these; be careful about touching them. I will tell you what spells are in the scrolls in a bit."
Ka Luo looked at Nian Bing who wasn"t looking what was in the bag and smiled. "Since you believed in me, why would I not believe in you. Mister Nian Bing, I am very pleased at the completion of our first exchanged. From now on, if you ever have magic items to sell, I will welcome you any time. Price will not be a problem."