Chapter 3743 — The Spirit Jade Card
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
And for a peak early Foundation Establishment expert to remain so utterly unruffled in the face of a mid Foundation Establishment threat—that was a rare thing indeed. Anyone else would surely have panicked by now, flustered and at a loss for what to do.
It seemed this customer's ability to casually produce two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills was backed by genuine strength, not mere dumb luck after all!
With this added measure of appreciation, the shopkeeper's manner grew noticeably warmer and more attentive than before. He took the initiative to ask, "This old man is Hong Zhong. Might I ask the young sir's honored name?"
Under normal circumstances, a man of Hong Zhong's rank—a shopkeeper of the Hong Clan Trading Guild—might treat others with courtesy, but that courtesy would extend only to the surface. He seldom volunteered his own name to anyone.
After all, though he was merely the manager of a single branch, the Hong Clan Trading Guild was a top-tier trading house that ranked among the finest even on Middle Island. The vast resources at the command of any one branch manager would make even the higher-ups of North Island's Tri-Layer Pavilion green with envy—his status and position went without saying. Even a core disciple of the Tri-Layer Pavilion could not be mentioned in the same breath as him.
What was more, Hong Zhong bore the surname Hong, and what that implied went without saying. Though Hong Zhong belonged to a collateral branch of the Hong Clan Trading Guild, he was still a member of the Hong family!
And for him to volunteer a request for one's name meant that this customer had already become a special guest whom the Hong Clan Trading Guild would take special care of. This was a stroke of good fortune many would beg for in vain—and across all of North Island, few were even qualified to receive it.
"My humble surname is Lin, and my given name is Er." Wei Zhao replied with a slight bow.
"So it is young hero Lin. Then shall we begin our transaction? You may first inspect the goods you wish to purchase." Hong Zhong knew Wei Zhao must be itching to get his hands on the Star Ink Stone, so he pushed the wooden box containing it across to Wei Zhao and made the suggestion.
"Very well." Wei Zhao nodded, opened the box, and examined it closely. Having confirmed that it was indeed the very same Star Ink Stone he had seen last time, he said, "I have no objections."
"Excellent." Hong Zhong immediately packed the wooden box, and Wei Zhao naturally handed over his two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills along with the sack of four hundred spirit jades on the floor.
Payment in one hand, goods in the other—once the money and merchandise had changed hands and both sides were square, the great stone in Wei Zhao's heart finally settled. The Star Ink Stone he had dreamed of was his at last!
Though for the moment he still had no idea what it was good for, he would know once he got back and asked that ghostly thing. Anything that even a big shot of the spirit beast clan valued so highly was bound to be a supreme treasure that could not be found just by seeking it!
After the transaction was complete, Hong Zhong took out a jade token of translucent, dark green from the cabinet and handed it to Wei Zhao. "Young hero Lin, this is a Spirit Jade Card. It is recognized and accepted not only by our Hong Clan Trading Guild, but by the entire merchants' alliance, which covers every other major legitimate business across the five great islands of the Heavenly Tier. It can be used in place of physical spirit jades for purchases. Next time you buy something this valuable, you need only use the Spirit Jade Card—no more hauling a whole sack of spirit jades about as you did today."
So it was the equivalent of a UnionPay card in the mortal realm?
Wei Zhao's heart stirred. The Spirit Jade Card felt cool and smooth in his hand, and its jade quality was clearly a cut above even superior spirit jades!