Dandy Pill God
Chapter 420: Searching for Rental Shops

Chapter 420: Chapter 420: Searching for Rental Shops

It seemed like merely an instant, yet also as though a long while had passed...

When Zhu Fei and Yun Duo reappeared in a plaza, they startlingly discovered they had arrived at Tianhua City.

This was an extremely majestic city, surrounded by auspicious qi in ribbons, with clouds tinged with halos twinkling in the sky, giving one a dreamlike sense of being in the Immortal Realm upon first sight.

Zhu Fei and Yun Duo did not linger in place; they slowly walked along the endless streets on either side, observing the surrounding environment.

"Zhu... Brother Zhu, about what just happened... I’m... I’m so sorry."

Finally, after they had walked for a while, Yun Duo lightly bit her lip and spoke apologetically to Zhu Fei.

Zhu Fei knew that Yun’s apology likely had something to do with the recent encounter with Zhang Qian; he couldn’t help but smile wryly.

"Yun, what happened just now has nothing to do with you; you don’t need to worry about it at all."

He paused, then turned to look Yun Duo in the eyes, his tone becoming gradually more serious.

"Yun, remember that in this world, sometimes we must act with firmness and decisiveness. We may even need to leverage power to make others wary of us. Otherwise, showing weakness or retreating will not only fail to solve any troubles but will also bring us even greater danger."

"Do you understand what I’m saying?"

Zhu Fei’s final question struck Yun Duo’s heart like a heavy hammer.

Her eyelashes trembled violently, she bit her lip fiercely, and finally mustered the courage to say, "But... but I feel like I’m just a burden by your side, not only unable to help you with anything but also always causing you trouble, I..."

She couldn’t continue, her voice trailing as she lowered her head deeply, not having the courage to finish her sentence.

Sensing Yun Duo’s feelings of inferiority and sadness, Zhu Fei couldn’t help but laugh and reached out his hand to gently ruffle her hair, pretending to be annoyed as he said:

"You girl, when did your thoughts also become so plentiful? Who said you couldn’t help me? Maybe in a moment, I’ll have something to assign to you."

"Really... Really?"

Yun Duo suddenly looked up, her eyes brimming with expectation as she gazed at Zhu Fei.

Her heart was agitated, and for a time she even overlooked Zhu Fei’s address and gestures towards her.

"Of course, I’m serious. Let’s go! We’re going to find a shop now. Would you like to manage it for me?"

"Ma... Manage a shop? Zhu... Brother Zhu, are you opening a shop? What is it for?"

Yun Duo’s face was filled with confusion, but her eyes shone with longing and anticipation.

"Hehe, opening a shop is, of course, to make Spirit Stones and gather cultivation resources. Tell me, would you like to help me?"

"Mhm, I’m willing," Yun Duo nodded vigorously.

Even though she was still unclear why Zhu Fei had made such a decision at this moment, she would follow Zhu Fei, naturally obeying any arrangement he made.

The two chatted and laughed, and soon they arrived in front of a building that specialized in selling shops.

In fact, opening a shop had been a decision Zhu Fei had long considered.

After all, if he wanted to participate in the so-called Kunlun Auction, he would need to have enough Spirit Stones on him.

And where would the Spirit Stones come from? For Zhu Fei, it was naturally through Alchemy, helping others refine pills, the skill he was most proficient in and the fastest way for him to earn Spirit Stones.

Now, with roughly ten days left before the Kunlun Auction was to take place, Zhu Fei had plenty of time to prepare a sufficient number of Spirit Stones for himself.

At this moment, a beautiful female Cultivator had already stepped out of the building.

She glanced at the incoming Zhu Fei and Yun Duo, and finally, her gaze settled on Zhu Fei, as she smiled slightly and said,

"The two of you, may I know what brings you to our Sea Blue Commerce in Tianhua City?"

Zhu Fei nodded, gave a fist salute to the beautiful female Cultivator, and said, "Sister, I heard that your Sea Blue Commerce has shops for rent in Tianhua City, may I ask if this is true?"

"Oh, so you are interested in renting a shop from our commerce?"

The beautiful female Cultivator smiled slightly, nodded, and replied, "Indeed, our Sea Blue Commerce currently has shops for rent. If the gentleman is truly interested, perhaps we could go upstairs to discuss it?"

"Thank you, Sister," Zhu Fei smiled and nodded.

"Hehe, there is no need to be polite, young master. My name is Xiu Ling. I am older than you, so if you don’t mind, you can just call me Sister Xiu Ling. Let’s go. The matter of the shop rental happens to be my responsibility, just follow me."

Having said that, Xiu Ling turned and led the way to a staircase.

Zhu Fei and Yun Duo hurriedly followed, and the trio went all the way up to the eighth floor before entering a serene and elegant room.

Xiu Ling gestured for Zhu Fei and Yun Duo to sit down, and after commanding a maid to bring over Spiritual Tea, she then smiled at Zhu Fei and asked,

"Our Sea Blue Commerce currently has about a few thousand shops in Tianhua City, with the best ones being located in the Xuanwu Street region. May I ask which area’s shop the young master is interested in renting?"

Upon hearing Xiu Ling’s question, Zhu Fei did not hesitate but asked directly, "May I know the rental prices for the shops on Xuanwu Street and how the rental period is calculated?"

Zhu Fei had already learned about Tianhua City before his arrival, and he knew that what Xiu Ling had just mentioned was true; the Xuanwu Street area was indeed one of the busiest areas in the entire city.

If the price was right, Zhu Fei would, of course, like to open a shop in such a bustling area.

Gently tapping her teacup with her jade-like fingers, Xiu Ling did not answer Zhu Fei’s question immediately but instead took out a Jade Scroll from herself and handed it to Zhu Fei with a smile,

"Take a look at this. It details the rental prices for all the shops on Xuanwu Street. The starting rental period is three years. If that doesn’t work for you, I can consider recommending other places."

The Cultivation World was unlike the secular Earth; frankly, a starting rental period of three years was not long at all.

After all, Cultivators had long lifespans, and many Cultivators could spend more than three years in a single period of seclusion.

Therefore, Zhu Fei found nothing strange about this.

At this point, he had taken the Jade Scroll and his Divine Sense rapidly scanned its contents, only to be secretly surprised by the rental prices he found.

A mere one hundred square meter shop required three hundred thousand Mid Grade Spirit Stones for three years, equivalent to a hundred thousand Mid Grade Spirit Stones in annual rent.

And the rent for some of the slightly larger shops was even more exaggerated, with some reaching several million, or even tens of millions, of Mid Grade Spirit Stones.

Such rental fees were clearly beyond what Zhu Fei could afford at the moment.

Moreover, his purpose for renting a shop was merely to use Alchemy to earn Spirit Stones during these ten days; as for the future, he might not stay long in Tianhua City.

Nevertheless, Zhu Fei ultimately decided to rent a shop on Xuanwu Street.

The size of the place and the higher price did not matter; as long as the location of the shop met his own needs, it would be acceptable.

There and then, Zhu Fei handed the Jade Scroll back to Xiu Ling, smiled, and nodded at her, saying, "Sister Xiu Ling, if possible, I’d like to rent that one hundred square meter shop now, is that alright?"