Supreme Alchemist
Chapter 2298 - 2298 2288 Arrogant and Domineering

2298: Chapter 2288: Arrogant and Domineering 2298: Chapter 2288: Arrogant and Domineering Along the way, the maiden seemed like a lively little bird, leading a group of cranes through the shrubs.

Although to Long Yan, the vast woodland appeared as a labyrinth, for the maiden, it had become a path well-trodden.

On this journey, the maiden talked with Long Yan about many things in the village, such as Uncle Wang’s dog having puppies, and Grandma Zhang’s crops maturing among other trivial household matters.

Although these were just trifling concerns, they felt quite novel to Long Yan’s ears.

There was a time when Long Yan also dreamed of such a life, but one thing after another piled upon him made such a life impossible.

Perhaps, after challenging the Heaven Dao, if he still remained alive, he would settle down in Shadow Mountain and spend the rest of his life with Lingxi.

Of course, this was just a longing of Long Yan; challenging the Heaven Dao was not so easily done.

The two of them chatted and soon heard a noisy commotion; the maiden, evidently not used to outsiders, kept talking non-stop, and Long Yan did not interrupt, just quietly listened, occasionally responding which greatly increased his favorability in the maiden’s heart.

“We are approaching our village now.”

The maiden pointed towards the source of the noise from afar.

But today was somewhat strange; usually, the quiet village was unusually noisy today.

Thinking this, the maiden’s pupils suddenly contracted, and without getting a chance to say a word to Long Yan, she pushed through the shrubs running towards her village.

Long Yan was also curious about what could happen in such a peaceful village and followed at a leisurely pace.

Soon they arrived at the entrance of the village; the entire entrance was crowded with people in plain clothes, all wearing angry expressions.

A few lavishly dressed individuals were circled by the villagers in the center, but their faces showed no fear, and their eyes held a trace of disdain while looking at the villagers.

“Dad!”

The maiden’s normally pleasant voice sounded like a blood-curdling scream as she ran to a middle-aged man lying on the ground, whose forehead was covered with fresh blood, constantly spilling from his mouth.

“This is what happens when you oppose the Jiuge Chamber of Commerce.”

Seeing the maiden, one of the lavishly dressed young men disdainfully commented and spat on the ground beside him, then casually picked up a jade pendant from the ground and attempted to leave.

“Huh?”

Looking at the group of villagers closing in, Liu Fugui wore a thick expression of disdain.

As the Young Master of the Jiuge Chamber of Commerce, he usually had long-term dealings with this mountain village, collecting various mountain goods.

There was a specialty in Shadow Mountain, the Green Pine Bamboo, which was an excellent raw material for elixirs.

Plus, since the mountain folk didn’t understand pricing, the Jiuge Chamber of Commerce made a tidy profit from the deals with villagers.

But today, Liu Fugui saw the jade pendant at the waist of the middle-aged man.

Liu Fugui, being a cultivator, immediately recognized the extraordinary aspect of the pendant, and hence wanted to buy it.

But this pendant was the middle-aged man’s family heirloom, and he wouldn’t easily sell it to Liu Fugui, which led to a dispute, prompting Liu Fugui to order his men to beat up the middle-aged man.

The maiden gently shook her father, but as an ordinary person, he was no match for the two cultivators.

Clearly, the cultivation base of the two guards, who were both God King ninth stage Strong Ones, didn’t escape Long Yan’s notice.

Having such powerful guards indicated the kind of wealth and status Liu Fugui and his family possessed.

“Why are you so overbearing?

If you can’t buy it, you resort to robbery.”

Two teardrops slid down the maiden’s cheeks, her pitiful appearance utterly heart-wrenching.

This scene naturally also pulled at the hearts of all the villagers, making them look upon Liu Fugui with even greater disgust.

Spoiled by his parents from a young age, Liu Fugui certainly didn’t consider the villagers before him worth attention.

In his view, they were just doglegs who relied on his chamber for sustenance; his own status was several times above theirs.

“Hmph, there’s nothing that Liu Fugui wants but cannot acquire.”

Liu Fugui said disdainfully, seeing the approaching villagers, two guards, one big and one small, behind him instantly stepped forward, and the aura of a God King Level Nine Strong One suddenly burst forth, causing the villagers who had never seen cultivators to let out a cry of alarm, clearly unused to such a display.

Seeing the fearful expressions on the surrounding villagers, a heavy snort came from Liu Fugui’s nose, angered that these pesky villagers dared to defy him.

“The price of Green Pine Bamboo from your village will now be half the usual when you sell it to us.”

Liu Fugui’s plump face showed a hint of cunning, seeing an opportunity to knock a good sum of money off, money that would suffice for a few days’ revelry at the brothel in the city center, recalling his sweetheart whom he hadn’t seen in days, Liu Fugui felt an itching desire from the bottom of his heart.

“But, Young Master Liu, if it goes any lower, it’ll be difficult for people in our village to even have enough to eat.”

An old man limping on a walking stick stepped forward to speak, originally thinking that it would be over after Liu Fugui took the Jade Pendant, but unexpectedly Liu Fugui demanded to cut the price by half, which will leave everyone in the village starving.

“No more nonsense, from now on all the Green Pine Bamboo must be reduced by more than half, otherwise we, Jiuge Chamber of Commerce, will never come to Shadow Mountain to buy again.”

Liu Fugui intimidated the elderly man in front of him, of course, he was bullying the elderly man because he was unsophisticated, otherwise going out to look for any commercial association would be more than happy to establish a cooperation with Shadow Mountain villagers.

“This …”

The elderly man hesitated, now the entire village relied on Green Pine Bamboo for livelihood, if this lifeline was cut off, probably everyone in the village would starve to death.

Shadow Mountain was a lifeless mountain, while it had Genius Earth Treasures like Green Pine Bamboo, the many villagers were not cultivators, and because of the Green Pine Bamboo, there were very few birds and beasts in Shadow Mountain, leaving the villagers without any other means of making a living.

“I do have a good idea.”

At this moment, Long Yan’s voice carried over from behind the crowd of villagers, who then made way for Long Yan, allowing him to walk up to the elderly man.

“Where did you come from?”

Liu Fugui merely glanced at Long Yan, slightly more courteous in his speech because Long Yan’s attire was different from the villagers, but it was just a bit more courteous, still carrying that arrogant tone.

“I’m just a passerby in Shadow Mountain.”

“A passerby?

Who are you fooling?”

Liu Fugui sneered dismissively, everyone knew that Shadow Mountain’s roads were often inaccessible, that’s why the Jiuge Chamber of Commerce dared to blatantly exploit them, and now the person before him claimed to be just a passerby, of course, he didn’t believe it.

“Of course you don’t need to care about who I am, but I can help to sell the village’s Green Pine Bamboo, and maybe even fetch a price much higher than what Jiuge Chamber of Commerce offers.”

A cold smirk lingered in Long Yan’s eyes; this Liu Fugui had annoyed him a bit.