The shopkeeper, upon hearing this, pointed to an umbrella-shaped Hua Gai and asked, "This one?"
The shopkeeper took down the Hua Gai. Unlike other Hua Gais, which couldn’t be closed, this one had an umbrella structure that could be retracted when not in use.
This Hua Gai was as tall as a person. When opened, it covered an area of about ten feet. The Hua Gai had one hundred and eight folds and was made of hardwood, but had not yet been painted with talismans.
The shopkeeper said, "Sir, this Hua Gai is blank."
"I’ll take this one. How much?"
"Five taels of silver."
Chen Shi bargained with him. Saintess Xuan stood by, waiting. After a while, Chen Shi managed to reduce the price to three taels and seven copper coins, then he paid.
Saintess Xuan looked bemused and thought to herself, "This kid is only about twelve or thirteen years old, yet he haggles like a commoner."
The Hua Gai that Chen Shi bought had no talismans on it; obviously, he planned to paint them himself, which she also found stingy.
However, she quietly waited for Chen Shi to pay. The shopkeeper gave Chen Shi some copper coins before saying, "Senior Brother Chen, since you are unwilling to convert hostility into peace, there’s not much Xuanxuan can say..."
Chen Shi, surprised, said, "You haven’t left yet? I thought you had already gone."
Saintess Xuan’s face turned slightly red, and she felt a bit displeased, softly saying, "The Youquan Wandering Dragon Sword belongs to the young master, Senior Brother Chen. Taking it from him was like stealing someone’s beauty. Could you please do Saintess Xuan a small favor and return the sword..."
Chen Shi glanced at her and said, "You are a nun, why harbor worldly desires?"
Saintess Xuan said, "It’s not that Xuanxuan harbors worldly desires, but chaos is rising everywhere now, and Outer Heaven True God repeatedly brings darkness early, shortening the day and lengthening the night. A catastrophic disaster is likely imminent—a sign of chaotic times. The young master has the ambition to support and stabilize the world; he is the one destined by heaven, the only one who can end these chaotic times and unify the West Bull New Continent!"
She stepped closer and gently persuaded, "Senior Brother Chen, why not return the Youquan Wandering Dragon Sword and ally with the young master? In the future, you could also be a..."
Before she could finish saying "a significant official," Chen Shi kneed her in the stomach, causing her vital energies to collapse and unimaginable pain to strike.
Saintess Xuan was astonished and bent over from the pain.
Chen Shi punched her on the right ear, knocking her to the ground, then lifted the Hua Gai in his hand as if to smash it down, thought better of it, and put it aside, pulling out another Hua Gai’s pole to strike her!
"Crack, crack, crack!"
The clear sound of whipping echoed. The Hua Gai was embossed with various talismans and was extremely sturdy, but Chen Shi’s strength was so great? After about a dozen strikes, he had split the pole.
Chen Shi switched to another pole and continued to strike dozens more times, breaking it before straightening up and tossing it aside.
Saintess Xuan was beaten black and blue, with bruises all over. At first, she managed to endure the pain, but it soon became too much, and she began to cry out, quickly becoming hoarse.
"Shopkeeper, how much for the two poles? I’ll pay," Chen Shi asked.
The shopkeeper, in panic and not daring to quote a high price, said, "These two poles were made with talismans drawn by a Great Talisman Master, costing already more than eighty taels."
Chen Shi shook his sore arm, took out a silver note for one hundred taels, and said, "Give me ten taels change."
The shopkeeper hurriedly made the change.
Chen Shi took the money, pulled out his own Hua Gai pole, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out, still not satisfied, and harshly kicked Saintess Xuan twice on the buttocks.
She rolled out of the Hua Gai shop.
"Not staying in the Buddhist temple to meditate and present offerings, but coming out to advocate for the young master! How bold of you!" ƒreewebɳovel.com
Chen Shi strode out of the Hua Gai store, spat towards Saintess Xuan, "If not for the fact that I promised Mr. Gao to save face and not kill anyone in the city, you would already be trading stories inside the Ten Thousand Soul Banner!"
——Brothers, the double monthly ticket event has started; let’s vie for monthly tickets for the Path of Greatness!
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