Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Magnanimity
"What are you staring at? Go after him!"
"Oh, yes, yes." The female cultivator at the reception realized and hurriedly turned around to give chase.
Moments later, Li Jizhou was invited back into the private room.
Inside, a steward was already waiting.
"Honored Guest Elder Li, I truly apologize, things got a bit busy earlier and made you wait. I hope you understand," the steward said with a smile and cupped his fists.
"No problem, your pavilion’s thriving business and constant flow of customers is a good thing!" Li Jizhou smiled slightly.
"Honored Guest Elder Li is truly magnanimous, thank you! May I ask the purpose of your visit today?" The steward got straight to the point.
Li Jizhou was slightly taken aback and took out the invitation given by another steward yesterday.
"Oh! Ah, truly sorry, Shopkeeper Qi has been overwhelmed with work, desperately waiting for you for three months. To think today turned out to be especially busy, and the welcoming banquet was overlooked," the steward said with regret.
Li Jizhou sighed slightly.
This Shopkeeper Qi is really petty, like a woman!
He isn’t as sophisticated as Lu Zhenhua in handling interpersonal matters. How could he become the shopkeeper of such a bustling market?
If he were the owner of the Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion, he certainly wouldn’t employ such a person.
"No problem, is Shopkeeper Qi available now? I’d like to meet him."
For such pointless internal squabbles, Li Jizhou was always unwilling to waste his energy.
If they can cooperate, they should. If not, then part ways amicably.
The worst thing is mutual suspicion, which could eventually lead to resentment.
"Please wait, let me consult with Shopkeeper Qi!" The steward smiled, cupping his hands.
"As you wish!" Li Jizhou nodded.
This time, there was no further delay, and Li Jizhou was soon escorted to the fifth floor.
"Honored Guest Elder Li, the shopkeeper is waiting inside," the steward said before turning and heading downstairs.
Li Jizhou pushed the door open and entered.
"Honored Guest Elder Li, your presence truly brings great honor to our branch!" Qi Yuan still lay reclined on the soft couch, not even putting down the book in her hand.
"..." Gazing at the graceful silhouette on the couch, delicate and charming, Li Jizhou realized that Shopkeeper Qi here turned out to be a female cultivator.
Moreover, her aura was deliberately restrained, and Li Jizhou couldn’t sense a thing.
Only through the age characteristics cultivated by the Evergreen Skill did he sense that her lifespan extended for another one hundred eighty years.
This indicated that her cultivation was at least at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment or higher, and her actual age should be over forty.
"Junior Li Jizhou greets Shopkeeper Qi." Li Jizhou composed himself, completely ignoring the sarcasm in Qi Yuan’s words, and greeted her with cupped hands.
Qi Yuan slightly raised her brows, finally put down the book in her hands, slowly sat up straight, and lightly smiled while scrutinizing Li Jizhou from head to toe.
At this moment, Li Jizhou finally saw Qi Yuan’s true appearance.
Fiery red lips, seductive eyes, an oval face slightly full, exuding the charm of a mature woman.
Involuntarily, his gaze drifted downward,
a small mind, but not a small chest!
Further down, long, smooth legs, fair and smooth...
"Is it pleasing, Honored Guest Elder Li?" Qi Yuan curved her mouth into a smile, looking like a caring older sister.
"Shopkeeper Qi is indeed as beautiful as a fairy, a peerless beauty!" Li Jizhou responded honestly with his usual expression.
"Quite the sweet talker."
"Honest words from the junior’s heart."
"Heh~" Qi Yuan chuckled softly, leaving it at that.
"May I inquire what brings Honored Guest Elder Li here today?"
"Junior comes to apologize! Three months ago, I made a temporary decision to settle here. At that time, the situation at Inverted Mountain was turbulent, and I barely managed to escape. My state of mind wasn’t stable, causing me to forget to report my arrival. I await Shopkeeper Qi’s punishment," Li Jizhou said sincerely.
"..." Many of Qi Yuan’s sarcastic tricks were yet to be unleashed, but Li Jizhou’s unexpected sincerity served as a trump card.
Leaving her speechless for a moment.
In her view, for someone as young as Li Jizhou to become an Honored Guest Elder at the Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion counted as early success.
And according to information provided by some in the main pavilion, this kid had a close relationship with Lu Zhenhua and was exceptional as an Honored Guest Elder approved by Lu Zhenhua himself.
She initially thought that Li Jizhou’s three-month stay at Spirit Pearl Mountain Market without reporting was due to arrogance, bolstered by his relationship with Lu Zhenhua, disregarding the presence of this branch pavilion.
So she planned to discipline him a bit, warning him to know his place, not to jeopardize the annual talisman delivery task, and not to bring any trouble to Lu Zhenhua. After all, she helped Lu Zhenhua become shopkeeper back then.
Now it seems, perhaps she truly misunderstood him.
"What are you saying? As an Honored Guest Elder of our Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion, you are to be treated with respect, not punishment."
"Thank you, Shopkeeper Qi, for your broad-mindedness and magnanimity. The junior is deeply grateful!" Li Jizhou said earnestly.
Hearing Li Jizhou’s words, Qi Yuan subconsciously glanced at her ample bosom.
Indeed, it is quite broad.
Hopefully, you were truly referring to my broad-mindedness.
"No need to be so polite, Xiaoli."
Seeing Shopkeeper Qi’s pleasant attitude, Li Jizhou took advantage and quickly took out the talismans from his storage bag, placing them on the tea table.
"Shopkeeper Qi, these are the talismans supposed to be delivered last year, please inspect them!"
"There’s still three months until the deadline, and you’ve already completed them?" Qi Yuan was slightly surprised.
Her intention to discipline Li Jizhou was to prevent any failure in delivering the talisman task from affecting her appraisal and the future of Lu Zhenhua, his guarantor.
At this moment, she was pleasantly surprised.
"Hmm! A Middle Level Premium?" Picking up the talisman and seeing the top-quality talisman on the top, Qi Yuan’s brow arched.
Li Jizhou had entered as an Honored Guest Elder by exception, initially able to draw at most Tier One Middle Level Upper Grade talismans, but in less than two years, he managed a premium one!
This slightly exceeded her expectations.
This sufficiently indicated that Lu Zhenhua’s decision to accept Li Jizhou as an Honored Guest Elder was not frivolous, perhaps even laudable, showing Lu Zhenhua’s sharp judgment.
"Junior has limited cultivation and cannot quickly advance to a higher-level Talisman Master. Thus, I can only perfect my skills. However, due to my dull talent, even this premium talisman required multiple tries to barely succeed. I am ashamed!" Li Jizhou modestly stated.
"Xiaoli, young and promising, the future is limitless!" Qi Yuan gave Li Jizhou a deep look, nodding silently.
Being in the world, one should do their work with high spirits and be humble in nature.
Li Jizhou presenting a premium talisman showed his capability, which was being high-spirited in his work.
Speaking humbly was being modest in nature.
What a remarkable character!
Qi Yuan looked at Li Jizhou with increasing satisfaction.
The only pity was practicing the Evergreen Skill, which led to a slow cultivation realm advancement. Correspondingly, his Divine Soul was also progressing slowly, making it difficult to quickly become a Tier Two Talisman Master. Additionally, Tier One talismans brought limited profits, making it challenging to accumulate resources for Foundation Establishment, rendering Foundation Establishment in this life somewhat difficult.
"Very good, one premium talisman equals ten upper-grade ones. This year’s task is completed brilliantly, and on behalf of the Ten Thousand Talisman Pavilion, thank you," Qi Yuan said, smiling as she stored all the talismans.
She then directly took out three hundred Spirit Stones from the storage bag and handed them to Li Jizhou.
"A collaborative win-win situation, junior must also thank Shopkeeper Qi!" Li Jizhou accepted the Spirit Stones and expressed gratitude.
Originally, these talismans would have been worth around a hundred eighty Spirit Stones at Inverted Mountain, but here, the recycling price was fifty percent higher, so they should value about two hundred seventy. Clearly, Shopkeeper Qi initially offered more, perhaps recognizing the potential displayed by the premium talisman.