Chapter 89: Even the Mighty Haggle

At Will?

“What special ability does At Will have?” In her mind, At Will had always been the soul of some mighty being dwelling within a ring, and she had never dared trouble him lightly.

Yet she felt an inexplicable closeness to him, perhaps because he had saved her in a moment of peril before.

“Have him dig for you. He’s an adult, so he’ll certainly be faster than you with your little body, and he’ll definitely be willing.”

Because they had not fused, the memories it possessed were not shared with the phantom. Some things it knew, the phantom did not; the phantom acted only on instinct.

But instinct was enough. The phantom would surely be willing.

“Then you can help me dig too.” Ji Jiuxuan thought of the enormous dragon body it had once projected. “Was that your true form before? Can you grow larger and smaller at will, or can you only slowly grow up?”

There were many kinds of spirit beasts. Some could freely alter their size, while others simply matured little by little.

“That was my true form, but I’ve been sealed. Only when the seal is undone in the future will I be able to recover.” To protect this fragment of the soul, it had taken tremendous effort to seal it away so that its aura would not leak out.

As for the enemy from back then, after so many years, who knew whether they were still around?

At the thought, Long Xuan set his face and said seriously, “The phantom and I can help you in times of danger, but we cannot do it too often. If we do, it may bring you even greater peril.”

“What kind of peril?” Ji Jiuxuan asked, puzzled. She could believe that the phantom might have enemies in this world, but Long Xuan was only a little dragon that had just hatched from an egg. For him to have hidden enemies too was a bit much.

“That cannot be determined. But if it truly comes, don’t be afraid. We will protect you.” At worst, they would force a fusion. The phantom was unwilling to merge now, but if Ah Jiu truly encountered danger, there would be no hesitation at all.

Though the soul fragments were not from the same portion, the original body was still one and the same.

“All right then.” While enjoying their protection, she would also bear the risks that came with having them. In any case, when soldiers came, she would block them; when water came, she would dam it. She only needed to cultivate diligently.

“What grade of shovel does the little immortal master require?” The shop assistant began his introduction in earnest. “We have top-grade black iron shovels, white jade shovels, blazing bronze shovels...”

Ji Jiuxuan had all of those in her space already. The higher the grade of the shovel, the better it preserved spiritual herbs during harvesting.

But this time she was going to move earth. She had been to the back mountain before; the ground there was hard. If she took those shovels there, one would be ruined each time she used one. So she stopped him. “I want the kind used for digging wells.”

Digging a well was about the same as digging into a mountain, wasn’t it? She was not entirely sure.

In the end, the shop assistant hauled out heavy hammers, shovels, and various other tools. “Little immortal master, take a look at these. They’re perfect for digging wells. You could even use them to mine ore.”

Ji Jiuxuan looked them over. The size suited her perfectly. “How much are these?”

“Ah Jiu, are you really not considering letting the phantom help you dig? It would absolutely be much faster.” Relying on her small frame alone would indeed be exhausting.

“Didn’t I just ask you to help me dig?”

Or perhaps she could call Xiaoxiao over? With Xiaoxiao’s earth spiritual root, digging a hundred meters would be no trouble at all.

“Reminder, host: if anyone else helps with the digging, the mission will be counted as failed.”

Ji Jiuxuan suddenly remembered that when she had just mentioned having Long Xuan and the phantom help her dig, the system had made no reaction at all. So... “Then the phantom and Long Xuan are allowed?”

She was only asking casually, but after receiving the system’s answer she instantly understood. “Is it because I have contracts with them, while others won’t do?”

“Yes.”

Long Xuan raised his dragon head and looked at the shovels opposite them. “My strength does not permit it. Let one who is capable do it.”

Its body was even smaller than Ji Jiuxuan’s. Burrowing into the ground might be one thing, but digging earth like this would take forever.

“In reply to little immortal master, one set is ten low-grade spirit stones.”

That price was on the expensive side, though the materials were genuine enough.

“Bring out an adult-sized set as well.”

Just as Ji Jiuxuan was about to pay, At Will’s voice sounded in her mind.

She paused, then smiled at the shop assistant. “Add an adult version too.”

“Certainly! But the adult version costs two more spirit stones.”

That was a bit too expensive. Ji Jiuxuan might have plenty of money, but she was not someone to be fleeced at will. She put on a stern face and said seriously, “Isn’t an extra two spirit stones a bit outrageous? Twenty-two low-grade spirit stones for two sets is too expensive.”

After all, even an entry disciple of the Mysterious Heaven Sect received only ten low-grade spirit stones’ worth of resources a month, and that was already considered quite good in the cultivation world as a whole. It was enough to show the general level of spending.

Of course, most people were also able to earn spirit stones from other sources.

The shop assistant’s expression did not change. Smiling, he said to Ji Jiuxuan, “The materials are plain for little immortal master to see. The quality in our shop is absolutely honest and fair to young and old alike.”

“You may look at other shops,” the phantom spoke at that moment.

Within the void of the ring, the phantom wore an expression of understanding. It felt exactly like Ji Jiuxuan’s temperament: she wanted to haggle, yet often failed to bring the price down, and in the end still got taken advantage of.

Most importantly, she liked returning to the same shops. The shopkeepers knew her inside out, and every single time they managed to overcharge her. Sometimes they overdid it so much that even they felt a little embarrassed.

If once in a while she succeeded in bargaining, she would be delighted for a long time afterward.

Frowning, the phantom looked at Ji Jiuxuan outside, and his head began to ache again.

He was absolutely certain this was the first time Ji Jiuxuan had come out shopping on her own. Those fleeting feelings of familiarity, those impressions that such things had happened before—he was equally certain none of them had ever occurred in reality.

It seemed that the next time Long Xuan came in, he would need to question him properly.

The moment Ji Jiuxuan heard the phantom’s words, her eyes lit up, and she looked toward the weapons shop diagonally across the way.

Things like shovels were sold at weapons shops too, and even at general stores.

Since she found this too expensive, she might as well ask around. “I won’t buy it just yet. I’ll take a look around first.”

The shop assistant had noticed the direction of her gaze outside. He hurriedly piled on a smile. “Little immortal master, look, since you’re buying so much, our shop can give you a discount. With the discount, these come to only eighteen low-grade spirit stones—saving you a full four!”

At this moment the assistant was still calm inside, since the shop would not lose out.

Ji Jiuxuan, having little sense of such things, was already quite pleased at being given a discount and was about to pay on the spot when the phantom reminded her again, “The one across the way is cheaper.”

That settled it. Ji Jiuxuan darkened her face and looked at the shop assistant. “You saw I was young and wanted to cheat me? The one across the way is cheaper than yours.”

If it had been someone else, they would surely have thrown their status around, and in this situation they might have erupted on the spot. But Ji Jiuxuan did not.

The now-nervous shop assistant wore a miserable expression. “Fifteen—fifteen low-grade spirit stones. It truly can’t go any lower.”

“That will do.” With the phantom’s prompt, Ji Jiuxuan finally relented. “All right, fifteen low-grade spirit stones. Deal.”

Once she came out of the ironware shop, Ji Jiuxuan was grinning like a fool, as if she had picked money up off the ground. “At Will, you’re actually so good at bargaining. You’re amazing.”

She did not want to be cheated, but her bargaining skills truly were not much to speak of.

Who would have thought it? Who could have imagined that At Will, who looked every bit like a lofty and aloof great power, would know how to compare shops, teach her to haggle, and do it so well? It made her admire him immensely.

Thanks to Cang Sheng Ta Ge CE for the monthly ticket—thank you!~

End of chapter.