Chapter 506

Chapter 506: We Were Late
The old man’s eyes lit up.

He was not afraid of the customer being picky. He only feared the customer would lose interest.

He quietly swept his gaze over Senior Ling Long and the others. His eyes paused on Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist, and his expression became even more certain.

“There is, of course there is. Please come with me.”

He walked over with a squinting smile to another iron cage that had been placed alone.

This cage held a beastkin.

He was tall and burly, with knotted muscles. His honey-colored skin was covered in scars of all sizes. A pair of furry ears stuck out from his thick hair, and the long tail behind him flicked restlessly.

“This is a beastkin from the Grand Luo Realm’s Golden Leopard Clan!” The old man pointed his whip at the beastkin, his tone full of pride as he said: “Thick skin, tough flesh, endless strength, a keen sense of smell, great at finding treasure and attracting wealth! Perfect for guarding a house!”

The beastkin heard the old man’s words and suddenly raised his head. Cold killing intent flashed in his golden pupils.

He let out a low growl and reached through the bars toward the old man.

But before his hands could even touch the cage, several streaks of lightning shot out and struck his body.

He let out a whimper and curled up on the floor in pain.

“No matter how human they look, they still act like beasts. No matter how much they suffer, they never learn.” The old man sneered, then turned his head toward Senior Ling Long, a greasy smile on his face as he said: “If the customer is interested, the price is easy to discuss.”

Ancestor Sui Bian felt that something was off about his expression.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized the man had taken him and Old Black Daoist for pretty boys being kept by Ling Long, so he was specially recommending a strong beastkin to compete for favor.

Ancestor Sui Bian’s face turned green, then white.

[Damn that short old man, judging people by looks. How hateful.]

Senior Ling Long clearly also understood the old man’s intention. The corner of her eye twitched, and she gave a small shake of her head.

The old man was surprised. He asked: “You really won’t think it over?”

As he spoke, he kept sneaking glances at Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist from the corner of his eye, as if he was curious what kind of charm the two of them had.

Senior Ling Long’s eyes darkened. The old man felt a chill run through his whole body and shivered all over.

He looked at Senior Ling Long with growing respect, stopped talking, and walked to the next iron cage.

“Customer, please look!”

Inside the cage, a dark blue fox was curled up. It had its head buried in its five fluffy tails. Its fur was a mess, still stained with dried blood, and faint wounds could be seen on its body.

“Customer, this is a Nine-Tailed Fox. It only has five tails right now, but from its color you can tell it used to be a Six-Tailed Blue Fox. When it was caught, it was badly hurt and cut off one of its own tails.

The intelligence of a Nine-Tailed Fox is no less than that of a person. Its lifespan is very long, and each tail counts as half a life. At a critical moment, a tail can die in its place. It is a life-saving treasure!”

Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist had only glanced at it just now and had not paid much attention.

But when they heard the old man’s explanation and looked again, they were struck as if by lightning. Their faces changed at once.

The fox in the cage was actually an old friend of theirs.

Because it had lost a tail and its fur color had changed, they had not recognized it at first.

The blue Nine-Tailed Fox in the cage also seemed to sense a familiar aura. Its body, huddled in the corner, trembled slightly.

It slowly raised its head. Its gaze passed through the messy fur and landed on Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist. The dull eyes suddenly lit up.

“Hong…”

Old Black Daoist had only spoken one syllable when Ancestor Sui Bian blocked his voice with spirit power.

Old Black Daoist clenched his fists. His eyes on Ancestor Sui Bian were almost spitting fire.

Ancestor Sui Bian silently shaped the words with his lips: “Calm down first,” and gave him a warning look, reminding him what kind of place this was.

Old Black Daoist forced himself to calm down and nodded. Only then did Ancestor Sui Bian let him go.

Their movements were big enough that they had already drawn the attention of the people around them.

The old man asked cautiously: “Do you two know this Nine-Tailed Fox?”

Ancestor Sui Bian’s face did not change as he said: “We don’t.”

The old man looked full of doubt.

Ancestor Sui Bian went on: “But I think your introduction was pretty good. Name a price.”

The old man’s eyes rolled. He rubbed his hands together and laughed: “The customer has a good eye! This Nine-Tailed Fox is a rare treasure. You won’t find a second one in the whole underground black market. As for the price… naturally, it’s not cheap.”

Old Black Daoist’s brows stood on end. He snapped: “You old thing, stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and name a price!”

The old man was startled by his tone, but he quickly calmed down again. Smiling, he held up five fingers and said: “Five hundred pieces of spirit jade. Fixed price.”

“Five hundred pieces of spirit jade?!” Ancestor Sui Bian almost jumped up, eyes wide as he shouted: “Why don’t you just go rob someone!”

The old man stayed calm and said: “Customer, this is a Nine-Tailed Fox. It is rare in this world. Five hundred spirit jade is already a discount because you are sincerely buying.”

Ancestor Sui Bian was so angry that his teeth itched. He wanted nothing more than to smash the old man flat with one punch.

Regret flashed through Old Black Daoist’s eyes.

He knew his impulsive behavior just now had made the old man notice something and deliberately give a sky-high price.

Yu Zhao had already felt that the Nine-Tailed Fox looked familiar when she first saw it. She had once lived for quite some time with Nine-Tailed Foxes on Qingqiu Mountain.

When she then saw the strange reactions of Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist, she understood that the Nine-Tailed Fox in this iron cage was most likely also one of the seniors who had ascended from the Cultivation World.

Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist clearly had a deep connection with this Nine-Tailed Fox, and the old man had grabbed them by the throat with it.

Sure enough, no matter how angry they were, Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist could only grit their teeth and swallow this loss.

Old Black Daoist was totally broke.

Ancestor Sui Bian had been in the Ling Xiao Realm during this time. Most of the spirit jade he had saved in the past had been used up on cultivation, and he had also bought a Starry Sky Stone earlier.

He and Yu Zhao took out all the spirit jade they had on them, yet they still could not reach five hundred pieces.

He looked at the old man, trying to bargain the price down, but the old man clung to the number and would not lower it at all.

Helpless, Ancestor Sui Bian could only borrow another hundred spirit jade from Senior Xiu Yu to make up the amount.

With an ugly face, he handed the spirit jade to the old man and said: “Five hundred pieces of spirit jade. The Nine-Tailed Fox is mine.”

The old man hurried to take it, his face glowing red with joy as he said: “Of course, of course! The customer is generous!”

As he spoke, he took a key from his chest, opened the cage door, and reached in to grab the Nine-Tailed Fox’s leg.

But the fox’s leg was still injured. As soon as the old man’s hand touched it, the Nine-Tailed Fox’s body trembled with pain.

Old Black Daoist could not hold back any longer. He stepped forward, shoved the old man aside, and snapped: “Get lost, I’ll do it myself.”

The old man staggered, a dark look flashing in his eyes, but he still pulled his hand back and stepped to the side.

Old Black Daoist squatted down and carefully lifted the fox out of the cage. His voice was hoarse as he said: “Hong Wei, we were late. You suffered.”