Mundane Saint

Chapter 86 – Shang Xiong wants me dead!

One of the men was slightly overweight, with a middle-aged appearance. His clothing and accessories could be described as "glittering with jewels," and he wore a slight smile on his face, giving him a somewhat sly and deceitful look...

The other man, Gu Heng had seen before.

He was the same street thug who had taken money from Gu Heng's peers a few days ago and planned to cause trouble!

But now he was dressed in tight black clothing, and his eyes were colder. Rather than a street thug, he looked more like a qualified henchman.

"...And who might you two be?"

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread.com".

Gu Heng's expression darkened slightly.

Why did it feel like nothing good was about to happen?

The chubby middle-aged man clasped his hands and said, "Shang Xiong, President of Qingfeng Treasure Hall. This is my personal bodyguard, Qing Yi, but I believe you've met him already."

President of Qingfeng Treasure Hall?

Gu Heng immediately became alert.

"...A few days ago, your personal bodyguard came to my Medicine Hall intending to cause trouble, didn't he?"

So that's how it was.

That day, this guy named Qing Yi dressed up like a loafer and said some strange things at his Medicine Hall. Gu Heng had thought it was the work of his "peers" from South of Cloud Spirit City.

Now the truth was clear.

It was the handiwork of Qingfeng Treasure Hall.

Gu Heng was a bit nervous because five assassins from Qingfeng Treasure Hall had indeed died from his poison. Clearly, Qingfeng Treasure Hall knew all about it.

It seemed there was an informant that night who hadn't been eliminated and had reported back.

"Hey, you can't say it like that. My bodyguard came, but he didn't smash any bottles or jars in your Medicine Hall, did he?"

Shang Xiong squinted his small eyes, observing Gu Heng while explaining with a smile, "I just wanted to see what was so special about this Gu Family Medicine Hall."

Gu Heng's frown deepened.

"Then why are you here now?"

"I want to discuss business with the owner of the Medicine Hall, and I am sincere about it."

Shang Xiong nudged the two boxes at his feet, and only then did Gu Heng notice that these boxes looked quite heavy, and... they were the kind used to store gold and silver, weren't they?

Gu Heng's eyebrows raised slightly as he stared at him, "You want to talk business?"

"Yes."

Shang Xiong glanced sideways, hearing Qing Yi whisper that the true owner of the Medicine Hall, that young girl, was not here at the moment. The young man in front of him was said to be the "owner," but in reality, he had no cultivation and was likely just a hired hand with some basic medical skills.

That Qin Yiyao had merely pushed this young man to the forefront as a facade.

But Shang Xiong didn't care.

As long as someone could pass his message to Qin Yiyao, that was enough.

"What do you want?"

Gu Heng crossed his arms, looking at him indifferently.

"What I want is simple."

Shang Xiong put his hands in his sleeves, speaking confidently, "I hope that 'Golden Spirit Liquid' can be sold on the shelves of my Qingfeng Treasure Hall!"

"Of course, unlike Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall, we conduct business with absolute fairness and integrity!"

Fairness and integrity, huh?

But why did Gu Heng feel like this was someone who had been punched hard and was now rushing over to make amends at any cost?

He had heard about the hot sales of "Golden Spirit Liquid" and naturally also heard about the dismal state of "Blue Spirit Liquid."

Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall even requested more Golden Spirit Liquid today, causing his apprentice to spend three hours brewing medicine all morning. Anyone could see that Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall was making a huge profit.

They were making a fortune, but what about Qingfeng Treasure Hall?

They were suffering a huge loss.

The "Golden Spirit Liquid" from Gu Family Medicine Hall completely overshadowed the Blue Spirit Liquid, so Qingfeng Treasure Hall was naturally as anxious as ants on a hot pan, trying to find a way to break the deadlock.

But the solution Shang Xiong came up with was to stab Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall in the back and then switch sides?

A bit... foolish.

"President Shang, since you've come all the way here, I'll be frank with you."

Gu Heng's expression turned meaningful.

"Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall and I have a cooperative relationship, and their compensation is not insubstantial, so if you intend to interfere, please leave."

Shang Xiong wanted him to stab them in the back.

Gu Heng naturally wouldn't comply.

Not to mention how much benefit such an act could bring, but both Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall and Qingfeng Treasure Hall were giants capable of drowning this small Medicine Hall with money.

If he backstabbed Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall and switched to Qingfeng Treasure Hall, what then?

Could Qingfeng Treasure Hall offer him better compensation and more prestigious treatment?

It's important to know that this is a partnership of equals.

He absolutely didn't believe that this President Shang Xiong, whose face couldn't hide a sly smile, was the kind of person who would willingly bow down and adopt a low profile under him, Gu Heng.

Moreover, being a double-crosser easily attracts hatred.

Jumping back and forth won't end well.

Besides, Gu Heng preferred the attitude of Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall; at least Feng Wuxin was good-looking and generous.

"Haha, is the compensation really that substantial?"

Shang Xiong had anticipated this response and chuckled lightly, "A hundred thousand taels of gold per month, right?"

As expected, Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall was indeed only offering mortal gold and silver as compensation!

"Even you know, it seems Golden Phoenix Treasure Hall has your informant."

Gu Heng squinted his eyes.

"Mutual understanding, my Qingfeng Treasure Hall also has informants in President Feng's hall. These are just some tacit little moves."

Shang Xiong didn't deny it, but a sinister gleam flashed in his eyes.

Having commercial secrets stolen still required a small face-off and a deadly pursuit.

"Since you know this, does that mean your offer is better?"

"Naturally!"

Shang Xiong was extremely pleased with himself. Then, with a wave of his hand, Qing Yi opened the two boxes, and Gu Heng saw that they were not filled with gold and silver, but with irregularly shaped stones with glowing patterns on their surfaces!

"Two hundred thousand spirit stones!"

Shang Xiong said with a smile.

Gu Heng was stunned.

"Never seen them, right?"

Seeing Gu Heng's stunned expression, Shang Xiong felt a sense of disdain, thinking that people from this backwater place were truly ignorant. He continued with a smile, "I'll be honest with you, the value of that Golden Spirit Liquid far exceeds those gold pieces! My offer is to give you spirit stones!"

"Oh."

But Gu Heng's response was completely different from what Shang Xiong had expected. His eyes now seemed to be looking at a fool.

"President Shang, please take your two boxes of stones and head back."

Gu Heng's second refusal was even more resolute than the first.

He had, of course, heard of spirit stones, knowing they were "currency" that circulated only among cultivators. But he was just an ordinary person; what would he do with these spirit stones?

Moreover, this guy was offering him two hundred thousand spirit stones at once!

Two hundred thousand!

Gu Heng had no concept of such a large number of spirit stones, but he knew one thing: for an ordinary person, these were akin to a guillotine!

If Gu Heng dared to accept these spirit stones now, he might find himself besieged by cultivators tonight, coming to rob him!

This Shang Xiong really had no good intentions!