Chapter 30

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

As Xu Yi was looking around, a young man in long robes stepped towards him quickly. On his round face, he wore a professional smile, not unlike those real estate agents in Xu Yi’s previous life. When he came close, he held his fists in a salute to Xu Yi and began his pitch. “Brother, although you have an air of nobility around you, you look fresh and seem to be looking around to satisfy your curiosity. Clearly, this must be your first visit to Guang’an East City. I may not be much, but I am a local here. I am familiar with all the ins and outs of this city. If you don’t mind, Brother, I can serve as your guide.”

Xu Yi understood then that he had run into a guide. For his first visit here, he actually did require one. If the price was right, he would hire him. “Name your price!”

The young man was startled. Clearly, he had not expected Xu Yi to be that direct, and that had interrupted his flow.

Xu Yi however did not give him the time to slowly get himself back together. He lifted his feet and continued walking. He was sure that there were many in the city who were in the same line of work. He chose to put on some airs so that he would not be bullied by such guides.

The young man was not willing to have a customer like Xu Yi leave him so easily like that, and he hurried to catch up with Xu Yi. “Wait, don’t be so hasty. Brother, you really are a little too hasty. Five gold coins!”

Xu Yi almost fell headfirst into the ground. For a guide to open his mouth and straight up ask for five gold coins! Yesterday, his extravagant lunch only cost him around two silver taels. If he changed the five gold coins to silver taels according to official rates, it could allow him to eat lavishly for a whole year.

Seeing Xu Yi’s expression, the young man hurriedly added, “Brother, don’t think that this is too expensive. Hear me out first. Did you think that the job of us guides is that simple? I not only have to answer all your questions about anything in the city, but I will also follow you purchase anything that you want and be in charge of recommending places, haggling for a good price, and so on.”

It seemed that the scope of this young man’s job was actually quite extensive. However, Xu Yi was reluctant to part with his money. Not willing to waste more time talking, he turned and left, intending to try out other guides and compare prices.

However, the young man clung on like a piece of sticky candy, continuing his speech, and even giving plenty of examples. All of them were about how people came to East City for the first time and were unwilling to spend on guide fees, resulting in them being cheated of their money by certain stores and being the butt of jokes.

Xu Yi was annoyed, but the man’s speech was not totally ineffective. Xu Yi changed his mind and said, “Don’t ask for such a huge sum yet. I feel that you are rather sincere, so let me suggest something. For my trip this time to East City, I do indeed want to buy some things, and the total price of what I want would be no less than two hundred gold coins. If I find what I want, you’ll be in charge of bargaining, and I will pay you ten percent of the discount that you manage to get for me. If you agree, then lead the way, if not, go away and do not make me angry!”

With Xu Yi’s quick thinking, he managed to find a win-win proposal for the both of them in the blink of an eye.

For him, a crisis was right in front of his face, and the most important thing for him now was to increase his strength. For this trip to East City, he was prepared to spend a lot.

Although he did not know the exact cost of what he wanted, he expected that it would not be cheap.

The young man in the long robes was right. This was his first time here, and he was neither familiar with the place nor the price of the items. If he simply walked into any shop, he would most likely be taken advantage of.

If he had this young man help him keep an eye out for things and to bargain for good prices, it would make up for what he lacked.

He also believed that if this young man could help him, the amount that he could save would definitely be more than just five gold coins.

Such a proposal was convenient for both and presented a win-win situation. The moment he finished speaking, the young man jumped on it and accepted.

This was a simple calculation for the young man. He knew that according to the norm, he could haggle for a thirty percent discount off whatever price the shops offered. Which meant that if they he were to spend two hundred gold coins, the shop had to offer at least three hundred, and the discount that he could get would be a hundred gold coins. Ten percent of a hundred would be ten gold coins.

Furthermore, if he really pulled out all the stops, he could probably still get a higher discount and that would mean more money for him.

After settling their deal, the two of them exchanged names. The young man’s name was Yuan Qinghua. According to him, he had already been in this line of business for around seven to eight years and was very experienced.

As they walked, Qinghua pointed out various landmarks in the city, sharing interesting news and gossip. His oratory talent was great, speaking continuously with lots of witty comments. He was actually rather interesting to listen to.

As the two of them were crossing a stone bridge, Xu Yi suddenly noticed something around a hundred meters away. Loud voices could be heard, and the place was bustling with activity. Although they were far away, they could clearly see a ten meter high platform there. The platform was extremely broad, measuring at least fifty meters across. On top of it, two men were fighting to the death. Swords and sabres flashed, making it a heart-stopping sight.

With some thinking, Xu Yi understood what was going on. What was going on over there was Guang’an City’s famous duels, the challenge that he was soon to face.

Yuan Qinghua smiled and pointed over in that direction. He said, “It is still early. If you are interested in going over to take a look, you could place a bet if you fancy. I could advise you on who to bet on. After seeing these duels for so many years, I can say that I have accumulated quite a bit of experience.”

“Place a bet? What do you mean?” Xu Yi asked curiously.

Yuan Qinghua was shocked. In his mind, he wondered what kind of mountain this young master had crawled down from. However, his mouth spoke quickly without any pause. “In a fight, there would always be a winner and a loser. When there is a winner and loser, you have something to gamble on. In Guang’an City, there are no less than a hundred duels a day. If there were no betting to draw the crowds in, do you think that a simple duel between practitioners in the Body Forging stage would attract anyone?”

Xu Yi nodded and said, “Brother Yuan has good eyes. To think that you could determine the cultivation stage of the two of them from such a distance.”

Yuan Qinghua immediately rejected the praise and laughed. “Brother, there is something you do not know. It is not because I am good; it is simply because the cultivation level of the two duellists on the platform is clearly indicated by flag at the side of the stage. Gold, purple, black, white and green are the five colours of our Dayue Imperial Court. The colours are used in that order to determine superiority. This place also borrows this system and uses five colours of flags to indicate the cultivation level of the participants of the duel in order to attract different levels of gamblers. The four stages of the Body Forging stage correspond to the four colours, purple, black, white and green. This platform is flying a white flag, showing that the two on the platform are at the middle stage of Body Forging.”

Xu Yi said, “Gold, purple, black, white and green. That’s a total of five colours. Why is it that the four stages of Body Forging take up four colours, and only one colour is used to represent anything above the Body Forging stage?”

Yuan Qinghuan explained, “The reason is simple, after cultivating to the Qi Ocean stage, one would definitely be an important figure within Guang’an City. Between important figures, even if there were to be any conflict, why would there be a need to take things all the way up to the duelling platform? To be honest, as long as I can remember, I have never seen a golden flag flying on the duelling platform before. Furthermore, in recent years, the influence of the Three Great Sects has been slowly infiltrating Guang’an City. With the three sides mediating matters, even a purple flag is rare now.”

“I see, I have been thinking to simply. I have another question. If someone were to hide his cultivation level and fight on the platform while secretly placing large bets on himself, wouldn’t he be able to earn quick money? Of course, for the duels to continue up till today and become this popular in Guang’an, there must be some policy in place to prevent such a loophole.”

Xu Yi was like a dry sponge, rapidly soaking up the knowledge of this world.