Yang Qing paused for a bit before he gave his reply. It was an intentional pause as he wanted to see whether Zhi Da's current smug expression would change and squirm a little bit.
While Zhi Da did manage to skillfully hide his emotions but for a seasoned judge such as Yang Qing it was easy for Yang Qing to read his nervousness. It even seemed like a couple of times Zhi Da wanted to speak but held himself back.
As for Zhi Luoran, she was eyeing the two of them alternating her glances between the two during their showdown as her eyes glittered as if enjoying a show.
The little dance between Yang Qing and Zhi Da was interrupted by the mild rumbling of a hungry stomach.
Eiiii!!!!
Zhi Luoran's embarrassed cry broke the stalemate as she yelped in shame burying her head in her palms with a reddened face.
"Fine, I agree to hire your services Zhi Da. I will be in your care from now on," said Yang Qing after he decided he had teased Zhi Da long enough and any more would just be cruel.
It couldn't have been easy for the two siblings to survive alone especially given their current age. From what Yang Qing could detect they were only at the body refining age and from the density of their bones and internal structure, they were both at the bronze refining stage. In a place as prosperous as the Purple city they were no different from a mortal with no cultivation.
The bulk of the population roaming the streets was atleast in the qi refinement stage and with how ruthless and exploitative the cultivation world was, it was a wonder how the two Zhi siblings were still walking about. But with how mature and overly cautious they were, it seemed they had gone through their fair share of difficult moments that shaped their current habits.
…
"You won't regret it, big brother," eagerly said Zhi Da who would have jumped up and down in excitement if it wasn't for his restraint and professional business-mode persona he currently donned on.
"So do you want the payment now or later?" asked Yang Qing.
The Zhi siblings didn't seem to have any storage rings on them and if he casually produced spirit stones to pay them even if it was the lowest grade spirit stone, it would still draw in unwanted attention to the two siblings. Birds die for food and men die for treasure. Openly giving them two spirit stones was the same as painting a target on their backs.
Zhi Da was also in a dilemma as he kept exchanging glances with his sister Zhi Luoran.
Earlier he had picked Yang Qing out of the crowd not because he was a visitor since there were always a lot of visitors streaming into the city, but it was because Yang Qing looked young and affluent. Even though his light grey robes seemed casual both Zhi Da and Zhi Luoran could tell it was made of excellent materials more so the latter who had a sensitive eye for certain things. She was the one who told Zhi Da that Yang Qing might be rich.
Zhi Luoran would be the one to judge potential prospects while Zhi Da would be in charge of soft selling and closing the deal. This has always been their modus operandi. They have had a bit of success with it along with some close draws where they almost got kidnapped or got stiffed on the payment. But all in all, they always made enough to meet their basic needs and also pay 'operating tax' to the head of the Black vipers, which was the local underground organization in charge of the area they operated under.
Yang Qing seemed like an easy mark to them so the Zhi siblings made their approach. Zhi Da decided to raise a high charge first, then they would bargain back and forth and he would eventually settle for maybe 10 gold coins. Not once has he ever gotten a low-grade spirit stone as payment. It has always been a few silver coins on a bad day and maybe five to ten gold coins on a really good day. As for getting a low-grade spirit stone, that was a pipe dream as just a single low-grade spirit stone is valued at 100 gold coins, and even if you had the gold coins it didn't necessarily mean you'd be able to get a place that would agree to the trade.
Only mortals with no hopes of cultivation and who had a spirit stone in their possession would agree to such a trade since the spiritual qi in a low-grade spirit stone would dissipate over time if not used or stored properly.
When Yang Qing agreed on paying them two low-grade spirit stones, Zhi Da agreed on reflex but now that he had time to cool down and think on the matter, he couldn't help but worry for his and his sister's safety. The spirit stone was a hot potato that would get them killed by some of the thieves in the area and if they decided to hand them over to the Black viper they may get killed by the person in charge of collections so they could pocket the stones for themselves and eliminate the witnesses.
Zhi Da's eyes seemed to be asking his sister what they should do. He couldn't outright admit to Yang Qing his earlier charge was a bluff and he wanted gold coins instead. He would seem like a sham and receiving a beating from it would be their best-case scenario.
He couldn't tell Yang Qing's cultivation realm but if he was to guess he assumed Yang Qing was in the foundation establishment stage and one that had good backing based on the quality of his robe. He wasn't sure how someone of that caliber would react and the consequences they would suffer.
Zhi Da sneakily glanced around to see if the guard was still within shouting distance. If worse comes to worst he would scream for their help. Though even then there would be consequences from the guard's end but it would be a better end than what might happen.
Zhi Da gritted his teeth as he prepared to ask for gold coins instead but he was cut off when Yang Qing suddenly spoke up.
