Chapter 198: Are You Insane?

Warden Number One’s expression faltered.

A breath later, he recovered.

"In the Jianghu, only those of the Side Doors know how to seal evil. If Lord Shen wishes to purchase evil entities, we can indeed acquire them for you from those sources.

However, we must first know: What level of evil does Lord Shen desire, and in what quantity?"

"What is the typical price for evil entities?"

Shen Changqing inquired.

The black banner fetched a price of seven hundred thousand taels due to the auction setting, resulting in a significant premium.

Ordinarily, that black banner was certainly not worth that much.

After all, although two evil entities comparable to those in the Innate Realm were powerful, one could use seven hundred thousand taels of silver to cultivate several Innate Realm martial artists.

Hearing this, Warden Number One pondered for a moment. "The price of evil entities is not fixed, but there is a fluctuating range. For instance, a Nether Rank monster usually costs from several thousand to tens of thousands of taels, depending on the seller’s circumstances and the monster’s strength.

As for Grievance Rank monsters, the lowest price starts at one hundred thousand taels, but that’s only for those newly entered into the Grievance Rank, whose strength is not particularly great. If it’s a Grievance Rank mid-stage monster, the price might be around three hundred thousand taels.

A Grievance Rank late-stage monster will cost at least seven hundred thousand taels, but the Side Doors rarely offer monsters of that level for sale."

To capture evil entities, one must possess formidable means.

Not just anyone is qualified to capture late-stage Grievance Rank monsters; after all, that level of strength is comparable to an Outer Gang expert of the Innate Realm, or even a martial artist at the Innate Limit.

Such experts are famous figures throughout the Jianghu.

After a pause, Warden Number One continued, "Normally, the Side Doors rarely sell evil entities. Although their methods allow them to control evil, the number of evil they can control is limited, which is why a small number of evil entities are sold."

Side Door techniques cannot control evil entities without limit.

If that were the case, the Side Doors would have dominated the Jianghu long ago.

Ultimately, the limitation on controlling evil is the key. Any member of the Side Doors can only control a limited number of evil entities.

Beyond that limit, they cannot control any more, rendering the surplus evil entities useless, which leads to them circulating in the market.

However, those circulating evil entities are mostly traded among members of the Side Doors, with few outsiders purchasing them.

After the Warden finished speaking, Shen Changqing interjected, "I do not wish for too many evil entities to circulate in the Jianghu, as they are a constant threat. Therefore, I hope to acquire a large number of them. As for the price, I can purchase them at market price.

Even a slight premium is acceptable. As for the quantity, the more, the better."

"Although Lord Shen obtained over two million taels from the auction, after deducting the silver used to purchase merit points, the remaining one million plus might not be enough to buy too many evil entities."

Warden Number One frowned slightly.

One million taels seemed like a lot, but it depended on how it was spent.

If it were used to purchase evil entities, it wouldn’t buy much.

After all, a single Grievance Rank monster sells for at least one hundred thousand taels of silver.

Shen Changqing smiled faintly. "There’s no need for you to worry about the silver. The number of Grandmaster martial arts I possess is far more than just three. If necessary, even if I take out a few more Grandmaster martial arts for sale, it wouldn’t be a major problem."

As he said this, he first withdrew one hundred thousand taels of silver notes, then pushed the remaining two million three hundred and eleven thousand taels of silver notes forward.

"Two million three hundred and eleven thousand taels of silver notes. Ninety thousand taels are for purchasing merit points, and the remaining one million four hundred and eleven thousand taels are a partial deposit for purchasing evil entities. Whenever there are evil entities available, I hope your auction house will help acquire them.

The silver for the acquisitions can be deducted from this one million four hundred and eleven thousand taels.

I will come to Yuanyang Auction House every month to collect the goods. If the silver is insufficient, I will take out other Grandmaster martial arts for auction at that time. I will absolutely not allow your auction house to suffer any losses."

With those words, Warden Number One and Ji Qu were both inwardly shaken.

They had assumed that Shen Changqing taking out three Grandmaster martial arts was likely his limit.

They never expected that he would have other martial arts that he could sell.

If that were truly the case, then the fortune this Lord Shen had obtained was far greater than they had imagined.

Although they were shocked, Warden Number One did not reveal it on the surface.

He looked at the thick stack of silver notes before him and reached out to collect them.

"Lord Shen is straightforward. It would be petty of me to decline. No problem, Lord Shen can come to Yuanyang Auction House in five days to collect the merit points, or we can send someone to the Demon Suppression Division.

As for the evil entities, Yuanyang Auction House will also do its utmost to help acquire them. We’ll set a deadline of one month. You can come and collect them then."

"No problem."

Shen Changqing nodded.

"I will come to the auction house once every month to take away the evil entities. If I am late, they can be temporarily stored in the auction house. After all, you understand that the Demon Suppression Division sometimes requires me to carry out missions.

Therefore, I can’t guarantee that I can come on time every time."

"Very well!"

Warden Number One agreed without hesitation.

These were not major matters, as long as it was profitable.

Just as he had thought, Shen Changqing was indeed a valued customer.

If this transaction continued, it would be a transaction volume of several million taels, or even possibly up to ten million taels.

Even Yuanyang Auction House, with its vast wealth, could not afford to be careless about such sums.

Leaving Yuanyang Auction House, Shen Changqing took out the hundred thousand taels of silver notes from his arms and handed them directly to Ji Qu when he returned to the Demon Suppression Division.

"This matter was thanks to Brother Ji’s help. I, Shen, am a man of my word. These one hundred thousand taels of silver notes are Brother Ji’s reward. If there are other matters in the future, I hope Brother Ji will not decline."

One hundred thousand taels!

Looking at the silver notes before him, Ji Qu beamed with joy.

He did not make any pretense of refusing, but accepted the silver notes, then smiled and said, "Rest assured, if there is anything in the future, Lord Shen can come and find this old one. I dare not say anything else, but this old one has been in the Demon Suppression Division for many years, and I believe I can be of some help in certain areas."

"Very well, then I’ll take my leave."

"Lord Shen, farewell!"

"Farewell!"

Shen Changqing cupped his fist, then turned and left.

He had gone to the black market yesterday, and the auction had lasted for a long time. By the time everything was settled and he returned to the Demon Suppression Division, it was already the next day.

This time, he had obtained a lot of slaughter points from Yuanyang Auction House, and he needed to go back and digest them properly.

Watching Shen Changqing leave, Ji Qu shook his head and sighed, "Generous with his money, a valued customer indeed!"

One hundred thousand taels of silver!

It was much more than his existing wealth.

If it were exchanged for merit points, it would be at least two to three hundred merit points.

Immediately, he entered the Earth Division Demon Slaying Courtyard and knocked on the courtyard door of one of the people there.

"Lao Zhou, are you in?"

"Coming, coming, stop knocking! This old man still wants this door!"

An exasperated voice rang out from inside the courtyard, and the tightly closed courtyard door opened, revealing a slightly short old man, looking at the person in front of him with dissatisfaction.

"Speak, what do you want from this old man this time? Speak quickly if you have something to say, and fart quickly if you have a fart to let out."

"Forget it, I originally had a business deal I wanted to take care of you with, but I didn’t expect you to be so unappreciative. Farewell!"

Ji Qu turned and put his hands behind his back, making a gesture to leave.

Seeing this, Lao Zhou originally didn’t want to pay attention to the other party, but the words just now made him somewhat curious.

"Stop with the theatrics, just speak directly."

Hearing this, Ji Qu turned to look at the other party, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Won’t you invite me in to sit for a while?"

"Come in then!"

Inside the courtyard, Ji Qu didn’t waste any words and went straight to the point.

"Don’t say I’m not taking care of you. I plan to sell you two hundred merit points at five hundred taels per point, how about it?"

"Are you insane?"

Lao Zhou’s first reaction was this.

Five hundred taels for one merit point was a severe premium.

Unless it was for acquiring a large amount of merit points, the price couldn’t possibly be as high as five hundred taels.

Then, Lao Zhou looked at Ji Qu’s expression and became suspicious. "Have you made a fortune recently?"

"You don’t need to worry about whether I’ve made a fortune or not. Just tell me whether you’re selling or not. If you’re selling, we’ll exchange merit points for silver on the spot. If you’re not selling, I’ll go find someone else, but don’t say I didn’t take care of you."

Ji Qu shook his head, not wanting to say too much.

Hearing this, Lao Zhou laughed.

"Five hundred taels for one merit point, of course I’m going to sell it. Not selling would be foolish. But you have to let me see the silver first—"

Before he could finish speaking, Ji Qu took out a stack of silver notes from his arms.

Looking at the denomination and thickness of the silver notes, Lao Zhou’s expression became serious.

"Are you serious?"

"When have I ever told a lie?"

"I don’t know where you got these silver notes, but are you sure you really want to exchange them for merit points? Some things are in the past, there’s no need to be so stubborn. Even if you really collect enough merit points, what good will it do you?

Having the opportunity to be an ordinary person is much better than sticking your foot in this mess."

Lao Zhou’s expression was inscrutable. He understood the purpose of Ji Qu’s exchange for merit points, but in his opinion, such an approach was meaningless.

Hearing these words, the smile on Ji Qu’s face disappeared, turning cold.

"What I do is my own business. This old man has lived for several decades and has always been a man of his word. Besides, in this day and age, do you really think you can live a long life as an ordinary person?"

Could they?

Faced with this question, Lao Zhou also fell silent.

"Forget it, do as you see fit. I’m too lazy to care about you. Here are two hundred merit points."

He took out two light-golden Demon Suppression Coins from his arms.

Seeing this, Ji Qu took the Demon Suppression Coins and handed the silver notes to Lao Zhou’s hand at the same time.

"I hope you won’t tell anyone else about this matter."

"You can rest assured about my discretion. Since you’ve made your decision, I won’t say anything more."

Lao Zhou put away the silver notes and shook his head helplessly.

After a slight clasp of his fist, Ji Qu turned and left.

End of Chapter