Fang Leng smiled maliciously, as if deliberately provoking Jian Long… daring him to do something.
"First, don't raise your voice at me, you filthy animal."
He said it coldly, then immediately added:
"And because of that… I'll lower the price to 60 primeval stones. If you argue more, I'll lower it even further."
"What did you say, you—"
"Shut up."
Fang Leng cut him off sharply, as if slapping him with a single word, then continued without giving him a chance:
"The price is now 50 primeval stones."
In truth…
this was the price he had wanted from the very beginning.
As for his previous offer—70—
it was nothing more than bait.
He had only wanted to anger Jian Long… to enjoy humiliating him, watching the price drop before his eyes.
To him, this wasn't just negotiation—
it was entertainment.
Cheap entertainment… but enjoyable.
He was willing to pay for this kind of amusement, as long as the other party was weak… and unable to retaliate.
Opportunities like this—
didn't come twice.
"Now… let me continue."
he said with a faint mocking smile:
"Of course, there's no such thing as a Gu worth 70 stones… or even 50."
"But as you can see—this is the Lightning Moon Gu."
He looked at it, then continued slowly:
"It feeds on lightning bamboo… which only grows in rare places."
He paused briefly, then added deliberately:
"Most notably… the lands of the Bai clan."
"Which—unfortunately—have been destroyed."
He slightly shrugged, as if regretful, but his eyes gleamed with mockery:
"So feeding it is difficult."
"In fact… it might die of hunger."
He gestured at its withered state:
"And in its current condition… it already seems to be on that path."
Then he stepped closer and said firmly:
"So it's only natural that I buy it at this price."
"No one in this caravan would risk buying it."
He then smiled faintly and added:
"Unless you plan to wait… until we reach Yanmen City?"
Anger flared within Jian Long, his hand almost moving on its own to strike—
but he restrained himself at the last moment.
Fang Leng was no fool… he had pressed directly on his weakest point.
The Lightning Moon Gu had been starving for several days and could die at any moment. That was why, ever since joining the caravan, Jian Long had been rushing to sell it as quickly as possible—
yet this was exactly the situation he had feared…
being exploited.
And now, it was happening right in front of him.
The bigger problem—
there was no one in this caravan who would be willing to buy this Gu… except Fang Leng.
As a Gu merchant, he possessed special methods to store Gu worms for months, even years, without them dying.
As for the others?
They wouldn't even consider it.
And so, his options narrowed down to a single person—
someone who clearly enjoyed humiliating him.
At that moment, Jian Long felt something strange.
Despite being far stronger than Fang Leng, capable of killing him with ease—
he felt an overwhelming sense of weakness before him.
A weakness that had nothing to do with combat strength.
But rather—
the system.
Fang Leng, despite having only D-grade aptitude and being merely a Rank one Gu Master—
held a much higher position within the caravan than Jian Long.
And the reason?
He was backed by one of the caravan's elders—a Rank three Gu Master.
As for Jian Long…
even if he presented himself as a genius of the Bai clan—
it meant nothing here.
In this place, in this caravan—
if you had no one supporting you…
you were nothing.
And so—
he had only one option left.
To submit.
…Or at least, that was what Fang Leng thought.
But in the next moment—
Jian Long let out a quiet sigh… then laughed.
A soft laugh, yet it carried something dangerous beneath it.
Then he spoke in an eerily calm tone:
"Listen here, you piece of trash… I came here to exchange Gu worms, not to be insulted by a foolish Rank one Gu Master."
He paused briefly, then continued while staring straight at him:
"So let's be clear… you're going to buy my Gu at market price. Understood?"
From the side, Zhou Quan felt things spiraling out of control.
The atmosphere had turned dangerously tense, and he was just about to step in and tell Jian Long to leave—
but before he could—
Fang Leng burst into laughter.
A hysterical, rage-filled laugh, veins bulging on his forehead.
To be insulted…
by someone beneath him in status within the caravan?
That had never happened before.
Especially—
after daring to mention his cultivation level.
"Get out of my shop right now, you brat!"
he shouted sharply.
"I won't buy anything from you!"
But—
in the very next moment—
Jian Long moved.
In a flash, he grabbed him by the neck… and lifted him off the ground.
Fang Leng's voice choked in his throat as everyone inside the shop quickly gathered—
both employees and customers—
drawn by the sudden scene.
Jian Long stepped closer, his eyes blazing with anger, then spoke in a low… yet terrifying voice:
"I've had enough of you."
"Now… you're going to sell me Rank two lightning-path Gu—one defensive, and one offensive."
His grip tightened slightly.
"Or I'll break your bones."
His words were filled with hysterical rage—
and yet…
there was still a measure of control in them.
Even at this moment—
he made sure to emphasize one thing:
He was buying…
not stealing.
Zhou Quan shouted, clearly alarmed:
"By the heavens, Jian Long! What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?!"
But Jian Long cut him off calmly:
"Please, Brother Zhou Quan… don't interfere. Just trust me."
There was something in his tone—steady, heavy with confidence—that made Zhou Quan freeze in place, unable to respond.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the shop—
one of the female employees tried to slip outside to alert others about what was happening.
But Jian Long's voice stopped her instantly:
"Stop."
Then he added in a cold, terrifying tone:
"One more step… and I'll cut off your legs."
He paused briefly, then looked at everyone present:
"That goes for all of you."
His voice was so firm that it left no room for doubt—
this was no empty threat.
Suddenly—
Fang Leng burst into laughter, even while being held by the neck:
"Hahaha! Looks like you've finally lost your mind!"
Then he continued mockingly:
"Do you even know who I am? I'm the cousin of Fang Gong, a Rank three Gu Master!"
He leaned forward slightly despite his position, his eyes gleaming with malice:
"Do you know what he'll do to you when he finds out what you've done—"
"AAARGH!!"
His words turned into a sharp scream of pain.
At that moment—
Jian Long released a burst of electricity into his body, cutting him off before he could finish.