Volume 1, Chapter 24: A Frenzied Scramble! Absolute Bedlam!

The shopkeeper was baffled.

He thought to himself, who didn’t know that the Young Master of the Wang family was also the Young Master of the Langya Chamber of Commerce? The President’s doting love for his son was known to all under heaven. Whatever the Young Master wanted, he got. The wealth of the Langya Chamber of Commerce was, naturally, the Young Master’s wealth. Was there any need to split the money?

However, driven by a merchant’s intuition, he observed the expressions of the arrivals and sensed they were not here to cause trouble. He nodded and said, "Yes, of course we do!"

As expected. The moment these words were spoken, the crowd opposite burst into cheers.

"Great, then we’ll buy from you!"
"Boss, give me three Taoist robes and two pairs of low-grade spirit-rank boots; I want to switch them out!"
"I want twenty low-grade magical artifacts! The sect just recruited a new batch of disciples, and I need to outfit them!"
"I want twenty as well!"
"I want..."

In an instant, the shop descended into a frenzy. All sorts of magical artifacts, robes, and medicinal pills were snatched up wildly. When stock ran low, two groups nearly came to blows. The shopkeeper was just about to call for the store’s guards to intervene when he heard someone in the crowd shout, "This is the Young Master of the Wang family’s shop, don’t break anything!" And just like that, the impending fight ceased instantly.

The crowd came in a massive wave and left in a massive wave. The shopkeeper was just lamenting what god of wealth had graced him today when, suddenly, more noise erupted at the door. Dozens of cultivators squeezed in, immediately asking, "Is this place managed by the Young Master of the Wang family?"

The shopkeeper nodded hurriedly, "It is, it is!"

He heard the leader tell the others, "Fellow Daoists, this is the place. Let’s do it!"
"This talisman looks good, give me a stack!"
"Do you sell communication jade talismans?"
"I want..."

Soon, the group finished their shopping spree. The entire shop looked as if it had been ransacked, with hardly anything left. The shopkeeper looked at the mountain of spirit stones piled before him, both shocked and delighted. He wondered when business had become so easy. There was no need to waste his breath; customers would come in, take their goods, drop their spirit stones, and leave without a word.

Not long after, another wave arrived—several burly men walked in.

"If we buy things here, does the Young Master of the Wang family get a cut?"
"Yes, he does!"
"That’s fine, then. Give us brothers a few Taoist robes!"

The shopkeeper apologized, "I’m sorry, dear customers, but the men’s robes are sold out. We only have the women’s style left."
The lead man furrowed his brows: "Sold out?"
The shopkeeper apologized repeatedly, "I’m sorry, we’ve had many customers today!"
The man asked, "What about other things? Magical artifacts, pills?"
The shopkeeper’s apology deepened: "All gone."
The man grew annoyed: "You’re such a large shop; how can you be out of everything?"
The shopkeeper continued to apologize.

The man waved his hand: "Fine, fine. Women’s style it is, just give them to me!"
The shopkeeper: "???"

Behind him, two subordinates spoke up: "Brother, why do we need women’s robes?"
The man replied: "Our master took in several new disciples this year. What if one of them is a junior sister? We can give it to her as a gift!"
One of the subordinates shook his head firmly: "No, absolutely not, I’ve already asked around!"
The man hesitated for a moment, then added: "That’s fine too. We’ll take them back for your sister-in-law to wear!"
Both subordinates were stunned: "Brother, you don't even have a Daoist partner!"
Black lines appeared on the man’s forehead: "So what if I don't? To get these clothes, I’ll just have to go find one!"

What else could he do? His master had given him a strict order: the hundreds of spirit stones provided must be spent at the Langya Chamber of Commerce, or he’d have his legs broken upon returning!

...

Meanwhile, directly across from the Langya Chamber of Commerce in the Great Liang capital, there was another merchant house. It was a branch of the Penglai Chamber of Commerce. This branch was newly opened; the previous one in the city had been in a different location. It had moved here temporarily because of an order from above: the entire Penglai Chamber of Commerce was to mobilize and compete with the Langya Chamber of Commerce for business.

After moving, the branch manager actively responded to the higher-ups' decree, slashing prices and holding events, even operating at a loss to seize the market from Langya. It worked quite well; many of Langya’s old customers had gradually shifted to Penglai. Because of this, Manager Liu of this branch had even been commended by his superiors.

However, today, for some reason, the Langya Chamber of Commerce opposite had suddenly become incredibly busy. No, "busy" was an understatement—it was brutal! Those customers weren't shopping; they were pillaging! No matter what they grabbed, they bought five or ten at a time! It was even more intense than commoners buying vegetables at a market. Since when did cultivators do business like this? There was no decorum at all!

Yet, people always had a herd mentality. Seeing how explosive the business was at Langya, the customers who were originally shopping at Penglai began to put down their items and join the frenzy across the street. They didn't know what they were fighting for, but if others were fighting for it, it must be something good!

Manager Liu felt his composure crumbling. Looking at his own desolate shop and then at the one across the street, he was nearly stupefied. They hadn't heard of Langya pulling any new tricks—no price cuts, no new treasures—so why were there so many people?

Suddenly, Manager Liu heard a heated argument coming from across the street. He looked delighted and hurried to the door to watch. But at the sight, he was stunned again. Two cultivators were each holding one end of a wooden bench, tugging back and forth.

Cultivator One: "Give it to me!"
Cultivator Two: "I saw it first!"
Cultivator One: "So what if you saw it first? I grabbed it first!"
Cultivator Two: "I left my spiritual sense on it first, it's mine!"

"..."

The Langya branch manager was beside them, trying to mediate: "Gentlemen, this is just an ordinary bench! It’s not made of spiritual wood, nor is it a magical treasure. It’s not worth fighting over!"
Cultivator One: "Then what else do you have left to sell? Bring it out, I’ll take it all!"
The Langya branch manager was nearly in tears: "There’s nothing left, truly! Even the longevity lock I’ve worn since childhood was bought by a customer!"
Cultivator Two: "I see that calligraphy hanging up there, sell it to me, I’ll offer fifty spirit stones!"
The Langya branch manager followed his gaze and his mouth twitched: "Sir, that is our chamber's plaque! It's not for sale!"

"..."

"If you two really want to buy something, why don't you try another chamber of commerce?"

Hearing this, Manager Liu of the Penglai branch felt like he could cry with gratitude. He hurried over: "Yes, yes! Gentlemen, we at the Penglai Chamber of Commerce have plenty of treasures. If you can think of it, we have it! Quickly... come inside and take a look!"

The two cultivators glanced at him, then at the Penglai Chamber of Commerce sign, and asked suspiciously: "If we buy things here, does the Young Master of the Wang family get a cut?"
Manager Liu froze: "Who is the Young Master of the Wang family? Why would he get a cut of my money?"
"Then what are you butting in for? Get lost!"

The two cultivators spat at him without a hint of courtesy.