BXBX NOVEL Chapter 494 The Lunch break
Mark then tried to strike the iron while it was still hot by further adding, "It is one of the few basic firearms that could be used by any non-cultivators, you know for basic protection from street gangs and thieves."
"But, you are saying it costs 10 gold coins," Qing Jie pointed to the major issue with the gun. "Adding on top of an entirely new kind of weapon, it costs very high. Not to mention one would still have to buy that… that… ammu… ammu…"
"Ammunition," Mark helped him finish the sentence.
"Yes, that\'s it. One would have to keep buying it for one whole life to use this weapon," Qing Jie then went on to say, "You see the Xiezhi Empire doesn\'t have any wild zones and the occurrence of dungeons is quite rare, forget about the dungeon break. It is also why our home is known as the graveyard for adventurers."
Mark stayed silent. He suddenly felt like he made a bad choice in making this guy an acquaintance.
Meanwhile, Qing Jie continued, "Hence, the weapon with such small uses won\'t attract the ones who can afford such an amount. And the ones who need might feel reluctant to spend such an amount on it as 10 gold coins aren\'t a small amount for the common folk, even though we are casually throwing away millions of gold coins here. Rather than selling this one at Xiezhi Empire, I recommend our neighboring empire. I knew a few trusted merchants and weapon sellers. If you wish, I will talk to them in your place and settle it at a mere 10% commission fee."
Qing Jie\'s further explanation once again changed Mark\'s opinion and made him feel like this guy might become a reliable partner, after all.
Just as Mark was about to speak about the advanced weapons, Qing Jie dropped another surprise by further stating, "Come to think of it, why waste on commission? If Brother Lu is willing to work with me, we can open a weapon store at Baize Empire on joint ownership. I\'m close with the Crown Prince, there. So, permissions and promotions can be taken off. What do you say?"
*Ding! You triggered a Side Quest, Business Partner.
"Eh?" Mark was slightly surprised as the holographic screen popped up in front of his eyes as soon as Qing Jie came up with a suggestion.
While pretending to drink water, he secretly operated his finger to click on the notification and open the quest details.
Quest: Business Partner n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Description: Qing Jie is willing to form a partnership with you to open a store at Baize Empire. Negotiate the terms and conditions.
Reward: Affinity with Qing Jie +?, unknown.
"Oh, it looks like the reward depends on the terms," Mark understood the task, but there was also another thing weighed on his mind.
Does he really need such a partnership?
Well, he wants a partner for sure. That\'s the whole reason he bothered to make friends with a stranger like Qing Jie in the first place.
Mark doesn\'t want his business to get damaged in case his relationships with the big shots there get sour for whatever reason. It happened in Phoenix Empire and he doesn\'t want it to be repeated elsewhere.
Thus alongside his stores, he needed reliable partners who could sell firearms even to the enemies he would eventually destroy. If they want a commission, that\'s fine, now that he earns 100% of the entire earned amount.
In the end, it will spread the fame of the firearms faster than he intended and the market monopoly will still be in his hands.
But, what Qing Jie is suggesting is something different from his plans.
Seeing that the system also seemed like it was acknowledging such a partnership, Mark felt like he had to give it some thought before making the decision.
Hence, he could only reply with a, "I\'ll think about it and send you the reply later," and resumed eating. Meanwhile, James and Steve were busy talking with each other, regarding this current world and the auction and even about certain people around. However, they only spoke English, so that no one apart from their dad could decipher the contents of their conversation.
"Bro, look at that fellow at our 4 o\'clock. He looks so inflated that he might explode at any second," commented Steve before adding, "The AI says that he had a 19-year-old son and a 17-year-old wife."
James couldn\'t help but make a face of disgust, "Ugh… these wealthy nobles and their weird fantasies."
"Bro, forget about that fatty for a moment. Think about the girl. She must be quite unsatisfied with her married life. And his son was also around her age. You know what I am getting at?"
"Shut up, Steve. Don\'t talk about ladies in such a way. She must have already experienced hell…"
"C\'mon…"
Mark\'s ears perked up when he heard that. He wanted to comment that the girl could also be a gold digger and that the concept of age is something almost nonexistent in this world but kept the thoughts to himself, remembering how he looked at the elven princess like she was a grandma, although the age of 96 still considered an adolescent there. In the end, he even agreed to marry the elf who lived for more than 500 years.
Maybe, it is because the news about Rong Huang\'s invitation being firmly declined by Mark was passed around. Or maybe, it is because of the presence of Steve and James themselves. Or maybe, it could even be because Qing Jie was already at the table.
Whatever the reason it might be, until the end of the banquet, no one approached Mark even though he constantly felt several gazes on him from every direction.
Meanwhile, in the ladies section, almost all the ladies gathered there had their veils off and Song Yue suddenly became the center of attention. She is like a sun among the sea of stars.
If there was someone who attracted equally enough attention as her, it would be Sylvandria.
But the only problem was that she was an elf and looked very different from the rest of the ladies.
Most women here are wives or relatives of respected nobles/princes/wealthy individuals, and their cultivation levels are usually meager enough to say that they couldn\'t understand how terrifying Sylvandria is. These people could only judge her based on her appearance.
As for the remaining women, these were adventurers who gathered on one side to discuss things among themselves. These adventurer women don\'t mingle with noble ladies as the former looks down on the latter kind who had political/arranged marriages while the latter detest the former kind as they feel like these women fighters lack elegance.
They knew how powerful Sylvandria was and due to her elf race, instead of revering her strength, they made sure not to go anywhere near her due to the fear.
Hence, Sylvandria became the target of scorn and distasteful remarks, although it was mostly whispering between third parties.
As the princess of a kingdom, Shen Ling had the obligation to talk with the ladies with important backgrounds, well, atleast until the food was arranged, and then, after their lunch was over and until the men were done with their lunch too.
Song Yue was also someone who grew up in a noble household. She has been familiar with such events since she turned 16. Hence, she followed in the footsteps of the princess.
As for Sylvandria, she wasn\'t interested in mingling with mortals. She used to be the revered High Priestess, whom everyone in the Ixitus Empire used to treat as representative of their God.
She was silently sitting there with her eyes closed. No one was conversing with her and neither was she minding anyone.
Everything was peaceful until a comment from a relative of Dragon Empire\'s imperial family entered her ears, targeting Shen Ling.
"Say Shen Ling, I heard an interesting story about your father. Did your mom really imprison your father for a decade and let your uncle impersonate him to rule the kingdom?"
Shen Ling\'s calm-looking face turned serious in an instant.
Before Shen Ling could react to her statement, another lady let out a giggle as she added, "Perhaps, they were lovers in the past and King Shen Niu had snatched her away using power. But then again, living together for a decade… they must have used this opportunity to the fullest and enjoyed their nightlife."
"By the way, you are sure that you are King Shen Niu\'s daughter, right?" the third one joined the fun with a mischievous grin on her face, taking it too far.
"Hahaha" "Hahahaha"
Another two ladies in the back burst into laughter as Shen Ling\'s face reddened in anger and her fist was clenched tightly. She wanted to punch her face but couldn\'t do it as she herself couldn\'t forgive her mother to this day.
It was at that moment the five ladies suddenly collapsed onto their knees, taking everyone around by surprise. Even Shen Ling herself was taken aback as she saw those five ladies from a big background look like they were having heavy breathing.
"Milady" "Milady"
Two guards nearby hurried toward them but they crashed into an invisible barrier and fell down.
"It\'s that, isn\'t it? The Aura Suppression; the ability to suppress lower ranked cultivators without affecting the surroundings, a power unique to a Supreme Being," A 6-circle realm adventurer in the corner of the room whispered to her team leader. The 7-circle realm expert nodded in seriousness. Sweat drops formed on her forehead.
Sylvandria\'s voice then echoed in the ears of the fallen, "It is not my place to teach someone a lesson but I must remind you that those with loose tongues and bad manners shouldn\'t forget that there is always a greater bully than you, in this world. And not everyone would resort to using their words. So, choose your words carefully next time."
The suppression was removed after the warning. The guards reached the affected women and helped them to get up.
Instead of getting afraid by the sudden near-death experience, Tang Jia shouted in rage with her eyes focused on the place where adventurers gathered, "Who is it? Who is it that dared to ambush me? I\'m the wife of Rong Huang and the daughter of Tang Hanying. A word from me and none of you or your families will be spared no matter where you are from. I will… Argh…"
She let out a painful cry as invisible pressure descended on her and she was crushed to the floor once again. This time, her breathing wasn\'t affected as previously. It was just the weight of suppression on her soul and the ether particles in Tang Jia\'s body.
Sylvandria\'s eyes opened for the first time and she got up from her seat.
The room descended into silence as she calmly walked to her. The guards wanted to defend her but they were frozen by the Aura Suppression too.
Stopping before her, she looked down at the struggling Tang Jia and spoke coldly, "I can see that your soul has been tainted by darkness, child. I have no compassion for sinners like you. You are bound to go through thousands of years in the hell realm after your death. But, you can still redeem yourself by doing good deeds so that you suffer less in the afterlife and get to reincarnate in a good family, next time.
As for your so-called Rong Huang and Tang Hanying, I don\'t know who they are and how powerful they are for you to boast in arrogance but I\'m certainly aware that there is no immortal realm cultivator living in this world, and in that case, it would be very unwise to pursue to drag this matter any longer. Just apologize to her and end this. Or else…"