Book Pavilion.

  Sitting in her rocking chair, Granny Shu’s gnarled fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk as she eyed the young man standing before her, his stance respectful yet confident.

  "Hum? Young Bubai says… you have some of the rumored scorpions for sale? What a… coincidence."

  Bubai performed a slight bow. "Yes, Shu Po Po. Junior followed the direction of the wind in the outer sect and lady fortune smiled down upon me."

  "Hum. There is no need for so much sophistry with this old lady. Others don’t know, can this old lady not?"

  Looking up and meeting Granny Shu’s piercing eyes gleaming with a shrewdness that belied her frail appearance, Bubai could only put on a sheepish smile.

  Yep, with the tracking bracelet she placed on him, it would be difficult to fool this old lady. Well, rather than fooling, he was aiming more towards informing her anyways.

  “Fufu... it’s good young Bubai has some little cleverness.” Granny Shu’s lips curled into a knowing smile.

  "This isn’t a big deal, not something this old lady can’t handle, but those misers won’t give up so easily. It would be best if young Bubai keeps your hands clean for a while."

  Huh? It seems she wants him to stop breeding more? Well, it was indeed a good idea to stay low key for a while.

  So, Bubai didn’t hesitate to agree, "Junior understands. There won’t be anymore unless Shu Po Po requests.”

  "Good. Good.” Getting Bubai’s affirmation, Granny Shu’s eyes twinkled with a mixture of satisfaction and calculation, "Sometimes profit is born from scarcity rather than uniqueness. Supply and demand as you call it."

  Ah, raising the prices. The old granny clearly was a seasoned old veteran in this.

  Bowing slightly, Bubai smoothly slipped in some flattery, "Praise be Shu Po Po’s wisdom."

  “Fufu…” The old lady chuckled softly before getting down to business.

  "Hum, now to the most important point. This is not a big deal but still, it’s no small trouble. Hum, this old lady won’t let you suffer. How does three spirit stones for two scorpions sound?"

  In his mind, Bubai quickly calculated the potential profits…

  1.5 spirit stones each, an offer that was about half the market price. Honestly, it wasn’t much better than his in-person sales during his incognito runs in the outer sect.

  But, Bubai knew he can’t just look at the surface when it comes to transactions like these. There was a significant distinction between his trade with the granny compared to his own solo run.

  For one, the risk involved was considerably lower, thanks to the background of the old granny.

  True, it meant leaking some of his uniqueness to her, but as the granny had pointed out, she was already privy to certain aspects of his peculiarities, probably more so than anyone else in the sect.

  So, there was no need for complicated schemes and excuses when taking the old granny route.

  Of course, the excuse he prepared on his trip to the outer sect wasn’t completely useless.

  This excuse could serve him well against others if necessary, and perhaps even be employed by the granny to perfunctorily deflect attention from him should his identity ever come under scrutiny.

  Most likely, this gave him some bonus points, and it was a relief that he didn't have to press the point during their negotiation because…

  The granny had already sweetened the deal by offering a premium – an extra half a spirit stone for every scorpion sold compared to his bottom line.

  While 0.5 might seem negligible on its own, its impact on the grand total was substantial, given the sheer volume of sales involved.

  And this brings him to his second point.

  What truly made this sale an incredibly profitable opportunity wasn't merely the price per unit. The pivotal factor lay in the quantity!

  When Bubai conducted sales independently, he was constrained by both time and inventory limitations.

  Yet, with the granny vouching for him, he could now simply deliver his entire aquarium of scorpions and entrust her with the rest of the sales process!

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  According to his estimations, the remainder of his batch could yield a handsome profit of approximately 60 spirit stones, give or take! Money had never come so easily!

  Of course, Granny Shu most likely had her channels for sales and would definitely earn much more through her connections.

  He lost out on a lot of profit going through a middleman, but this could be said to be the “protection fee”.

  Suppressing his instinctive urge to haggle, Bubai bowed respectfully and acquiesced, "As Shu Po Po dictates.”

  “Fufu…” The wrinkles on Granny Shu’s face creased in satisfaction. "Hum. Very well. Young Bubai can bring it over when you return tomorrow."

  Bubai nodded, saluting respectfully. "Then if there is nothing else, junior will retreat…"

  At that moment, a younger face bearing some resemblance to the old granny’s popped out from behind Granny Shu’s shoulder, her starry eyes stinging him like needles and grumbling, "Fairy brother is really going to leave this fairy all alone for a night?"

  Looking at the familiar pouting Shu Ling, Bubai could only put on an apologetic expression. "Apologies, there's still a sticky problem to handle back at home. I hope fairy understands..."

  “Humph!” Shu Ling huffed indignantly, her small fists planted firmly on her hips.

  "What's so good about the blondie? Isn't it just that she has more fat? Someone like her is a dime in a dozen once you go out to sea-"

  “Ling’er.” The granny's scolding voice cut in, putting a swift end to her granddaughter's words.

  Shu Ling could only blink innocently at Bubai before averting her eyes, idly curling her silver hair with a delicate finger as if she was a good girl who hadn’t done anything wrong.

  Granny Shu, lips puckered in exasperation, decided not to reprimand her cute granddaughter further.

  Instead, she turned her attention back to the young man still trying to keep a straight face.

  "Go on, young Bubai. The old lady will take care of matters here, and you can manage yours. Just remember to do it in moderation and don't throw yourself into the abyss."

  Heeding the warning, Bubai nodded solemnly. "Yes, then junior Bubai will see Shu Po Po and fairy tomorrow."

  With a final bow, Bubai turned and left the pavilion behind with a buoyancy in his steps.

  When Bubai stepped out into the cool evening air, he couldn't help but smile, “The pieces are finally falling into place.”

  With this windfall, he would have more than enough funds for cultivation, plenty to fill up his dantian, and even stocking up on spare spirit stones for Qi recovery!

  Of course, don’t think this pie simply fell the sky. This was the stage he set!

  It all began with his decision to low-ball his sales during the lull period when the rich and powerful went to the secret realm.

  That was his chance for his new and unknown product to break into the market.

  Taking that initial dip into market waters back then, he set the course for his scorpions to ferment into a hot commodity!

  Had Bubai delayed his sales, he would’ve completely missed out on the current opportunity to sell his scorpions at a premium price!

  After all, the current jacked-up scorpion prices wasn’t wholly due to the true value of the scorpion itself. The current surge in prices was driven by various factors: Strategy, timing, and opportunism.

  The hype generated by the big clans, like those from the Taiyin faction.

  The pressing need of most inner disciples scrambling to recoup their losses in the secret realm and prepare for the upcoming competition.

  The lucky outer disciples who got their hands on his scorpion and cleverly capitalized on this opportunity, gunning for quick profits...

  Indeed, the groundwork wasn’t all laid out by Bubai, but without the publicity sparked by his initial dissemination, even if Bubai had wanted to sell his scorpions now, the profit margin wouldn’t have been nearly as crazy!

  Most importantly, the granny wouldn't have been incentivized to dip her hands into the business because there wouldn’t have been enough profit involved.

  Without enough interest, it would be hard to sway someone of her stature.

  For an elder with deep pockets like the old granny, anything below a hundred spirit stones might be considered mere chump change.

  Thus, only profits in the scale of hundreds would be enough to catch her attention.

  Even then, there definitely had to be an element of grace and favoritism involved for her to accept this business with him.

  After all, had it been any other elder, Bubai might not have been fortunate enough to receive his fair share of the payment.

  Elders, while viewing tens of spirit stones as trivial, still understood the immense value they held for ordinary, lower-rank cultivators.

  Even for normal cultivators in the foundation establishment stage, such a sum could potentially incite small wars with bloodshed aplenty.

  In such scenarios, rather than share the surplus profit with an outsider, other elders would likely seize it entirely, perhaps redistributing it among the juniors of their own clan.

  Well, big clans don’t just run on water, and this sort of operations was fairly common even for cultivator clans in orthodox territories, let alone a demonic sect.

  Therefore, Granny Shu’s generosity was really a clear expression of goodwill, most likely an incentive for his cooperation thus far.

  It was a signal that his interactions to raise the affection meter of the fairy didn’t amount to nothing.

  Each move in their elaborate game of chess had incrementally raised his standing in the granny's eyes, finally paying off in the form of this great harvest.

  Of course, the far-sighted granny probably had her other considerations in this matter. For instance, her own faction.

  The Royal faction most likely had the deepest coffers, but they certainly would not let go of any chance to dig the pockets of the other factions in the Sun Furnace sect.

  Maybe the granny saw this as an opportunity, utilizing his scorpions to drive a wedge into the coffers of the “miserly” faction.

  Of course, deep down, Bubai knew his scorpions alone would hardly put a dent in the coffers of those behemoth factions. So, this was purely his own speculation… for now.

  Well, who knows what thoughts run through the minds of old timers like Granny Shu. As the saying goes: the older, the spicier.

  Regardless, whether it be goodwill or hidden agendas, it wasn’t something he should worry about now.

  Instead, he had to think about how to do his part well. After all, it was a fact that the money wasn't yet in hand. There still remained a final, risky step in the process...

  "Time to head back and make preparations for a safe delivery, and..."

  Oh yes, Bubai still hadn't forgotten about the other work on his plate, particularly a film starring a blonde woman that was still waiting for him to direct... all night long.