That person was Wang Baole’s old acquaintance… Xie Haiyang!
The mysterious man who claimed that he was a businessman in the Ethereal Dao College, Xie Haiyang, then later disappeared. He reunited with Wang Baole in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace and then disappeared again after that…
That was, until now. When Wang Baole saw Xie Haiyang at this place, although he was shocked, he discovered that he didn’t feel that surprised. It was as though he subconsciously thought that he would meet Xie Haiyang at any point in time.
I’m afraid… this person has an even larger background than I previously guessed. Wang Baole was deep in thought. On the one hand, he thought of the game that Xie Haiyang popularized in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Now that he remembered it, whether it was his feelings then or now, he felt that the supposed wandering star was obviously a… colony!
Wang Baole pondered in his heart and remained cautious, but he didn’t show it on the surface. He only turned his head to take a sweeping glance before turning around. But with that sweeping glance, other than identifying Xie Haiyang, he also got a clear look at the Divine Armaments and Dharmic treasures on Xie Haiyang’s body.
He wore a Divine Armament that was made in the shape of a face cloth on his head, had nomological robes on his body, and his paper fan contained the suppressive force of an Eternal Star realm cultivator. Any of those Dharmic Artifacts would be enough to make everyone green with envy and wish to snatch it. But if they all appeared together on the body of one person, such greed would be mostly suppressed.
Because… someone who owned all three items at once obviously had an extraordinary status and position. It also meant that the person definitely had a horrifying background that could shake the heavens. Hence, he could wear all three items on his body so freely.
Those three items made Wang Baole more sure of his previous judgment. But he had no intention of recognizing Xie Haiyang. Wang Baole felt that it was best for him to avoid such a mysterious character.
At the same time, he was now disguised as Long Nanzi, so he wasn’t scared of being found out. As for Little Wu and the donkey, they were within the Dharmic Battleship that had already been stored away by Wang Baole. So now, he could make use of this opportunity to indirectly understand Xie Haiyang’s background.
For example, this shop, which could be considered the largest shop with the most comprehensive collection of items in this place, was obviously owned by Xie Haiyang. If not, the salesman opposite him couldn’t possibly call him Young Master so courteously.
Based on that thought, Wang Baole continued to look at the materials around him after turning around. While discussing the price with that salesman, he put on a look that showed that he didn’t care too much about Xie Haiyang. The tone he spoke with was also different from how it was when he was in the Federation after being changed by his essence technique.
Maybe because Wang Baole’s acting skills were indeed superb, coupled with the uniqueness of his essence technique, but Xie Haiyang only took a cursory glance after entering the shop before he headed for the stairs leading to the second floor. On the way there, all the other salesmen greeted him. In fact, many customers there also bowed slightly towards him as a sign of respect.
This scene made Wang Baole’s heart skip a beat. He deliberated on whether to leave that place after a while and go to other shops to ask tacitly and indirectly learn about the background of this shop.
While Wang Baole was pondering, Xie Haiyang had already gone up the stairs. However, just as his silhouette was about to disappear, right before he stepped onto the second floor, he stopped for a moment unnoticeably. He then continued walking, stepping onto the second floor afterward.
As there were obstacles involved, and since the place didn’t allow one to spread their consciousness to check, Wang Baole didn’t notice Xie Haiyang’s action. But from the slight pause in his footsteps, Wang Baole still felt that something was amiss. Therefore, he didn’t stay for long. After choosing all of the items that caught his fancy, he picked out a portion from them and looked at how much he had. He tolerated the pain of spending and purchased them.
But when he was checking out, the salesman looked thoroughly at Wang Baole’s receipt, raised his head, swept his gaze towards Wang Baole, and spoke while shaking his head.
“Fellow Daoist, there are many materials among the items you chose that our shop won’t sell to any old customer. You need to spend a certain amount at our shop first before we can provide them to you according to their level.”
Wang Baole was stunned. After inquiring, his expression turned sour. Out of the materials he chose, most of them were like this. If he was unable to purchase them, he might as well not buy anything.
That was especially so considering that there were three types of materials that he couldn’t find previously in other shops. If he couldn’t buy them here, then he didn’t know when he would get a chance to buy them again.
So the salesman’s reply made him unwittingly furrow his eyebrows.
“How about this, our young master returned just now. Wait for me, Fellow Daoist, I’ll go up and communicate with him. Our young master loves making friends and is very easy going. I believe he’ll agree to sell those items to you.” Obviously, the salesman could get a commission from Wang Baole’s purchases. That was especially so considering that Wang Baole’s order was decently large. So after thinking, he got Wang Baole to wait there while he turned around and went up to the second floor.
Wang Baole didn’t prevent the salesman from doing so. Instead, he stood there with narrowed eyes and waited silently, hoping to see how things would develop afterward. It would be best if things turned out successfully. If not, he would have to think carefully about how to handle the situation.
Not much time passed, only around 100 breath’s of time, before the salesman came down from the second floor smiling and spoke after reaching Wang Baole’s side.
“Fellow Daoist, our young master has agreed to let you purchase those items. He invites you to go rest upstairs. I’ll prepare the materials you purchased for you.”
Wang Baole’s expression remained the same as he took a close look at the salesman. He didn’t notice anything strange, so he looked towards the stairs leading to the second floor again. After a moment, his eyes flashed slightly, and he suddenly laughed.
“Very well!” Speaking, he walked towards the stairs. The salesman was bamboozled by Wang Baole’s sudden laughter and felt that it was strange for him to suddenly have a sense of profoundness. But he didn’t think much of it. After sending Wang Baole to the staircase, he expressed that Wang Baole could go up alone and then went to prepare Wang Baole’s items.
Since he decided to go upstairs, Wang Baole didn’t hesitate and quickly made his way up to the second floor. As he turned his head, he saw Xie Haiyang seated at a tea table drinking tea not far away.
The environment on the second floor was more elegant than that of the first floor. Curio shelves with extraordinary Dharmic Artifacts displayed on them surrounded the second floor. Meanwhile, there were four incense pots at the four corners of the rooms. Wisps of green smoke rose from them and circulated around the entire room. They had a pleasant smell and were somewhat beneficial for cultivation since they could improve Spirit Qi circulation in one’s body.
Besides that, the floor was carpeted with a giant piece of leather. It was a type of ferocious beast skin that Wang Baole had never seen before. It seemed able to disperse warmth on its own, making the temperature of the entire second floor very comfortable.
As Wang Baole observed the surroundings, Xie Haiyang also raised his head to observe Wang Baole. He looked closely at Wang Baole until Wang Baole tilted his head to lock eyes with him. Then, Xie Haiyang narrowed his eyes and laughed.
Wang Baole didn’t express any emotion. He wore a smile on his face that showed that he was meeting Xie Haiyang for the first time as he cupped his fists and greeted Xie Haiyang.
“Thank you, Young Master, for agreeing to sell that batch of materials to me. How may I address you, Young Master?”
“My name is Xie Haiyang. There’s no need to be courteous, Fellow Daoist. You and I are old acquaintances, after all. There’s no need for formalities, don’t you think?”
“Old acquaintances?” Wang Baole was stunned as he looked at Xie Haiyang weirdly. He didn’t speak immediately, instead, acting like he was searching his memory thoroughly. After a few breaths, he gave a forced smile.
“I messed up my aura while cultivating recently. Maybe because some of my memories turned foggy, I can’t really remember at the moment. I hope you won’t mind. No matter what, I still thank you for allowing me to buy those items.” Wang Baole didn’t deny it. Being well-versed in human interaction, Wang Baole was clear that sometimes, if one was too persistent in denying something, it was akin to admitting the truth. After all, when normal people were met with these kinds of situations, most of them wouldn’t try to clarify themselves so anxiously.
That was indeed the case. Wang Baole’s expression and words made Xie Haiyang feel a hint of doubt. He didn’t bring up the topic again. Instead, he raised his teacup while making small talk with Wang Baole.
Seeing that Xie Haiyang didn’t recognize him, Wang Baole cupped his fists and prepared to leave. But the moment he turned around, his heart jolted, and he secretly cursed… He had still revealed himself.
Almost as soon as Wang Baole noticed that, Xie Haiyang’s eyes lit up and he smiled while saying, “What a small world! Senior Brother Baole, I trust you’ve been well?”
Wang Baole stopped, looked at the surroundings, then looked at Xie Haiyang. His face didn’t make him seem as though he was at a loss. Instead, it expressed an awkwardness one would feel when being called the wrong name.
“Thank you once again, Young Master. I, Long Nanzi, must take my leave.” He even coughed once, seemingly actively trying to help Xie Haiyang resolve the misunderstanding caused by calling him the wrong name.
Hearing that, Xie Haiyang sighed and shook his head while feeling a multitude of emotions.
“My apologies, I remembered wrongly. I thought you were a good friend of mine from long ago and was going to give you a discount. After all, it’s not easy to meet an old friend in a foreign land. Since you’re not him… forget it.”
Hearing that, Wang Baole blinked and suddenly spoke.
“How many percent off?”
