Chapter 102: Chapter 94: A Visitor from the Past

Despite the Money Guardian Ghost turning its head to stare intently at him, with a chilling aura rushing over like a tide and the threat of death exceptionally clear, Gan Yun still forced himself to speak through his fear:

"I somewhat understand the value of a lifespan."

"Because I only have seven years left, I’ve been planning for years what things I could buy if I used it all at once."

"For instance, these talismans to leave Ghost Street; I see those Ghost Cultivators use them without much concern."

"Moreover, the placement of this talisman is too low and too remote; I think the price of twenty years of lifespan is a bit high."

Chu Xuan nodded, looking towards the Money Guardian Ghost, but it stared at Gan Yun for a moment, then lowered its head, continuing to wander, continuing to click its abacus.

Its meaning was clear: buy or don’t buy, it’s up to you.

This is the downside of monopoly. According to Gan Yun, the entire Ghost Street only has this store selling the exit talisman, so even if this profiteer sets a high price, they have no choice but to hold their noses and buy.

Moreover, Chu Xuan and the others have no idea of the original price, nor do they know if the seller has increased the price temporarily.

Thinking of this, he held up the Ghost Token in his hand to show, "You recognize this, right? I want two, give me a discount."

The Money Guardian Ghost glanced at the Ghost Token and hoarsely said, "Forty-five years of lifespan."

Chu Xuan’s expression changed, Qingqing was even more infuriated, "Are you insane? Can you do the math?"

"I asked for a discount, and you raised the price. Aren’t you afraid the owner of Ghost Street will deal with you?"

But Chu Xuan slightly shook his head, his expression dark, "Qingqing, you’ve misunderstood, this is already the discounted price."

"The first one is twenty years of lifespan, a 10% discount makes it eighteen years."

"The second one, it was raised to thirty years of lifespan, a 10% discount makes it twenty-seven years."

"Added together, it’s exactly forty-five years."

Qingqing, hearing this, was even more furious, "You old ghost, dare to play this trick of raising the price sitting on the ground?"

The Money Guardian Ghost did not respond, still roaming around leisurely, making Qingqing so angry that she wanted to rush up and chop it into eighteen pieces.

Chu Xuan then looked at Gan Yun, "Is there a rule in Ghost Street that allows price increases at will?"

Gan Yun looked somewhat troubled, "Indeed, there is a rule, ’rarity determines the price,’ if it’s truly rare and precious, the store owner can increase the price reasonably."

"But it’s just exploiting this loophole."

"I guess its logic is: there were originally eight talismans in this shop, after you, kind sir, bought one, only seven are left. Fewer items mean rarity, thus the price naturally increases."

"Good, good, good," Chu Xuan said three times, "What a principle of rarity determines value."

You old miser, dare to extort me, there lies your path to death.

At the same time, Chu Xuan understood why those Ghost Cultivators who had frequented here left cursing one or two at a time.

He was already reluctant to use up precious lifespan to buy an opportunity to leave Ghost Street, and now he was even more determined not to buy - whoever buys is a fool.

If not buying, then perhaps robbing?

But robbing in broad daylight on Ghost Street seems very risky, the store owner can retaliate without limit, maybe even hoping you make a move to rob.

For now, perhaps it’s better to leave and stay on Ghost Street for a few days, see if new Ghost Cultivators come by, to trade with them, or maybe rob them.

However, the latter is very uncertain, not to mention how long it takes to wait, Ghost Cultivators who come to Ghost Street probably aren’t ones Chu Xuan and his mere two Foundation Establishment juniors can deal with.

Chu Xuan thought and thought, without any clear plan for now, he began to browse around the shop, seeing what treasures were here.

Qingqing hesitated for a moment, then looked at Gan Yun and asked, "Do they only accept ghost money and lifespan here?"

"I have a Ghost Dao magical treasure, and a few natural treasures liked by ghosts, like the Nether River Blood Ganoderma, if I pledge all of these to the shop owner, it should be enough to buy two talismans, right?"

Hearing "Nether River Blood Ganoderma," the Money Guardian Ghost turned its head to stare at Qingqing, but after a glance, it turned away.

Gan Yun shook his head, "It’s not possible, that’s the rule of Ghost Street, unless you have a way to convert the corresponding items into ghost money, but on Ghost Street there’s no exchange, seems you need to go to a certain ghost money bank for that."

Qingqing was a bit frustrated, "Who made up these stupid rules?"

"I don’t know, it seems related to the underworld..." Gan Yun wasn’t very sure, "I only overheard a conversation between two Ghost Cultivators and found out."

...

The most eye-catching treasure in the curio shop was a golden square box placed high on the top layer of the front shelf.

It was only fist-sized and had intricate engravings depicting the complex patterns of the Six Paths of Reincarnation on all six surfaces, making it look both mysterious and exquisite.

Moreover, this golden box occupied an entire layer by itself, while all other items in the shop were placed beneath it, indicating its value.

The Money Guardian Ghost paced back and forth under the golden box, showing evident care for this treasure.

This was likely what Gan Yun previously mentioned—something the shop owner would never sell, intentionally displayed just to flaunt.

Chu Xuan was too lazy to ask for the price, knowing this old ghost would probably quote a sky-high price of thousands or even tens of thousands of years of lifespan, and he’d absolutely refuse to lend it to an outsider for appreciation.

Chu Xuan glanced around, attempting to find something less valuable and less likely to be easily broken, to avoid getting swindled.

Just then, he inadvertently noticed a set of meticulously folded black clothing on the shelf to the right, and he pointed to it and asked: