This Is Not the Female Demon Lord I Remembered
Chapter 159: Craftsman

Chapter 159: 159: Craftsman

"Not bad, thanks."

Weighing the bottle in hand, it wasn’t much but should suffice.

"Let each take what they need. Just come again next time; my prices treat young and old fairly."

Seeing that Liang Yi had no intention of making further purchases, the stall owner gave a self-promotion and then lowered his head again to close his eyes and rest.

Tossing the bottle to his curious junior sister, he watched her open it carefully and take a sniff, immediately scrunching her brows and pinching her nose while tossing it back.

"Yikes, that smells awful. Is this also a material for making vestment robes?"

Su Youyi found it hard to describe the smell of the liquid. It was roughly like the scent of uncleaned garbage heaps during her childhood, when she wandered with her senior brother—a smell that mingled with rotting durians and skunks.

"Of course, paired with the Fire Silkworm Jade Feathers, it can greatly enhance the defensive power of the vestment robes." Liang Yi was well aware of the scent and hence did not open it.

"That... wouldn’t mean that the finished vestment robes... also smell like that, right?"

Su Youyi felt a bit despondent and conflicted. If the vestment robes retained that scent, should she still wear matching robes with her senior brother?

"Of course not. When processing the raw materials, only the most fundamental properties are retained; all other impurities are removed."

"That’s good to hear." Su Youyi sighed in relief.

Liang Yi strolled and looked around the various stalls in the market. This black market had all sorts of goods, and even Liang Yi couldn’t help but be tempted by many.

"What is this..."

All of a sudden, Liang Yi’s expression became serious as he squatted down in front of a stall, reaching out to pick up a disc.

"Ah, you have a good eye, customer! This is none other than the Secret Realm Key that contains a cave mansion of the Ancient Immortals!"

A voice with a duck’s timbre came from under the dark green hood on the other side of the stall.

"I was wondering why it looked so familiar, turns out it’s a counterfeit."

"Junior sister, does it resemble the Secret Realm Key from our sect?" Liang Yi’s languid voice drifted out.

"The craftsmanship is indeed clever; it shares an eight-grade similarity with the original from our sect, but unfortunately..."

After assessing it mockingly, Su Youyi handed the disc back to her senior brother.

The two did not need any eye contact to understand what the other was thinking; it happened naturally.

Liang Yi looked over the disc in his hand several times before putting it back in its place, preparing to stand up and leave.

"Wait, wait, brother."

As Liang Yi was about to leave, the stall owner became somewhat flustered and hurriedly reached out to grab Liang Yi’s sleeve.

"Brother, surely you’re not thinking of forcing a sale? Are you planning to break the Immortal Dynasty’s rules?" Liang Yi’s voice grew heavier, and he seemed somewhat indignant.

"How could I dare!" The stall owner withdrew his hand nervously. "I just saw that you both are quite familiar with this item, and wanted to ask a few questions."

"May I know what questions brother has? If I can answer, I surely will." Liang Yi squatted back down, and his voice became kind again.

For some reason, when the stall owner heard Liang Yi’s voice, he felt a warm spring breeze and became somewhat scared, involuntarily revealing his insider information.

"I hope you won’t laugh at me, brother, but the truth is, I specialize in crafting counterfeit Secret Realm Keys," the stall owner said cautiously, scanning the surroundings and whispering to Liang Yi.

"Mm-hmm, I guessed as much. I see that the goods on your stall are mostly fakes with the occasional real deal."

Liang Yi appeared to be quite knowledgeable as he casually rummaged through the wares on the stall.

Su Youyi, standing to the side, struggled to hold back her laughter, watching her senior brother begin to swindle. Just now, she clearly observed that when her senior brother stood up to leave, he was silently counting "three, two, one" with his lips.

And when the green-robed vendor reached out to grab the cultivator brother’s robe, a smug smirk of a cunning scheme accomplished surfaced at the corner of the brother’s mouth.

When the green-robed vendor saw that all the pieces Liang Yi had picked were fake goods he made, it further confirmed his belief that the man before him was knowledgeable about the Secret Realm Key.

"I just want to ask, brother, how did you recognize these as fakes? I thought they were flawless."

The green-robed vendor was utterly baffled. He wouldn’t claim to be the best in the trade, but he considered himself skilled; previously, he had easily deceived many an unwary soul.

Yet today, his proudest creations were casually seen through by another.

Upon hearing the vendor’s question, Liang Yi doesn’t respond, idly fiddling with the counterfeit Secret Realm Key in his hand.

"I definitely won’t let you suffer a loss, brother. How about this, you take the two genuine items here at my stall, alright?"

The vendor picked out two actual Secret Realm Keys and offered them to Liang Yi, who flatly refused to take them.

"Brother, lacking sincerity in business is a big taboo."

After saying this, Liang Yi pretended to lead Su Youyi away from the stall.

"Hey, brother, wait a moment, give me a chance!" The green-robed vendor had truly become anxious now, and cold sweat began to form under his hood.

The Secret Realm Keys he held were only about eighth-grade; passable to fool ordinary cultivators, but why on earth had he set his sights on fooling this particular gentleman?

"Brother, what do you think about this?" The vendor took out a lime-colored disc from his ring.

Liang Yi turned back, glanced at it, then squatted down again.

"This replica in your hand is quite interesting, almost 90% similar with even a whiff of the original’s aura. You practiced crafting it based on this, didn’t you?"

"Ah, brother really has an eye for detail; I snagged this as a lucky find. That piece you first looked at, my pride and joy, was modeled on it. I never expected you to see through it all the same," the vendor flattered with a sycophantic tone.

"Hmph, of course, the original is still safe within my Sect. How could I not notice?" Liang Yi huffed disdainfully, but then he lowered his voice, as if talking to himself. "If I bring this back to the Sect, I might be able to fool those old fogeys for some time, then I could..."

The green-robed vendor’s eyes shifted as he carefully listened to Liang Yi’s mutterings. He concocted a scenario in his mind where the man before him planned to swap his counterfeit for the real deal to deceive the Sect Elders and achieve his ends.

"Trade me your fake piece there, and I’ll give you some tips."

"That... No! This is my most treasured possession, the object of my constant study and inspiration!" The vendor clutched the disc to his chest as if it were a dear friend or relative.

"The price must be raised!"

"Is this enough?" Liang Yi indifferently tossed over ten Purple Crystals.

Master, not short on cash!

"It’s enough! It’s enough!"

The vendor quickly stored the Purple Crystals in his ring, but the Secret Realm Key near his heart didn’t seem to be forthcoming.

"Brother, remember what you said – lacking sincerity in business is a big taboo."

This shameless behavior irked Su Youyi, gnashing her teeth in anger. Want to reiterate that sentiment of yours while eyeing those ten Purple Crystals in your ring?

"Good, apply what you learn, quite talented! I don’t want to think I’m advising a fool," Liang Yi said, his tone surprisingly appreciative rather than angry.

"Then I’ll offer you my sincerity first. But if you dare pull any stunts after taking my sincerity, don’t blame this little brother for turning hostile."

Liang Yi reached out and gently patted the green-robed man’s shoulder.

"Gulp." The green-robed vendor, feeling the terrifying killing intent emanating from both the young girl beside the man and his shoulder, couldn’t help but swallow hard.

"Definitely won’t, definitely won’t!"

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