Chapter Nine: Striking It Rich

"Damn it, nobody fight me for it, I'll pay three hundred thousand..."

"I'll pay four hundred thousand..."

"I'll pay five hundred thousand..."

Five hundred thousand!

The price soared, and Ye Qiu was so nervous his heart was in his throat. Damn, is this thing really worth that much?

Damn, I was too careless!

"My goodness, I thought this was the kind of thing that would sit on the shelf unsold, yet it turns out to be a hot commodity? Five hundred thousand? How many years would it take to spend all that...?"

Ye Qiu was utterly stunned. Was he about to strike it rich?

It wasn't just Ye Qiu who was dumbfounded—Yang Xuan was too. He'd planned to quietly snag a jar for himself, but in his excitement he shouted out loud, letting everyone hear.

Now things had gotten out of hand!

"Damn, are these brats all so loaded? Every time we went out, I covered the travel expenses, and all they did was cry poor. Turns out, I'm the only pauper here? Damn... they're all a bunch of bastards..."

Did it really have to be this dramatic?

These damned rich kids—always pretending to be broke, but now not even bothering to hide it, each one more frightening than the last.

But Yang Xuan wasn't about to back down! It's just money, after all—money is all I have left.

"Everyone shut up! I'll pay a million!"

A gasp went through the crowd.

"A million!"

The whole room was shocked at Yang Xuan's words.

As expected of the illustrious eldest son of the Yang family—he was nothing if not extravagant. Suddenly, everyone hesitated.

"A million? Damn, this is a windfall..."

Ye Qiu was instantly elated! He was about to seal the deal before anyone could change their mind when another voice rang out: "I'll pay a million too, senior brother… let's split it!"

Yang Xuan instantly panicked—he'd wanted the whole jar for himself, but someone else had jumped in.

A million was his absolute limit! That was all the money he had; he couldn't offer more.

Helpless, he could only tacitly agree, but things were not going to go as simply as he hoped.

"I'll pay a million too!"

"And me, a million..."

In an instant, another heated dispute erupted in the room, and the jar of wine was divided up.

In the end, each person would only get a cup, and Yang Xuan felt like crying.

"Damn these posers. If I'd known they were all so rich, I wouldn't have shouted so loud. What a blunder..."

All this time they'd each pretended to be poorer than the last, and in the end, he was actually the poorest. It was just too unfair.

Well, one cup is better than none at all. After all, this immortal wine was a rare treasure in the mortal world—something that could not be sought, only encountered by chance.

Cultivators valued fateful encounters above all. Such an opportunity came only once in a lifetime; if he didn't fight for it now, he might never have another chance.

Even one cup would be enough for him to break through to the Divine Treasury realm and open his own grotto-heaven. Though it'd be a bit later than Fu Yao, it wasn't a big problem.

As long as he could open his own grotto-heaven, he too could join the ranks of the proudest talents, and then... he'd surely become a key protege of the holy lands and his family alike. The rewards would far exceed this million.

"Senior, what do you think..."

With the price settled at a million per cup, Yang Xuan looked at Ye Qiu with anticipation.

Ye Qiu could no longer maintain his composure. He stood there, stunned for a long time before finally coming to his senses.

"A million!"

"Damn, a million for one cup—ten people, that's ten million! My god, I could never spend all that in a lifetime."

Ye Qiu almost jumped up with excitement, but to maintain his lofty demeanor, he kept his composure.

The others couldn't help but be impressed. "As expected of a true master—money is nothing to him. Not even tempted? So calm! This is the bearing of a real expert: money and desire are like water to him, and he pays them no mind."

Everyone was tense inside, thinking Ye Qiu didn't care about the money and worrying he might refuse to sell.

After all, to someone of his caliber, what couldn't he have at a snap of his fingers? Just a wave of his hand, and countless noble families and holy lands would fall at his feet.

But Ye Qiu wasn't nearly as lofty as they imagined—he was already scared silly.

It took him a long while to recover.

"Ten million, ten million, a fortune that can't be spent in a lifetime..."

These people were insane! A cup of industrial alcohol, and it was worth ten million? They were really willing to pay?

God knows if they were truly foolish or just pretending to be, but whatever the case, this was a huge windfall for him. Why bother running a tavern anymore? He should take the money and run...

Suppressing his inner excitement, Ye Qiu maintained his calm, unhurried demeanor and spoke mildly: "It seems you all recognize the value of this wine. This is true immortal wine! To ordinary people, it grants eternal youth and prolongs life each year; to cultivators, it can help break through shackles and strengthen the body. This is a rare opportunity..."

Whether or not you profit, I certainly have! Ye Qiu chuckled to himself, keeping his joy hidden as he spun his tale.

In truth, Yang Xuan and the others felt the same—they believed they had struck gold. Such an immortal opportunity might not come in a lifetime, and it was absolutely worth it.

It was a comical transaction: both buyer and seller believed they'd gotten the better deal and the other had lost out.

So, who really lost? In Ye Qiu's words: maybe you made a little, but I never lose.

"Little Cao, bring the wine cups..."

Making a firm decision before anyone could regret it, Ye Qiu immediately began dividing the wine.

Cao He brought the cups over, looking bewildered and confused.

"Strange, the boss was about to run a moment ago—why is he suddenly so excited? Has something good happened?"

He didn't understand at all what was going on, so he just set out the cups and stood nearby, not leaving.

Ye Qiu quickly poured the wine, dividing the jar neatly into thirteen cups, then signaled to Yang Xuan and the others. "It's done. Money for wine, please..."

No sooner had Ye Qiu spoken than Yang Xuan tossed over a card, saying anxiously, "Senior, this purple gold card has exactly a million in it—please check it."

"What?"

"A million?"

Hearing this, Cao He trembled, his breath quickening.

"Did I hear right? Was that a million? Really?"

My god, how could there be so much money?

Cao He was completely dumbfounded, looking at the wealthy young men beside him—each one spending millions without a second thought.

Then he looked at himself, scraping by on a few copper coins a month—it was a world of difference.

The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He unconsciously crushed the two copper coins in his hand to powder.

It was just too unfair! Why was there such a gulf between people? Why was he so handsome, yet so poor? And why were these ugly guys so much richer? Was the world really so unjust? He refused to accept it...

A million! What a staggering sum! And they could just hand it over like that...

Cao He was utterly stunned, unable to believe his ears. But then another thought struck him.

"Hey... the boss is rich now. Maybe he'll toss me a few tens of thousands of gold coins to spend? Very possible! After all, I've followed him for twenty years—closer than brothers. He should at least give me a hundred thousand or so to play with, right?"

This thought made Cao He excited, and he completely forgot about just having his wages docked.

Of course, he was dreaming! Trying to get money out of Ye Qiu, that miser, was impossible; he'd be lucky to keep his half-month's pay.

Ye Qiu, trembling, accepted the card, extremely nervous.

It was a million! In over twenty years since coming to this world, he'd never seen so much money. How could he not be nervous?

The currency here consisted of gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins, but these weren't convenient for carrying large sums. So, some genius had invented these cards, which could store vast amounts of money and be accessed through spiritual power—very handy.

Ye Qiu didn't count the money on the spot, not wanting to lose face—after all, he had to keep up his image as an expert.

"No need! The wine is yours..."

Ye Qiu took the card and signaled Yang Xuan to take his cup. Overjoyed, Yang Xuan grabbed it and drained it in one gulp.

"Ah..."

He collapsed with a scream! Sure enough, the alcohol content was high—Fu Yao had been the same earlier, so no one was surprised.

"Senior, here is mine..."

"Damn, another one?"

Cao He was completely shocked, his breath coming in gasps, nerves stretched tight.

"Senior, this is mine..."

"Another?"

"Senior, I offer a million as well..."

"My god, is this never going to end?"

At this point, Cao He nearly fainted from fright. All that gleaming gold felt as if it were pouring into his own pockets, making him dizzy with excitement.

"Rich, I'm rich! Ten million! My god, that's enough to marry hundreds of wives..."

Cao He was so thrilled he nearly had a heart attack and almost passed out.

He seemed to have forgotten one thing—this money had nothing to do with him.

Once all the money was handed over, Ye Qiu stared at the pile of purple gold cards on the table, feeling as if he were dreaming.

"Ten million, ten million, money I could never finish spending in a lifetime! So this is the joy of being rich? At last, I understand..."

Twenty years! Did anyone know how he'd lived these past twenty years? He'd been so frugal—not daring to eat an extra steamed bun for fear the next meal wouldn't come.

Now he was rich—he could finally eat and drink as he pleased.

"No, no, stay calm! Don't panic, or they'll look down on you!"

Ye Qiu was so excited his legs felt weak—he could barely stand.

Fortunately, the disciples from the Yaoguang Holy Land had already passed out drunk; otherwise, he would surely have made a fool of himself.