Chapter 148: The Grand Magic—Trading Market (5)

“Your Highness, would you like to go take a look up ahead?”

“Mm, I want to check out the raw stones your brother picked.”

Sang Chu glanced at the cards in her hand, a satisfied smile unconsciously appearing at the corners of her mouth. These were all valuable assets—reliable tools she could use without fear of betrayal.

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Following Liu Shi, they walked forward. The further they went, the more uneasy Mu Xue and the others became. The crowd ahead grew increasingly rowdy and aggressive. Some people looked so battered that they barely had a patch of uninjured skin left.

Mu Xue frowned at the sight, instinctively grabbing Lu Minli’s hand beside her, clearly uncomfortable with the harsh environment that treated people like commodities.

Sang Jingwen also felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn’t imagine what his sister had gone through to become so adept at handling situations like this.

Sang Chu knew he was uneasy, but said nothing. She simply slowed her pace. Liu Shi had already blended into the crowd, so now the whole group looked like a bunch of young nobles following Sang Chu’s lead.

“Your Highness, here we are.”

The vendor selling raw stones was an elderly man, sitting on a low stool and bundled up in thick clothing. His face was weathered, and a variety of stones were neatly arranged on the table before him.

Sang Chu didn’t know much about these so-called magic stones, so she could only rely on her contract and Meng Wei’an’s advice to figure out what she needed.

But before she could figure things out, a shrill voice suddenly rang out: “Old man, I want all your raw stones here. Wrap them all up for me!”

A young girl in a heavy magic robe, her hair tied up in twin buns, seemed to have run all the way here—her face was slightly flushed with sweat. A young man followed behind her.

The shopkeeper looked up at her. “Are you from Star Academy?”

The girl grinned smugly. “You’ve got a good eye, old man. Hurry up and pack them up for me, I need them for class tomorrow!”

“No.”

The shopkeeper replied curtly and closed his eyes, clearly puzzled. “Why not? It’s not like I can’t pay. Name your price!”

“If you can pay a thousand crystal coins, you can take them all. If not, move along.”

The girl glared at the shopkeeper. “Old man, do you want to do business or not? Why don’t you just rob me for a thousand crystal coins!”

“Yeah, these things aren’t worth that much at all.”

“Exactly, old man, I’m buying your stuff to give you face. If you don’t want to sell, then forget it!”

“I’ll take them all for one crystal coin. I need to get back to school.”

As he spoke, he tossed a crystal coin onto the table and reached for the goods. Lin Muxue couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward. “Hey, aren’t you being unreasonable? The old man doesn’t want to sell to you, how can you just take them?”

The group stared at Lin Muxue in surprise. “Who are you? What’s it to you?”

“He doesn’t want to sell to me, but he’ll sell to you? Even a pauper who can’t afford a magic robe dares to meddle in the business of the Ming family?”

Muxue didn’t care who they were—bullying was bullying, and it wasn’t right!

“So what? If the old man doesn’t want to sell, you can’t force him!”

A young man leered at Muxue, his tone sticky and mocking. “You’re not from the Academy, are you?”

“So what if I’m not?”

The young man stepped closer. “If not, do you know who I am? I’m from the Ming family, one of the Four Great Families. This is the Ming family’s youngest daughter, and I am Ming Zhang, the third young master.”

Ming Zhang’s words made Muxue instinctively think of Wei Feng. She took a step back, and as Ming Zhang tried to reach for her waist, Lu Minli quickly stepped forward, pulling her behind him and grabbing Ming Zhang’s wrist.

Sang Chu watched the whole scene coldly. She didn’t want to cause trouble, and usually in such situations, she would stay out of it and try to buy the goods later. But this time, that approach didn’t seem right.

Ming Zhang glared at Lu Minli. “And who are you? How dare you meddle in the Ming family’s business!”

At this moment, Sang Chu stepped forward, smiling as she spoke. “Young master, allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Sang, from the Rose City Sang family. I wonder if you’d be willing to do business with me?”

“Ro-Ro-Rose City?”

Ming Zhang stammered at the mention of Rose City, but Ming Xiang and Ming Bin beside him didn’t believe it. “Hmph, just because you say you’re from Rose City, we’re supposed to believe you? Good dogs don’t block the way!”

Sang Chu strode up to him, blocking his attempt to snatch the stones, then took out a crystal card and handed it to the shopkeeper. “I believe nothing speaks louder than this. Old man, if you don’t want to sell to them, why not sell to me? I’ll take everything you have here.”

Ming Zhang protested loudly. “No! I need those!”

Sang Chu replied, “The seller decides who to sell to, not you.”

Ming Xiang sneered, “Hmph, I don’t care if you’re from Rose City. This is the Flower Market. If you don’t want trouble, old man, you’d better think carefully about who you sell to!”

Only then did the shopkeeper look up at him, then picked up Sang Chu’s crystal card and said, “I’ll sell to you. Pack everything up for Miss Sang, one crystal coin for the lot!”

“Thank you very much, brother, let’s pack everything up.”

Sang Jingwen nodded, and together with Yi Ping, they quickly packed all the raw stones into their storage rings.

Ming Zhang, furious, was about to pull out his magic staff when the shopkeeper said coldly, “No magic is allowed in the slave trading market. If you try anything, you’ll be blacklisted.”

Liu Shi had only wanted to watch the show, thinking this group of rich kids was no match for Sang Chu. He hadn’t expected the shopkeeper to drag him into it.

As he approached, he noticed the magic ring on the shopkeeper’s finger. In other words, this old man wasn’t just an ordinary vendor.

Liu Shi immediately grew wary and said, “Yes, as the Witch Master said, anyone who uses magic in the trading market will be blacklisted. Miss, are you sure you want to use magic?”

He had only been watching for fun, but now that he was involved, he felt a bit of lingering fear.

Ming Xiang and the others quickly put away their magic staffs, but Ming Bin, still a little pale, tried to reassure himself, “Don’t worry, I didn’t use magic. It’s fine.”

Ming Xiang pulled him back and looked at Liu Shi. “Wait, you—are you Liu Shi?”

Liu Shi nodded.

“The Witch Academy’s Liu Shi?”

Ming Xiang’s eyes widened in terror as he looked at him, his whole body trembling with fear."