Jiang Chen had indeed come to make trouble.
However, his sole purpose in causing a scene was simply to get an audience with Mu Gaoqi.
So, facing the shopkeeper's aggressive stare, Jiang Chen showed not a flicker of retreat, his smile easy and unhurried. "You're half right. I came to Stardust Hall specifically for your Master Mu."
"Oh? Don't tell me you want to challenge Master Mu—thinking you can ride his reputation to fame? Don't you think that little scheme of yours is a bit too clever for your own good?" The shopkeeper's voice turned ice-cold in an instant.
"Ride his reputation?" Jiang Chen smiled leisurely. "You're overthinking it. I simply want to strike a deal with your Star-Picking Gang."
"A deal?" The shopkeeper struggled to suppress the displeasure welling inside him. "What kind of deal?"
"Can you make decisions regarding Stardust Hall? Can you make decisions regarding Master Mu?" Jiang Chen shot back with a question of his own.
The man was momentarily stunned, then sized up the unremarkable-looking rogue cultivator before him with a scrutinizing gaze, examining him from head to toe.
He seemed to be trying to determine whether this unremarkable rogue cultivator was truly confident in his hand, or simply ignorant and fearless. Here in Danfire City, on the Star-Picking Gang's turf, actually haggling with him—the person in charge of Stardust Hall?
A mere rogue cultivator—just who did he think he was?
The shopkeeper felt the urge to explode several times, but reason told him to keep his composure.
"Regardless of whether I can make the final call, if you wish to do business, you need to show some sincerity. What can you present to prove that you are qualified to make a deal with our Star-Picking Gang?" The shopkeeper's tone was flat and indifferent.
"Since I dared to come here, naturally I have the confidence to back it up." Jiang Chen smiled faintly.
"Forgive my poor eyesight, but I fail to see where this confidence of yours lies." The shopkeeper was equally blunt.
Jiang Chen casually reached out and produced three stalks of Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine. "These three herbs of mine—among all the spiritual medicines in your Stardust Hall, can any compare?"
Stardust Hall had no shortage of spiritual medicines, but Heaven Grade herbs were exceedingly rare. They corresponded to Emperor-realm powerhouses and were seldom found in circulation on the open market.
The spiritual medicines in Stardust Hall were mostly True Saint Grade, with a portion being Earth Grade.
As for Heaven Grade—there truly were none.
Jiang Chen casually producing three stalks of Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine naturally made the shopkeeper's eyes go wide in an instant. A barely perceptible glint of greed flickered through them.
"Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine?" The shopkeeper gulped, discreetly swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
"Good eyes," Jiang Chen offered a faint compliment.
The shopkeeper seemed to want to cover up his loss of composure and cleared his throat. "Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine is indeed rare, but it's not as if our Stardust Hall doesn't have any. It's just that we generally don't put them on display. With three stalks of Heaven Grade herbs, you are barely qualified to discuss a deal with our Star-Picking Gang."
"Barely qualified?" Jiang Chen laughed, then asked casually, "What if I had something ten times more precious than Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine?"
"Ten times more precious than Heaven Grade?" The shopkeeper was completely stunned.
Jiang Chen pressed his advantage. "A deal of that magnitude—can you handle it?"
The shopkeeper truly was losing his composure now. Something ten times more precious than Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine—that was beyond anything he could have imagined.
At this level of transaction, he really didn't dare make a decision on his own authority.
Drawing a deep breath, he asked, "Friend, exactly how do you propose to do business with our Star-Picking Gang?"
"I'll trade my treasures for your Master Mu." Jiang Chen cut straight to the point.
"Trade for Master Mu?" The shopkeeper rejected the idea outright. "Absolutely not. Master Mu is not for sale—he is the Star-Picking Gang's most prized asset."
Jiang Chen burst into hearty laughter, his tone laced with a touch of mockery. "If Master Mu truly wasn't for sale, would you have put so much effort into packaging him and staging such an elaborate publicity campaign? Let's not speak in riddles. If you truly had no intention of selling him, you wouldn't have drummed up all this fanfare. You'd just quietly cash in on his services."
The shopkeeper was rendered completely speechless by Jiang Chen's words, unable to retort for a moment.
After a moment, he said in an odd tone, "You're not planning to trade just these three stalks of Heaven Grade herbs for our Master Mu, are you?"
Before Jiang Chen could answer, the shopkeeper continued, "If that's the case, I advise you to give up that notion right now. Master Mu's value—forget three stalks of Heaven Grade herbs, even thirty wouldn't begin to cover it."
Jiang Chen didn't bother to argue. "A deal is a deal—both sides need to be satisfied for it to count. If neither side is satisfied, then no deal is reached. I naturally have bargaining chips that will interest your Star-Picking Gang."
"What kind of bargaining chips?"
"You can't represent the Star-Picking Gang. Do you think it makes sense to discuss my chips with you right now?" Jiang Chen countered.
"If you have no chips to show, do you think I'd bother reporting this matter up the chain?" The shopkeeper sneered in return, clearly not the easygoing type either.