Shu Bao took the prepared Lan Qing out of the bracelet space. Lan Qing’s appearance immediately confirmed the identity of the masked person to those around. The crowd became excited.
Shu Bao on his shoulder couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow, everyone’s eyes just lit up! Lan Qing, you’re so popular!”
Lan Qing tilted his neck, trying hard to display the bowtie in a low-key and elegant manner.
Fu Qing: “…” Is this something to be happy about? Though, he really isn’t afraid, so…
“He’s the masked man!”
“The talking mouse and snake!”
“He has the wealth of all the empire’s resource points!”
“And the bounty! 100 chunks of Thick Earth Crystals!”
“The Green Snake suddenly appears. He has a space for storing living things!”
Despite the crowd’s efforts to keep their voices down, the noise was still incredibly loud. People’s steps unconsciously moved forward, seemingly afraid that someone else might get ahead. But after just taking two steps, they stopped, their joy quickly replaced by a heavy sense of danger. In such a situation, this person still dared to release the Green Snake so recklessly—it was incredibly audacious.
Fu Qing had no idea what the crowd was thinking; otherwise, he would certainly protest that the snake was actually released by the mouse.
In the tense atmosphere, everyone saw the Green Snake slither down from the masked man and come toward them. The crowd, who had just taken two steps forward, immediately retreated, their vigilance heightened as they stared at the snake, fearing it might suddenly attack.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Lan Qing politely bowed toward the direction of the boss and then cheerfully lifted his head to shout, “Old… old… old employee! Long time no see!”
Clearly, Lan Qing intended to call out to the boss, but considering the boss’s strong sense of pride, he quickly corrected himself. “Old employee, why didn’t you let me know you were coming here? I know you want to make money quickly, but this place is too harsh; it’s not even suitable for hatching duck eggs!”
“If you’re short on money, you can work! Really! This time, you don’t have to worry about me paying you too much. How about I give you one silver coin every two months?” Lan Qing carefully negotiated.
He then lifted his head and added, “Oh, right! I listened to you; I cleaned my neck every day and even brought a bowtie. Do you like it? If you do, come back and work for me!”
As Lan Qing earnestly persuaded, the tavern owner in the crowd across from him seemed to be shaking uncontrollably, as if he had Parkinson’s. It was unclear whether he was angry or frightened, but it was evident that he never expected the snake, which had caused him to go bankrupt, to appear in the Thick Soil Gobi! Could it be that there is no place for him in this vast chaotic world?
After a while, the boss managed to regain his composure and complained to the owner of the Thick Soil Gobi tavern, “Second Brother! This is the snake I was talking about!”
The Thick Soil Gobi tavern owner’s gaze suddenly became deep. Few magical beasts were intelligent, and those with high intelligence were even rarer. If this snake was the same one that had tricked his brother’s tavern, it must be extremely clever! This made the masked man’s strength even more unfathomable!
The Chaotic Swamp tavern owner leaned close to his second brother’s ear and whispered, “This snake looks simple, but it’s actually extremely cunning. Be very careful.”
The two men whispering to each other naturally caught Lan Qing’s attention. The snake politely spoke up, “So, it’s the old employee’s brother. Don’t worry, the old employee’s brother is my brother too! Hello, Second Brother, I’m Lan Qing!”
The two tavern owners, who were ready to fight: “…” The way the snake was chatting as if it were a familiar acquaintance was absurd. For a snake to have such acting skills and cunning was impressive!
Lan Qing, unaware of the alert he had raised, moved forward, preparing to give his long-lost boss a warm 360-degree hug.
Seeing this, the crowd around them retreated like a tidal wave, isolating the two bosses in the middle. Although they all coveted the treasures on the masked man, no one wanted to be the first to take action. They also wanted to probe the masked man’s true capabilities.
The reaction of the crowd made the two tavern owners realize they had lost the advantage of the chaos, and their situation immediately became awkward.
“Old employee, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“What’s our Second Brother’s name?” Lan Qing, with a somewhat stiff posture, tilted his head and asked obediently, even flicking the tip of his tail to nudge the bowtie again.
The Chaotic Swamp tavern owner stiffened for a few seconds, realizing he couldn’t act recklessly. He responded, “Second Brother’s name is Qi Erlong, and I’m Qi Sanshi.”
Lan Qing blinked, then exclaimed, “That’s quite a bold name!” With dragons and snakes involved.
The two tavern owners were stunned.
“I heard Second Brother also has a tavern. It’s a bit shabby, but it’s spacious. How much does Second Brother want to sell it for?” Lan Qing, having recently acquired imperial resources, spoke with a tone of financial confidence.
Qi Erlong instantly understood. This snake was indeed devious, coveting his tavern and even trying to force a sale! It was truly excessive!
But the next moment, the snake produced a box of gold coins and a box of rare magical potions. “Is this enough?”
Qi Erlong was stunned, taking a moment to regain his composure before incredulously asking, “All of this for me?”
Lan Qing nodded. “Yes, your tavern is worth this much!”
Seeing this, Fu Qing tilted his head and said to the beautiful teammate on his shoulder, “Aren’t you going to deal with this? Just take it; why pay?”
Shu Bao remained calm. “Money is meant to be spent, isn’t it? And Lan Qing will earn more in the future. He can decide what to do with his own money.”
Hearing this, Fu Qing raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment further. However, he felt a bit more favorable towards this food chain combination. In the teams he had seen before, there was usually a hierarchical relationship between superior and subordinate, even among close friends and family, with clear distinctions of power and importance. He found such relationships very distasteful, which is why he preferred to work alone.
However, this team was unexpected to Fu Qing’s taste; it seemed they were truly just forming a team without interfering with each other’s development. If things continue like this in the future, it could indeed be a suitable long-term partnership.
While Fu Qing’s mind was turning over various thoughts, Lan Qing had already successfully made Qi Erlong happy, to the point where he even lowered himself and personally adjusted the bowtie for Lan Qing.
Even though Qi Sanshi repeatedly advised and warned his second brother that this snake was devious and that they still had a grudge over the tavern. How could they sell the tavern to an enemy?
Qi Erlong sighed and earnestly countered, “Third Brother, I don’t want to sell the tavern either, but the offer is just too generous! And the reason I opened the tavern was to make enough money to leave this wretched place and settle somewhere with a pleasant environment!”
In the end, neither side convinced the other. Qi Sanshi clearly stated that he would be waiting to see Qi Erlong regret his decision! He absolutely did not believe that the cunning snake would pay as promised!
Ultimately, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the Thick Soil Gobi tavern was transferred to Lan Qing’s name. Like the Chaotic Swamp tavern, this tavern had similar attributes. Once the transfer was complete, the tavern would automatically recognize Lan Qing as the owner, allowing him to control and use some of the tavern’s functions.
Qi Erlong quickly stashed the box of gold coins and rare potions into his storage belt and respectfully bowed again, asking, “Can I leave now?”
Lan Qing, feeling a bit reluctant, asked once more, “Aren’t you staying to work? I can pay you one silver coin a year!”
Qi Erlong: “……No, no, no, I really don’t like working! I want to enjoy life!”
Upon hearing this, Lan Qing no longer insisted, “Then I wish you a smooth journey and hope you find a good place to settle down soon!”
Qi Erlong immediately took out a round, strange object, crushed it and vanished from the spot. Clearly, after receiving a large sum of money, Qi Erlong wasn’t foolish; he had already planned his escape route.
The onlookers, who had been hoping to see a spectacle, felt a bit disappointed that he used a space item to escape. However, his brother was still here.
Qi Sanshi, waiting to see a show: “…” Did Second Brother really just run off like that? Why doesn’t that snake look even slightly flustered?
Under his gaze, the snake belatedly sighed and said, “Ah, I forgot to tell Second Brother that if he ever runs out of money, he’s always welcome to come back and work. Even at one silver coin every two years.”
Qi Sanshi: “…” This snake is getting stingier!
Despite his complaints, Qi Sanshi finally realized that the situation seemed somewhat different from what he had imagined. This snake genuinely wanted to buy the tavern! If he had negotiated directly with the snake instead of using tricks, that valuable black crystal could have been his! Then he’d be living a life of luxury and enjoyment!
At this thought, Qi Sanshi nearly choked himself with frustration, while the little green snake in front of him continued to chat amiably.
Lan Qing, in an elderly snake’s tone, lamented, “Second Brother is really a perceptive person, unmoved by temptations like one silver coin a year, focusing on being a salted fish. Old employee, you’re the one with ideals. Do you want to come back and work? The kind where it’s one silver coin every three years!”
Qi Sanshi crushed another space ball and disappeared from the spot, fearing that staying here would only make him more frustrated by the snake’s reverse salary increase.
With both tavern owners having vanished, Lan Qing felt a bit disheartened. His employees had run off again, which must mean they weren’t satisfied with their wages. It looks like he’ll need to adjust things again next time.
The snake, somewhat downcast, slithered back to Fu Qing’s shoulder. The snake and mouse exchanged a glance and sighed in unison.
“Next time I see the old employee, maybe I’ll give him copper coins instead,” Lan Qing said hesitantly, scratching his chin with his tail.
Shu Bao shook his head and advised, “Next time you see him, you should ask if their eldest brother also runs a tavern. It wouldn’t be right to help the two brothers but not the last one.”
Lan Qing blinked, “That makes a lot of sense!”
“Exactly, this time you must have not asked, which is why he got angry and left!” Shu Bao said with certainty.
Realizing the root of the problem, Lan Qing’s mood improved instantly. “I see now, I’ll remember that!” He looked around and added, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to continue hatching eggs.”
Shu Bao nodded, “Yes, there’s nothing else. Go ahead.”
And with that, Lan Qing disappeared from Fu Qing’s shoulder.
Fu Qing: “…” Was there just a scam happening on my shoulder?
The surrounding onlookers, who were eyeing them closely: “…” What do you mean there’s nothing else! Can’t you see all of us here?
