Zhen Shi walked through the shops, surveying the various items with
Continuing on, he saw some interesting stalls selling all sorts of different pills. Noticing Vivienne conversing with a salesperson of one of them, he walked over.
Vivienne turned around as he arrived, almost as if she had sensed him, and smiled while saying, "Hey Little Bro, it looks like we'll have to look for pill furnaces in the Market Island up ahead. But this place is selling some good pills for fair prices. Even if you can refine your own pills, you're still learning, and it's always a good idea to be prepared. So it might be a good idea to buy some."
Zhen Shi nodded. But noting that Vivienne probably won't be able to afford enough pills for all three of them just by the money she had earned just from selling herbs, he turned to observe the wares of this pill shop. And so, he spoke to the salesman, "Give me 30 qi expanding pills, 20 body strengthening pills, 30 soul qi pills, and 30 healing pills."
The salesman nodded and mentioned a price of 200 gold coins. Zhen Shi agreed and performed the exchange.
As the duo walked away from the pill shop, Zhen Shi pushed the pill bag into Vivienne's hand saying, "Sis Vivienne, take it."
Vivienne frowned while holding the pill bag back at him, "Brother Zhen Shi you bought it with your own money. How could I keep all of it? It's fine just to get my portion."
Zhen Shi laughed, "You're my elder sis right? So it's fine for you to keep it. And most importantly, I don't want to carry it everywhere. It would be pretty annoying... That's the actual reason why I gave it to you."
Vivienne couldn't help but smile at this. She waved her hand over the pill bag causing it to suddenly disappear!
Zhen Shi gaped and asked, "W-What? Do you have a spatial treasure? The essential commodity for every cultivator to lead an easier life?"
Vivienne's smirk grew wider as she spoke, "Of course! I and Myne have lived for so long, wouldn't it be pretty pathetic if we didn't have spatial treasures? The only problem is they've become pretty empty over the years spent trapped in the valley, and we only have a bit of valueless junk left. Besides, where did you think we got you a fresh set of clothes after you ripped yours... 'going beast' several times?"
Zhen Shi frowned in embarrassment looking down at his new black shirt and pants, 'FUCK! System I thought I let you think of that part! Hais, you have truly disappointed me...'
System: (´◉◞౪◟◉｀)
Still, intrigued as to what the spatial treasure was, Zhen Shi, activated
As such, he could only give up and turn to Vivienne's face in defeat, expecting her to answer.
But instead of an answer, what awaited him was the face of a she-devil. Vivienne's brow was furrowed, and her eyes were seething in rage.
Pah!Zhen Shi who was completely clueless as to the reason behind her sudden shift in emotions didn't even react when she suddenly punched him in the stomach.
This got him to gasp in surprise.
It didn't particularly hurt, but he definitely had not been expecting to be punched in the gut out of the blue for no proper reason.
'SHIET! I thought Sis Vivienne had cured her sadistic side when she got rid of the divine curse... Perhaps this is a lingering side-effect? A sudden urge to punch someone for no reason? Damn. I pity Bro Myne and the painful nights they must spend together... Or maybe, considering all the evidence back in the valley, could Myne enjoy it?'
Noticing that his imagination was venturing into territory that he definitely shouldn't venture into, Zhen Shi brought himself back to reality and looked at Vivienne as if he had been wronged.
Vivienne hurriedly explained, "Little Bro, I'm sorry! But it is improper to look at your big sister's body like that. I know that you're a growing kid, but still!"
Zhen Shi was even more confused hearing her explanation... but almost immediately, his eyes shone in understanding.
Thus he pitifully spoke out while clutching his stomach 'painfully', "No, No, Sis you punished the wrong man! You've truly wronged this poor and innocent self! I was just trying to figure out where and what your spatial treasure is!"
Vivienne was dumbfounded. Scratching her head awkwardly, she could only guiltily say, "Oh no! I am truly sorry Bro!"
But Zhen Shi continued to act like a fella stabbed with a pitchfork instead of punched in the gut and held onto his 'injuries' in 'pain' Vivienne who was feeling very guilty hurriedly moved forwards to help him and repeated, "I am really really sorry. I misunderstood your intentions."
Zhen Shi 'forced' a simple smile through the 'pain' and said with a shake of his head, "No, No, it's fine. It was my fault as well," while gasping 'painfully'.
Vivienne squinted her eyes in suspicion. Her simple punch couldn't have been this painful, especially to the fellow who survived an actual punch from her. As such, she carefully asked, "Okay... Tell me. What can I 'give' to make you 'feel better'?" emphasizing the word 'give'.
Zhen Shi smiled at the fact that the message had properly gone across! Standing up straight without any of the pain that had been troubling him just a few milliseconds ago, he replied, "Well... I might feel better... If I could get my own spatial treasure... A recent study has shown that they are good at healing punches to the gut!"
While Zhen Shi was unhappy about the System not allowing him to use it's storage freely, he wasn't in a hurry to get himself a spatial treasure. After all, it's not like he had a ton of stuff to his name that had to be carried everywhere he went.
But... the fact that Vivienne's spatial treasure was actually able to escape Odin's eye had intrigued him. As such, he had to have one!
Seeing this shameless brother's clever and opportunistic tactic, Vivienne laughed out loud unable to stop herself, causing several nearby people to look at them strangely.
But as if it did not matter at all, Zhen Shi continued to speak once again amidst painful gasps while holding onto his 'injury', "Sis Vivienne, how could you laugh so joyfully after assaulting this poor innocent self? Could you REALLY be a sadist?"
Vivienne shook her head and smiled while dragging her 'injured' brother away from that place. Now away from prying eyes, she smiled and agreed, "Alright! Alright! I don't have any spares, but Myne does. So I'll be sure to get one from him later today."
Zhen Shi grinned happily while switching back to 'healthy' mode, 'HAHA! System see that? Now that is Oscar-worthy acting! You should learn from the master!'
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System: (╭ರ_•́)
Zhen Shi nodded at Vivienne agreeing to her suggestion. Having managed to 'cure' her brother, Vivienne heaved a sigh of relief.
Bang!
But suddenly they heard a loud commotion followed by a lot of shouting, and thus turned around to see what was happening.
What awaited them was the sight of Myne facing off against an enraged group of three people, in front of a Material Shop.
Zhen Shi was about to walk over and help Myne out when Vivienne suddenly grabbed him and shook her head with a strange smile. Zhen Shi frowned, but decided to trust her, and stayed back watching the scene unfold.
The youngest of the three opposing Myne, who was dressed in noble clothing, regally spoke out, "Do you know who you're dealing with? I'm the son of the Grand Curator, Adam Turnbull, Joseph Turnbull! Do you dare to steal the item that I had already paid for?" The two behind him laughed confidently, just like a pair of lackeys should.
Josef Turnbull was having the time of his life! Not only had he found a valuable item which he would soon be getting for free, but he had also found another foolish cultivator that dared to argue with him! That foolish cultivator will soon be pushed into accepting a series of unjustified crimes, solving quite a bit of his own problems!
This also happened to be a hobby of his... crushing down powerful cultivators with unjustified accusations! And it gave him such a rush! His wife and mistresses definitely didn't complain...
Even if the cultivator that he was going against was in the Nascent Soul stage, with two Soul Formation cultivators, along with a sizable portion of the Lyon City guard to back him up, he was completely fearless!
And so, as this matter began to gather the attention of a large crowd, he shouted out confidently, "How daring of you to try to bully me with your higher cultivation! Do you have no respect for the laws of the Lyonesse kingdom?"
Even the shop-keeper started to shout out, "Master Turnbull is indeed saying the truth! This person is a thief using his cultivation to bully the weak!"
These words moved the entire crowd. Countless cultivators have attempted to bully the weak with their cultivation even within the kingdom walls on many occasions.
Thus looking at this scenario, they easily assumed that this middle-aged man had tried to force this young master... but unknowingly out of bad luck, he had kicked an iron plate, Josef Turnbull!
At the same time, a group of kingdom soldiers arrived and hurriedly surrounded Myne. They were wearing Soul Tier Armor and were mostly at the Soul Transformation Stage, but there was one Nascent Soul Soldier...
Josef Turnbull watched on with a satisfied smug grin. He could feel the pleasurable rush rapidly rising...
The Nascent Soul Solider shouted out with a loud voice infused with qi, "Nascent Soul Cultivator, you are under arrest, for accusations of attempted stealing, threatening law-abiding citizens, and, breaking the law of the Lyonesse Kingdom! You have the right to remain silent, but what you say can and will be used in a court of law," while drawing out his sword.
The other soldiers followed his lead, and almost in perfect synchronization, unsheathed their swords as well.
Zhen Shi gaped at that statement, 'FUCK! Can you say that here? Won't the US sue you for copyright?"
But, Myne wasn't worried at all... and nonchalantly raised a threatening index finger.
This immediately caused all the soldiers to tense up warily. After all, even if they outnumbered him, Myne was still a Nascent Soul Cultivator!
However... Myne simply put his index finger into his nose and began to pick it. At the same time, he spoke out in an almost charismatic and hypnotic voice, "What court of law? What law-abiding? You didn't even properly investigate this matter, and like obedient idiots, you blindly follow the accusations of this Noble and move to arrest me? Is this the Lyonesse kingdom's justice? Do you even have proof to arrest me?"
On any other occasion, the crowd might've been mesmerized by his inspiring words but at the moment they were simply dumbfounded, 'Uhh... brother, your speech is nice and all, but why the heck are you PICKING YOUR NOSE!?'
Josef was feeling even more excited as a greater rush of energy boiled through his blood veins, 'How lucky! It feels best when these posers try to fight back and fail!'
Having listened to Myne's accusations, the Nascent Soul General finally spoke out, "Indeed we have proof. Master Turnbull has an unblemished record of being an upstanding citizen. Not to mention, the shopkeeper has provided a similar testimony! Thus as an outsider, you will be investigated. But if proved innocent, you will naturally be released!"
Myne grinned, finally taking his index finger out of his nose, and said, "Oh? Is that so? Then what do you think of this proof?" and brought out a silver crystal with his other hand.
Whoosh!A mist wafted out from the crystal slowly revealing a recorded vision. It started with Myne conversing with the shopkeeper and peacefully buying some times, only to be barred by Josef and his two lackeys. It continued on to show how Josef began to pridefully shout out along with the shopkeeper.
Immediately, Joseph Turnbull's blood ran cold and his face turned pale. He was unable to come to terms with the fact that his crime spree, his secret hobby, had come to such an abrupt end... He wasn't that worried about repercussions and punishment. He was more worried about whether he could get any more kicks of this kind in the future... He couldn't believe that this was all because he had been unlucky enough to pick on a psycho... that apparently recorded everything!
The Crowd gasped in surprise at this sudden twist of events.
The General was surprised as well but quickly gave out swift orders. Instantly, the soldiers left Myne alone and surrounded Josef Turnbull and his lackeys.
As the soldiers put them in chains and carried them away, Josef began to scream and struggle unceremoniously, "No! Let me go! That bastard framed me! Shouldn't there be laws against perverts recording you without permission? Where's freedom and independence? And if you don't let me go my father will hear of this!" while giving a standard spoiled brat speech.
Myne grinned smugly and flicked the finger that had been in his nose at the screaming Josef.
*Patooey* Josef spat out and shouted, "Ew! What the fuck was that shit? Hmm... It wasn't too bad... Wait! Did all of you see that? He threw something into my mouth to poison me! He's the real criminal here!" But poor Josef's shouts fell onto deaf ears as the soldiers dragged him away.
The Crowd was unable to believe that this young master had tried to twist the law in such a manner. They grew unsettled as they began to wonder, if he had done it this time, then on how many occasions had he gotten away with it before?
The Nascent Soul General walked over to Myne, bowed deeply, and spoke out, "I, Liam Burns, apologize on behalf of the entire kingdom guard. I hope you can forgive this mistake. Josef Turnbull will be punished under the law for his crimes, and our guard will do an immediate review of all crimes including any that were even remotely related to him!"
His reassuring words instantly calmed down the rattled crowd. Liam continued, "As an apology, the Lyon City guard will provide your purchase free of charge!"
Myne nonchalantly waved his hand, showcasing a veteran aura revealing his years of experience in such matters, and said, "It's fine. Apology accepted."
Liam smiled in gratitude and turned to the shopkeeper who had wrongly accused Myne before. He was fearfully standing at a corner of his stall, almost as if he was hoping he could go unnoticed. But General Liam grabbed him saying, "And you... you're arrested as well!"
With one last bow at Myne, the General left with the shopkeeper in tow.
Now that the matter was wrapped up, Myne happily turned to the assistant of the stall who had suddenly been promoted to the post of a shopkeeper and stared at him expectantly. The assistant-turned-shopkeeper understanding his intention, curtly handed out what Myne had paid for before, along with a slight bow of respect.
With a beaming smile, Myne walked back towards Zhen Shi and Vivienne.
Turing to Zhen Shi he smugly explained, "See that? That is the True Power of Scrying Crystals! Didn't you look down on them before? In law upholding organizations like this, they can be more powerful than the strongest attack! So remember not to underestimate them! Here..." and said while suavely flicking over the scrying crystal in question towards Zhen Shi.
Zhen Shi instinctively caught the crystal and said with a grin, "Now I know why Sis Vivienne didn't want me to help you out."
Myne smiled proudly and waved his hand revealing what he had bought from the stall. It was a rather large but rusted and dejected-looking metal pot.
Zhen Shi frowned at its unsightly appearance and was just about to use the appraisal skill when Myne suddenly explained what it was. "I can't believe that they were actually selling this! This is a Damaged Law Tier Cauldron for furnacing weapons and armor. But, due to heavy damage, it can only be used as a Mortal Tier Cauldron for the moment.
It's perfect for you because you can use it as it is, and later upgrade it when required! But don't forget that due to the kindness of Josef Turnbull I got it for free! And as you saw, I gave him a delicious treat to 'thank' him!"
Zhen Shi and Vivienne couldn't help but laugh at this. Vivienne smiled at Myne saying, "I guess all those years didn't change this part of you, huh?"
Myne grinned proudly, "Of course not! Now come and give your hubby a hug!" and stretched out his arms enticingly.
Vivienne frowned playfully, "No way! I refuse! I don't hug idiots who shamelessly pick their noses in front of large crowds," and curtly walked away towards the Main Market Area.
Zhen Shi patted Myne pitifully on the back and followed after Vivienne. Myne shook his head with a dejected grin, and after a moment's pause to put back the item furnace he quickly followed after the duo.