Chapter 317: Only Kids Pick One, I Want Them All!
Three rather special customers showed up all at once, and that immediately put the Chosen Ones on edge.
It seemed like another deadly scenario was about to trigger, and they didn’t dare be careless, pulling themselves together with utmost focus.
Seeing these few appear, Rahman and most of the Chosen Ones shut their mouths immediately.
In a situation where saying even one wrong word could get you killed, everyone wished they could turn into mutes.
But these newcomers didn’t seem to be here to buy anything. They walked straight over to the shelf area and started picking out what they needed.
The whole time, they were chatting and laughing among themselves, looking like they got along well.
It was just that their voices were jumbled and their tones kept rising and falling, so Rahman couldn’t make out what they were saying at all.
“Are these three really just here to shop?”
Just as Rahman’s mind was spinning with thoughts, the wind chime rang out again.
This ring wasn’t weak either, so it seemed the one who just entered wasn’t weak either.
When Rahman looked over at this one, his expression turned a bit panicked.
This person wore blue robes, was full of sinister energy, had a cross-shaped scratch mark on their face, and the black aura around their body was somewhat unstable, stirring up waves of air that nearly blew out the candles on the counter.
Rahman instantly understood—this was the person that the yellow-robed female ghost had mentioned.
The blue-robed customer with the cross-shaped scratch on their face saw Rahman and was also briefly stunned.
Then their expression began to undergo subtle changes, but the shop was too dark, and most of the Chosen Ones didn’t notice.
He walked straight up to the counter and said to Rahman: “Boss, do you have Blood Bone Jade here? I need two.”
Rahman didn’t speak, just nodded, pointed at the shelf nearby, and used hand gestures to ask how many he wanted.
“My hand is injured, could you please help me put them in a bag?”
The blue-robed customer with the cross-shaped scratch on his face said simply, seemingly not planning to do it himself.
As a shop clerk, Rahman had no choice but to grab a disposable bag and help him pack the items, all for the sake of business.
But Rahman kept feeling that when he had his back turned to this blue-robed customer, the guy’s eyes were secretly sizing him up. Yet when he turned around, the customer’s gaze would be somewhere else.
He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he had a very dangerous feeling.
The customer with the cross-shaped scratch on his face wanted two pieces of Blood Bone Jade, totaling 100 yuan.
From the way this customer with the cross-shaped scratch pulled out his wallet, he seemed very wealthy.
He also didn’t look like someone whose hand was injured.
Just as he was paying and taking the goods, an accident still happened.
This customer’s finger accidentally scratched the back of Rahman’s hand, and a blood-red wound appeared, hurting so much that Rahman almost cried out.
To avoid being attacked, he still gritted his teeth and held it in.
“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”
The customer with the cross-shaped scratch on his face quickly apologized. Rahman didn’t know if the apology was sincere, but he didn’t dare say anything, only waving his hand to indicate it was fine.
After all, what could he do even if it wasn’t fine? He couldn’t deal with a blue-robed customer at all.
Even if his teeth were knocked out, he could only swallow them down.
After getting his items, the strange customer with the cross-shaped scratch on his face left the shop. It was as if what just happened was merely an accident.
Rahman had no idea why that yellow-robed female ghost had told him not to sell Blood Bone Jade to that guy, so he didn’t think too much about it.
But while he was bandaging his wound, he discovered that the back of his hand had already healed—he couldn’t even find a scar. This made Rahman feel something was off.
Could it be that he had some special self-healing ability in this round?
After all, he didn’t even have a heart and still wasn’t dead. If he tried to claim he was a normal person, that would be hard to explain.
Just as he was hesitating in his mind about whether to give himself a cut to test it, the candle flame on the counter suddenly flickered violently.
It turned out the three customers who had come in earlier had finished choosing their items and were about to bring their bags over to check out.
Rahman tried hard to recall—when they came in, there was one yellow-robed customer and two blue-robed ones. That seemed to match up now.
So he began skillfully helping them tally up their purchases.
The three of them had bought 164 yuan worth of goods in total.
He didn’t speak, communicating entirely through hand gestures.
At checkout, one of the blue-robed customers spoke up: “Boss, could you help me draw some symbols on paper with a brush?”
The blue-robed customer took out a piece of paper with a crooked character on it, looking like some kind of ancient script.
He wanted Rahman to draw a similar symbol on another piece of paper.
Technically, Rahman could have refused here. The rules didn’t say he had to fulfill customers’ requests.
But then he thought about it—the rules also didn’t say he couldn’t do things for customers.
After all, the rules only said not to agree to red-robed customers’ requests. This one was blue-robed.
So didn’t that mean helping him might not necessarily be dangerous? It all depended on his own judgment.
Rahman’s experience told him that in the weird tale world, when an NPC asks for help, it’s mostly a quest.
Completing a quest would definitely come with corresponding benefits.
Earlier, that female ghost’s quest had asked him to harm someone, so he refused.
This one just wanted him to draw a symbol. He figured it shouldn’t be a big deal.
So Rahman picked up the brush and started drawing for this blue-robed customer. He only needed to draw one.
Drawing this required skill—you couldn’t make a mistake, and it had to be done in one stroke.
Some Chosen Ones drew ten sheets before getting one right.
Rahman drew about four before succeeding once.
After it was done, the blue-robed customer said thank you, then handed Rahman a note and said: “Boss, you’re a good person. That guy just now left a mark on your hand. Once his injury heals, he’ll definitely come looking for trouble with you.
If you ever find yourself in danger, you can come find me at the address on this note. I can protect you for a while, but we’ll be leaving after four o’clock.”
With that, the three of them left the general store.
Leaving behind a completely bewildered Rahman.
“Huh? When did I offend that customer with the cross-shaped scratch on his face? He wants to kill me?”
Rahman’s mind was flooded with questions.
He’d gotten too little information this round and had no idea who to trust.
Maybe these three were just trying to lure him out to kill him? That wasn’t impossible either.
He couldn’t just believe whoever spoke to him.
So he found the black-robed customer working in the shop and told him everything.
As long as he could confirm whether there was a mark on his hand, he could make a preliminary judgment about whether these three were out to harm him.
But the black-robed customer was weak—a ghost who hadn’t been dead long. How would he know about these things?
He knew nothing about the descriptions of the two blue-robed customers.
He didn’t even know how strong the others were, because he felt like everyone was stronger than him.
This left Rahman briefly at a loss. You useless brat—if it weren’t for the money on you, I would’ve thrown you out long ago!
“Maybe only those at blue-robed level or above could see it. But how am I supposed to communicate with a blue-robed one?”
At this stage, Rahman was stuck in a dilemma.
Suddenly, a bold idea popped into his head—should I go chat with a red-robed one?
After all, the rules only said not to chat with blue-robed and yellow-robed customers. They didn’t say anything about red-robed ones.
The rules about red-robed ghosts attacking me should be different from ghosts in other colors.
Rahman had been in the general store for a while, so he could naturally tell roughly how strong the ghosts in different colored clothes were.
Black-robed ones were on the weaker side, ranked before the rules. Red-robed rules came later, so theoretically they should be even stronger than blue-robed ones.
Whether that guess was correct, only time would tell once a red-robed customer arrived.
Other Chosen Ones had different strategies at this stage.
The Chosen One from Maple Leaf Country was going all in on one path—offending some while pleasing others.
Anyway, whenever he offended someone, he’d definitely please someone else. He wasn’t going to make a losing deal.
Before the blue-robed customer with the scratch on his face arrived, he’d already prepared for both outcomes.
Having the black-robed customer working in the shop really did make things convenient for him.
After all, anyone who could make it to this round had some skills.
He first simulated in his mind the scene of the customer with the scratch on his face appearing.
Someone who even the yellow-robed female ghost feared must be strong, and he couldn’t afford to offend them.
So he needed to cleverly redirect the conflict.
According to his plan, the black-robed customer working in the shop was the one he needed to sacrifice.
When that person appeared, he’d give the black-robed customer a look to buy all the Blood Jade in front of that customer—six pieces total, 50 each, only 300 yuan.
That way, he wouldn’t trigger Rule 3. After all, when you came, I had it in stock. You can’t blame me, right?
After it was done, the Maple Leaf Country Chosen One would refund the black-robed customer at full price and give him 200 yuan as compensation.
That way, he could buy that coffin. As for whether the black-robed customer would get beaten to death after leaving, the Maple Leaf Country Chosen One didn’t care.
After all, the black-robed customer looked pretty dumb—easy to fool.
This move was vicious, completely benefiting himself at others’ expense.
The reason the Maple Leaf Country Chosen One dared to do this was because he understood the general store’s rules.
This was a special zone—as long as you didn’t violate the rules, no one could make a move.
So he could cleverly deny the blue-robed customer with the cross-shaped scratch his Blood Bone Jade, screw the black-robed customer out of his money, and finally get a favor from the yellow-robed customer. Killing three birds with one stone.
The Maple Leaf Country Chosen One didn’t care whether this person was good or not. Who died had nothing to do with him. This was the weird tale world—his main goal was to gain benefits and use them to survive.
But when the customer with the cross-shaped scratch on his face came over, the shop happened to have one yellow-robed customer and two blue-robed customers.
Maybe his conscience kicked in, or maybe he was afraid the customer with the cross-shaped scratch would throw a fit in the shop, so he gave the black-robed customer a look—after “buying” the Blood Bone Jade, don’t go outside. Go stand near those three and pretend to be familiar with them.
That way, even if the blue-robed customer with the cross-shaped scratch got angry, he wouldn’t hold a grudge against the Maple Leaf Country Chosen One.
With two blue-robed and one yellow-robed on the other side, he really didn’t dare start trouble directly, so he could only leave in anger.
This way, the black-robed customer actually had a chance to survive.
Seeing this, the audience actually thought the Maple Leaf Country Chosen One performed well.
His reaction speed was extremely fast, cleverly using the environment to minimize conflict and maximize benefits.
In contrast, Rahman—who was supposed to be a popular contestant—performed too blandly. Not only did he fail to get extra benefits, but he also got marked by the blue-robed customer with the cross-shaped scratch.
This left many audience members confused. Did Rahman not notice, or was he just not performing well?
His earlier performance was pretty good. Why did he start slacking off later?
After analysis, the expert teams from various countries came to a conclusion.
Rahman had too much experience and overthought things. He felt many things were traps, and he didn’t want to touch any traps.
So his strategy all along was to constantly avoid these traps.
But many traps are also opportunities.
Those newly entered Chosen Ones, in order to gain more benefits, took all kinds of risks.
As long as they didn’t get themselves killed, there were actually huge benefits.
Put another way—maybe it wasn’t that he performed badly, but that other Chosen Ones performed better.
Rahman’s strategy was never wrong. Everyone just expected too much from him.
That’s why now, whenever he encountered danger, people would question him.
But also being a popular contestant, Zhang Yangqing’s performance could shut up the vast majority of the audience.
He showed the audience what “only kids pick one, I want them all” really means.
When the customer with the cross-shaped scratch on his face arrived, there were other customers in the general store.
Zhang Yangqing naturally couldn’t make a move directly, so he packed a few pieces of Blood Bone Jade for him.
After this guy paid, he actually tried to cut a gash on Zhang Yangqing’s hand. The audience was stunned—do you know who you’re dealing with? You dare covet this one?
As expected, he ended up getting a gash cut on himself by Zhang Yangqing instead.
Zhang Yangqing even fake-sincerely asked him: “Are you okay?”
He could only grit his teeth and say: “I’m fine!”
Zhang Yangqing actually wanted to laugh inside. With your level, you dare scheme against me? If there weren’t other customers here and I was afraid of scaring them off, you’d be dead right here on the spot.
“You know how to carve marks? You think I don’t?”
Zhang Yangqing also secretly placed a curse on him without anyone noticing.
After feeling that Zhang Yangqing wasn’t easy to deal with, the customer with the cross-shaped scratch took his Blood Bone Jade and left, planning to find a place to heal his injuries and come back to try again later.
But not long after he went out, he suddenly collapsed in a forest, his whole body seemingly controlled by a powerful Daoist technique.
That innate fear filled his heart, and he realized he’d been hit with a Daoist sect curse mark.
“Could that guy be a Daoist priest?”
Only then did the customer with the cross-shaped scratch on his face realize.
My god, if you’d told me earlier you were a Daoist priest, I would never have dared mess with you.
And now, he could only lie there like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
He never expected that after lording over this area for so long, just being locked down by a Daoist curse mark would leave him completely unable to resist.
At this moment, there were still customers in the general store, so Zhang Yangqing naturally couldn’t leave without permission. But he wasn’t worried about the guy running either.
Dealing with these small ghosts didn’t require much effort from Zhang Yangqing at all.
After helping the three customers draw a symbol on paper and checking them out, Zhang Yangqing also prepared to leave the general store.
Drawing a symbol took Zhang Yangqing less than a second, and his was even more standard than the “template” the blue-robed customer had brought out.
Not just the blue-robed customer—even the two beside him were stunned.
They thanked Zhang Yangqing profusely, practically wanting to kowtow to him.
But Zhang Yangqing found them a waste of time and told them to scram.
These customers also left with smiles on their faces, scurrying out happily.
Holding this symbol, they acted like they’d found a rare treasure.
The excitement on their faces was written all over.
And they didn’t trigger the plot of giving Zhang Yangqing a note either.
After all, from the symbol he drew, it was clear how powerful Zhang Yangqing was—why would he need their help?
Good thing they didn’t know Zhang Yangqing was a Celestial Master. Otherwise, this symbol gifted by a Celestial Master would be enough to make these little ghosts kneel and kowtow three hundred times.
After they left, Zhang Yangqing gave the black-robed customer in the shop a look, and the black-robed customer obediently followed him out.
Not long after, Zhang Yangqing arrived near the customer with the cross-shaped scratch on his face.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t need to take out a candle—he had night vision himself.
And these ghosts that came out at night also had built-in night vision.
When the blue-robed ghost cultivator saw Zhang Yangqing appear, he cried out: “Daoist master, I was wrong, Daoist master, please spare me! I was really hungry, I lost my mind for a moment. I swear I’ve never harmed anyone—I usually just steal chickens to eat.”
“Can you guys change up your lines? I’ve heard this twice already.”
Zhang Yangqing looked at him with disdain, even wondering if this guy and that suicidal yellow-robed ghost from the beginning graduated from the same place.
At this time, the black-robed customer also called the yellow-robed female ghost over.
Although Zhang Yangqing had already determined that this blue-robed ghost cultivator had a problem, he still had the two of them confront each other.
The result was just as the yellow-robed female ghost said—this blue-robed ghost cultivator indeed had a problem.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t waste words. He directly stomped him to near death, leaving him with just a breath.
This wasn’t over yet. He gave the black-robed customer a look, and the black-robed customer understood—this was something they’d agreed on beforehand.
The black-robed customer finished off the blue-robed ghost cultivator with one final blow, then took the money from his body.
Since the money was taken by the black-robed customer, it belonged to him.
This way, the black-robed customer could save up enough money to buy the coffin and go back.
Zhang Yangqing could get all the revenue he could possibly get, without wasting a single bit—more than other Chosen Ones, not less.
Anyway, the rules didn’t say I couldn’t rob, but they didn’t say I couldn’t let someone else rob either.
The blue-robed ghost cultivator’s death didn’t count as my kill either. They fought outside—I can’t control that.
When it came to exploiting loopholes, Zhang Yangqing was still a cut above the other Chosen Ones.
Back in the shop, after the black-robed customer paid, he kowtowed to Zhang Yangqing a few more times—it felt like he was going to break the floor—then carried the coffin and left.
Here, the yellow-robed female ghost actually owed Zhang Yangqing a favor. After all, Zhang Yangqing had helped her eliminate her enemy. Zhang Yangqing could ask her for some things.
The audience thought Zhang Yangqing would keep her to replace the black-robed customer as a worker.
This was free labor!
But Zhang Yangqing told her to leave, which confused the audience.
Only Su Muyu knew that Zhang Yangqing didn’t think much of the yellow-robed female ghost at all. Maybe she was considered a big shot to other Chosen Ones, but in Zhang Yangqing’s eyes, she was just dispensable air.
In Su Muyu’s view, to work for Zhang Yangqing, you’d at least need to be red-robed level. He just didn’t know which red-robed one would be so “lucky.”
But this was just Su Muyu’s guess. Zhang Yangqing hadn’t had such thoughts yet.
As time passed, the temperature also began to drop.
Many drowsy Chosen Ones started rubbing their bodies, pacing back and forth near the counter to keep their bodies from getting too stiff.
When the time reached three in the deep night, a great sinister wind blew!
It made the wooden signs on the dead trees outside the door clatter loudly.
Then, from afar came a series of heavy footsteps.
It felt like a large batch of terrifying things were about to arrive.
The sound grew closer and closer, making the Chosen Ones keep swallowing nervously, as if something dangerous was about to happen.
The bolder Chosen Ones, like Zhang Yangqing, went directly to the door to see what was happening.
The sound of gongs and drums appeared too strangely, and it wasn’t mentioned in the rules, so many Chosen Ones felt it was better to hide behind the counter.
Zhang Yangqing leaned against the door. Because he had night vision, he saw a procession approaching in neat, orderly fashion from not far away.
But the only one who dared stand at the door and watch was Zhang Yangqing.
The others either huddled by the door or hid in the shadows, afraid of being caught.
This procession was grand—over thirty people, with an eight-carried sedan in the middle.
Those holding signs in front were blue-robed, those carrying the sedan were white-robed, and the sedan in the middle was date-red.
There were no big red flowers or double happiness characters. It didn’t look like a wedding procession—it was the configuration of a ghost world big shot going out.
Whether he was a big shot in front of Zhang Yangqing was another matter, but the one sitting in the sedan definitely had status and position in this area.
As Zhang Yangqing expected, when the sedan arrived right in front of the general store, it stopped.
After the white-robed ghosts carrying the sedan set it down, a red-robed male ghost emerged from inside.
His appearance seemed to make the temperature in the nearby area drop even more. The surrounding dead trees were blown into making “wu wu” sounds, just like ghostly wails and wolf howls.
With this kind of entourage, a red-robed one appearing was indeed normal.
If someone of another color appeared, that would be abnormal.
This red-robed ghost held a folding fan, had a haggard face, and dark circles under his eyes bigger than a panda’s. Just getting out of the sedan had him coughing constantly. He looked like a frail young master.
When he walked over, Zhang Yangqing even wondered if this guy was here to stage a slip-and-fall scam.
My shop is a small business. If you collapse, I’m not helping you up.
I finally saved up some money—don’t let it all go back to a few hours ago in one go.
You’re supposed to be a red-robed fierce ghost, but you’re trembling just walking. You look weaker than a dog.
Also, don’t you dare die at my doorstep. If you dare ruin my business, I’ll make sure you never reincarnate!
Other Chosen Ones were scared stiff seeing him. Probably only Zhang Yangqing could think something like that.
But since this red-robed frail young master was walking toward the general store, he must be here to buy something.
Since he was here to buy something, his identity was that of a customer, which triggered Rule 6.
[Rule 6: When a red-robed customer comes to buy something, do not pay attention to any of his requests, unless he gives you his eyeballs.]
Zhang Yangqing had his own understanding of this rule.
In his view, as long as a red-robed customer made a request of him, he would ask the red-robed customer for his eyeballs.
As long as the red-robed customer gave him his eyeballs, he would agree to the request.
This was the rule’s hint.
To find his own organs, he definitely needed to come into contact with a red-robed customer willing to give him their eyeballs.
The one in front of him—wasn’t that exactly it!
