Although the Xumi Ring is precious, high-damage weapons are even more popular and command higher prices.
Shuai Chang and Yalun walked deeper inside, noticing the names of the goods for trade displayed in the windows, and as they ventured further, the crowd thinned out.
“Boss, I see the Xumi Ring over there,” Yalun pointed to a red window ahead.
Shuai Chang took a long stride over. The dealer in the window smiled and asked, “Are you interested in the Xumi Ring, student?”
Shuai Chang nodded, “I want two.”
The window displayed the price for the Xumi Ring, which was one for ten Beastly Fangs. Shuai Chang had hunted twenty-two of them yesterday, which was perfect for purchasing two rings.
“Twenty Beastly Fangs,” the dealer indicated Shuai Chang to place his items on the counter.
Shuai Chang instinctively reached for his backpack but found it empty, freezing in place.
It seemed he had put the Beastly Fangs and medicinal plants into the backpack and had given the backpack generously to An Qiluo.
Truly a case of being blinded by desire.
After a long pause without retrieving the Beastly Fangs, the dealer’s expression changed to puzzlement, “Student?”
Shuai Chang helped him close the window, saying, “I’ll come back tomorrow to buy.” With that, he turned and walked away.
Yalun hurried to catch up, his sharp ears catching the dealer remarking, “Just putting on a façade.”
He immediately got angry, “Boss, that dealer is going too far!”
“But why did you suddenly decide not to buy, Boss?” Yalun knew that Adonis had Beastly Fangs to buy Xumi Rings.
“Ahem, I plan to hunt more Beastly People and other things in the Dark Forest before I make my purchase,” Shuai Chang replied calmly.
Without waiting for the next day, Shuai Chang, with bait Yalun, went around the Dark Forest, successfully luring thirty Beastly People into his attack range. In just a few swipes, their bodies lay scattered on the ground.
After gathering the Beastly Fangs, they quickly returned to the trading post at school to buy the Xumi Rings.
Shuai Chang didn’t expect to see An Qiluo at the trading post. Her petite figure was surrounded by many Beastly People, both male and female, their gazes filled with admiration and envy.
Shuai Chang approached with Yalun, easily squeezing to An Qiluo’s side due to his taller stature.
“An Qiluo, what are you doing here?” Shuai Chang asked.
An Qiluo looked up in surprise and, upon seeing Adonis, her pale cheeks flushed, “Adonis? I’m here to sell some new potions. Did you just return from the Dark Forest?”
She glanced at him, didn’t see the Xumi Rings or the new backpack, “How was your haul?”
Before Shuai Chang could respond, a nearby male Beastly Person interjected, “An Qiluo, I remember him. He said this morning he was coming to buy the Xumi Ring but didn’t bring a single Beastly Fang. You should stay away from such a male Beastly Person; he might just con you out of your money.”
Everyone at the Beastly Academy knew An Qiluo had inherited a vast fortune from her parents.
A brown-haired female Beastly Person exclaimed, “An Qiluo, how do you know someone like him? He can’t even afford a Xumi Ring.”
A wave of malicious glances rolled toward Adonis from the crowd.
Yalun angrily shouted, “Hey! How can you slander my boss when you don’t know anything?! My boss came here specifically to buy the Xumi Ring!”
Laughter erupted around An Qiluo, “Your boss? Yalun, when did you find a boss? Let’s guess, what kind of star-level male Beastly Person is he?”
A voice from the back chimed in, “No need to guess; I know him. His name is Adonis, a three-star male Beastly Person.”
That malicious voice continued without pause, “He’s an orphan who grew up in an orphanage, and his personality is very dark. He’s getting close to An Qiluo because of her family fortune.”
An Qiluo’s face turned red with anger, “That’s not true! Don’t say such things.”
Shuai Chang wasn’t provoked; he saw the childish antics of rivals as beneath him.
Shuai Chang soothingly patted An Qiluo’s shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Didn’t I say I’d buy you a Xumi Ring? Let’s go pick one together.”
An Qiluo nodded, eagerly taking Adonis’s hand and leading the way like a warrior clearing a path for him.
A group of onlookers watched in astonishment as the pair—a tall one and a petite one—moved toward the window selling the Xumi Rings.
“An Qiluo is too kind. I bet if Adonis doesn’t have money, An Qiluo would definitely buy it for him.”
Others nodded in agreement, while Yalun pouted, thinking no way would such an impressive person like his boss use his boyfriend’s money.
In fact, An Qiluo genuinely thought that way; as soon as she heard Adonis was an orphan, her heart filled with pity. If Adonis couldn’t buy the Xumi Ring later, she would absolutely help him not to lose face.
They reached the red window, and the dealer was the same one from the morning. He recognized Shuai Chang and rolled his eyes, “The Xumi Ring is priced at ten Beastly Fangs each, twenty for two, no bargaining allowed.”
Under An Qiluo’s worried gaze, Shuai Chang casually placed a handful of Beastly Fangs on the counter. Seeing the dealer dazed and idle, he tapped on the glass signaling him to open the window.
The dealer had expected him to offer excuses for not bringing any, thus embarrassing himself in front of the female Beastly Person. However, he was genuinely taken aback, as Shuai Chang had retrieved a large handful of them effortlessly.
The dealer blushed as he accepted the Beastly Fangs and presented various styles of Xumi Rings before Shuai Chang, saying, “Please choose your style.”
Shuai Chang asked An Qiluo which one she liked, and she smiled as she chose a simple design.
Shuai Chang said, “I’ll take two of this one.”
The dealer handed the rings to Shuai Chang.
He gave one to An Qiluo, and just as she was about to wear it herself, Shuai Chang held her left hand gently and slid the ring onto her ring finger.
“?” An Qiluo looked at Adonis in confusion.
Shuai Chang explained, “I heard that when two people in love exchange matching rings, they wear them on the left ring finger to signify possession. I just made you mine; you can’t run away now. Do you want to make me yours too?”