The Grey Rat's Demon Path

Peacock Demon City was known as a haven for Loose Cultivators.

But the Black Chicken Spirit had no particular skills, and the past few years had been quite difficult for him.

Fortunately, his silver tongue had helped him find a trade, allowing him to scrape by.

"That’s not bad at all."

Xu Chang’an replied with a smile after hearing the Black Chicken Spirit’s story.

"Grey Rat, what about you!?"

For Xu Chang’an to have reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer with an unranked Bloodline, his experiences must have been incredibly interesting.

Just as Xu Chang’an was about to say something, a vicious voice sounded nearby.

"Old Black Chicken, you said the ore you sold me was from the Peacock Secret Realm. What Secret Realm ore? These are just a few worthless rocks! You sold them to me for five Demon Stones? Are you trying to rip me off?"

Xu Chang’an looked over and saw a tall, burly Horse Demon aggressively demanding answers.

Standing beside the Horse Demon was a Wolf Demon, who looked like someone not to be trifled with.

"Friend, when I acquired this ore, the merchant who sold it to me assured me it was indeed from the Secret Realm.

But when I sold it to you, I also made it clear that I couldn’t be one hundred percent certain whether it truly was or not. After all, I didn’t bring it out of the Secret Realm myself.

As for the price of five Demon Stones, that was a transaction between a willing buyer and a willing seller. There’s no ’ripping off’ involved."

The Black Chicken Spirit said calmly.

’When you’re doing business, it’s best to be amicable.’

’If you get hostile right off the bat, how can you expect to do business in the future?’

"A clearly marked price!? Where was it marked? Show me!?"

The Horse Demon pressed on relentlessly, his presence overwhelming.

"Friend, this is a small-time operation. Everything is done by word of mouth. How could I have marked prices like a proper shop or a Treasure Pavilion?"

The Black Chicken Spirit’s tone was extremely polite as he tried to calm the other demon down.

"No marked price means you’re a swindler!"

The Horse Demon declared with finality.

"Friend, I’m just running a small business. If you feel you didn’t get your money’s worth, why don’t you return the ore to me? I’ll give you back your five Demon Stones."

"Give me back five Demon Stones? It’s not that easy.

This ore of yours didn’t come from the Secret Realm at all.

According to the Demon City’s rule of ten-fold compensation for fakes, for five Demon Stones, you have to pay me fifty!"

"Fifty!?"

The Old Black Chicken’s face fell.

’So that was their plan all along. They’re trying to extort me.’

In the Demon City this time, most shops were using the "product of the Secret Realm" name.

But no one really took it seriously enough to verify if the items were genuinely from the Peacock Secret Realm.

After all, the prices weren’t high. People were more or less just buying a sliver of hope!

"What, you got a problem with that? If you don’t pay up, believe me, I’ll make it impossible for you to survive in this Demon City!"

The Wolf Demon at the side stepped forward, his tone hostile.

"Friend, let’s talk this out. There’s no need for such words."

Seeing the Wolf Demon step forward, the Black Chicken Spirit’s eyes flickered with apprehension.

This Wolf Demon was a sort of Managerial Demon for the stall area. Although not directly under the Peacock Demon City’s authority, he had some connections.

’His threat to make it impossible for me to survive in the Demon City might be an exaggeration, but he could easily stop me from setting up my stall here.’

"The Demon City’s rule is ten-fold compensation for fakes. The ore you sold is a fake, so you have to compensate ten times the price!"

The Wolf Demon’s tone grew increasingly impatient.

"Fifty Demon Stones, and we’ll drop this matter!"

The two demons worked in tandem, part threat and part "solution."

They seemed to have a good rapport.

Witnessing this scene, Xu Chang’an pretty much understood what was going on.

It was a simple case of abusing a little authority. The Horse Demon and Wolf Demon were in cahoots, working together to extort some easy money.

The Demon City did have a "ten-fold compensation for fakes" rule, which was certainly a good thing.

But trying to force its application to this ore was somewhat unreasonable.

The ore was real ore; the only issue was its name. Given the current atmosphere in the Demon City, what the Black Chicken Spirit did wasn’t out of line.

"You two," Xu Chang’an began, his voice neither cold nor warm, "I’d like to ask, regarding this ’ten-fold compensation for fakes’ rule in the Demon City, what are the specific regulations, and where are they recorded?"

"And you are...?"

The Horse Demon’s tone softened slightly.

He looked at the Gray Rat Demon before him, who had a Qi Refining Seventh Layer Cultivation.

He had assumed this was a customer, but who would have thought he’d step up for the Black Chicken Spirit.

He and the Wolf Demon had pulled similar stunts several times before.

They had succeeded every time.

Their seamless coordination was secondary. The main reason for their success was that they always targeted old demons with average strength and no connections in the Demon City.

Demons like that mostly wanted to avoid trouble.

As long as the amount wasn’t too large, if the problem could be solved with Demon Stones, they would choose to solve it with Demon Stones.

For a Loose Cultivator Demon at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, fifty Demon Stones was right on the threshold of what they could psychologically accept.

Now, having a Qi Refining Seventh Layer demon willing to stand up for their target was a nuisance.

’But it’s not a big deal!’

"Friend," the Wolf Demon said, stepping forward. "I am the Managerial Demon of this area, entrusted by the Demon City to maintain order. This gentleman bought a fake product from this stall. Since this has happened, I must naturally act according to the rules."

The Wolf Demon directly revealed his identity, pulling a Demon Token from his waist. He was indeed the Managerial Demon of this area.

Usually, when he revealed his identity, other demons would be wary of his connection to the Demon City. They wouldn’t dare meddle in others’ business.

He thought that would be the end of it.

But to his surprise, Xu Chang’an continued in a cold tone.

"Whether you are a Managerial Demon or not is irrelevant to me. I’m asking where the regulations for this ’ten-fold compensation for fakes’ rule are recorded within the Demon City."

The Demon City did indeed have a rule for ten-fold compensation for fakes. However, its internal regulations contained very detailed stipulations.

If one were to study them carefully, a case like the Black Chicken Spirit’s wouldn’t apply at all.