Rumors that the Li clan was very rich spread throughout the whole city, so naturally, the guards inside the tower have heard about it as well. When a particular guard saw Li Bai strolling around, they would try to suck up to him, currying favor with someone who's supposedly rich.
The guard stationed at the storage ring was no exception. He immediately faked a smile and greeted Li Bai.
"Oh, if it isn't the Li clan's young master!"
Li Bai didn't take the guards' greetings at face value, but instead, looked deeper into what their intentions actually were. This guard was no different than the other guards, Li Bai instantly knew. But, this guard was guarding the item that he wanted so it was only natural that he returned the smile.
"Ah, yes. I'd like to buy this storage ring."
Li Bai picked up the storage ring and started examining it, twisting and looking at every nook and cranny of this tiny object. This ring looks familiar...
The guard thought that Li Bai was a spoiled foolish child who didn't know the market prices and had the intent to trick him. To him, this ring seemingly looked broken, cracks all over the surface. Thus, the guard took Li Bai's scan of the ring as him putting on fronts.
All of the items in the tower had been appraised by an inspector, hence the guard's knowledge of the item's price based on what the inspector said. The inspector viewed this storage ring as worthless, and as such accordingly marked a low price.
Hustling a customer inside the tall central tower was not allowed, especially if the customer was some high-ranking noble. If the victim suddenly learned of the scam, they would immediately blame the Zhou clan.
Guards inside the tower tended to do this anyway, as a bonus was added to their salary if they sold the item they were guarding at a higher price than what was originally appraised. This one was just like the others.
The guard gained the intention to swindle Li Bai of his assumed bountiful fortune just because he found Li Bai stupid looking.
"Ah, the mythical silver storage ring, yes. Great eyes you have."
The guard attempted to glorify this seemingly broken storage ring by using fake words of praise on it. But the inspector already named it as the "broken ancient storage ring".
However, Li Bai's smile widened. The guard assumed this to be a success already in the bag.
Li Bai's smile widening was, of course, not because of the faux acclamation of the guard, but because he confirmed that this was indeed the source of the irregularities in the energy flow! He was delighted to find it and excited to test it, which invoked his smile.
"Yes, I'd like to buy this, right now. How much? If not in money, in pills, perhaps?"
The guard kept on smiling, still processing the alternative that he proposed after offering to pay with money, should money not be accepted. Finally, the guard's brain had caught up with reality and became baffled.
"...Pills, you say?"
Li Bai was confused as well. Why did the guard feel the need to confirm my method of paying? He didn't realize that what he just said was outrageous, and continued on insisting to pay in pills. First, he needed to clear the guard's suspicions.
"Yes, pills."
The guard was even more bewildered than before! He had thought that what he heard before was just his imagination, and asked just to confuse the other party. He didn't hope for this kind of outcome!
He looked again at Li Bai's unfaltering face, and what he saw was that not only was Li Bai not holding any guilt, which either meant that he was an extremely good liar or that he was completely convinced that he didn't lie at all, but also that his face was beaming and confident, absolutely sure that he could pay in pills!
