The juvenile Jade-Scaled Demon Spider had been sleeping in its cage, but it suddenly woke up upon Qi Ping's arrival. Eight small eyes opened on its jade-like body, blinking at him. An aura of curiosity and friendliness drifted from it.
After observing for a while, Qi Ping confirmed that his Beastmaster Druid abilities would allow him to contract it.
'It can be contracted... and this little fellow seems to have a good personality and is healthy.'
'It can be a backup option.'
Having confirmed the spider was fine, Qi Ping stopped looking to avoid drawing attention. Boss Gao was currently haggling over the price with the shop owner. Qi Ping stayed silent; he wasn't as skilled at bargaining as Boss Gao. As long as the beast was fine and the price was at or below market value, he didn't care how much Boss Gao made. It was a win-win.
Qi Ping didn't pay more than the market rate, and in return, he gained the best spirit beast information in the market to make an optimal choice for his future. Boss Gao, meanwhile, used his information and channel advantages to earn a decent profit.
They didn't discuss it for long, and a final price was reached: 1,380 low-grade spirit stones.
Having confirmed the spider's status, Qi Ping quickly moved to the second shop. In a luxurious merchant guild, he saw the fluffy, extremely adorable Illusion-Moon White Fox. It had to be said that the fox was particularly cute in its youth. There was a moon-shaped mark on its brow, giving it a striking presence. When Qi Ping appeared, it tilted its head and looked at him, its black eyes seemingly hiding a bright moon within.
'This little fox also has a good impression of me, but its personality seems a bit prideful...'
'Still, if I take it back and coax it for a few days, a contract shouldn't be a problem.'
Qi Ping felt confident; the fox was also a viable candidate. Before long, Boss Gao's negotiation ended with a price of 2,050 spirit stones. The fox was indeed worth that much.
Finally, Boss Gao took him to the third location. This wasn't a guild, but a private residence. The owner was a young artifact refiner. He was heavily muscled and tall as an iron tower, with a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivation and the insignia of the Qingyuan Sect on his clothes.
Qi Ping and Boss Gao waited for a while until the man finished refining an item. Qi Ping was surprised that Boss Gao had such a connection, though it made sense for someone who had survived in the market alone for so long.
"I brought this Li-Fire Crow out from a secret realm in the sect. Its bloodline was drained by an evil entity in that realm, and its cultivation gradually fell to the mid-first-tier."
"It has a good temperament. By a stroke of luck, it indirectly helped me defeat that entity, so I later used a first-tier peak-rank Warm Jade Fruit to save its life."
"But since I am not a beast-tamer, I plan to find it a suitable master so it can recover. Therefore, the prerequisite for buying it is that the Li-Fire Crow must be willing to go with you."
"Its original bloodline was quite dense. If it were at its peak, it would be worth four or five thousand spirit stones."
This tower of a man was unexpectedly talkative. Before they could ask anything, he had already begun telling the crow's story. Soon, they walked up to the balcony of the loft, where the crow was basking in the sun.
It was entirely black, slightly larger than a fist, with a flame-like mark on its brow. Under the scorching sun, thin wisps of solar power were slowly flowing into its body. When Qi Ping appeared, the crow paused its absorption. Its clever head turned, and it began to eye him with curiosity. It realized instantly: this iron-tower man was trying to find it a master again!
But it wasn't interested!
'Huh?'
'This two-legged beast?'
The crow immediately noticed something different. This human felt... different. It took the initiative to fly over and inspect Qi Ping closely. This scene astonished the muscular man; this was a first. Several people had come to see the crow before, and it had ignored them all. Yet now, the moment Qi Ping entered, the crow flew to him with clear interest.
Qi Ping was also surprised. 'What a clever fellow!'
With just one look, he could tell the crow was extraordinary. If he could contract it as an animal companion, its potential would be immense. Qi Ping had a good impression of crows. In the myths of his past life, the Golden Crow was a divine bird. In reality, crows were monogamous, practiced filial piety, and ate pests; they weren't the ill omens people claimed.
Upon seeing the crow, Qi Ping decided: this was the one. Furthermore, he felt that his Beastmaster Druid intuition favored this Li-Fire Crow above the others.
"It seems interested in you!" the muscular man exclaimed. "This fellow is very smart. If it's willing to follow you, I'll stick to the 1,500 spirit stone price. I'll even throw in a Spirit Taming Bag for free. What do you say?"
He could see that Qi Ping was very satisfied with the crow. Having seen many people, he trusted his judgment on this matter.
"Thank you!" Qi Ping cupped his fists in gratitude. He turned to the crow and asked, "Are you willing to come with me? I will do my utmost to help you recover!"
Because the crow already had a complete intellect, Qi Ping couldn't force a contract if it was unwilling, unlike with a mindless juvenile. Contracting a sapient beast was much more difficult.
Facing Qi Ping's question, the Li-Fire Crow didn't hesitate and nodded its head in agreement. This decisive action caused the tower-like man to marvel once more. Still, he said nothing; finding a suitable master for the fellow settled a matter on his conscience.
The rest was simple. Qi Ping already had about 1,300 spirit stones, so he sold some items to Boss Gao to make up the remaining 200. He handed the 1,500 spirit stones to the muscular man, who in turn gave Qi Ping the Li-Fire Crow and a Spirit Taming Bag.