Small Commodity Market, half an hour later, in front of an old bookstall.

Xiao Mu picked up a book called "Cultivation of Ghosts" and asked the stall owner, "How much for this book?"

"Three hundred, non-negotiable."

The stall owner glanced at Xiao Mu.

Without keen on haggling, Xiao Mu tossed three hundred yuan on the counter, picked up "Cultivation of Ghosts" and left.

He wasn't in a hurry to return. Instead, he headed towards the area where yellow papers were sold.

He had used up all his Dao Talismans and had no stock of yellow paper left. Xiao Mu had to buy some yellow paper for replenishment.

He went to the same store as last time and sought the same stall owner.

"Yellow Paper, I need a good amount."

Xiao Mu found the middle-aged man who had sold him yellow paper last time.

"Ahem! Is that you?"

The shopkeeper recognized Xiao Mu and looked flustered, "Ahem! Sorry, but... the price of yellow paper has gone up. It costs two hundred yuan per gram now."

"Last time it was one hundred yuan per gram, and now it's doubled? Are you trying to scam me again?"

Xiao Mu's face darkened.

Last time he bought yellow paper, besides the high price, the shopkeeper tried to cheat him on the weight. Xiao Mu caught him out, so not only did he not succeed in scamming Xiao Mu, he actually ended up giving a discount.

Xiao Mu left and the shopkeeper wanted to stop him, intending to take back the extra paper he had sold, but he was intimidated by Xiao Mu's anger and even gave him an extra sheet of yellow paper as a gift.

"Ahem!"

The shopkeeper, having been exposed by Xiao Mu, was embarrassed. He timidly looked at Xiao Mu and defended himself, "The price really has gone up. There are too many buyers, and the price has been rising for several days. Plus, I don't have much stock left."

Xiao Mu glared at the shopkeeper, "Even so, that's no excuse to double the price. I think you're just trying to scam me."

Given this shopkeeper's track record, Xiao Mu found it hard to trust him.

Spooked by Xiao Mu's glare, the shopkeeper shivered and quickly defended himself, "Injustice! I wouldn't dare to scam you, big brother. The price really has gone up, it's the same for everyone."

"How about this, you're a regular customer, I'll give you a discount. Everyone else pays two hundred, I'll charge you one hundred and fifty."

Ever since he was scared by Xiao Mu last time, the shopkeeper had dared not scam anyone anymore and had been doing honest business.

After all, he feared that if he tried to rip off the wrong person and got found out, he wouldn't even know how he'd end up dead.

Xiao Mu grimly nodded.

Considering the shopkeeper's tone, Xiao Mu guessed he probably wasn't lying this time. It seemed that the price of yellow paper had indeed risen.

He had already anticipated a price increase for this mutated yellow paper because one hundred yuan per gram was still too low compared to the value of the paper itself.

The shopkeeper led Xiao Mu into the back room and sold him the yellow paper.

At one hundred and fifty yuan per gram, Xiao Mu bought four hundred grams. This was sixty thousand yuan worth of yellow paper.

The shopkeeper winced, regretting the discount. He really had raised the price of yellow paper to two hundred yuan per gram. He had thought Xiao Mu would only buy a little, but he ended up buying close to a pound.

As a result, he had made twenty thousand less on this sale alone.

That said, he still made a profit, just not as much as he could have.

"Don't you give gifts with larger purchases?"

As he was about to leave, Xiao Mu suddenly turned around and asked.

The shopkeeper's face fell, nearly bursting into tears, "Ahem! Big brother, I'm done. This is the last time I'm giving a gift, I won't do it anymore."

Xiao Mu smiled, "Last time I spent six thousand and got an extra sheet of yellow paper, this time I spent sixty thousand, shouldn't I get at least ten sheets?"

The shopkeeper, who was reaching for the yellow paper, nearly stumbled. "Okay, okay, big brother, I'm really scared of you. Ten sheets of yellow paper, I really can't do it. I've already given you a discount of twenty thousand."

"There is one particularly good sheet of yellow paper here, much better than the others. It's what you could call a premium piece among the yellow papers. I don't know how it mutated."

"Because there's only one, I can't sell them in bundles. Considering how few there are, let me just give it to you as a substitute for ten sheets of yellow paper."

Saying that, the shopkeeper pulled out a yellow paper from the very bottom of the stack and handed it to Xiao Mu.

Upon seeing the yellow paper, Xiao Mu's eyes shone. He couldn't help but reach out to take it, comparing it to the other yellow papers.

Compared to the other mutated yellow papers, the quality of this one was noticeably better, its spirituality stronger. It could be considered a premium product among the mutated yellow papers.

Xiao Mu was secretly delighted. He put away the yellow paper and asked the shopkeeper, "Do you have any more premium yellow paper like this?"

The shopkeeper's face fell, "Big brother, I really don't have any more. There was only that one, I've already given it to you."

Xiao Mu replied, "I'll buy it, even if it's a bit more expensive."

The better the yellow paper, the more powerful the Dao Talismans made from it. Even if the improvement was minimal, Xiao Mu found it precious.

Who knew when he might face an evil absurdity and need to use a Dao Talisman to kill it? Perhaps he would miss out on the kill by just that little bit of power?

The shopkeeper, with a long face, replied, "I really don't have any more, big brother. If I had any, I'd even let you call me your grandson."

"I don't need such a big grandson."

Xiao Mu looked at the shopkeeper and figured that there really wasn't any premium yellow paper left.

"See you next time. I'll come to you again when I need to buy more yellow paper."

Xiao Mu, yellow paper in hand, walked out of the shop. As he reached the door, he turned to the shopkeeper and relayed that message.

However, with this batch of four hundred grams of yellow paper, he probably had enough to last for a long time. He wouldn't need to replenish his stock for quite a while.

"I'd rather you didn't."

The shopkeeper wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and mumbled, barely audible.

With Xiao Mu, the plague god, gone, he didn't want his words to be overheard.

"Boss, I need two hundred grams of mutant yellow paper."

A black modified car parked in front of the shop, and a young man in his twenties stuck his head out of the window.

"The price has increased, it's now two... hundred and fifty per gram."

The shopkeeper quickly went up to him, grinning broadly.

"So it's gone up? Here's fifty thousand, give me two hundred grams."

The young man nonchalantly took out five stacks of cash and tossed them to the shopkeeper.

"Wait a moment!"

The shopkeeper happily took the fifty thousand yuan, went back into the shop, weighed two hundred grams of yellow paper, and passed it to the young man.

The young man took the yellow paper, started his car, and drove away.

"Idiot, doesn't even know how to bargain when buying things."

Once the young man left, the shopkeeper couldn't help mumbling softly.

Back in the shop, the shopkeeper put the forty-one thousand he had just received into a box, his face glowing with joy. "This afternoon, I'll deposit this money in the bank. Best to... Yes, best to exchange it for gold. The world has changed, and cash doesn't feel secure anymore. Gold is indeed more reassuring."

He looked at the mutated yellow paper on the table and mumbled again, "There's not much yellow paper left, I need to make some more. Hehe! Luckily, my ancestors left behind a book of instructions on making yellow paper. It mutated during this disorderly period. Easy money in these chaotic times!"

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