Chapter 8
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Chapter 8: Wang Chen’s Masterful Maneuver
Old Sun was tempted to scold Wang Chen for his exorbitant demand, but found himself unable to walk away.
The situation was more pressing than he had anticipated.
Land rhinoceroses were indeed troublesome creatures, preferring to forage during the daylight hours.
The fiercer the sunlight, the more voracious their appetite became.
Old Sun’s thirty acres of spirit fields had already endured a retaliatory assault from the land rhinoceroses the previous afternoon.
If he didn’t act swiftly to clear them out this morning, the situation would only deteriorate further.
Seeking help in Yunshan City would not only waste precious time but also prove costly.
Moreover, there was no guarantee he would find an expert in pest extermination.
Wang Chen had not only slain ten land rhinoceroses, but one of them had been a monsterized land rhinoceros.
His Metal Finger Technique had advanced to a proficient level.
After much deliberation, Old Sun decided to negotiate with Wang Chen: "Thirty spirit fragments is simply too steep…"
The old man was torn between his reluctance to pay a high price and his urgency to resolve the land rhinoceros issue.
So he shamelessly clung to Wang Chen, refusing to budge from his doorstep.
Wang Chen, growing impatient, proposed: "How about this? Instead of charging per acre, let’s charge per beast."
He held up two fingers: "I’ll eliminate one land rhinoceros for you, and you give me twenty spirit fragments. Additionally, the land rhinoceros I kill will be mine. What do you think?"
Old Sun narrowed his eyes and did the math. This arrangement seemed far more advantageous.
Land rhinoceroses were territorial creatures, typically living in groups of about ten.
Under normal circumstances, thirty acres of spirit fields could only support three or four such groups.
All things considered, four groups would amount to roughly forty land rhinoceroses. Even if Wang Chen exterminated them all, he would only earn eight hundred spirit fragments.
That equates to eight spirit fragments for his efforts.
Crucially, this pricing structure would sufficiently motivate Wang Chen to tackle the pest problem with vigor.
The more Old Sun pondered, the more viable the plan appeared.
But he still sought to haggle a bit more: "Doggie…"
"Take it or leave it."
Wang Chen turned to depart: "I have my own fields to tend to!"
"Fine, fine!"
Seeing Wang Chen’s unwavering resolve, Old Sun stomped his foot in frustration: "We’ll do it your way, so get to it!"
Old Sun truly had no other recourse.
Actually, he could also use the Metal Finger Technique.
However, this spell required transforming his mana into Metal Finger energy, which placed a significant strain on his meridians.
Old Sun, being old and frail, no longer had the resilient meridians of his youth and couldn’t endure the damage from frequent use of the Metal Finger Technique.
Thus, he was powerless against the land rhinoceroses ravaging his spirit fields.
He couldn’t risk his life just to exterminate pests, could he?
He had no choice but to seek external help.
Wang Chen turned back with an expressionless face: "So it’s settled, you can’t go back on your word."
He chuckled inwardly.
Helping Old Sun with pest control and earning five spirit fragments would be a decent deal.
After all, Wang Chen’s total savings amounted to a mere seven spirit fragments.
Moreover, exterminating land rhinoceroses would not only improve his skill proficiency but also yield valuable loot.
It was a triple win!
Old Sun’s face flushed red: "How can you slander me without evidence? Do I look like someone who would default on a debt?"
That’s hard to say!
Wang Chen didn’t have much goodwill toward the old man.
Memories from the original owner reminded him that Old Sun had often exploited his age to manipulate and take advantage of him in the past.
Now, Wang Chen was simply reclaiming a bit of interest.
Once the terms were agreed upon, Wang Chen followed Old Sun to his spirit fields without hesitation.
Old Sun’s spirit fields were three times larger than Wang Chen’s, and as far as the eye could see, the spirit rice stretched lush and dense across vast areas.
However, upon closer inspection, some of the spirit rice showed clear signs of damage.
Many stalks had only leaves left, with no spirit rice remaining!
Under Old Sun’s anxious gaze, Wang Chen activated his spiritual awareness to enhance his senses and began searching the spirit fields.
He naturally entered a "super-sensitive state."
In this state, Wang Chen could resonate deeply with the spirit rice around him, allowing the rice to guide him to the pests’ locations!
He quickly detected anomalies.
And there was more than one!
The pest problem in Old Sun’s spirit fields was far worse than Wang Chen had anticipated.
Just as he began his search, he discovered three land rhinoceroses!
Wang Chen immediately held his breath and cautiously approached the nearest land rhinoceros, closing in to about ten feet.
Then, he struck decisively.
A surge of Metal Finger energy shot through the air, instantly slicing through a land rhinoceros resting on a rice stalk.
The land rhinoceros was indeed hiding quite well.
However, under Wang Chen’s super-sensitive state, it had nowhere to hide and was swiftly killed.
Without bothering to pick up the fallen pest, Wang Chen took five steps to the left.
He struck again with his sword finger!
The second land rhinoceros met the same fate as its companion.
Then came the third one.
After completing the triple kill, Wang Chen leisurely collected all the spoils scattered across the fields.
Old Sun stood on the ridge, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, hardly believing what he was seeing.
When he had asked Wang Chen for help with the pests, Old Sun had been somewhat desperate.
It wasn’t that he had much faith in Wang Chen’s abilities.
But Wang Chen’s recent performance had truly astonished Old Sun!
Everyone said Zhang A-Da was an exterminator, but compared to the seventeen-year-old Wang Chen, he was far behind.
Old Sun found himself unconsciously following Wang Chen, though he dared not get too close, fearing he might disturb him.
Maintaining his super-sensitive state, Wang Chen quickly located more land rhinoceroses.
But after taking down the fifth land rhinoceros, Wang Chen stopped his search.
He gathered all the spoils together and handed them to Old Sun: "Old Sun, one spirit fragment, please."
Old Sun was stunned: "Huh?"
"Pay me!"
Wang Chen said impatiently, "Twenty spirit fragments for each land rhinoceros, five in total; this is a small business, no credit allowed!"
Old Sun gasped: "Huh!"
What was with all the "huh" sounds!
Even though Old Sun had pounded his chest earlier, insisting he was not the kind of person to default on debts, Wang Chen didn’t believe that old man at all!
His thinking was simple: settle up after killing a few, get the spirit stones first, then continue the hunt.
Otherwise, Old Sun could deal with it himself!
Understanding Wang Chen’s meaning, Old Sun was speechless.
He was completely impressed by Wang Chen’s brilliance.
He could only obediently pull out a spirit fragment.
Wang Chen wasn’t trying to trick him; he accepted the spirit fragment and asked Old Sun to take care of the land rhinoceros corpses.
After clearing all the spirit fields, he would return the spoils.
This way, everything was clear and understood.
In this manner, using five land rhinoceroses as a unit for settlement, Wang Chen methodically searched Old Sun’s spirit fields.
However, after acquiring the third spirit fragment, he sat down on the ridge.
He didn’t have any intention of continuing.
Old Sun was once again shocked: "Doggie, why did you stop?"
Wang Chen replied irritably, "Old Sun, I’m only at the third level of Qi Training!"
Using the Metal Finger Technique consumed a lot of mana.
Even though his accuracy was very high, after taking down over ten land rhinoceroses, his dantian was now completely empty.
He needed to recover his energy.
Wang Chen hadn’t even eaten his breakfast yet!
Understanding the situation, Old Sun gritted his teeth and pulled a white jade bottle out of his storage bag.
