The one who answered was an old man.
Seeing the old man, the laborer hurried over and said, "Old Shopkeeper, it's not that I was being rude, but they were deliberately making a fool of me."
"What happened?"
Upon hearing the Old Shopkeeper's inquiry, the laborer explained the whole story in detail.
When the Old Shopkeeper heard that these two wanted to equip a Grand Carriage pulled by eighteen Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers, and all of them purebred, he thought he had misheard. After confirming it several times, he was inwardly shocked.
First, he stared at Horse King, then his gaze fell upon Gu Qingfeng. Seeing that Gu Qingfeng had no cultivation aura whatsoever—just a mere mortal—the Old Shopkeeper grew more and more puzzled the longer he looked. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. He walked over and cupped his fists.
"May I ask if you, sir, are the wealthy Great Old Master who won a staggering 1.8 billion in a single bet at the gambling hall earlier?"
"Well, well," Gu Qingfeng laughed. "Old Shopkeeper, you have a keen eye. You could tell?"
Horse King, standing beside him, was quite curious. "How did you know? Could it be the Old Shopkeeper was also at the Gambling City?"
"Although this old man was not present at the time, news of the wealthy Great Old Master winning 1.8 billion in a single bet has already spread throughout the Fengyue Small World. Naturally, I have heard of it."
The facts were exactly as the Old Shopkeeper said.
News of the two winning 1.8 billion in a single bet at the Gambling City had already spread, and it was spreading like wildfire.
It was said that a mysterious mortal Great Old Master, after losing all his cultivation, had fallen into dire straits, with only a few dozen Immortal Stones to his name. Later, with a thousand chips he obtained, he won 1.8 billion in a single bet at the Gambling City.
People won money at the Gambling City every day, but winning 1.8 billion in a single bet, and at dice no less—such a rare event hadn't occurred in a thousand years.
What was even more astonishing was that this mysterious mortal Great Old Master was said to not only have explosive luck but also a truly terrifying capacity for alcohol. It was said that in the Gambling City, in a short while, he drank over four hundred pots of Bitao wine worth more than twenty million.
It was also said that this mortal Great Old Master was extremely extravagant with his spending. When he scattered wealth, he scattered a full thirty million.
Whether it was winning 1.8 billion in a single bet,
Drinking over twenty million worth of Bitao wine,
Or scattering thirty million in wealth,
Each of these three events could be said to have broken the Gambling City's records, and each was enough to cause a huge sensation in the Fengyue Small World.
The Old Shopkeeper noticed that Gu Qingfeng had no cultivation aura whatsoever and also wanted to buy a Grand Carriage pulled by eighteen Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers. Putting two and two together, he immediately thought of that wealthy Great Old Master who had won 1.8 billion at the Gambling City. Probably only that Great Old Master who had won 1.8 billion would have such financial power, and only that master who could scatter thirty million in wealth would have such audacity.
"It was our Firecloud Manor's man who was ignorant and offended you, Great Old Master. I hope you, Great Old Master, are magnanimous and do not take offense."
The Old Shopkeeper immediately berated the laborer, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and apologize to the Great Old Master!"
Upon hearing that Gu Qingfeng was the wealthy Great Old Master who had won 1.8 billion in a single bet, the laborer was so frightened he didn't know what to do. Not daring to hesitate in the slightest, he hurriedly apologized.
Gu Qingfeng waved his hand, not taking the matter to heart.
"Great Old Master, please come inside."
Now that Gu Qingfeng held 1.8 billion, he was absolutely a tycoon among tycoons. For Firecloud Manor, he was a major customer, so they naturally dared not slight him. The Old Shopkeeper hurriedly instructed the laborer to prepare fine wine and delicacies.
"This lord still has quite a few things to attend to later, so I won't be sitting down inside. Just directly equip a Grand Carriage pulled by eighteen Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers for me."
"This..." The Old Shopkeeper was somewhat troubled and explained, "Great Old Master, it's not that this old man doesn't want to equip one for you. It's just that eighteen Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers are really too many, and purebred ones at that. Our Firecloud Manor doesn't have that many."
"Isn't your Firecloud Manor claimed to be the largest Spirit Beast estate in Greatsun Exchanges City? How come you don't even have eighteen purebred Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers?"
"Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers are rare to begin with, especially purebred ones. They are exceedingly few."
"Then what's the maximum you can equip?"
"This... depends on when you need it, Great Old Master."
"Of course, right now."
"Right now?" The Old Shopkeeper was greatly shocked and said, on the verge of tears, "If you need it right now, Great Old Master, Firecloud Manor can only equip a Grand Carriage pulled by one purebred Firecloud Crimsonflame Tiger for you."
"One?"
The Old Shopkeeper explained, "Great Old Master, a single purebred, adult Firecloud Crimsonflame Tiger is extremely fierce in temperament. When we tame them, we all use Firecloud Whips. By integrating one's spiritual sense, one can control the Firecloud Crimsonflame Tiger. But one Firecloud Crimsonflame Tiger only has one Firecloud Whip. If you need two or more Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers to pull a Grand Carriage, our Firecloud Manor would need to refine new Firecloud Whips."
Usually, when purchasing immortal birds or Spirit Beasts, people would choose cubs. This is because when a Spirit Beast is still a cub, its spiritual intelligence is not yet developed. While raising it, as long as one uses their spiritual sense to nurture the beast's intelligence, as the Spirit Beast grows, it will become familiar with its master's spiritual sense. Once the Spirit Beast reaches adulthood, one can use their spiritual sense to control it.
However, adult Spirit Beasts are different. Places like Firecloud Manor use Firecloud Whips for taming. In other words, adult Spirit Beasts only recognize the Firecloud Whip, not the person. However, if one purchases an adult Spirit Beast, they only need to refine the Firecloud Whip and then integrate their own spiritual sense into it. Gradually, they can also use their spiritual sense to control the adult Spirit Beast.
"How long does it take to refine a new Firecloud Whip?"
"This... depends on how many Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers you need."
"Didn't I say... eighteen?"
Hearing 'eighteen,' the Old Shopkeeper got a headache. "To be frank with you, Great Old Master, this old man has been managing Firecloud Manor for several thousand years and has never seen anyone who would equip a Grand Carriage with eighteen Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers. As for how long it would take to refine eighteen Firecloud Whips, this old man cannot give you a specific time. I'm afraid it would take at least over a thousand years, and even then, success isn't guaranteed. After all, refining a Firecloud Whip capable of controlling eighteen Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers is extremely difficult."
"Refining eighteen Firecloud Whips would take over a thousand years?" Gu Qingfeng said, exasperated, "Are you messing with me?"
"Great Old Master, our Firecloud Manor's treasure of the estate is a Grand Carriage pulled by nine Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers. To refine one Firecloud Whip for it, we failed many times back and forth. In the end, it took a full four hundred years before we succeeded in refining one whip capable of controlling nine Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers."
"Then what the hell am I buying it for!"
Just as Gu Qingfeng was about to leave, he asked again, "What did you say just now? Your Firecloud Manor's treasure of the estate is a Grand Carriage pulled by nine Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers?"
"Yes."
"Is it for sale?"
"This..." The Old Shopkeeper pondered for a long time before responding, "This matter is a significant event for our Firecloud Manor. This old man alone cannot decide. We need to discuss it before a decision can be made."
"How long does the discussion need?"
"At most five hours."
"Fine. Then this lord will wait for you for five hours. I'll come back after five hours."