The man tsked as he tossed the stone back to her.
"Even my son would throw this away," he said coldly. "What a waste of my time."
He reached into his pouch and flicked a coin toward her.
"You want money? Here. Take it and stay away from my stall. You are chasing my good customers away."
Zi'an caught the blue coin instinctively. She lowered her gaze and examined it carefully.
Judging by its weight and the dull luster of the metal, it was not worth much.
Still, she bowed politely.
"Thank you," she said.
Then she turned and left.
She walked several streets away before slowing her steps. Zi'an opened her palm again and stared at the coin resting there, her expression flat.
"So stingy," she muttered.
Her annoyance did not linger on the merchant for long.
Instead, it shifted.
"I cannot believe I ended up with such a useless system," Zi'an said quietly. "Others transmigrate and receive powerful cheats or generous beginner packs. Meanwhile, I am wandering the streets like a beggar."
[You are a beggar.]
Zi'an stopped.
Her eyelid twitching.
"…Tch."
She continued walking. "Since you are so useless, I should change your name. Little Fortune is far too kind. From now on, you are Big Fat Trash."
[-…-]
[I will not be provoked.]
Zi'an shrugged. "I am not provoking you. I am stating a fact."
She glanced at her empty hands and the thin purse at her waist.
"If you are not trash," she continued evenly, "then where is my beginner's pack? What kind of merchant system leaves its host with nothing? You must be one of those bottom-of-the-barrel systems."
[…]
The silence lasted for a moment longer than necessary.
Then—
[Very well.]
Zi'an slowed her steps.
[If it is a beginner's pack you desire, I will provide one.]
Her brow lifted slightly.
[However, it will be accompanied by a task. Failure will result in punishment.]
[Ding.]
[Beginner's Guide unlocked.]
[Below are special gifts carefully curated by me, your Merchant System.]
A translucent panel unfolded before Zi'an's eyes.
Her gaze moved downward.
Then stopped.
[Beginner's Pack Contents:]
[Item: Cracked Beast Core ×100]
[Quality: Lowest]
[Value: None]
[Item: Faded Spirit Stone ×20]
A spirit stone whose spiritual energy has almost completely dissipated.
[Quality: Lowest]
[Value: Negligible]
[Item: Incomplete Beast Manual ×1]
A cultivation manual missing most core sections, rendering it unusable.
[Quality: Lowest]
[Value: None]
[Item: Blank Talisman Scroll ×10]
Scrolls unable to retain spiritual ink.
[Quality: Lowest]
[Value: None]
Zi'an stared at the panel for a long moment.
"…You did this on purpose…" she said quietly.
["…"]
[Is this ungratefulness I smell? Host asked for a beginner's guide and I gave you despite your rudeness. You have eyes yet you fail to recognise Mount Tai]
-_-
"So this is how you want to play," she murmured.
She lowered her hand and dismissed the panel.
Very well.
If the system wanted her to sell trash, then she would sell it.
And she would sell all of it.
In her past life, she had learned the art of selling a product.
And the most important thing was the appearance of the product.
The more appealing a product is, the more eyes the product attracts.
After that were the uses of the product, the use of a beast core was to boost cultivation, that was the only reason practitioner ever wanted it.
So selling a cracked beast core for the purpose of cultivation would only end in failure.
She had to find other use for beast core aside cultivation.
Can it be cooked?
Does it have healing effects?
Can it be made into medicines or pills?
Or was it just considered waste once it was cracked.
"Little fortune. If I may ask, what beast was the beast core gotten from? Is it one particular species or different types?"
[All are low-tier spirit beasts. Which originate from the forest, river, swamps. These are minor foxes, wolves, serpents and small birds. None which possess notable power.]
Zi'an's eyes flickered, a small, almost imperceptible smile forming.
"So.." she murmured, "these are the remnants of creatures that could barely sustain themselves in the wild, let alone cultivate strength."
[Correct. The difficulty level of this task is 90%. Unless you can think of a creative way to sell those beast core. You will fail this task and be ranked lower than trash.]
-_-
"Hah. You think I'm afraid. I'll find a way to sell these beast cores. Unlike you, I am not trash."
[Haha. An empty barrel makes the most noise]
-_-
Zi'an tilted her head, eyes calm but glinting with mischief.
"Empty barrels make noise? True. But even a half-filled bag of straw knows more than a talking trash heap"
"…."
[Tsk. No man likes a woman with a foul mouth. Host will die alone.]
Zi'an shrugged, she was planning on dying alone anyways.
She did not need any annoying man.
Zi'an had walked out of the merchant district and into the town. It was busier than the merchant district with carriages and people occupying the roads.
Zi'an looked around. Hoping to get a burst of creativity that would help her recycle those beast cores.
She passed by a noodle shop and her stomach growled.
How could it not?!
With the heavenly smell wafting out of the shop, it was impossible not to turn.
Zi'an wasn't sure if the coin she had with her was even considered a penny.
She would like to save herself the embarrassment of getting kicked out.
"Hey. BFT, what's the money system of this world?"
[-_-]
[This trash does not know. You're the one who is supreme, why do you not know?]
-_-
Zi'an tsked, he always had to counter her in everything.
"It's your mistake for not including it in the guide. Sure I read some parts of the novel but the monetary system wasn't explained. As a system how could you side line such an important factor.."
["…"]
[Are you giving me lectures on how to do my job?]
-_-
"No, I'm just expressing my opinion..]
[Dummies like you shouldn't have opinions. That is how you die.]
"…"