Just like a person dying of thirst stumbles upon a water source, the Five Elements Spirit Spring desperately absorbed the essence of the Wild Mountain Ginseng within the brocade box and vibrated joyously.

Fortunately, since the Five Elements Spirit Spring was residing within Wang Xiaoqiang's body, colorless, tasteless, intangible, and without form, he wasn't afraid of the shop owner noticing anything. Wang Xiaoqiang's concern was about the brocade box; he feared that he might accidentally give himself away.

Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's hand resting on the brocade box and noting his slightly tense expression, the chubby shop owner thought he was dealing with a robbery and snatched the brocade box away with a swift motion, saying coldly, "Hey, are you going to buy it or not?"

Fortunately, by then, the Five Elements Spirit Spring had completely absorbed the essence of the Wild Mountain Ginseng, leaving only some broken residue behind. Otherwise, there would've indeed been a risk of the shop owner noticing.

Wang Xiaoqiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and just as he was about to speak, he heard a voice from the doorway, "Hey, boss, come here a second."

The speaker was an elderly man dressed in traditional Chinese attire with a bowler hat on his head and a black, well-worn bag in his hand, wearing a large ring on each hand. The man was around sixty years old with a ruddy complexion that indicated good health, but at this moment his face bore an unhappy expression.

The chubby shop owner saw another customer arriving, this time a finely dressed elderly man, and without further regard for whether Wang Xiaoqiang was a serious buyer or had ill intentions, he stopped paying attention to Wang Xiaoqiang, and put the brocade box back in its original place. Then, with a forced smile, he greeted the old man, "Old sir, would you like to purchase some ginseng?"

The owner's ignoring him was actually a relief to Wang Xiaoqiang because he simply couldn't afford the Wild Mountain Ginseng. Moreover, he could imagine that the ginseng inside the brocade box had turned into nothing but dregs, and if it were truly opened, though the owner might not suspect him, it would certainly strike the owner as odd.

Thinking that a sale was imminent, the owner approached with a smile, only to be met with a cold shoulder. The old man's expression turned even uglier as he angrily tossed the worn-out bag onto the glass counter and said, "Look at this crappy Wild Mountain Ginseng you're selling for two hundred and eighty thousand..."

Upon hearing this, the shop owner's face changed colors, and he sized up the old man with a careful gaze. Seeing the fat shop owner giving him the once over, the old man became even more incensed and exclaimed, "What are you looking at? The ginseng I bought the day before yesterday, do you not recognize it already?!"

As the old man raised his voice, passersby stopped to see what was happening at the shop entrance.

Seeing the gathering crowd, the shop owner's expression grew even darker; reputation was crucial for business, especially for a ginseng shop like his. If his reputation suffered, his future business would unavoidably be affected.

The owner didn't respond but stood there with a grim expression, swiftly picking up the black well-worn bag the old man had thrown on the glass counter and taking out the ginseng box from inside. In the ginseng box was a palm-size ginseng.

After glancing at the ginseng, the owner's face was a complex mix of emotions. Abruptly, he flung the ginseng box onto the ground in anger and said fiercely, "This isn't the ginseng from my shop. Get out right now, or I won't be polite!"

Wang Xiaoqiang hadn't expected such a scene to unfold.

At that moment, he was quietly sensing the changes within the Five Elements Spirit Spring inside his body. The Spirit Spring, having absorbed the essence of the Wild Mountain Ginseng, expanded like an inflated balloon, growing from the size of a duck egg to that of a goose egg before finally coming to rest at his heart.

Wang Xiaoqiang felt secretly delighted. Knowing it was unwise to linger, he decided to leave. As he walked past the ginseng box thrown on the ground by the shop owner, he paused for a moment to sense it, but the Five Elements Spirit Spring inside him remained still, as if it was satiated.

Of course, Wang Xiaoqiang knew it wasn't that the Spirit Spring had its fill, but rather that the ginseng on the ground was not Wild Mountain Ginseng at all.

Wang Xiaoqiang didn't leave immediately but stood outside the shop like a passerby, wanting to see how things would turn out.

"This is the ginseng from your shop. I bought it the afternoon before yesterday, and yesterday I had it appraised by an old alchemist. It's an artificially grown ginseng, worth no more than a thousand, yet you dared to quote me two hundred and eighty thousand.

Tell me, aren't you ripping me off?" Turning deliberately to face the onlookers gathered outside the shop, the old man recounted the series of events in an indignant but orderly manner. It was evident that he wasn't lying, and moreover, he didn't seem like someone who would frame or entrap others.

"I'm telling you, this ginseng isn't from my shop, so stop falsely accusing and framing me, or I won't be polite…"

Before the fat shopkeeper could finish, a bald youth quickly walked down from the second floor of the shop, asking fiercely as he moved, "What's going on, what's going on?"

"Afei, someone is deliberately causing trouble…" The fat shopkeeper pointed at the old man and said, "It's him. Despite his age, he has no shame, bringing a fake ginseng to frame and entrap us…"

"What, seriously?" The youth, referred to as Afei, had a brightly shining bald head with a snake tattooed on it. The large snakehead was spitting out a red, long core, looking quite sinister. Under the intimidating gazes of the onlookers, Bald Afei approached and pushed the old man without a word, threatening fiercely, "Old coot, beat it or I won't be polite."

"If you've got the guts, just try me, come on, hit me right here!" The old man, unexpectedly hardheaded, swatted away the bald man's hand and pointed at his own head, challenging the bald man.

Wang Xiaoqiang, seeing that the bald man named Afei was no pushover and that the old man was likely at a disadvantage, stepped forward to pull the old man back, giving him a meaningful glance to not be impulsive.

However, the old man merely glanced at Wang Xiaoqiang and said, "Don't pull me, today I must teach this blind fool a lesson..."

As he spoke, the old man cracked his knuckles, and with a series of snaps, not only did he not back down, he actually stepped forward towards Bald Afei.

"Pfft, old man, your body isn't even enough to take one punch from me," scoffed Afei with a sneer, then abruptly grabbed the old man's collar.

Suddenly, the old man's eyebrows shot up, and unexpectedly, he punched Afei in the stomach. Afei's face went red as if he had swallowed a gulp of strong liquor, and even though he split his lips, he managed to bear the brunt of the old man's close-range punch.

The crowd, including Wang Xiaoqiang, had not expected the sixty-year-old man to throw such a sharp punch, and they were all taken aback.

Just then, a vicious smile flashed across Afei's face, and at the same time, a crafty and sharp knee strike landed on the old man's lower abdomen. No matter how tough the old man was, with age, he grunted and toppled backward onto the ground.

As Afei rushed forward, intending to give the old man a serious beating, he didn't expect a leg to sweep towards him unexpectedly and without any technique—it was Wang Xiaoqiang's doing.

Bald Afei was streetwise and had some Kung Fu skills, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to take the old man's punch head-on. Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's leg sweep blocking his way, he scoffed in contempt, effortlessly catching Wang Xiaoqiang's ankle in his hand.

Wang Xiaoqiang had no Kung Fu skills, but ever since obtaining the Five Elements Spiritual Spring, his physique had become stronger, and he had greater-than-normal strength. Furthermore, just having absorbed the essence of their shop's Wild Mountain Ginseng, he was filled with the robust strength and confidence of the Spiritual Spring, which was why he dared to kick in support.

In Bald Afei's eyes, Wang Xiaoqiang seemed an easy target. After catching Wang Xiaoqiang's ankle, he did not flip him over as was normal, but instead, with a malicious grin, he tightened his grip. Bald Afei's hands were unusually large and strong, marked with calluses, and he was sure he could make Wang Xiaoqiang scream for mercy.

However, just as he tightened his grip, he suddenly felt a numbness in his right hand, as if he had been shocked by electricity, and at the same time, a rebounding force pried his hand away.

"Ah~~" Screamed Bald Afei, clutching his right hand with his left, sucking on his mouth as if he had swallowed hot pepper water. He was suffering from a mixture of pain, numbness, and swelling—not a pleasant feeling.

It just happened to be his bad luck, for Wang Xiaoqiang's Five Elements Spiritual Spring had just absorbed the essence of their shop's Wild Mountain Ginseng. The Spiritual Energy was abundant and rich, the Aura of Geng Metal harsher and more incisive than before. Thankfully, it wasn't Wang Xiaoqiang who had attacked him, or else he would have already been lying on the ground.

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