Upon encountering the young female bandit's questioning and wary gaze, Shang Beiyu had no choice but to release her and turn to Ji Chenhai with a gentle look: "Lord Anping, please don't misunderstand. I have no intention of harming your daughter. I only ask your daughter to come and help me refine a batch of pills."

After saying that, Shang Beiyu flipped his hand and handed a bright red fruit to Ji Fengyao, saying, "This Vermilion Fruit is my reward to the princess."

Ji Fengyao's eyes widened when she saw the fruit.

The Vermilion Fruit is the main ingredient for refining the Youth-Preserving Pill. It only grows in the fiery lands where spiritual energy is extremely abundant, and it is quite rare even in the cultivation world.

Given the concentration of spiritual energy and the terrain of this world, it is unlikely that there is a Zhu Dan fruit.

This makes the cinnabar fruit all the more precious.

Occasionally taking small profits is harmless, but receiving undeserved rewards may bring unexpected disaster.

Ji Fengyao quickly took a step back, increasing the distance between herself and Shang Beiyu, and said respectfully, "Senior, the Spirit Gathering Pill is only a first-grade pill. All the spiritual plants were prepared by you yourself. It was just a small favor for me. The Vermilion Fruit you are giving me is too precious. I cannot accept it."

"I obtained this by chance during my travels in this world. Although it is precious, it is of little use to me. I might as well give it to the princess and make a good connection." Shang Beiyu insisted on presenting the Vermilion Fruit and the jade box in his hand to Ji Fengyao and said, "The princess is the only alchemist in this world. If nothing unexpected happens, I will ask the princess to refine pills in the future."

Ji Fengming was somewhat tempted by Ji Fengyao's appearance, and this person also said that he had already asked his sister to refine the pills and that he would come to visit again in the future.

So he reached out and snatched the jade box containing the vermilion fruit, saying, "What a fine thing this is. Since he insists on giving it to me, it's fine for you to accept it. Anyway, if he comes to me again to refine pills, I can't beat him, and I don't have the ability to refuse him yet. It's better to accept this benefit and not let him serve me as a servant for nothing."

Ji Chenhai raised his hand and gave Ji Fengming a flick on the forehead, angrily saying, "You good-for-nothing! How could you accept someone's things so easily? Didn't you hear him say that he'll still be looking for your sister in the future? If you're going to accept something, accept several more!"

Ji Fengyao: "..."

Shang Xiye: "..."

Black Owl: "..."

Shang Beiyu's face twitched under the mask, feeling embarrassed. He then took out several black boxes and said, "These are some auxiliary ingredients for refining the Youth-Preserving Pill. I'll give them to the Princess as well."

"Only a few ingredients? No more?" Ji Chenhai quickly reached out and snatched the black boxes back, then turned to ask Ji Fengyao, "Yao'er, how many herbs do you need to refine that Youth-Preserving Pill? He seems like a rich man. Tell him, and if he has them, I'll give them to you all at once, so you don't have to keep asking for them, it's too much trouble."

Shang Beiyu: "..."

Shouldn't a thank-you gift be whatever amount the recipient gives?

Is this considered forced buying and selling?

No wonder he was once a bandit leader; he tried to extort money from us the moment we met.

However, he was not one of those stingy and narrow-minded mortals in Kyoto. These spiritual plants or things from the mortal world were of no use to him.

“Yes, little sister, I think this brother is quite wealthy and generous, and he sincerely wants to be friends with us. Dad asked you to give us a list, so why don’t you just give us one?” Ji Fengming said to Shang Beiyu in a rather familiar tone, “Brother, don’t you think so?”

Even though he knew the father and son were setting him up, Shang Beiyu didn't care.