Chapter 77: The Dilemma
Chapter 77: The Dilemma
“How much?”
Gao Jing finished putting his clothes back on and asked Fan Hu, who stood beside him.
The Titan Totem design was very complex. Even though it didn’t need shading or colors.
Getting it tattooed at this level clearly showed the artist’s skill.
The totem covered about 80% of Gao Jing’s back. The lines were smooth and perfectly connected, without a single mistake. The result was flawless!
Though Fan Hu had said earlier that the tattoo would be free if Gao Jing sparred with him.
Gao Jing had no intention of getting something for nothing.
“I told you, not necessary.”
Fan Hu waved his hand heartily. “Meeting a master like you today is totally worth it!”
Gao Jing smiled.
“I see.”
He thought for a moment, then took his handbag.
He pulled out a red sandalwood bracelet and handed it to Fan Hu. “A small gift, Brother Tiger. Hope you don’t mind.”
Gao Jing knew artists charged by time for tattoos.
Fan Hu had worked on him for over three hours – the normal fee wouldn’t be cheap.
Not paying felt rude, but paying was refused.
So returning the favor with this bracelet felt just right.
Gao Jing had originally made eight bracelets at Beiyang’s rosewood street to give as friendship tokens.
Two were already gone.
One went to Niu Jinxing, who was now a friend.
The other to someone whose name he didn’t know, only being called by… noises.
“Wowza!”
Fan Hu knew his stuff.
Seeing the premium-grade sandalwood bracelet in Gao Jing’s hand, he gasped. “This is too expensive!”
“It’s my business,”
Gao Jing pressed the bracelet into Fan Hu’s palm. “Meeting is fate. Consider us friends.”
Fan Hu’s tattoo skills were top-notch. Gao Jing would likely need his help again in the future.
The Titan Totem was just the beginning.
Plus, Gao Jing thought Fan Hu had great character: generous, straightforward, and pretty simple-hearted.
Worth knowing as a friend.
Fan Hu hesitated, then nodded. “Alright! As long as you don’t mind lowly me, we’re friends!”
He deeply admired Gao Jing’s strength.
Moreover, Gao Jing’s clothes, speech, and presence weren’t like a common person’s at all.
Frankly, Fan Hu felt he was the one gaining status by befriending Gao Jing.
He thumped his chest firmly. “From now on, anytime you want a tattoo here, it’s free!”
Gao Jing gave a slight smile.
After adding each other on WeChat, he said, “Brother Tiger, I need to go now. Let’s meet again soon.”
Fan Hu didn’t keep him. “Sure! Contact me anytime. Come hang out when you’re free!”
He personally walked Gao Jing to the elevator.
Watching Gao Jing leave in the elevator, Fan Hu immediately rushed back inside and yelled to his little sister, “Quick! Get me a clean white towel!”
Wei Zi glanced at her big brother, opened the storage drawer, pulled out a towel, and tossed it at him.
Fan Hu caught it, wrapped the sandalwood bracelet inside, and carefully wiped off the sweat from his hands.
This top-grade wood was still very new. It hadn’t been handled much yet, so it wasn’t ready to be played with directly.
Seeing the beautiful, full patterns on the bracelet, he couldn’t help but grin wide.
He’d hit the jackpot today!
Not only meeting an absolute master, but also scoring a top-tier sandalwood bracelet.
He felt awesome!
Fan Hu was still reveling in his joy when a slender hand suddenly snatched the bracelet and towel right beside him!
Fan Hu froze. “What are you doing?”
Wei Zi, the snatcher, said coldly, “Sell this thing.”
“No way!” Fan Hu panicked. “It’s a gift from a friend! How can I sell it?”
“Why not?”
Wei Zi sneered. “You’ve got so many friends. This one gets free tattoos, that one gets drinks… You let them eat and drink for free.”
She glanced at the men and women messing around by the boxing ring, annoyance flashing in her eyes.
“This shop is nearly bankrupt because of you and your friends. Don’t you even know that?”
Fan Hu instantly fell silent.
His sister was right. He really wasn’t a competent shop owner in this regard.
But selling the bracelet Gao Jing just gave him…
Fan Hu scratched his head, looking at his sister with pleading eyes.
Seeing this, Wei Zi shoved the bracelet back at him. “Sell it or not, you decide!”
She ignored her foolish big brother!
Fan Hu sighed with a bitter smile.
Meanwhile, Gao Jing, who had just stepped out of the building, knew nothing of Fan Hu’s inner struggle.
He headed straight for the farmer’s market at top speed.
He bought 100 tons of coarse salt for consumption.
This time, Gao Jing went to a different wholesaler. He avoided the salt seller he’d bought from the last two times.
That guy talked far too much.
Gao Jing planned that after this salt purchase,
he wouldn’t return to that seller.
He sensed the growing urgency of setting up a trading company.
Going himself every time to inspect goods and haggle over prices – plus dealing in bulk orders of dozens or hundreds of tons…
Was just far too troublesome!
Two days later, Gao Jing received the salt delivery at the decoration market.
He had the workers stack all the salt bags inside his warehouse.
Gao Jing shut the security door.
First, he took out all the Rosewood previously stored in his Copper Anchor Storage Space and began filling the space with salt bags instead.
The Shan Yue Tribe had over 700 giants.
Don’t be fooled by Gao Jing bringing tens of tons each time.
For the Shan Yue Giants, that amount was like a drop in the bucket.
Honestly, all Gao Jing’s salt was prioritized by the Elder Shaman for the tribe’s young warriors.
They were the main hunting force, the core power defending the village.
They needed the salt most for strength.
Regular tribe members, especially the elderly in the village, still mostly ate that bitter black rock salt.
Gao Jing desperately wanted to change this, so all giants in Shan Yue Village could eat good salt!
But something unexpected happened. Gao Jing had packed barely two tons of salt.
The Power of Faith within the Bronze Anchor suddenly felt nearly drained!
The Storage Space appeared after the Bronze Anchor leveled up. Its power was incredible.
It gave Gao Jing his foundation as a trader across worlds.
The Bronze Anchor itself leveled up using the Power of Faith.
But more than that, simply putting things into or taking things out of the Storage Space used that energy too!
The more items it held, or the more times it was used, the greater the drain.
Lately, Gao Jing had been focused entirely on training with the Records of the Great Wilderness Combat, chasing superhuman power.
He hadn’t bothered gathering Power of Faith at all.
His previous reserves, plus whatever tiny bits he picked up occasionally,
had lasted this long purely through luck!
Feeling something was wrong, Gao Jing stopped loading salt bags.
If he used up the last scraps of Power of Faith, he couldn’t retrieve anything from the space!
Other stuff didn’t matter much. But the Talisman Placard the Elder Shaman gave him was his lifeline!
Now a dilemma plagued Gao Jing.
Should he figure out a way to gather some Power of Faith first,
then take all this salt back to the Great World?
Or should he go straight to the Great World to undergo the Totem Warrior advancement ritual?
The choice wasn’t really that hard.
Gao Jing quickly made his decision!