Chapter 421: More Valuable Than Imagined
Yang Haoran knew that Jiang Dashi was a man of great principle, and he also knew that Jiang Dashi was a devout believer, ready to sacrifice his life at any moment for his faith.
Although Yang Haoran didn't think this was a good thing, he had no way to intervene, because for a devout believer, their faith was more important than their life. To question their beliefs or try every possible way to change their mind would not only fail to yield the desired result, but might even backfire.
Moreover, as an Emissary of Death, Yang Haoran should have been as devout a believer in the Death God as Jiang Dashi. However, he was not, yet he couldn't show it, so he couldn't advise Jiang Dashi.
The meaning of Jiang Dashi's words at this moment was actually quite simple: any questions Yang Haoran asked next, as long as they didn't violate his principles, he could answer; but if they did, he would be powerless to help.
Fortunately, the question Yang Haoran wanted to ask was not some secret of the Underworld and wouldn't conflict with Jiang Dashi's principles.
“I just wanted to ask you about how much money one generally needs to prepare to open a shop in the Underworld. ”
Yang Haoran said with a smile. In his opinion, Jiang Dashi, as a Ghost Official, should know more about this matter than he did. Perhaps he could learn something from Jiang Dashi.
“You want to open a shop in the Underworld? ” Jiang Dashi frowned, his expression growing a bit more serious.
Judging by Jiang Dashi's facial expression, he didn't seem to think highly of Yang Haoran's idea of opening a shop in the Underworld.
“Opening a shop in the Underworld, the amount of New Beginning Coins required varies by region. The specific cost depends on which area you choose to open your shop. However, opening a shop in the Underworld is not a simple matter. Moreover, even if you successfully open one, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll make money. In the past two years, I've seen quite a few shops close down,” Jiang Dashi stated.
Yang Haoran knew that Jiang Dashi was reminding him to be cautious, but he had already considered this matter thoroughly, so he wouldn't change his decision because of Jiang Dashi's words.
“Business, you know, profit and loss are perfectly normal. However, I don't have the immediate intention to open a shop in the Underworld right now. I just want to gain a better understanding of the matter and will only proceed when the time is right,” Yang Haoran said with a smile.
Jiang Dashi nodded in understanding. He didn't try to change Yang Haoran's decision, but instead told him everything he knew.
It was four hours later when Yang Haoran emerged from Jiang Dashi's residence. Since there was no day-night cycle in the Underworld, the sky looked the same as when Yang Haoran had entered Jiang Dashi's place.
From Jiang Dashi, Yang Haoran learned many things about opening a shop in the Underworld, gaining a deeper understanding of the matter.
It was precisely because of this deeper understanding that Yang Haoran now wore a troubled expression.
According to the information he gathered from Jiang Dashi, the rent for storefronts in the Underworld was quite expensive. Even in a secluded area like the Yin-Yang Emporium, the annual rent alone was around one million New Beginning Coins. One million New Beginning Coins was equivalent to a single Soul Pill, and an Emissary of Death's annual salary was only three Soul Pills. This meant that even if he chose the most remote location in the Underworld to open a shop, the annual rent would consume one-third of his salary.
For storefronts in other areas, depending on the location and size, the rent was even more exorbitant, ranging from several million to tens of millions of New Beginning Coins.
This was merely the rent; calculating other expenses made it even more absurdly expensive. Without a certain level of financial strength, let alone opening a shop in the bustling areas of the Underworld, it would be difficult to even open one in a remote location.
At this moment, Yang Haoran felt profoundly poor. If he couldn't resolve this financial issue, his plan to open a shop in the Underworld wouldn't be able to proceed as normal.
Over the next few days, Xu Meijing rested inside the inn and didn't go out, while Yang Haoran spent his days constantly out and about.
He would figure out a way to procure New Beginning Coins, but in the meantime, he also needed to survey the market and determine what kind of shop he should eventually open, based on market demand.
While surveying the market, he could also broaden his horizons and gain a greater understanding of the Underworld.
The annual submission of souls arrived as scheduled. With last year's experience, Yang Haoran no longer felt the same curiosity this year.
As with last year, the plaza above was divided by continent, and the Emissaries of Death from each continent submitted their souls according to regulations. The process remained unchanged.
The Guardian responsible for Jingling Continent, where Yang Haoran was located, was still Luo Yao this year. However, compared to last year, Luo Yao's expression looked much better.
Of course, it was *only* much better compared to last year; Luo Yao's face still bore no smile.
Last year, after submitting souls, Yang Haoran received a total of five Soul Pills, including his salary. This year, however, he received six Soul Pills, one more than last year.
His salary was three Soul Pills, and the wánglíng he submitted exchanged for two Soul Pills; he deliberately kept the wánglíng exchange within that range.
As for the source of the other Soul Pill, it was from the soul of the Spirit Medium Du Xiao, and the Evil Spirit that Old Master Wu and the other Night Watchers had subdued.
Du Xiao was merely a Spirit Medium; without a Guardian Spirit, he couldn't even be considered a Spirit Master. Yet, his soul still exchanged for half a Soul Pill.
The Evil Spirit that was submitted, although not among the absolute strongest Evil Spirits, was still quite powerful and also exchanged for half a Soul Pill. Combined, these two yielded Yang Haoran one Soul Pill.
Ordinary wánglíng required a full ten thousand to exchange for one Soul Pill, and among these ten thousand wánglíng, regardless of their strength, all wánglíng were treated equally.
From this, it was evident how difficult it was to obtain a Soul Pill through wánglíng; after all, ten thousand wánglíng was no small number.
Precisely because of this, the fact that Du Xiao's soul plus a powerful Evil Spirit yielded one Soul Pill greatly surprised Yang Haoran.
The surprise in his heart couldn't help but remind Yang Haoran of the scene when he submitted the Evil Spirit to Deng Feng back then. Deng Feng's emotions were quite agitated when he discovered an Evil Spirit inside the Soul-Gathering Bead.
Later, when he submitted the soul of the Spirit Medium Du Xiao to Deng Feng, Deng Feng became even more excited, trying every possible way to find Du Xiao's master, Du Da.
Judging from the current situation, he understood why Deng Feng had been so agitated back then. The rewards for submitting Evil Spirits were considerable, but the rewards for submitting the souls of Spirit Mediums were even more astonishing.
Although Yang Haoran had known before that the souls of Spirit Mediums and ghostly entities above wánglíng could fetch decent rewards in the Underworld, he hadn't had a precise figure in mind. Now, having personally exchanged them, he found the rewards to be far more generous than he had imagined, which made him truly understand why Deng Feng had been so agitated back then.
Du Xiao was merely a Spirit Medium without even a Guardian Spirit, yet his soul could exchange for half a Soul Pill. Then, a powerful Spirit Master like Zhao Hong would surely yield even more astonishing rewards.
If it weren't for the consideration of needing Zhao Hong's soul and the soul of another Spirit Medium for research, Yang Haoran might have used their souls to exchange for Soul Pills as well.
According to Yang Haoran's plan, getting five Soul Pills this year, just like last year, would have been sufficient. He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise, receiving one more Soul Pill than anticipated.
As for Xu Meijing, the number of Soul Pills she harvested this year also surprised Yang Haoran. By his estimation, with Xu Meijing's capabilities, her Soul Pill yield this year should certainly have surpassed his. But the reality was different: Xu Meijing obtained one fewer Soul Pill than him this year.
This situation is around because Xu Meijing only submitted twenty thousand wánglíng this year; she had no Evil Spirits or Evil Spirit (evil Spirit) and no Spirit Medium souls.
In Yang Haoran's view, this situation shouldn't have happened. Moreover, Ancheng was larger than Lecheng and had a greater population, so its harvest shouldn't have been so meager.
With just a brief thought, Yang Haoran guessed the problem.
He believed that Xu Meijing's poor performance this year wasn't necessarily due to a lack of harvest on her part, but rather because she very likely hid more of her gains and didn't submit them.
This conjecture in his heart couldn't help but spark a hint of worry in Yang Haoran. He felt it was very necessary to give Xu Meijing a reminder.
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