The Mighty Mage-Chapter 427: Manager Zhang

Manager Zhang’s expression darkened as he turned to the employee. "Is this true?"

The employee hesitated before crossing his arms.

"Sir, these two clearly don’t belong here. We can’t have beggars loitering—" freewebnøvel.coɱ

Slap!

The crisp sound echoed through the store as Manager Zhang struck the employee across the face.

"You fool!" Manager Zhang barked. "How dare you treat potential customers like this? Have you forgotten our store’s principles?"

The employee staggered back, eyes wide in shock. "B-but—"

"No excuses!" Manager Zhang snapped. He turned back to Gu Jin, his voice lowering into a more respectful tone.

"My apologies, miss. This is not how our establishment should operate. Please, allow me to personally assist you."

Long Yifan whistled under his breath, leaning in toward Gu Jin.

"I gotta say, I like this guy’s reaction."

Gu Jin ignored him, keeping her gaze on Manager Zhang.

She didn’t drop her act just yet. Instead, she played along, her voice still meek.

"I just... I wanted to buy some cultivation pills for my mother. But if they’re too expensive, I understand..."

Manager Zhang immediately shook his head.

"Nonsense! We have a variety of pills, and I’ll personally find the best option for you."

He signaled another attendant, who scurried to bring over a selection of bottles.

Gu Jin reached out and picked one up, examining it closely. Her keen eye quickly spotted a problem.

"This isn’t right," she murmured.

Manager Zhang frowned. "What do you mean?"

Gu Jin lifted the bottle for him to see.

"This pill is labeled as high-quality, but its color is off. The refinement process was flawed."

A hush fell over the attendants. Manager Zhang took the bottle and examined it, his expression growing grim.

Gu Jin placed another bottle on the counter.

"And this one—look at the texture. It’s an old batch, probably ineffective by now."

A few customers who had been browsing stopped to listen, murmuring amongst themselves.

Manager Zhang’s face paled. He turned to the attendants. "Who stocked these?"

The attendants shifted uncomfortably, none of them willing to speak up.

Long Yifan smirked. "Well, well. Seems like someone’s been cutting corners."

Manager Zhang’s jaw tightened. He turned back to Gu Jin, bowing slightly.

"Miss, you seem knowledgeable in alchemy. May I ask for a favor? Can you inspect all the pills in our storage room, too?"

Gu Jin showed a meek demeanor and said,

"But...but...I may not be that talented..."

"Miss, you are very talented. Please do as a favor, and in return, we will give you cultivation pills for free." Manager Zhang proposed with a grin on his face.

Gu Jin blinked innocently, hesitating as if considering his offer. Inside, however, she was analyzing Manager Zhang’s expression.

He seemed earnest, but she was no fool—there was a chance he was simply trying to appease her to avoid further embarrassment.

Long Yifan, standing beside her, nudged her lightly with his elbow.

"Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Free pills and all."

Gu Jin shot him a side glance before looking back at Manager Zhang.

"Alright," she finally said in a hesitant tone. "If you really trust me, I’ll take a look."

Manager Zhang immediately gestured toward the back of the store.

"Please, come this way."

Gu Jin followed him, maintaining her meek act.

Long Yifan trailed behind, hands in his pockets, his usual smirk playing on his lips.

As they entered the storage room, rows upon rows of wooden shelves lined the walls, filled with countless bottles of medicinal pills.

The scent of herbs and alchemical ingredients hung thick in the air.

Manager Zhang bowed slightly.

"Miss, please take your time inspecting the stock. I will personally oversee any necessary corrections."

Gu Jin nodded and stepped forward, picking up a bottle from the nearest shelf.

She examined it closely, her sharp gaze catching small inconsistencies.

"This one’s refinement is incomplete," she murmured. "The medicinal properties haven’t fully merged, which means it won’t be as effective as advertised."

She placed it aside and grabbed another.

"And this—this batch is over three years old. It’s already lost most of its potency."

Long Yifan whistled. "Wow, they’ve really been slacking here, huh?"

Manager Zhang’s face darkened further with every bottle she examined.

More than half of the stock had issues—some pills were expired, others were of lower quality than their labels claimed, and a few were even contaminated.

"This is unacceptable," he muttered, clenching his fists.

Gu Jin turned to face him, her meek act dropping entirely. Her voice turned cold. "Yes, it is."

Manager Zhang turned toward her and said with a dark face,

"No one should know what you know, and that is unacceptable."

Long Yifan’s casual smirk froze. His gaze flickered between Manager Zhang and Gu Jin, sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere.

Gu Jin, however, remained calm. She tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing. "Oh? And what exactly do you mean by that, Manager Zhang?"

Manager Zhang took a step forward, his once respectful demeanor now replaced with an eerie coldness.

The attendants in the storage room subtly backed away as if they knew what was coming.

"You’re too perceptive," he said, his voice low.

"Too knowledgeable for a mere customer."

He reached into his sleeve, his fingers brushing against something hidden.

"If word gets out about these pills, my business—no, my entire operation—will be ruined."

Long Yifan sighed, shaking his head.

"Ah, I was really starting to like this guy. But of course, things have to get complicated."

Gu Jin let out a soft chuckle, unbothered.

"So? What now? Are you going to try and silence me?"

Manager Zhang’s eyes flickered with malice. "You leave me no choice."

Long Yifan’s smirk widened as he cracked his knuckles. "Oh, I’d love to see you try."

Gu Jin, however, remained utterly calm. She tilted her head, watching Manager Zhang’s every move.

The man’s fingers twitched, and in the next instant, he flicked his wrist. A sharp gleam of light shot toward Gu Jin—poisoned needles!

Clang!

Before the needles could reach her, a flick of Gu Jin’s sleeve sent a pulse of energy outward, knocking them away midair.

They clattered uselessly to the ground.

Manager Zhang’s pupils shrank. "You—"

Before Manager Zhang could react further, Gu Jin moved.

With a mere flick of her wrist, emerald-green vines erupted from the ground, twisting and lashing toward him with deadly precision.

Their tips glowed ominously, oozing a faint toxic mist.

Manager Zhang leaped back, flames bursting from his palms to burn away the encroaching vines.

"Poison affinity," he muttered darkly. "So you’re not as simple as you pretend to be."

His aura surged, revealing his Super Rank power.

Fire roared around him like a living beast, countering the poisonous vines. But Gu Jin remained unfazed.

"I’m flattered you’d use so much strength just for me," she said coolly, stepping lightly to the side as one of his fire whips lashed toward her.

With a simple motion, a cluster of thorned vines burst from the ground, intercepting the attack.

The flames consumed them, but more instantly grew in their place.

Long Yifan whistled. "I swear, I was just here to buy pills."

The attendants sprang into action.

At Advanced Rank, their fire and water elements were weaker than Manager Zhang’s but still dangerous.

One of them launched a torrent of water toward Gu Jin, while another shot a fireball straight at her back.

"Really? So predictable," Gu Jin murmured.

She twisted her fingers, and thick brambles surged up from the floor, absorbing the water attack.

At the same time, she sidestepped, letting the fireball miss her by an inch.

Then, a sinister chill filled the air.

Behind her, a figure emerged—a towering humanoid creature with sickly greenish skin, its eerie glowing eyes fixated on the battlefield.

A mere wave of its hand summoned an earthen barrier to deflect a second wave of attacks.

"W-what is that?!" One of the attendants stumbled back.

Gu Jin allowed a faint, knowing smirk. "An undead guardian," she said softly.

In truth, it was her skeleton warrior, masked with an illusion to resemble a reanimated corpse.

And while it seemed to cast Earth spells, the dark energy weaving through its attacks was none other than her own Dark Fire magic, cleverly disguised.

"No time to be scared! Attack together!" Manager Zhang barked, regaining his composure. He unleashed a massive firestorm, the scorching heat warping the air.

Gu Jin’s emerald eyes gleamed as she weaved her fingers in the air.

Her poisonous vines writhed violently, but she knew they wouldn’t hold against such intense flames.

So she didn’t resist.

Instead, she stepped back—and her undead warrior stepped forward.

With an earth-shaking roar, it slammed its fists into the ground.

Dark energy, cleverly concealed beneath an earthy glow, erupted like a shockwave.

The ground cracked, and ghostly black tendrils shot out, consuming the firestorm in an unnatural void.

Manager Zhang staggered, eyes widening.

"Impossible!" He poured more power into his flames, but it was too late. The dark energy had swallowed his attack whole. The attendants gasped in terror.