Tomb Raider: Evolution of the Red Dragon, Starting from the Ancient City of Jingjue

The old man's words successfully caught their attention.

They immediately stopped in their tracks, looking at the old man in shock. Qin Feng quickly took out his compass.

The compass was veering east and west, never settling on a fixed direction, so it seemed that the compass had indeed malfunctioned here.

They exchanged glances, then looked at the old man.

"Sir, why did you call us over?"

Old Wang stepped forward and spoke to the old man in a kind and gentle manner.

Since the compass here is broken, they can no longer follow the directions shown on the map.

They had just noticed that even the orientation on the computer screen was slightly incorrect.

After the old man noticed their change in attitude, he immediately adopted a haughty posture, placing his hands behind his back and looking at them with great arrogance.

At this moment, Old Wang understood what the old man meant and quickly took out a small gift from his pocket and handed it to the old man.

The old man seemed quite satisfied with what Old Wang handed him.

So he nodded and looked at Old Wang with an expression that said, "This kid is teachable."

"You won't give me anything unless I force you to say the important thing, but you little things are still not enough to get the most important thing."

Like a greedy businessman, the old man put the things that Lao Wang had just given him into his pocket, and then continued to watch Jiang Hua and Lao Wang and the others.

Jiang Hua, Lao Wang, and the others couldn't help but frown at the old man's shamelessness.

However, since this old man was a local strongman, they had no choice but to compromise for the time being.

After all, this village is far too backward. If they really wanted to find their destination on their own, it would probably take them a long time.

"Sir, just tell me what price range you'd like."

Old Wang had worked alongside his second uncle for many years and knew that dragging things out wouldn't get him anywhere.

So, steeling his resolve, he spoke to the old man in front of him.

This old man seemed to have negotiated with many tomb raiders, and the number he quoted was quite outrageous.

"Grandpa, isn't this number a bit too much? Look at us, we're all poor people, how can we afford this amount? Please, be generous and let us off the hook."

The old man said 50,000 yuan. 50,000 yuan for so many people is much better than what the previous villager had said…
But Lao Wang still felt that the number was too much and continued to stare at it.

Chen Le, who was standing next to him, felt that 50,000 yuan was nothing to him.

So he tugged at Old Wang's sleeve, indicating that he could pay that price.

But Old Wang seemed determined to argue with the old man, and started putting his hands on his hips and arguing with him.

Seeing that Lao Wang was so persistent, Jiang Hua, Qin Feng, and the others knew that if they let him continue arguing, it might go on until dark.

"Grandpa, the number you mentioned is a bit difficult for us, but if the few of us pool our resources, we can still reach that number."

Jiang Hua put on the act of a poor young man, as if this price was really a huge burden for them.

Looking at Jiang Hua and Qin Feng's expressions, the old man seemed to think that the price he had quoted was a bit excessive for them.

After thinking for a while, he spoke to the group of them.

"If you think this price is too high, it's not impossible to reduce it a bit. How about 30,000 yuan?"

The old man put on the appearance of a great benefactor and looked at Jiang Hua, Qin Feng, and the others.

It was as if he were showing them some great mercy by stating that number. "That price is acceptable."

Chen Le extended his hand in agreement; he wasn't short of money anyway.

Thirty thousand yuan was nothing to him. When he first heard that it was fifty thousand yuan, he thought it was a good deal and was about to give the money to the old man.

It was just that Jiang Hua stopped him from paying. Seeing how readily Chen Le agreed, the old man suddenly seemed to realize that he hadn't shouted enough.

"I regret it now, I'd rather have 50,000 yuan."

The old man crossed his arms, looking like he wouldn't give any room for negotiation.

Seeing the old man's flip-flopping attitude, Jiang Hua wanted to rush up and give him a good beating.

Chen Le was also unhappy about this.

Although he is rich, he is not the kind of person who would be easily fooled.

Seeing the old man raising the price on the spot, Chen Le stepped forward immediately, his aggressive demeanor making people wonder if he would harm the old man.

"If you don't want to, then you can leave. See if the others are willing to take you there."

The old man, arms crossed, still looked at Jiang Hua and Chen Le with an arrogant air.

Jiang Hua and Chen Le exchanged glances and couldn't help but frown.

Because they didn't know what the old man meant by those words. Did the other villagers all feel resistant to their arrival?

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask other people, but there aren’t many people in our village. Whether you can find anyone is another matter. And I’m telling you this now: if you miss out on me, you’ll definitely regret it later.”

The old man turned to leave as he spoke.

Jiang Hua, Chen Le, and the others were taken aback by the old man's arrogant demeanor.

In the end, Qin Feng stepped forward and stopped the old man, and at that moment Yun stepped forward.

“Sir, look at us, we’re all poor guys. Your sudden price increase is a blow to us. It’s not that we don’t want to pay you, it’s just that your sudden price hike makes us feel a bit wronged.”

As Yun spoke, she looked aggrieved, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Perhaps it was Yun's charming appearance that made people feel as if they had done something wrong.

So when the old man saw Yun's appearance, he touched his nose a little embarrassedly, as if he was beginning to reflect on his behavior just now.

After Yun's complaints, the old man seemed to realize that his behavior just now was somewhat inappropriate, so he walked up to Jiang Hua, Qin Feng, and the others.

"Luckily, this little girl can talk, otherwise you grown men would really make me very angry. Considering that my behavior just now was also a bit inappropriate, I'll give you ten thousand yuan less. I won't accept any less."

The old man gave a light snort, speaking with a rather arrogant tone.

At this point, Chen Le stopped pretending to be a big shot and silently stood aside waiting for Jiang Hua and Qin Feng to make their move.

He knew that his behavior earlier was somewhat inappropriate, which led to the subsequent events.

After thinking for a while, Jiang Hua stepped forward and silently handed over 40,000 yuan to the old man. The old man was satisfied after looking at the money in his hand.

"You should have done this sooner."

After putting the money in his pocket, the old man didn't say much. He turned around, waved to Jiang Hua and Qin Feng, and then walked away into the distance.

Seeing the old man's condition, they knew he was leading them to their destination. Although the information was valuable, Jiang Hua and the others had no other choice. (End of Chapter)