Chapter 333: Blood Red Unicorn King
On the way, Qi Han exchanged a few casual words with the girl and gained a bit more understanding of her.
Her name was An Qiongju, and her father was An Long, the owner of the largest commercial firm in Nanyin City—An Trading Company.
As the biggest firm in the city, it was only natural that An Trading was involved in the highly profitable spirit beast trade, including the buying and selling of Blood Red Unicorns.
An Qiongju hadn't lied. Her family's unicorn business was indeed the largest in Nanyin City and was clearly the best choice for Qi Han.
It just so happened that she had come out to stroll and shop today, noticed Qi Han's Pururu, and struck up a conversation.
As the saying goes: fate works in mysterious ways.
An Trading wasn't far from where they had started—about a kilometer. After ten minutes of walking, Qi Han saw the grand plaque of An Trading Company.
"We're here! So? Pretty impressive, right?" An Qiongju said proudly.
Having seen places like the Starlight Auction House and Shrek City Grand Auction House, Qi Han wasn't exactly stunned by the sight, but seeing An Qiongju so pleased, he chuckled inwardly and nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's quite impressive."
"Of course it is! Let me tell you, our family—" She was about to keep bragging when a warm voice suddenly interrupted her.
"Qiongju, why are you back already?"
Following the voice, a figure slowly approached. It was a middle-aged man, simply dressed but clearly wearing garments of fine quality. A gentle smile was on his face, though his gaze slowly shifted over to Qi Han, evaluating him.
Hmm… An Qiongju brought back a handsome young man. Not bad, not bad…
But… isn't he a bit old? This lad looks at least in his twenties… Qiongju is only sixteen. Not ideal, not ideal…
"Father!"
"Ah? Ah!" Her voice snapped An Long back to his senses. Looking at his daughter, his smile deepened. "What were you saying?"
"I said, this is a customer I brought back. He wants to buy a Blood Red Unicorn." An Qiongju winked. "Well? Isn't your daughter amazing?"
So he's a customer…
An Long felt a tinge of disappointment, but it quickly faded. He turned to Qi Han with a more courteous tone. "And you are…?"
"Qi Han."
"Mr. Qi, we at An Trading have two methods for purchasing unicorns," An Long explained.
"Oh?" Qi Han raised a curious brow. "Do tell."
"The first is straightforward. Each unicorn has a set price—ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 Gold Coins. You can pick freely, and we will give a detailed explanation of each unicorn's traits. Honest trading—no tricks."
"As for the second option…" An Long smiled. "Aside from our clearly priced Blood Red Unicorns, we also have a batch whose quality isn't so easy to determine. As spirit beasts, it's not unusual for them to have unique traits or mutations. These unicorns aren't priced individually. You pay 2,000 Gold Coins and choose one at random."
"But let me be clear—once chosen, no returns or exchanges, no matter the outcome."
I see.
Qi Han understood now.
The first method was simple and safe. The second was more like a gamble—high risk, high reward. But for those with keen eyes, it could be a golden opportunity.
"I noticed that the most expensive unicorn in the first option is 3,000 coins? Could I take a look at that one?" Qi Han asked after a brief thought.
He personally leaned toward the second method. After all, with Ru Yi, his overpowered cheat companion, he had nothing to fear when it came to judging quality.
Still, before making his decision, he wanted to see the best the first tier had to offer.
"Oh?" An Long's eyes lit up slightly. His seasoned gaze could tell Qi Han wasn't just posturing—he actually had money. So he chuckled and said, "Of course, please follow me."
"Qiongju, watch the front for me."
"Ah? Okay." An Qiongju plopped down on the lounge in the main hall and nodded.
But as Qi Han turned to leave with her father, Pururu—still in her arms—started to squirm.
"Meow~!"
It wriggled twice and then leapt gracefully onto Qi Han's shoulder.
"Pururu, don't go!" An Qiongju blinked, clearly unhappy.
She hadn't cuddled enough yet!
Qi Han chuckled and patted the cat on his shoulder. "Stay here. I'll bring you some dried fish later."
"Meow~"
Hearing that, Pururu immediately jumped back into An Qiongju's arms.
"Such a clever cat," An Long remarked, visibly surprised.
He hadn't paid much attention to the feline in An Qiongju's arms earlier, assuming it was just a little pet she had picked up while out shopping.
Now, seeing it leap so naturally back onto Qi Han's shoulder and respond to his words, he realized the cat actually belonged to him—and not only that, it was a spirit beast, and an unusually intelligent one at that.
A spirit beast cat of this caliber wasn't cheap—possibly even more valuable than a Blood Red Unicorn. This gave An Long a much clearer picture of Qi Han's wealth, and the look in his eyes grew warmer with interest.
Soon, Qi Han followed An Long to the section where the Blood Red Unicorns were sold. Each unicorn was kept in its own fenced enclosure, with wooden plaques hanging on the railings listing their price, strength, physical condition, and other details.
They hadn't gone far when Qi Han spotted the 3,000 Gold Coins unicorn.
Based on the plaque, it was a hundred-year-level spirit beast, just like the others. But in comparison to those around it, this one stood out strikingly.
It was visibly larger and more muscular than its peers, its body packed with rippling power.
Most eye-catching of all was the horn on its head—longer, smoother, and more crystalline than the others.
Hmm…
Qi Han blinked and showed a hint of interest.
Seeing this, An Long began explaining, "This Blood Red Unicorn, upon our inspection, has shown signs of atavism—a reversion to ancestral traits. Its bloodline has been purified through mutation, which makes it stronger than others of the same level. We call such beasts the Blood Red Unicorn King."
Atavism and bloodline purification?
Qi Han stared at the unicorn thoughtfully, then asked inwardly, "Ru Yi, what do you think of this one?"
"It's decent," Ru Yi replied quickly. "Normally, Blood Red Unicorns max out at the thousand years old level in terms of racial potential. They're good mounts—durable—but not particularly outstanding. This one, however, if nurtured properly, might reach the ten-thousand-year level."
Ten-thousand-year level?
That was definitely impressive.
Still, Qi Han was intrigued by the second purchasing method and wanted to give it a try.
"Shopkeeper An, I'd like to try the second method," he said.
An Long wasn't surprised. This "mystery selection" approach was unique to An Trading, something only a firm of their scale could support—after all, it required keeping a large and varied stock.
Most first-time buyers wanted to experience the thrill of picking one themselves.
"Of course, please follow me."
With that, An Long led Qi Han to a different stable.
This one was distinct from the first. The unicorns here were kept together in a shared space, not individually caged. The stable was large—easily big enough to house several dozen beasts.
"All of the unicorns available under the second method are here. Mr. Qi, feel free to pick any one of them. All are priced at 2,000 Gold Coins."
Qi Han nodded in understanding and stepped into the stable.
Inside were about thirty Blood Red Unicorns, each visibly different from the standard. All had some kind of mutation.
One had two horns instead of one, another lacked the species' distinctive crimson markings, and one even had a completely different coat color—if not for the horn, Qi Han would've thought it was a regular horse.
Just by looking, Qi Han wouldn't know which to choose. But that wasn't a problem—for Ru Yi, this was child's play.
"Ru Yi, is there one here with greater potential than the unicorn king we saw earlier?"
If not, Qi Han planned to go back and spend 3,000 coins on that atavistic one.
"Let me check," Ru Yi replied, pausing for a moment before continuing with a note of intrigue.
"You know what? There is one."
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