"It's good to meet you too, Herbalist Elias." Xu Feng smiled amicably, ensuring none of his shrewd thoughts were exposed.
"I'm Lin Feng, and I came here specifically to conduct a trade with a person of value." He introduced himself in return, his tone filled with politeness.
"A person of value?" Elias raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by the use of words.
"Ah, apologies for my blunt remark, Herbalist Elais. I've been traveling in the wilderness for a while, but none have been able to detect the true values of the herbs in my possession. And today, I've finally found someone who understands the herbs' value and its importance." Xu Feng explained, casually lying with a straight face.
His expression and body language were completely natural, almost as if he was speaking the truth. Of course, to lie with a straight face takes experience and confidence, otherwise, the lie would be easily exposed.
This was also why he was able to deceive the guards from the Miracle Herb Garden despite having zero proof of identity. His demeanor and gestures alone were able to convince them.
Meanwhile, Elias' expression brightened up the moment Xu Feng finished his explanation.
Although it was a simple compliment, Elias was delighted to hear someone complimenting his recognition of great herbs.
"Haha, you sure know how to sweet talk someone, adventurer." Elias laughed heartily.
"So I heard from receptionist Sandy that you wanted to conduct the trade of herbs in a private room. May I know what kind of price you wished for?" He subsequently asked, getting down to the business.
It appeared that he could no longer wait to get his hands on the herbs under Xu Feng's possession.
The conversation continued to drag on for a while, only because Xu Feng wanted to manipulate Elias' emotions.
If Elias could get the herbs easily without much difficulty, then he would only take it for granted and not appreciate him much.
'Those who take things for granted will never be grateful.' Xu Feng sneered inwardly, having learned this lesson quite painfully. He would never commit the same mistake twice.
Sometime later, Elias was no longer able to compose himself further.
"Adventurer Lin Feng, just speak your mind freely and tell me how much you want in exchange for the herbs." He said, his body trembling slightly from excitement and anxiousness.
"I believe Herbalist Elias would give me a great offering," Xu Feng smiled amicably, proceeding to retrieve half of the rare herbs onto the table.
Half of these herbs are things that Xu Feng won't be able to capitalize upon for profits. These were merely herbs that were rare and had a valuable price value on them, similar to gems like diamonds.
Elias' eyes sparkled in glitter when he saw all of the rare herbs glistening on the table. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and was barely able to control his actions of snatching all of the herbs into his pocket.
"You are free to inspect them, Herbalist Elias." Xu Feng chuckled softly.
"Originally, I planned to sell it at a higher price, but seeing your enthusiasm and admiration of the herbs, I decided not to. Instead, I hope that we can discuss and share our views of the herbs such as recipes." He added, painting himself in an honorable light.
Receptionist Sandy, who was standing by the background, seemed to find Xu Feng's words confusing and misleading. Yet she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong in his speech.
As for Elias, he was exhilarated after being placed in anticipation and nervousness all this time to notice the hidden intention of Xu Feng's speech.
"Haha, of course, Adventurer Lin Feng. It's always been my pleasure to share some of my views of herbs with a fellow enthusiast." Elias laughed heartily, his hands already picking up the herbs.
The moment his hand came into contact with the herbs, it was as if Elias had become possessed.
His eyes sparkled brightly, and his facial expression changed drastically. Going from an elderly man, the current Elias displayed a behavior no different than a five-year-old kid.
'Is it really true that NPCs are still somewhat robotic in the early stages? How come this old man can display such emotion?' Xu Feng was dumbfounded by the scene in front of him.
He couldn't comprehend the emotion and actions displayed by Elias.
According to his knowledge, the NPCs would only begin to show such in-depth human-like behavior during the game's third update.
'Seems like my actions are really affecting the world,' he thought to himself, feeling more certain about how his actions and influence had impacted the Divine World.
Alas, there was no turning back now that he had come this far, and neither would he suddenly get cold feet and attempt to reverse the situation.
At best, the game would simply proceed forward at a faster rate than in the past.
This kind of development would merely affect the players who had zero knowledge of the game and are still trying to explore this vast new world.
Why should he shackle himself to allow others to catch up?
Time slowly passed by, and Herbalist Elias had long submerged into his own world, occasionally mumbling a herb name from time to time.
Xu Feng also didn't wish to interrupt his moment for now, lest he might get a bad impression instead.
Thankfully, Xu Feng's waiting time was saved by the receptionist.
"Herbalist Elias, I'm sorry to disturb you, but time is running out and I remember you telling me to remind you of the matter." Receptionist Sandy stepped forward and reported.
A few seconds later, Elias regained his composure upon the mention of the matter.
"Ah, how embarrassing of me." Elias scratched his head, seemingly ashamed of his earlier demeanor.
"Adventurer Lin Feng, I apologize for wasting your precious time. To compensate for that, here's an old book of mine that I kept regarding my research of herbs and recipes."
System: Congratulations to Adventurer Lin Feng for opening the rapport relationship with Herbalist Elias!