Chapter 23: There Are Two Suns in the Sky

The work of receiving customers in front of Hua Feng Ju wasn’t difficult either; Hong Mei had hired the necessary staff.

But outsiders were never truly one’s own, and Hong Mei couldn’t just take anyone as a disciple.

So, Zhong Ningyao went to the back chamber to assist Hong Mei, while Yulou was given the task of guarding the shop.

Thanks to the pre-promotion of the Red Lantern Immortal Edition Double Eleven event, the number of cultivators in Qingxi Fang surged to the point where many had to sleep on the streets, and thus Hua Feng Ju’s customer count had also increased recently.

But...

Yulou lay on his chair reading a cultivator’s travelogue, and upon noticing newcomers, he glanced at them with the corner of his eye and immediately knew they were merely here to observe.

A low-grade magic treasure forged by a proper alchemist, once it bore the three basic seals, cost at least forty spirit stones.

Forty spirit stones were trivial compared to the “apprenticeship fee” paid by Yulou and his brother, and paled beside the Mirror Silver Thread Shield.

Yet even this small amount, many free cultivators couldn’t afford.

In battle, they often relied on simple spells, basic talismans, and mundane weapons infused with spiritual materials—so they wouldn’t lose money.

Yes, they wouldn’t lose.

Due to the poverty of free cultivators, many were so destitute that even if squeezed dry, they couldn’t scrape together fifty spirit stones.

If the talismans used in battle were too expensive, even after looting the battlefield, they’d still end up in the red.

“Shopkeeper, what’s the cheapest magic treasure you have here?”

A middle-aged free cultivator asked.

“Eighty spirit stones—a nine-grade cold black iron and nine-grade white elm wood flying sword. Want to take a look?”

The shop assistant hawked Hong Mei’s monkey-version “flying sword.”

“A flying sword made of cold black iron and white elm wood? Only eighty spirit stones?”

The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes lit up, urging the assistant to bring it out quickly.

The assistant glanced at Yulou; Yulou rose and retrieved Hong Mei’s monkey-version flying sword from the cabinet.

But when he opened the box and saw the flying sword, even Yulou’s composure faltered for a moment.

At the Ghost Market auction, Hong Mei’s monkey-version cold black iron daggers still had finger-sized blades and were somewhat usable.

But this eighty-spirit-stone “flying sword” the assistant was pushing...

It was the “Monkey Version 2.0—Baby Monkey Edition,” a further shrunken version of the Heavy Combined Brigade’s Lynx variant—the tricycle combined brigade.

The flying sword was no bigger than a pinky finger, and even then, it had been split down the middle, leaving only half a pinky.

It wasn’t a flying sword; it didn’t even qualify as a flying dagger—best described as a thick “flying needle.”

To embed all three basic seals into such a tiny object revealed Hong Mei’s extraordinary mastery of forging.

Yulou held the box and displayed it to the cultivator who had inquired.

“Look, it’s small, yes, but it bears three seals, and its blade is genuinely forged from cold black iron.

You know the properties of cold black iron—magic treasures made from this spiritual iron hold a massive advantage in battle; wooden or cloth-based magic treasures simply can’t withstand its strikes.”

The middle-aged cultivator had roamed the immortal world for years; though at the bottom rung, he’d seen many fine magic treasures wielded by others.

He stared at the “flying sword” in the box, silent for a long while, then looked up at Yulou.

Seeing Yulou’s unnaturally youthful face, the cultivator, who had wasted half his life stuck in Qi Refining, felt a pang of melancholy.

He asked hopefully.

“Seventy-five spirit stones—can you do it?”

To him, this garbage among low-grade magic treasures wasn’t garbage.

It was the supercar of the poor, the dream magic treasure of the destitute.

It seemed laughable, yet it truly bore three seals, and it was truly forged from cold black iron!

“No haggling, cultivator. This magic treasure was forged by my master, Master Hong Mei.

It’s small, yes, but all low-grade magic treasures are small—there are even smaller ones, but do any of them use cold black iron?

Moreover, the seals my master embedded are far more practical than those of ordinary forgers.

Eighty spirit stones may sound expensive, but cold black iron magic treasures are rarely made as low-grade.

In fact, we’ve already sold several of these ‘flying swords’ in the past two days.”

Cold black iron, cold black iron, still cold black iron!

Magic treasures made from this spiritual iron had unique properties—shredding cloth-based magic treasures like reaching into a pocket, and cutting through wooden ones with ease.

Zero functionality, but unmatched attack-to-cost ratio!

Moreover, forgers pursued profit and honed their forging arts alike, usually crafting cold black iron into mid-grade magic treasures; low-grade cold black iron treasures rarely stayed on the market long.

Even the Red Lantern’s Merit Hall wouldn’t stock such monkey-version cold black iron flying swords—they deemed the profit too low.

Only Hong Mei, whose forging mastery was extraordinary, still refused to abandon this sliver of profit.

Staring at the “flying sword” in the wooden box, the middle-aged cultivator clenched his teeth.

“Fine, eighty spirit stones. I’ll pay you forty as a deposit—hold it for me.

The remaining forty, I’ll pay when the Red Lantern Merit Hall arrives—I’ll exchange merit for spirit stones and settle the rest!”

Yulou paused, then closed the box. The cultivator looked crestfallen and turned to leave.

He’d found a treasure he desired, one he could just barely afford—but...

Perhaps this was life.

He thought so, and a bitter ache rose in his chest.

“Cultivator, wait!”

“I’ll seal this box with wax for you—come back and claim it.

But we can only hold it for two months; longer isn’t possible. Is that acceptable?”

Two months accounted for Hua Feng Ju’s turnover rate.

Yulou was Hong Mei’s disciple, not his son—he couldn’t squander Hong Mei’s profits pretending generosity.

“Yes, yes!”

The cultivator happily paid the deposit and took the sales contract Yulou issued.

He carefully tucked the thin paper into his chest, terrified it might be lost.

After a lifetime of seeking immortality, he was finally going to own a real magic treasure!

Yes, it was tiny—yet all low-grade magic treasures were tiny.

Yes, it bore only three seals—but his spiritual sense could still manipulate it smoothly.

Yes, it looked ridiculous—but it could become a reliable companion and aid.

With it, he could stand a little straighter when traveling.

With it, he’d have a true “ace in the hole” for battle.

With it, even if he never advanced beyond Qi Refining, he could leave a treasure for his descendants.

The monkey-version flying sword wasn’t perfect—but to the one who bought it, it was perfect.

He touched the protective spirit artifact given by his clan chief, feeling the artifact’s spiritual aura gently licking his palm.

Like his sister’s two spirit artifacts, this belt could activate to protect Yulou in danger.

The divide between clan scions and free cultivators was like heaven and earth.

Yulou was no immortal; in this sea of suffering shaped by great cultivators, he couldn’t even save himself—how could he pretend to save others?

The divide between clan scions and free cultivators was like heaven and earth.

Yulou and Jiang Baobian of the Purple Mansion were separated by heaven and earth.

Jiang Baobian and the coming True Person Dan Ri were separated by heaven and earth.

The immortal path is long—press forward with grit!

The Dao is fraught with trials—let your will be as hard as iron!

After completing the urgent accounting task, Zhong Ningyao and Yulou had no more duties; she now led the two brothers toward Qingxi Racetrack.

Horse racing, Qingxi Fang’s most popular activity, was held every ten days—and tonight, there was a race.

“Brilliant insight—why not change your name to Cao Jian? You love trampling lives—you’ve already killed two so-called ‘bandit cultivators.’ You and your master are beasts.”

Ningyao cursed Gao Jian’s beastly behavior.

“Sister, we shouldn’t speak so freely outside...”

Yulou was pleased by Yuan’s warning; those slaps from Rongyuan had truly worked.

“You don’t know—Gao Jian charged my father ten spirit stones per firework magic treasure.

The firework was made of mundane iron, with only a fingernail-sized piece of purple copper added—he claimed just one activation seal on the copper was enough.

That Jiang bastard used the tens of thousands of spirit stones collected as ‘unity fees’ to produce over a hundred of these trash items.

I bet all a hundred together cost less than five hundred spirit stones!”

Ningyao truly hated it—Jiang Baobian’s greed was grotesque.

The “unity fees” paid by Hua Feng Ju and other shops were all stolen by these beasts.

In her eyes, Jiang Baobian deceived the Red Lantern above and tricked the cultivators of Qingxi Fang below—wasn’t he worth a few curses?

“Watch your tongue, sister. We can’t handle these matters—don’t dwell on them. Thinking only brings distress.”

Yulou whispered.

“Why’s it gotten a bit brighter?”

Ningyao, the highest cultivator among them, was the first to sense something amiss.

It was evening, just as the sun set behind the mountains, yet the world had suddenly brightened.

Yuan looked up at the sky.

Why are there two suns in the sky?

With twin suns hanging overhead, Yulou and Zhong Ningyao were both stunned.

There were two suns in the sky.

One was an orange-red setting sun; the other, a golden blazing sun.

Yulou felt his tailbone trembling; the shock surged through his neurons from the base of his spine straight to his brain, making him shudder.

“Is this the Red Lantern?” Ningyao murmured.

Yuan said nothing; seeing his elder brother still frozen, he smoothly stepped in front of Immortal Ningyao to shield her.

Then, he quietly moved to his elder brother’s side and brushed his fingers over the Thousand Li Talisman on his thigh and the Hundred Li Escape Talisman in his sleeve.

If this second sun isn’t the work of the Red Lantern cultists, then run!

Run with this dumbass Yulou in tow!

“When trouble strikes, retreat behind the crowd; let your fellow cultivators go first... Always keep a Thousand Li Talisman on your leg—it preserves your body and secures your immortal path!”

Family rule: Boy, Yuan, step forward!