Chapter 55: My Dear Brother, What Are You Pretending For?!

“The Wang family of Anbei...”

The veiled female cultivator standing behind Yuan stood quietly repeating it.

Her voice was unusual; if Sister Ningyao’s voice was typical of a female cultivator’s,

then this veiled woman’s voice belonged to that category—thin yet alluring.

Hearing it, Yuan shuddered, and the alchemy furnace emitted a loud “bang.”

Seeing Yuan’s embarrassed face, Yulou took a deep breath.

Idiot!

Yulou rose to greet the Qi Refining female cultivator named Yingxi, who had come with his sister.

But as he stood, he realized that, having just been tending charcoal, his appearance was far from presentable.

The peachwood spirit charcoal had blackened his face entirely; sweat from the high-temperature spirit fire had carved deep, winding rivers through the soot on his skin.

Compared to the unfamiliar female cultivator, whose silver-threaded embroidery adorned a plain blue silk robe brimming with spiritual energy, Yulou looked more like a coal-digging black bear that had attained enlightenment.

Ningyao was introducing business to the Wang family; Yulou didn’t have time to care about appearances.

He hastily wiped his face, forced a nervous laugh, and turned to Sister Ningyao.

“Sister, who is this elder?”

The cultivator named Yingxi also looked curiously at Ningyao.

You said these two are from the Wang family of Anbei—then why does one look stupid and the other look black, neither seeming quite right?

“Yingxi seeks a custom musical instrument, requiring a spirit wood base, so I thought of your Wang family—hence, I brought her.”

Ningyao shot a look of exasperation at Yuan, who had only just risen after his brother, then turned to the female cultivator Yingxi.

“This is Yulou. You may discuss your instrument customization with him.”

Yuan: What about me? I’m standing right here!

At sixteen, Yuan stood beside Zhong Ningyao and the veiled cultivator Yingxi, yet no one paid him any attention.

He silently vowed to conquer his inner demon—never again would he be affected by female cultivators; he would become a free-spirited, unbound wanderer.

“Elder Yingxi, what kind of musical instrument do you wish to commission? A horizontal qin, a vertical harp, a zheng, a pipa—we Wangs can make them all.”

Yulou’s reply was carefully crafted, based on his observations of this woman.

She wore a white gauze mask, obscuring her face, but dressed in a plain lake-blue silk robe with silver-threaded embroidery, radiating spiritual energy yet subtly refined.

Her voice was also... well, uniquely memorable.

Thus, after careful assessment, Yulou judged this elder would not favor the suona, erhu... large drums, small drums, waist drums... cymbals, nao, bo...

These did not suit her demeanor, so he deliberately avoided those lower-tier musical instruments.

He also skillfully omitted the dongxiao, xun, and bells—all of which shared one trait: they could be forged by Hongmei.

“Don’t call me elder; I’m about your age. Just address me as Daofriend.”

“I wish to commission a seven-string qin—preferably made of spirit wood. Can your Wang family make one?”

Yulou knew of the seven-string qin—it was the origin of all qins, its seven strings corresponding to the seven fundamental tones.

“Yes. Our Wang family possesses the relevant lineage and experience.”

“However, you may need to wait a while—I must first send word to our clan’s alchemists.”

“Then we’ll discuss customization details, and finally set a delivery date.”

“Seven-string qins are inherently difficult to forge, and customizing one adds further complexity...”

“Daofriend Yingxi, the final cost and delivery date may not be ideal. Do you understand?”

Though he didn’t know where Ningyao had pulled this fool from, Yulou naturally intended to fully exploit her potential commercial value.

In short: squeeze out as many spirit stones as possible.

Custom musical instruments were rare demands; the Wang family’s secret Wood-Generation Art couldn’t be used for free.

Perhaps their Fire-Method Jinshi Alchemy wasn’t perfected, but that didn’t mean their other alchemical lineages were flawed.

The spirit wood seven-string qin Yingxi desired was precisely the Wang family’s strongest specialty.

What did “strongest specialty” mean?

It meant the highest price they could charge!

“Cost... I only need a mid-grade magic treasure—eight hundred spirit stones. Is that acceptable?”

She clearly didn’t care about time, but she did care about price.

Yulou quickly grasped the key point.

This woman wasn’t in a hurry to use it, and her demand for the instrument was precise.

“Only a mid-grade magic treasure”—this phrase, upon closer thought, carried a quiet, subtle, unspoken confidence.

Confidence—why was she so confident?

After brief consideration, Yulou spoke calmly.

“Eight hundred spirit stones? You want the Wang family to customize a seven-string qin for you?”

“Daofriend, let’s part ways amicably.”

“Sister, thank you for this visit, but there’s really nothing more to discuss.”

With that, Yulou turned and washed his face with water.

Smooth, composed, natural, grand, dignified.

Yet beside him, Yuan strained desperately, clinging to his composure.

He wanted to rush over, grab his brother’s hand, and beg him to stop pretending.

Eight hundred spirit stones! That’s eight hundred spirit stones!

My dear brother, what are you pretending for?!

That’s eight hundred spirit stones!

Fortunately, the veiled cultivator Yingxi was completely captivated by Yulou’s act and didn’t notice Yuan’s bizarre expression.

“Then... what price, Daofriend Yulou, would be appropriate?”

The veiled cultivator Yingxi’s tone carried a hint of solemnity.

Success!

“Daofriend Yingxi, it’s too early to discuss price.”

“First, pay three hundred spirit stones as a deposit—we’ll begin by discussing the sealing requirements and selecting the spirit wood type.”

“You know the nature of musical instruments—different seals and base materials drastically affect their power.”

“Only after confirming your exact requirements can we give you a reasonable quote.”

“The price will certainly exceed eight hundred spirit stones. You must understand—the Wang family’s expertise in Wood-Generation Art and wooden magic treasures is worth a little more.”

Reasonable, logical, no actual price given—only the clear implication that it would be far more than eight hundred.

Yet after Yulou spoke, the veiled cultivator Yingxi felt a flicker of anticipation.

She believed this expenditure of spirit stones would be worth it.

“Here, this is the three-hundred-spirit-stone deposit. I want...”

Even after the mysterious veiled cultivator Yingxi departed, Yuan remained dazed.

Three hundred spirit stones as a deposit—just like that? Who exactly was this woman?

Ningyao saw the woman off, then returned to the alchemy furnace. She slapped Yulou’s shoulder hard, excitedly saying:

“I told you—you’re a genius at business!”

Ningyao’s cultivation base was two levels higher than his; the slap sent him stumbling, but he quickly steadied himself and asked his question.

Zhong Ningyao raised a finger, pointing toward the Garrison Commander’s residence, and whispered:

“That woman’s daughter.”

Yulou was startled, then burst into laughter.

“Hah! I didn’t even overcharge her—I could’ve asked for a thousand and still not lost.”

Whether Yulou’s remark was good or bad was hard to say, but Ningyao laughed heartily upon hearing it.

That dog Mu Chunze.

The Master hadn’t returned by noon; Ningyao was watching the front shop, while Yulou and Yuan continued forging in the back.

Their cultivation levels were low, their spiritual power severely limited—each managed only two items.

Yuan blew up one, but Yulou succeeded with both, embedding four layers of seals into each.

Just these two magic treasures boosted his Golden Light by one segment, filling roughly one-twentieth of the Ruyi.

Yulou estimated that if he forged forty such low-grade items with four-layer seals, his Ruyi would fully charge with Golden Light.

He had never tested what happened after consuming all the Golden Light—what advancement would follow?

So he planned in his mind: forge more magic treasures and craft more talismans, to fill the Golden Light as quickly as possible.

“Brother, you got both done! Three out of four—our own shop could be viable!”

Holding the three-finger-thick low-grade magic treasure, the Purple Copper Breaking-Seal Mace, Yuan couldn’t hide his excitement.

A seventy-five percent success rate—if they opened their own shop, they could sustain it.

“Careful—it’s two and a half completed,” Yulou chuckled.

Yuan’s smile vanished instantly.

His temperament truly needed more tempering.

“Alright, stay here and keep Ningyao company. I’m going to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to report the Yingxi customization to Rongsheng Uncle.”

(Don’t ask if this is a harem, single heroine, or no heroine—I’ll write as needed. This novel will feature many female characters, but no designated heroine.)

This is a male-oriented cultivation novel; the protagonist is male, seeking great freedom and eternal fruition—once he achieves fame and success, what could he possibly lack?

Yuan could not refuse the chance to spend more time with Zhong Ningyao.

Yet he stared at the purple copper breaking-artifact mallet in his hand, reluctant to let it go.

“Brother, how do we sell these breaking-artifact mallets?”

In truth, Yulou had already discussed this with Hongmei; Yuan’s asking was simply an attempt to avoid Hongmei—or rather, he wasn’t ready to face him.

Likewise, Hongmei vanished this morning without explanation, avoiding both of them entirely, showing he too had not yet adjusted his mindset.

Of the three master and disciples who knew what had happened, only Yulou understood what he wanted and could face these storms or setbacks with calmness.

“Let’s just keep them for now—we still need two more. We’ll decide after we finish refining them tomorrow.”

At first, Yulou planned to sell these imitation breaking-artifact mallets at Huafeng Residence, but now he had new ideas.

Baibao Pavilion, Baibao Pavilion—it’s called “Ten Thousand Treasures,” so selling magic artifacts isn’t surprising, right?

But the quality of this batch of purple copper breaking-artifact mallets is truly worrying... that’s a major problem.

“You mean Mu Chunze’s daughter wants to commission our Wang clan to craft a seven-stringed instrument artifact?”

Upon hearing the news from Yulou, Wang Rongsheng was momentarily stunned.

Isn’t this an opportunity?

But this matter... it resembles the respected Garrison Cultivator once again discovering a new innovation in the field of extorting wealth.

“Yes, I recall two Ancestors who were renowned for their mastery of sound Dao, and our Clan Chief’s Wood Generation technique is also highly refined.”

Mu Yingxi’s seven-stringed instrument must be made from spiritual wood—we have no shortage of spiritual wood, and our Wood Dao is deeply advanced.”

Considering these factors, we cannot let this deal slip away, so I agreed to it.”

Yulou’s response greatly pleased Wang Rongsheng.

Recognize the opportunity, seize it, and demand three hundred spirit stones upfront as deposit.

In business strategy, Yulou didn’t merely have talent—he was a genius.

Wang Rongsheng summoned a message pigeon and manipulated his spiritual brush to write a letter on the floating sheet of paper, while instructing Yulou.

“I’ll contact the Clan Chief immediately, but you must understand: if the price is too high, you turn friends into enemies.”

Yet what you told her makes sense—I think I’ll handle it myself and bring the price back down to eight hundred spirit stones.”

That way, we make a modest profit and maintain a little goodwill with the Garrison Cultivator.”

Doesn’t the Garrison Cultivator’s daughter represent the Garrison Cultivator himself?”