Chapter 13: A Modest Windfall

"This line of work must be quite exhausting, right?"

"Who's to say it isn't."

A beautiful young woman leaned against Chen Ci, her face full of melancholy, her makeup unable to hide it: "If life weren't so difficult and every step so arduous, who would want to do this, sigh."

"My father was originally a civil service exam scholar, and I read plenty of poetry and books in my youth, but unexpectedly, my father became addicted to gambling, and my mother was so angered she became bedridden; the family fortune declined."

"I found a husband, but unfortunately, he was a drunkard; after getting drunk, he would beat and scold me at every turn."

"Fortunately, my younger brother at home has some aptitude for cultivation, but the cost to enter an immortal sect is not cheap, so I have only been doing this work for a short time, and I am not very good at talking—"

"Sir, order some drinks; my cloud-patterned socks are about to be rubbed thin~"

Chen Ci coughed lightly, pulled back his palm, and said sheepishly: "I was once harmed by wine and women, so I gave up drinking long ago; as for the drinks, let's just forget it."

The young woman pinched a gold bean, rolled her eyes, and left her seat in a huff.

"It's not that you aren't excellent enough, but that my Dao Heart is very firm."

Chen Ci sighed; this level of drink-pusher could not disturb the Dao Heart of a man like Chen.

This Xishan Market was dominated by gambling dens, supplemented by brothels, and even included a flea market, which could be considered quite bustling.

The good news was that setting up a stall here didn't cost anything; finding an empty spot was enough.

However, whether selling or buying here, once a deal was made, it was final; money and goods were cleared, and no disputes were accepted.

"These stalls are likely provided by the market specifically for the 'gambling dogs' to recover their losses; one might be able to find good things, but those without a sharp eye should forget it—they will be ripped off one hundred percent."

Chen Ci guessed as much, then strolled around the market for a while, having no intention of buying anything, purely to see the world.

Before long, he followed the example of others and found an empty spot to set up his stall.

He laid out the nine Soul Fixing Talismans and that stalk of Corpse Ganoderma, hoping to sell them for a good price.

"Eh, Soul Fixing Talismans, give me two."

A disheveled-looking old Daoist hurried past; his Daoist robe was already somewhat faded and draped carelessly over him. When he passed Chen Ci's stall, his eyes lit up, and he reached out to take them.

Such good luck, a successful start.

Chen Ci felt pleased inside; he picked up two Soul Fixing Talismans and was about to hand them over, but seeing the evasive expression on the old Daoist's face, he subconsciously paused his hand: "Thirty taels of gold each, sixty taels in total."

"Thirty taels isn't expensive."

The old Daoist gave a sheepish smile: "Daoist, could you let me put this on my tab? I need to go cleanse the filth from my body first, and after I go to the Immortal Stone Market to win back my losses, I'll pay you back one hundred taels of gold, how about that?"

???

Chen Ci resisted the urge to blurt out "Get lost," took a breath, and said: "Sorry, small business, no credit."

"Hey, hey, one will do too."

The old Daoist stomped his feet, but he didn't dare to actually reach out and grab them. After hesitating for a moment, he fished a small booklet out of his bosom and whispered: "I have a method here for refining high-grade Dharma Artifacts; I'll trade it for five of your Soul Fixing Talismans, how about it? You look at it first; you won't lose out, you won't be cheated."

A method for refining high-grade Dharma Artifacts?

Chen Ci admitted he was a tiny bit tempted.

But he immediately came to his senses; not a single word from a "gambling dog" could be trusted.

"Old Sun, the next round of stone gambling is about to start, why are you still dawdling here... Ha, you're using this junk to scam people again."

A bald, burly man walked by from the side, laughed heartily, glanced at Chen Ci's stall, and clicked his tongue: "Soul Fixing Talismans, that's great, I'll take them for two Spirit Pearls, alright?"

Ah?

Chen Ci subconsciously nodded. The burly man raised his hand, tossed two Spirit Pearls to Chen Ci, snatched the Soul Fixing Talismans from the stall, and casually slapped one onto his own body.

"Bad luck be gone, misfortune be gone! Tonight, I am going to fix my fortune and kill them until they have nothing left, stripped bare!"

This Soul Fixing Talisman also had the effect of calming and refreshing the mind; after one talisman, the burly man looked much more spirited.

"Master Kui is mighty! Wishing Master Kui great fortune, may you strike it rich in all four seasons!"

The old Daoist licked his face, bowed, and said a few flattering words.

"Heh, here's a reward for you."

The bald man gave a mocking laugh, tossed one Soul Fixing Talisman to the old Daoist, and then turned and strode away.

So they treat the Soul Fixing Talisman as a good-luck charm?

City folk really know how to play.

Chen Ci held the two Spirit Pearls, his heart burning; he had earned two hundred taels of gold in such a short time?

Why go back to farming? Just drawing and selling talismans in Xishan Prefecture is enough!

"Calm down, today was just luck, earning a gambler's money. If Soul Fixing Talismans were truly this profitable, it wouldn't be my turn to sell them; this kind of windfall is not something I can hold onto."

Chen Ci slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air; over at Fuyun Market, Soul Fixing Talismans only sold for about that price.

It was a long while before Chen Ci completely dismissed the thought.

"I earn over ten thousand taels of silver a year from my quiet cultivation at Sanyin Temple, although the bulk of it goes to the He Mountain Sect... damn it all."

"Trying to disturb my Dao Heart with a mere two Spirit Pearls, laughable, laughable."

Chen Ci examined the translucent, dragon-eye-sized pearl in his hand for a long time before carefully putting it into the money pouch in his bosom.

However, he sat there dryly for a long time afterward; the remaining stalk of Corpse Ganoderma didn't even get a look, let alone an inquiry, which further discouraged his idea of setting up a long-term stall at Xishan Market.

"Should I pack up and go join the fun over there? Just to watch, absolutely not participating—"

Beautiful women, strong liquor, and throwing money around—truth be told, it's hard for any man to resist.

With two Spirit Pearls in his bosom, a different thought actually stirred in his heart. Chen Ci felt a ripple, then gave himself a hard slap: "Chen Ci, oh Chen Ci, reflect on yourself three times a day; small bets break your wealth, big bets cost your life. Let this be a warning to all in the world. I, Chen, will never stand with gambling or poison."

Chen Ci simply packed up his stall and, resisting the restlessness, headed toward Fuyun Market. Only when the cool mountain breeze blew did his head gradually clear.

That fat man surnamed Ding was indeed ill-intentioned; if there's a chance, I should invite him to be a guest in my Five Yin Evil Qi Bag.

Along the way, people were constantly sneaking from Fuyun Market to Xishan Market; if they made eye contact, most would reveal a knowing smile between men, everything understood without words.

Upon arriving at Fuyun Market, Chen Ci, clutching the two Spirit Pearls, headed straight for Qianjing Shop.

He specifically chose that young woman from earlier to give her some commission; although the items at Qianjing Shop were more refined, they were also much more expensive than the small workshops. For example, Wulou paper—in the He Mountain Sect, one pound of Divine Sand could exchange for about ten bundles, but here in Fuyun Market, it could only exchange for six. However, the young woman gave two bottles of cinnabar ink as a bonus, so it wasn't too much of a loss.

As for the last Spirit Pearl, Chen Ci had originally wanted to ask about the production process of this Leakless Paper, but he was immediately defeated by the price of five Spirit Pearls.

Five Spirit Pearls could buy five thousand sheets of talisman paper outside, and some cultivators would never use that much in their entire lives.

"Do you have a map of the Liang Kingdom for sale here?"

Chen Ci thought for a moment and asked.

"We do, ten Spirit Pearls per copy."

Chen Ci:???

How could such cold words come out of your sweet mouth!

In the end, Chen Ci painfully spent his last Spirit Pearl to purchase two jin of Black Jade Rice seeds, planning to switch to planting spirit rice once the Corpse Ganoderma in his backyard matured; that yin cave had at least two fen of land, so if he squeezed it in, it could count as a source of income.

"Go home, go home right now. There must be an expert behind this Fuyun Market; money earned in the market is spent in the market, don't even think about taking a single cent home."

"Sigh, I didn't even have a chance to go to a pleasure house to listen to a tune or something; when a person is poor, their ambitions are short. Next time for sure."

However, Chen Ci did not actually leave immediately. Although it was highly likely that the man surnamed Ding was just trying to trick him into staying overnight at Xishan Market, he was carrying a massive fortune of two Spirit Pearls... ahem, better safe than sorry.

He sat next to the Food Immortal Pavilion for a long time, swallowing a Bigu Pill while borrowing the fragrance of the food inside, and when dawn arrived, he followed the flow of people out of Fuyun Market, retrieved his stabled horse, and galloped toward Changping County.

"Fuyun Market is like this; I wonder what kind of splendor the Treasure Ship on the Liuyun River possesses."

"Forget it until next time; better to plant some fields first and improve my cultivation a bit more."

With the status and cultivation of an Outer Sect Disciple of the He Mountain Sect, traveling outside was not very comfortable.

(End of this chapter)