Chapter 16: Magical Devices

The marketplace buzzed with noise; the two people and the bird stood stealthily around the corner of a stall, staring blankly at the woman's oddly shaped "stockings."

Xie Jinhuan had just been praising Ye Damaoni, but upon seeing the erotic stockings, his expression froze; he muttered inwardly:

Does Daqian even have such bizarre things?

How did I never see these in the past ten years?

Isn't this insane?

Lin Wanyi held the stockings, silent as she was, but her stunning, peony-like face had turned green!

She often moved within the inner quarters of noble households and had seen such items before, but she never imagined these came from Danyang Academy.

How could a prestigious Confucian academy use such fine material as Ice Soul Silk to make something designed to seduce men?

Perhaps unwilling to believe it, Lin Wanyi unfolded another black fabric from her pouch.

Unsurprisingly, a sheer, gauzy belly-band of identical texture appeared before them—triangular in shape, perfectly cupping the jade orbs while revealing the slender waist, mature and sensual…

The belly-band was embroidered with lifelike lotus flowers and carp that shimmered in five colors with changing light—strangely beautiful…

Xie Jinhuan had lived in Jingcheng for sixteen years and had never imagined such erotic undergarments existed.

Seeing Lin Wanyi's eyelashes tremble, her murderous aura gradually rising, he forced himself to reassure her:

"The students and instructors at the Military Equipment Institute craft unusual magical devices—could this item conceal some hidden mechanism?"

Lin Wanyi thought it plausible—Ice Soul Silk was expensive; using it to make belly-bands would be wasteful. This item must conceal some hidden function—perhaps it truly was a 'magical device.'

Magical devices are tools crafted from rare materials that react to Qi; the swords of Mount Zihui and the Eight-Directional Illuminating Array of Danwang Pavilion both qualify as magical devices.

Magical devices vary in quality, graded by the Ranks 3–4 they can be used with; master artificers with profound cultivation can even forge devices rivaling celestial weapons—like the lost Zhenglun Sword of Mount Zihui, which doubled the power of thunder arts and carried the effect of 'subduing ghosts and binding demons,' hailed as the ultimate killing tool of the Daoist sects.

Controlling a magical device is simple: channel your own Qi into it, and the tool responds accordingly.

Thinking of this, Lin Wanyi held the garments and slightly infused them with Qi.

Instantly, the two pink lotus flowers embroidered on the fabric twisted and bloomed like buds—but since they weren't worn, only two holes appeared instead of stamens…

Xie Jinhuan saw this and drew a deep breath, thinking:

Holy mother, how do I explain this?

After all, he'd never seen such bizarre items in both his lifetimes combined.

As for their function, it was easy to understand—probably to make it easier for men to do… improper things…

But if even a Dao Ancestor could use this, is it a celestial weapon?

Lin Wanyi stared blankly at the holes on the fabric; perhaps unwilling to believe it, she tried the stockings next—and the intricate embroidery covering the crotch also twisted, revealing…

?!

Even as an unmarried woman, Lin Wanyi now understood exactly what these were for—her eyebrows snapped upright, her gaze murderous!

Xie Jinhuan had no idea how to evaluate the local artisans and offered weak reassurance:

"The craftsmanship and materials here are truly masterful—retail price won't be under a hundred taels of silver; thirty taels is a steal. Why not just wear them?"

"Pfft~"

How could Lin Wanyi possibly wear something designed to please men?

If Zi Su found out, wouldn't she scold her to death for being such a flirt?

And if she'd bought it secretly, fine—it looked pretty, she could barely wear it—but Xie Jinhuan was standing right there watching!

Was she going to wear it for Xie Jinhuan?

Lin Wanyi's face flushed crimson, feeling utterly humiliated; she turned to return to the stall and demand justice.

But outside the stall, white paper bore black characters: "Sales Final, Profit or Loss Borne by Buyer"—she'd be in the wrong if she confronted them.

Lin Wanyi's anger burned too fiercely; she turned to Xie Jinhuan again:

"You knew what these were all along—you deliberately egged me on to buy them!"

Xie Jinhuan spread his hands: "If I had that kind of foresight, would I still be asking you to refine pills? I just got lucky with a lucky draw—don't act like you got cheated. The whole thing's yours; I can't use it anyway. No splitting. Let's go handle real business."

"..."

Lin Wanyi really wanted Xie Jinhuan to compensate her thirty taels, but this was a luxury item—its cost surely exceeded a hundred taels. After holding her breath for a long while, she stuffed the items into her bosom, pulled out a silver note, and slapped it against Xie Jinhuan's chest:

"Fine, I accept my loss. I won't take advantage of you. I won't wear this garbage anyway…"

Xie Jinhuan suspected Lin Wanyi would sneakily wear them later, but since he clearly couldn't see, he merely shook his head with a smile and walked behind her…

——

Soon after, inside a large shop on Jinmen Street, filled with herbs.

Guard Jia waited quietly beyond the threshold; Xie Jinhuan stood at the entrance, scanning the bustling marketplace.

Meiqiu stared curiously at a basket of unknown dried meat, looking ready to snatch and eat anything.

Lin Wanyi sat in the tea hall, conversing with a rotund herbal merchant:

"The market price is only sixty taels per qian—this rate seems too high…"

"That's the spring price. After autumn, when the flowering season ends, each qian sold is one less. I'm only giving you two taels because of your reputation as Physician Lin. If I hoarded it and sold slowly through winter, I could earn far more…"

"Sigh~ Eighty taels—we've dealt before…"

…

Xie Jinhuan knew rare herbs were expensive, but only now, personally purchasing them, did he grasp just how terrifying their cost was—one qian equaled his father's salary for several months, yet there was never a shortage of buyers.

If herbs for Ranks 3–4 were this costly, what would super-grade herbs cost? Probably priceless.

After prolonged negotiation, two qian of Baiyang Flower sold for the astronomical price of sixteen hundred taels—held in hand, it filled only a palm-sized box, smaller than the box that had held the belly-band.

Lin Wanyi carefully cradled the priceless little box and, upon exiting, instructed:

"Jia Zheng, go back and inquire further—find out where else Longyang Flower is sold. Stock up as much as you can; prices keep rising after autumn—every day's delay costs more silver."

"Yes, I'll find out as soon as possible."

Xie Jinhuan walked ahead, wanting to take the box and examine the thousand-tael herb—but Daoist alchemy rules forbade outsiders from handling herbs, lest they damage their properties, so he gave up.

The three of them walked together and soon passed through the gilded memorial archway, arriving at the large courtyard on the side of Golden Gate Street where carriages and horses were parked.

Jia Zheng went ahead to untie the horse's reins, while Lin Wanyi boarded the carriage first.

As a guest, Xie Jinhuan couldn't very well climb in ahead of Lin Wanyi, so he carried Meiqiu on his shoulder and took in the street scene.

But just as Lin Wanyi was about to push open the carriage door, Xie Jinhuan's ear twitched. Sensing something was off, he turned to look at the nearby stable.

Lin Wanyi's mind was still on the matter of the lingerie, paying no attention to anything else, and she casually pushed open the door.

As a result, from the crack above the carriage door, a cloud of black powder drifted down:

Shhh-shhh~

Whooosh—

Before Lin Wanyi could react, she felt a gust of wind swirl up behind her. A figure flashed forward like a thunderbolt, grabbed her by the sash and yanked her aside, while at the same time the Zhenglun Sword leapt from its sheath, spinning into a flying wheel before her and keeping the powder out as if water couldn't penetrate!

Swish-swish-swish—

Xie Jinhuan held Lin Wanyi with one hand, leaping backward to land in an open spot. Seeing that her right hand—the one that had opened the door—was still dusted with black poison powder, he immediately raised his long sword:

"What poison?"

Lin Wanyi was a bit dazed. Realizing that her knight in shining armor, Xie Jinhuan, was actually about to cut off her hand in one swift stroke, she was so startled she quickly tucked it behind her back:

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Looks like Xue Ning San. I have a way to detoxify it."

Xie Jinhuan knew Xue Ning San was a fierce, potent poison, but a Gu Du Pai Wu Sect shaman probably wouldn't fear it. He sheathed the Zhenglun Sword and looked toward the stable:

"Come out!"

Jia Zheng hadn't even figured out what was happening. Hearing the shout, he finally drew his waist saber and stood guard at Lin Wanyi's side.

Clip-clop~

Soon, from beside the nearby stable, a figure walked out.

The figure was a man of about thirty, dressed in coarse hemp cloth, his black hair casually knotted atop his head, a five-foot horse-slaying blade slung across his shoulder, his gait quite leisurely:

"You even spotted me. You're pretty sharp, kid."

Sensing this man's extraordinary presence, Jia Zheng gripped his saber as if facing a formidable foe:

"Who exactly are you, sir? Why strike with poison from the shadows?"

The man with the horse-slaying blade stepped to the front and stopped, looked at Xie Jinhuan, and tilted his chin up slightly:

"Bu Er Dao Fu Dongping. Don't know if you've heard that name, kid."

"Fu Dongping…"

Xie Jinhuan clearly hadn't heard of him.

Jia Zheng whispered a reminder: "A Danzhou bandit. Last month he held up a escort at Yellow Stone Ridge, killed three people, all with a single slash. Still uncaught—the wanted notice has been posted at the city gate for ages. They say he's stepped into the Sixth Rank of the martial path, skilled with the saber, greedy and lecherous…"

Realizing a Sixth Rank powerhouse had come, Lin Wanyi couldn't help but furrow her brow, knowing things looked bad.

She wasn't afraid of being poisoned, and she could handle this kind of martial brute, but she didn't dare use Wu Sect methods openly in broad daylight in the city.

Jia Zheng was no match for him. Xie Jinhuan was only twenty—even if his technique was seasoned, at best they'd be evenly matched. Facing a fierce bandit like this…

Lin Wanyi looked around, wanting to call for constables, but unfortunately there were only a few coachmen nearby, and they ran off at the sight. She grew anxious in her heart…

Xie Jinhuan naturally felt no pressure, only great anger.

After all, Lin Wanyi was his lifeline. Without elixirs to rapidly boost his strength, if his cover was blown he'd drop dead on the spot, and he wouldn't even be able to bury the old lady and bring her back.

Assassinating Lin Wanyi—wasn't that indirectly trying to kill him?

Xie Jinhuan wished he could swat this small fry aside on the spot, but following proper procedure, he still asked:

"Who sent you?"

Fu Dongping clearly didn't know he was courting death, his eyes arrogant:

"Rules of the jianghu. No comment."

"Where's the antidote?"

"No comment."

Xie Jinhuan frowned: "If that blade of yours were half as tough as that mouth of yours, I'd count you as someone worth noting."

Fu Dongping's eyes narrowed slightly: "You are plenty arrogant, kid. A newborn calf unafraid of the tiger—that's hardly a compliment…"

Clang—

Before the words faded, a sharp sword cry rang out beneath the clear sky!

(End of chapter)