Chapter 173: Counterfeit and Shoddy

As soon as Chen Ziwu left, Pan Yun began shouting, but everyone who came only bought herbs, glancing at her talismans before walking away.

After a moment's thought, Pan Yun handed her stall over to Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He, then went inside the shop to examine the talismans and those sold at other stalls.

Looking closely, Pan Yun understood: most talismans on this street were not substandard—at least they met the baseline.

The talismans inside the shop were 100% standard, meaning the energy embedded in them exceeded the standard.

The talismans displayed at outdoor stalls could roughly maintain standard energy levels in seventy percent of cases; of the remaining thirty percent, twenty percent carried some energy but fell short of the standard.

The final ten percent were counterfeit and shoddy—only their form remained, lacking their essence.

Pilgrims and tourists who came to burn incense and pray would directly buy from the shop, assured of quality; merchants and Daoist Priests who bought in bulk either had partnered shops or stall owners and wouldn't wander the streets searching.

Only itinerant cultivators like Chen Ziwu, with limited funds, would consider buying from stalls.

But all the talismans on display looked nearly identical—why would anyone come to her stall?

She was young and had no reputation; unless someone had high enough cultivation to perceive that the energy within her talismans surpassed others', they wouldn't notice.

But looking up at the street, there were few with high cultivation, and those few all looked wealthy, ignoring her subtle glances, walking straight into the grandest, largest shop.

It was said that shop was run by the Zhang family.

Pan Yun only glanced outside and knew she couldn't beat them.

She truly couldn't beat them.

They were gilded and splendid, with three full floors; how could she, who could only find any patch of ground to set up a stall, compete?

Sigh, another day missing Master Qian.

Pan Yun pulled her gaze back and returned to her stall.

The medicine bottles in front of Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He had all sold out; Pan Yun waved her hand and said, "Pack up. We're leaving."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He immediately began packing. "Little Master, aren't you selling your talismans?"

"We're moving to a different place."

Pan Yun first took Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He to Wen Dao General Store.

Shopkeeper Chen saw them and smiled. "What would the esteemed guests like to buy?"

Pan Yun pretended not to know him. "We'd like to consign some talismans."

Shopkeeper Chen processed their consignment. "Our store charges a five percent commission on consigned talismans. What price do you want to set?"

"What's the usual price for a Peace Talisman?"

"Two taels."

Pan Yun nearly spat blood. "Only two taels? In Yushan County I sell them for twenty!"

Shopkeeper Chen smiled. "Young Daoist, rarity commands value. In Yushan County, even fifty taels wouldn't be unusual for such a talisman—but here on Long Hushan, two taels is standard."

Pan Yun opened her mouth. "Are all Peace Talismans priced at two taels?"

"No. Talismans from unknown Daoists like you sell for two taels; those with minor fame sell for five; some go higher—individual Daoists' Peace Talismans can reach a hundred taels each."

Pan Yun humbly asked, "For example?"

"For example, Peace Talismans written personally by a True Person."

"The Zhang Zhang Tian Shi~~" Pan Yun said, "Does he sell Peace Talismans? Or does he sell his reputation?"

Shopkeeper Chen smiled.

Pan Yun thought for a moment and asked, "How much could Zhang Liuzhen, the Zhang Zhang Tian Shi's son, sell his talismans for?"

After thinking, Shopkeeper Chen replied, "About twenty taels."

Pan Yun exhaled, feeling slightly more balanced. "My talismans may not match those written by a True Person, but they're definitely better than Zhang Liuzhen's. Shopkeeper, set my price at twenty taels too."

Shopkeeper Chen smiled. "Since it's consignment, you may set any price—but Young Daoist, will you sell them?"

Pan Yun was deeply sorrowful.

Leaning against the counter, she asked Shopkeeper Chen, "Is there any way to earn a hundred taels overnight?"

Shopkeeper Chen: "Rob someone?"

Pan Yun paused, then nodded. "Good idea!"

She told Shopkeeper Chen, "Do you have a box? I'd like to rent one."

Shopkeeper Chen stared. "Rent?"

"Yes. I'll return it in no more than half an hour."

Shopkeeper Chen thought it over. Since no customers were present, he dropped his pretense, leaned close, and lowered his voice. "Young Lady, if you need money, I'll give it to you."

Pan Yun glanced at him, then continued formally. "Shopkeeper, we are students of the Learning Palace—we wouldn't deceive you. Rest assured."

Shopkeeper Chen looked at her, sighed, then said, "Fine. But you'll need a deposit."

"Alright." Pan Yun still had over ten taels—not much, but enough to rent a decent box.

Shopkeeper Chen handed her a fine box.

Pan Yun took the bundled talismans from her satchel, selected two of each kind, placed them inside, then paused and added two more Lei Fu.

She closed the box, tucked it into her satchel, and waved her hand. "Let's go."

Shopkeeper Chen stared, stunned. He quickly called out, "Wait—wait a moment!"

He looked torn. "Let me inspect the goods first. If they're good, I'll buy them outright—or advance you a hundred taels."

He couldn't possibly let them actually rob someone—his employer would kill him.

Wasn't that stealing from his senior disciple's money?

Senior disciple's money was Mount Sanqing's money, and Mount Sanqing's money included his share—what's the point of earning his own money?

Pan Yun waved at him. "I'll come back later to consign."

Pan Yun led Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He straight to the Immortal Pavilion.

Oh—that was the luxurious shop run by the Zhang family.

As soon as they entered, the shopboy warmly greeted the three: "What are you three young Daoists looking to buy?"

He immediately noticed the scholar-palace robes worn by Pan Yun and the others—six out of ten customers in this building wore such attire.

After a quick scan, Pan Yun said: "I'm here to sell talismans. Do you buy them?"

The shopboy paused, hesitated, then nodded. "We do. Young Daoist, wait a moment—I'll fetch the Shopkeeper."

Immortal Tower also buys external talismans, but rarely does so directly in the store.

Because it's owned by the Zhang family, and the Zhangs have no shortage of people who can paint talismans.

So while they might lack other things, talismans are certainly never in short supply.

Generally, students from the scholar-palace don't dare come to Immortal Tower to sell talismans—they usually sell them to nearby small shops, consign them, or set up their own stalls.

Someone like Pan Yun, coming directly to sell talismans, is rare.

The Shopkeeper arrived much later, swiftly scanned Pan Yun and the other two, then stepped forward with a smile: "You three Daoists wish to sell talismans?"

Pan Yun smiled back. "Yes."

"Let me see what talismans you have."

Pan Yun took the elegant box from her satchel, placed it on the table, opened it, and pushed it forward. "Take a look."

The topmost item was the Lei Fu.

At a single glance, the Shopkeeper straightened up, stepped forward, and lifted one to examine it. His eyes flickered, then he smiled at Pan Yun: "Acceptable. By Immortal Tower's rules, we buy at half-price—so one tael of silver per talisman."

That's way too steep!

Pan Yun's face remained expressionless. "Then I won't sell. These talismans were specially painted for us by my fourth senior sister for our survival."

Pan Yun snatched the Lei Fu back, placed it inside the box, closed it, and prepared to take it away.

"Wait." The Shopkeeper frowned slightly. "These talismans weren't painted by you—they were painted by your elders?"

"Yes. My fourth senior sister painted them."

The Shopkeeper: "May I ask who your fourth senior sister is?"

"Master Xuanmiao of Sanqing Temple on Mount Sanqing!"

The Shopkeeper's legs went weak; his eyes glazed over as he stared at the box. He looked at Pan Yun and asked: "If these were given to you by your elder and meant for survival, why are you selling them?"

This question made Pan Yun uneasy, fearing she might have offended an ally.

She ventured cautiously: "We're short on funds—selling them is just to raise some quick cash."

The Shopkeeper fell silent for a long while.

!. Read

Seeing his silence, Pan Yun tentatively picked up the box to leave.

"Wait," the Shopkeeper gritted his teeth. "If these were painted by Master Xuanmiao, the price can indeed be higher. Young Daoist, name your price."

After thinking, Pan Yun named an old price: "Fifteen taels."

The Shopkeeper: "... Impossible. Fifteen taels—that's the max."

"Fine. Fifteen taels it is." Pan Yun pulled the talismans from the box and handed them over. "Ten talismans total. That's one hundred fifty taels."

The Shopkeeper nearly doubted their identity, but after observing their stature, clothing, and the faint medicinal scent emanating from them, he still reached out to take the talismans.

After checking each one individually, he confirmed their energy was far more potent than ordinary talismans, then accepted them with a smile: "Wait a moment, please."

He returned the talismans to the box, then fetched one hundred fifty taels in silver notes and gave them to her.

Pan Yun counted them, tucked the notes into the box, sealed it, shoved the box into her satchel, and bowed: "Farewell."

The Shopkeeper escorted them to the door and asked: "If Master Xuanmiao finds out about this, won't she come to Immortal Tower to cause trouble?"

"What are you thinking? My senior sister isn't the kind of person who acts unjustly," Pan Yun said. "Don't worry—she'll just beat us up and throw us out. She won't bother you."

The Shopkeeper nodded vigorously, then halfway through realized something was wrong and quickly stopped, offering her an embarrassed smile.

Pan Yun led Seeing Miao Zhen and Chen Ziwu away, not heading straight for the Ask the Dao General Store, but first visiting a herbal shop to buy their bath herbs and some daily necessities, then wandering the street stalls for a long while before finally entering the Ask the Dao General Store.

Pan Yun returned the box to Shopkeeper Chen and consigned the remaining talismans to him: "Twenty taels each. Not a single tael less."

Shopkeeper Chen: "... Won't you reconsider?"

Pan Yun nodded. "I've given it serious thought. My talismans have no value from fame—they're worth exactly this much, nothing more, nothing less."

Shopkeeper Chen stopped trying to dissuade her.

Though he didn't know what Pan Yun had done, her sudden reduction in talismans—halved—and her confident demeanor made it clear she had sold them.

In this Shangqing Town, no one who trades talismans is a fool—if someone paid a high price, there must be profit to be made.

Shopkeeper Chen decided to display her talismans in the most prominent spot.

After completing the consignment paperwork, Pan Yun wandered the general store, picking up a few useful items on the way.

Since it was money being spent, it was naturally more pleasing to spend it from her senior-nephew's purse.

After gathering their purchases, the three realized they had bought a great deal.

Seeing Miao Zhen prepared to sling the bag of herbs over her shoulder, but Pan Yun snatched it away. "I'll carry it."

She immediately stored it in her Spirit Realm space, leaving only three cloth satchels for small items, stuffing everything else inside.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Chen Ziwu were unfazed; they willingly picked up Pan Xiaohei. "Little Uncle, let's go home."

Pan Yun glanced at the sky and nodded. "Let's go."

As they neared the town's edge, Pan Yun halted, frowned, and turned to Seeing Miao Zhen. "Did you recognize Chen Ziwu too?"

Seeing Miao Zhen blinked, then shook her head. "I didn't recognize him."

"Then why did you find him strange?"

Seeing Miao Zhen thought a moment. "I observed their qi. I felt their qi were extremely similar—that's why it struck me as odd. Faces can resemble each other; I've heard twins look so alike they seem to share one face. But my master said: faces may be identical, but qi must differ."

"There are no two identical leaves in this world. If two faces are perfectly identical, if two people are perfectly identical, their difference must lie in their qi."

"Yet at that time, the young Chen Ziwu and the middle-aged Chen Ziwu had qi that were nearly identical."

"Very similar, but not identical?" Pan Yun asked, though her tone was certain.

"Yes, the qi has changed—it's not exactly the same."

Pan Yun fell into thought. "I was too focused on his face and forgot to observe the qi. But his features… Come, let's go back and find him. I suspect he's in danger tonight."

Seeing Miao Zhen immediately followed. "I also felt he's in for bloodshed, but I wasn't sure enough to say it."

Seeing Miao He hurried after them. "Auntie, are we going to save him?"

Pan Yun: "We're going to buy the disguise technique from him before he dies."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Seeing Miao He: "Oh."

The three followed Immortal Street all the way down but found no one.

They then rejoined the main street, searched the grand marketplace, and even checked every restaurant.

They didn't find the man, but they grew hungry and craving.

Pan Yun sat down at a restaurant. "Let's eat first. Life and death are fate. If we truly can't find him, this is his destiny."

Seeing Miao Zhen nodded and sat.

Seeing Miao He hesitated. "Shouldn't we look a little longer? We could buy two buns and eat while searching—it's a human life."

Pan Yun said, "Relax. Sometimes, when we stop looking, he appears."

But this time, even after finishing their meal and retracing the streets, they found no one.

Seeing Miao He grew anxious. "Little Auntie, shouldn't we use divination to find where he is?"

Pan Yun: "I'm not Fourth Sister. I can't divine his location after just one glance—I don't even know if his name is real. How can I divinate?"

Seeing Miao He: "Ah, his name's fake too?"

After a moment's thought, Pan Yun said, "Since things are this complicated, let's try the simplest method."

"What method?"

Pan Yun: "Throw a stone."

In short, it was casting stones to seek the path.

One stands in the middle of the road, silently thinking of the direction the person might have gone, closes the eyes, and throws the stone—the direction the stone lands is the direction to go.

Pan Yun stood at the town's entrance and threw a stone. She glanced at its direction and raised an eyebrow. "That's the direction of Huishan? How convenient. Let's go."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "What if the stone lands wrong?"

"That's his fate. Heaven's will—no one to blame."

(End of Chapter)