Chapter 97 - 94: Trade Fair
Chapter 97: Chapter 94: Trade Fair
On the third day, Li Yuan received a notice from Steward Liu.
Before leaving, Li Yuan changed out of his patrol uniform. He rummaged through his storage pouch and pulled out an ordinary gray-brown short shirt to wear. He also removed the patrol token from his waist and put it in the pouch.
It wouldn’t be appropriate to attend a Loose Cultivator trading meet outside the mine while still displaying the insignia of the Wang family.
Steward Liu had given him a direction. The trading meet was over there.
"Just mention my name when you get there. They’ll recognize it."
That’s what Steward Liu had said.
Li Yuan placed the Talismans he had made into his storage pouch and left the mine, heading northeast.
The path wasn’t difficult. His feet made a RUSTLING sound on the gravel slope, and the bushes on either side were short and sparse, offering a wide, open view.
An hour later, a hollow nestled between mountain cliffs appeared before him. The stone depression wasn’t large, about thirty to forty yards square. The surrounding rock walls blocked most of the wind, and the ground had been trodden flat. In the center, a few large boulders marked out a rough circular area.
There were already people in the area.
Twenty or thirty Loose Cultivators were scattered about the hollow in small groups. Some were squatting on the ground with cloths laid out as stalls, some were leaning against the stone walls, and others were gathered in circles, speaking in low voices.
Their Cultivation was generally not high. Li Yuan scanned the crowd and saw that most were in the Early-stage of Qi Refining, predominantly at the second, third, and fourth levels. The highest were only at the fifth or sixth level. Their attire was just as varied; some wore coarse cloth shirts, others wore worn-out robes, and a few had clothes covered in multiple layers of patches.
At the very back of the hollow, a man sat on a tall rock.
He looked to be in his forties, but his hair and beard were completely white. His face was gaunt, and he sported a short goatee.
He had a Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivation, similar to Wang De.
He had the highest Cultivation level at the entire trading meet.
He leaned against the tall rock with his eyes half-closed as if dozing, but he would occasionally lift his gaze to scan the area.
As Li Yuan reached the entrance to the hollow, a Loose Cultivator who looked like a guard stopped him.
"Where are you from?"
"The mine. Steward Liu sent me."
The guard sized Li Yuan up, nodded, and stepped aside to let him pass.
"Go on in and find a spot. Just don’t cause any trouble."
Li Yuan entered the area, circled halfway along the edge, and found an empty spot by the stone wall to squat down.
He took the Talismans from his sleeve and laid them out in a neat row on the stone surface before him.
Eight Fireball Talismans, twelve Cleaning Talismans, and six Exorcism Talismans.
At the stall next to him, one Loose Cultivator had displayed a few chunks of mediocre-quality ore and two vials of medicinal liquid. Another had spread out a cloth on which rested several rusted Magical Artifact components.
In the empty space in the center, a few Loose Cultivators were bartering. One traded three Low Grade Qi Gathering Pills for two pieces of Red Iron Ore. Another held up a bundle of herbs to ask for a price, but the stall owner shook his head, finding the quality lacking.
Some people also bought things directly with Spirit Stones, but such transactions weren’t very common. Most Loose Cultivators didn’t have many Spirit Stones, so bartering was more prevalent.
In a corner of the hollow stood a half-man-high stone slab. A few lines of crooked characters, written with mineral powder, were scrawled on its surface, looking like a notice for commissions.
Li Yuan didn’t call out to advertise his wares. He just squatted in his spot with the Talismans displayed before him.
Before long, someone walked over.
A young Loose Cultivator at the Qi Refining Third Level squatted down, looked at the Talismans in front of Li Yuan, and picked up a Cleaning Talisman to examine it.
"You drew these yourself?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"For the Cleaning Talismans, half a Spirit Stone for ten."
The young Loose Cultivator clicked his tongue.
"A little expensive."
"The quality is right here. See for yourself."
The young Loose Cultivator looked over the Cleaning Talisman again, hesitated for a moment, but still left.
A while later, another person walked up to Li Yuan.
His steps were unhurried, but each one landed firmly.
Li Yuan looked up and saw it was the organizer of the trading meet, the one with a Qi Refining Seventh Level Cultivation.
The man squatted down, his gaze falling not on Li Yuan, but on the Fireball Talismans.
He reached out, picked one up, and turned it over to its front, glancing at the arrangement of the Spirit Patterns.
Then he flipped it to the back, pressing gently on the Talisman Core with his finger.
He was silent for a few breaths.
"These Fireball Talismans... nicely drawn."
His tone was flat, not like he was just being polite.
He placed the talisman back down, then picked up the second and third, examining each one in turn.
"The quality is consistent, and the Talisman Core is cleanly contained." He glanced up at Li Yuan. "Have you mastered them?"
"Mastered them recently."
The old man nodded. Without further comment, he spoke directly.
"I’ll take all the Fireball Talismans. How much?"
"There are eight. Three Spirit Stones each, so twenty-four in total."
"Twenty-two."
"Deal."
The old man counted out twenty-two Spirit Stones from the storage pouch at his waist and stacked them on the stone surface. Li Yuan counted them before sweeping them into his sleeve.
The old man stacked the eight Fireball Talismans and put them away.
"I also have Cleaning Talismans and Exorcism Talismans. Interested?" Li Yuan asked.
The old man glanced at the remaining basic Talismans and shook his head.
"No need."
The gazes of several nearby Loose Cultivators drifted over, some more obviously than others.
A transaction of twenty-two Spirit Stones was no small sum at this little trading meet. The total value of goods at most stalls was only a few Spirit Stones. A single sale worth twenty-two would be strange if it didn’t attract attention.
A couple of Loose Cultivators came over to look at Li Yuan’s remaining Talismans. After a moment’s hesitation, they each bought a few.
Li Yuan put away the rest of his Talismans and got up, walking to the other side of the area.
He visited the few stalls that were selling materials.
The quality of the talisman paper was uneven, with not much of it being good. Li Yuan selected a batch of usable Cyan Pattern Paper and ordinary yellow paper, bought two bottles of Spiritual Ink, and also picked up some scattered mineral powders and plant fibers. These were auxiliary materials for talisman making. They weren’t hard to buy in a market square, but they were difficult to find near the mine, so he bought as much as he could.
After making a round, he had spent eleven Spirit Stones.
Just as Li Yuan was about to return to his spot after purchasing his materials, a slightly urgent voice came from the corner of the hollow.
"Everyone, please help."
A Loose Cultivator in his thirties stood next to the commission slab, cupping his hands in a plea to the people in the area.
He wasn’t tall, with a dark, weathered complexion and hands full of calluses—clearly someone who spent his years working in the fields.
"My home is at the foot of the mountain about a mile east of here, where I have two mu of Spirit Fields. A few days ago, a Demon Beast showed up—a Tier One Middle Grade. I don’t know what kind it is, but it’s not small, and it’s ruined all the Cyan Essence Grass in my Spirit Fields that was almost ready for harvest."
He wrung his hands, his voice a little hoarse.
"My father and I are both at the Qi Refining Third Level. We’re no match for that thing at all. It’s just lazing around the edge of the fields and won’t leave. It sleeps during the day and comes out to dig at night. If this keeps up, this season’s entire harvest will be lost."
He looked around at the crowd.
"If anyone can help drive that thing away or kill it... I can’t offer many Spirit Stones, but I’ll give you half of the Cyan Essence Grass from the fields."
The area fell silent for a moment.
A few Loose Cultivators exchanged glances, but no one responded. A Tier One Middle Grade Demon Beast was too much for most of the Early-stage Qi Refining Loose Cultivators here. A mistake could cost them their lives.
The Loose Cultivator waited for a while. The urgency on his face slowly turned to helplessness. He cupped his hands once more and retreated to the side.
Someone nearby muttered under their breath, "A Tier One Middle Grade... you’d need to be at the fourth or fifth level or higher to be safe. Who’d be willing to take that risk for a few stalks of Cyan Essence Grass?"
The topic didn’t last long.
The Loose Cultivators in the area gradually shifted from trading to idle chatter, gathering in groups of three or five to exchange news.
Li Yuan leaned against the stone wall. He didn’t deliberately move closer, but he wasn’t far, and he could hear their conversation clearly.
A middle-aged Loose Cultivator was squatting in the middle of the area with an empty cloth bag in front of him. Having already sold all his goods, he was now chatting with the person next to him.
"...My boy is nine this year. They checked and found he has a talent for cultivation."
A short Loose Cultivator next to him hissed in a breath. "That’s great news!"
"It’s good news, sure," the middle-aged Loose Cultivator said, scratching his head with a conflicted expression.
"But now I’m in a bind. Should I send him to the Wang family to sign a contract, or keep him with me and teach him slowly?"
"Send him to the Wang family, of course! Is there even a question?" The short Loose Cultivator slapped his thigh. "What can you teach him on your own? You’re only at the Qi Refining Second Level. How far can you guide him? If you send him to the Wang family, they have Cultivation Techniques and resources. It’s a hundred times better than you fumbling around in the dark at home."
Another, slightly older Loose Cultivator shook his head and joined in.
"Signing a contract isn’t that simple. Once you sign, he belongs to them. A contract for decades... what he can and can’t do won’t be up to him. And what if there are dangers? That’s not sending your kid off to cultivate; it’s sending him off to sell his life."
"Then what do you suggest? Raise him yourself?" the short Loose Cultivator retorted. "Can you even afford it? Where will the Cultivation Technique come from? The pills? The Spirit Stones? Just by farming your two mu of Spirit Fields? Even those fields belong to the Wang family."
The middle-aged Loose Cultivator sighed and said nothing.
The group went back and forth, but reached no conclusion.
After listening for a long time, the middle-aged Loose Cultivator gave a wry smile and stood up.
"I’ll give it some more thought."
The people around him also began to disperse, going about their own business.
Li Yuan straightened up from the stone wall, organized the materials he had purchased in his sleeve, and walked toward the exit of the hollow.
As he passed the tall rock, the Late-stage Qi Refining organizer on top opened his eyes slightly, glanced at Li Yuan, and then closed them again.
Li Yuan didn’t linger. He went over the low hill and headed back toward the mine along the gravel slope.