Chapter 54: The Second Gathering

The repair cultivator returned two days later.

This time, he brought a second mule.

Both animals were loaded with timber, iron fittings, spare rope, leather straps, and several wooden boxes.

Lin Yuan noticed him while carrying vegetables back from Qiao’s shop.

"You brought more."

The cultivator glanced at the loaded mules.

"I heard how many wagons came last time."

"Fourteen."

"And people are saying this one will be larger."

"They are."

"Then I brought more."

Lin Yuan pointed toward the marked trading area.

"Same place."

The cultivator nodded and began unloading.

He hadn’t even finished before his first customer appeared.

A merchant led over a wagon with one wheel making an unpleasant clicking sound.

The repair cultivator crouched beside it.

"How long has it been doing that?"

"Since yesterday."

"And you kept driving?"

"It still moved."

The cultivator looked up at him.

"That doesn’t mean it’s fine."

Lin Yuan continued toward the tavern, leaving the merchant to argue with someone else for a change.

More travelers arrived throughout the day.

Some had come specifically for the gathering.

Others simply reached Blackstone at the right time and decided there was no reason to continue immediately.

The marked trading spaces filled first.

Dried herbs.

Cheap talismans.

Tools.

Preserved food.

Beast materials.

Cloth.

Nothing especially rare.

Lin Yuan preferred it that way.

Blackstone needed goods people could actually use, not treasures valuable enough to start fights over.

By evening, Blackstone Inn was full.

Wandering Cloud Tavern’s eight guest rooms had filled earlier that afternoon.

Fang Yu appeared at the tavern shortly before dinner.

"Twelve."

Lin Yuan was cutting meat.

"All occupied?"

"All occupied."

"Waiting list?"

"Five."

Lin Yuan looked at her.

"Five people?"

"Five groups."

That was worse.

"What are you doing with them?"

"Nothing."

Lin Yuan paused.

Fang Yu continued.

"I told them we don’t have rooms."

"And?"

"Three groups are camping beside their wagons. One found space with another caravan."

"The fifth?"

"Asked whether your tavern still lets people sleep downstairs."

Lin Yuan sighed.

"Only if they’re stranded after dark."

"I told him."

"Good."

Fang Yu leaned against the kitchen doorway.

"When are you building another inn?"

"No."

"You answered quickly."

"I remember what happened after the first one."

A faint smile appeared on her face.

"Good."

She left to find dinner.

Lin Yuan returned to the meat.

Blackstone could survive one crowded gathering without another construction project.

At least, that was what he intended.

The next morning, wagon wheels woke Lin Yuan before sunrise.

He opened his eyes.

Another wagon passed outside.

Then another.

Lin Yuan sat up.

There was no point pretending he was going back to sleep.

By the time he reached the dining hall, Su Mei was already there.

She looked through the front window.

"So many?"

"Apparently."

Xiao Lan came downstairs behind them.

She took one look outside, turned around, and headed for the kitchen.

"I’ll start the rice."

Lin Yuan nodded.

That was probably the smartest decision anyone had made that morning.

Central Blackstone filled quickly.

Gao Rui returned shortly after sunrise with his three wagons.

Two more traveled behind him.

He found Lin Yuan beside the gathering area.

"You were right."

"About?"

"The gathering."

Gao Rui gestured behind him.

"There were caravans joining the road the whole way here."

"You brought friends."

One of the nearby merchants immediately called over.

"We heard that."

Gao Rui ignored him.

Lin Yuan looked toward the plot Gao Rui had rented.

"Still building the storage shed?"

"Workers should arrive in a few days."

"After the gathering?"

"Unless you want construction happening in the middle of this."

Lin Yuan looked around.

"No."

"Thought so."

Gao Rui returned to his wagons.

The simple layout Lin Yuan had marked out was already proving useful.

Merchants knew where they could unload.

The center remained open for wagon traffic.

Temporary sellers had space without spreading across the road.

Nobody had started arguing over the best patch of ground.

So far.

The water trough was finally being used as well.

Several barrels stood nearby, filled from the stream before the gathering.

Two Ironhoof Beasts drank while another waited behind them.

Nothing impressive.

But it worked.

Shen Lihua arrived less than an hour later.

She dismounted near the road and looked across Central Blackstone.

Her gaze moved from the wagons to the temporary stalls, then toward the repair area.

"Twenty-three."

Lin Yuan looked at her.

"Wagons?"

"Twenty-three so far."

The first gathering had brought fourteen.

"And it’s still early," Shen Lihua added.

Lin Yuan glanced toward Wandering Cloud Tavern.

Every table was already occupied.

"Wonderful."

"You don’t sound happy."

"I am."

A customer inside lifted an empty bowl.

Lin Yuan pointed toward him.

"I’m also busy."

Shen Lihua laughed.

"I’ll stay out of your way."

"Best thing anyone has offered me today."

She left to speak with several caravan leaders.

Lin Yuan returned to the tavern.

For the next several hours, he barely saw the gathering.

He heard it.

Wagon wheels rolled across the road.

Merchants called to one another.

Spirit beasts shifted near the hitching posts.

Someone argued about the price of dried herbs.

Another person shouted for the repairman.

Inside, Lin Yuan had his own problems.

"Two noodles."

"Coming."

"More tea."

Su Mei was already reaching for the pot.

"Table Seven wants rice."

Xiao Lan leaned out of the kitchen.

"They already had rice."

"They want more."

She disappeared again.

The Middle Spirit Grade tavern handled the crowd much better than the old building could have.

Forty seats.

Two Spirit-Assisted Kitchen Stoves.

Su Mei managing the front.

Xiao Lan working beside Lin Yuan.

Even then, the tables rarely stayed empty for more than a few breaths.

One group left.

Another sat down.

Two merchants finished their meal but remained at the same table discussing a shipment.

Lin Yuan considered asking them to move.

Then they ordered another pot of tea.

He let them stay.

Across the road, Blackstone Inn remained full.

Fang Yu had placed a board near the entrance.

NO ROOMS AVAILABLE

Someone had added another line beneath it.

ASK AGAIN TOMORROW

Lin Yuan suspected Fang Yu had not written that part.

He didn’t have time to investigate.

Near midday, he finally escaped the tavern long enough to carry an empty barrel toward the wagon area.

The gathering had grown again.

Twenty-three wagons had become twenty-five.

Almost every marked trading space was occupied.

The repair cultivator had two wagon wheels lying beside him and three customers waiting.

Qiao’s shop was crowded.

Duan He stood outside his building negotiating with two hunters and a merchant at the same time.

Lin Yuan slowed.

The second gathering wasn’t simply larger.

It was easier.

People arrived expecting Blackstone to function.

They knew where wagons stopped.

They knew where the notice board stood.

They knew there was an inn.

They knew where to find food, water, supplies, beast-material buyers, and repairs.

New visitors simply followed people who already knew the place.

That was different from the first gathering.

"Owner Lin."

Lin Yuan turned.

A woman stood beside one of the marked spaces.

Several boxes of medicinal herbs rested behind her.

"Yes?"

"Can I reserve this spot for the next gathering?"

"No."

She frowned.

"Why?"

"I don’t reserve them."

"I’ll pay."

Lin Yuan paused.

That was new.

"How much?"

The woman smiled.

"You’re the owner. You tell me."

Lin Yuan looked at the trading space.

Only yesterday, merchants had been asking whether the stalls required a fee.

He had said no.

Changing that in the middle of the gathering simply because demand had appeared didn’t seem necessary.

"Not this time."

"What about next gathering?"

"Ask me when this one is over."

She considered it.

"Fine."

Lin Yuan continued toward the trough.

He made it halfway.

"Owner Lin."

Another merchant approached.

"What?"

"Are the spaces first come, first served?"

"For now."

"Can I reserve one next time?"

Lin Yuan stared at him.

"No."

"Even if I pay?"

"You’re the second person to ask me that in five minutes."

The merchant smiled.

"So you’re considering it."

"I didn’t say that."

"But you’re considering it."

Lin Yuan walked away.

The merchant laughed behind him.

A familiar sensation stirred within Lin Yuan’s awareness.

The Territory Core.

He stopped.

He immediately recognized the option lingering at the edge of his awareness.

The Travelers’ Market.

Lin Yuan didn’t open it.

Not now.

An Ironhoof Beast lowered its head into the trough beside him.

Lin Yuan refilled the empty bucket and headed back toward the tavern.

There was work to do.

The gathering continued well into the afternoon.

Merchants traded directly with one another.

Three smaller caravans arranged to travel west together.

Two cultivators found escort work through the notice board.

The repair stall replaced a damaged wagon fitting and repaired several harnesses.

Gao Rui bought preserved grain from one merchant and sold cloth to another.

Qiao ran out of lamp oil again.

Duan He bought enough beast materials that he eventually closed his door and posted a notice.

BUYING PAUSED UNTIL TOMORROW

Someone added another line beneath it.

HE RAN OUT OF MONEY

Duan tore the second line off.

By sunset, the crowd began thinning.

Several caravans planned to leave west together the following morning.

Others would remain another day.

Shen Lihua found Lin Yuan outside Wandering Cloud Tavern.

"Better."

"What is?"

"The layout."

She pointed toward the gathering area.

"Less blocking. Fewer arguments."

"Fewer?"

"Two."

"I only saw one."

"You were cooking."

That explained it.

Shen Lihua looked across the temporary stalls.

"The Association will continue using Blackstone."

Lin Yuan glanced at her.

"Regularly?"

"Unless something changes."

"The western road?"

"That too."

Her expression became slightly more serious.

"But merchants want this stop now."

Lin Yuan looked across Central Blackstone.

Some wagons had already departed.

Others remained parked for the night.

Dust covered the ground.

Empty crates sat beside several stalls.

A broken strip of rope lay near the hitching posts.

It wasn’t impressive.

It was barely organized.

But people had chosen to come here.

"Next gathering?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Fifteen days."

He nodded.

Shen Lihua left to speak with another caravan leader.

Lin Yuan didn’t return upstairs until the evening rush finally ended.

His legs hurt.

His shoulders hurt.

He was fairly certain he had carried more bowls today than during the entire previous week.

Lin Yuan sat beside the table.

Then opened the Territory Core.

Territory Core

Owner: Lin Yuan

Territory: Blackstone Wasteland

Core State: Awakened

Core Level: 3

Spiritual Environment: Faint

Territory Revenue: 842 / 2,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones

Lin Yuan’s attention stopped on the final line.

Eight hundred forty-two.

The last time he had checked, it had been seven hundred thirty-one.

The second gathering had been larger than the first.

Blackstone had also been busy for several days before it even began.

Now merchants were already planning for the next one.

Lin Yuan moved his attention lower.

The option was still there.

Travelers’ Market

Compatible Area: Central Blackstone

Development Requirements: Met

Activation Cost: 120 Low-Grade Spirit Stones

Effects:

Establishes a recognized market zone within Central Blackstone.

Trade Space — Designated stalls and temporary trading spaces within the market zone receive minor environmental stabilization and maintenance.

Market Recognition — Recurring commercial activity within the market zone contributes more strongly toward future territory development conditions.

Lin Yuan read it again.

One hundred twenty spirit stones.

He hadn’t forgotten Returning Current Foundation Art.

Three hundred twenty spirit stones.

He still wanted it.

That hadn’t changed.

But the Travelers’ Market no longer looked like something Blackstone might need eventually.

Twenty-five wagons had arrived today.

Merchants were already asking to reserve trading spaces.

A repair stall had appeared without Lin Yuan recruiting anyone.

Gao Rui was preparing to build a storage shed beside the road.

The gathering had become part of Blackstone.

Lin Yuan leaned back slightly.

For months, whenever Blackstone needed something, the answer had usually been obvious.

Repair the tavern.

Build more rooms.

Hire another worker.

Create space for wagons.

This choice was different.

One path pushed Blackstone forward.

The other would eventually push his cultivation forward.

Both required the same thing.

Spirit stones.

Lin Yuan stared at the activation cost.

He still didn’t like the number.

After several breaths, he smiled faintly.

"Expensive place."

The Territory Core waited.

Lin Yuan focused.

Activate Travelers’ Market?

He hesitated once.

Then confirmed.

120 Low-Grade Spirit Stones Consumed

A pulse spread through Central Blackstone.

Lin Yuan stood.

The sensation passed beneath Wandering Cloud Tavern and continued outward through the Roadside Hub.

Toward the wagon area.

The marked trading ground.

The temporary stalls.

Then it faded.

The Core responded again.

Territory Development Established

Central Blackstone — Travelers’ Market

Trade Space Active

Market Recognition Active

Lin Yuan read the confirmation.

One hundred twenty spirit stones.

Gone.

He dismissed the panel.

Outside, Blackstone had already grown quiet.

Most merchants had settled beside their wagons or returned to the inn. The trading ground lay beneath the night sky, ropes and wooden stakes still marking the spaces used during the day.

From his window, Lin Yuan couldn’t see anything different.

He looked toward the dark gathering ground for another moment.

Tomorrow, he would find out what one hundred twenty spirit stones had changed.