Free Web NovelChapter 139: Chapter 139: All Settled
The changes that happened between dusk and dawn were the most disorienting.
It was the second month. Though a stubborn chill still clung to the air, its days were numbered.
Xu Ruyuan arrived at the shop, accompanying an honest-faced man who was pulling a flatbed cart.
Wei An, who was clicking away at an abacus inside the shop, looked up and hurried out to greet them.
"Greetings, Senior Xu."
After the greeting came the familiar routine: unloading the medicinal herbs, weighing them, and paying with Spirit Stones.
With thirteen Spirit Stones in hand, the honest-faced man immediately broke into a wide grin.
Xu Ruyuan smiled. "I won’t see you off. I’ll head over to your area in a couple of months to check things out."
"If you get any good herbs, be sure to save them for me!"
The shop’s prices were on the higher end of the market rate, so the man had no reason to refuse.
He immediately agreed with a smile and a string of promises.
Once the man had departed with his cart, Xu Ruyuan leaned against a shelf and asked nonchalantly,
"Brother Bai still hasn’t come out of seclusion?"
Wei An crouched down to inspect the medicinal herbs.
"He came out a while ago, but after receiving a message from a few esteemed Cultivators in the city, he plunged right back into the Alchemy Room..."
"The night before the Shopkeeper came out of his meditation room, it was terrifying. There was this rumbling sound from inside, almost like thunder and fire..."
Xu Ruyuan knew the boy had lived through the turmoil, so it wasn’t surprising he’d seen some strange things.
"Strange phenomena are common in cultivation. Don’t worry about it."
"Speaking of which, your residency registration will probably have to be delayed again..."
Thanks to a strict crackdown by the Xuandao Sect’s Cultivators, the Corpse God Pill had now all but vanished from the city.
However, the refugees who had previously taken the Corpse God Pill were now causing all sorts of new problems.
Just yesterday, one of them had attacked the lady of the house where he worked. When discovered by the servants, he fought his way out and escaped.
He fled outside the city, and seeing he was cornered, leaped into the river and vanished.
Wei An’s face soured.
"We’re the ones who have to put up with all this!"
After a moment of gloom, he suddenly recalled something, and a curious expression crossed his face.
"I heard that back when the Corpse God Pill was rampant, you gathered a lot of followers. You’ve got a whole new group of people now?"
"They’ve taken the Corpse God Pill before. You have to be careful!"
Xu Ruyuan laughed. He was well aware of the situation.
"’Followers’ is a strong word. They’re just people willing to walk the same path as us..."
"You, on the other hand... I’ve never seen you care about other people’s business before. Now you’re gossiping like an old hen!"
The weather was nice, and with no customers in the shop, the two were idle and in the mood for a long chat.
...
Bai Mo flicked his fingers, cleaning away the specks of medicinal paste from under his nails.
A thought crossed his mind.
[Pill Master: Bai Mo]
[Realm: Qi Refining Fifth Layer]
[Status: Pill Disciple (107/900)]
[Aptitude: Comprehends the whole from a single part. Insight is beginning to manifest.]
His tireless work, day and night, had yielded abundant results.
Rows of pill bottles were arranged to the side. Several large vats were already filled to the brim with Pills, their wooden lids sealed tight against moisture.
Amid his satisfaction, the scene of his breakthrough flashed through Bai Mo’s mind, and he couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of dread.
In his eagerness, he’d used over a dozen extra variant Spirit Stones. The Spiritual Qi had torn through the air, and its wild howling had been terrifying.
Especially since he had been right in the middle of it!
’Thankfully, I was able to withstand it. I’ll have to be more cautious from now on.’
’On this trip to the sect, I need to find a way to get a gentler Array Plate. The one I have now is far too crude in its operation.’
Calculating the days, he figured the senior brothers from Beast Taming Peak should have finished settling the Spirit Beasts by now.
’I’ll probably be leaving the city in the next few days.’
Bai Mo bent down, picked up a cloth pouch, and tucked it away carefully before pushing the door open and stepping outside.
The warm spring sun was gentle and bright.
"What a perfect time of year."
When he reached the storefront, only Wei An was there.
The young man was startled.
"Are you finished, sir?"
Bai Mo nodded and asked calmly,
"How has the shop been lately?"
Wei An quickly replied, "The usual, nothing major has happened."
"Oh, right! Senior Xu brought someone by today to deliver a batch of herbs. You should take a look!"
The two went to the storeroom, where a few bundles of medicinal herbs lay scattered about.
After inspecting them, Bai Mo nodded.
"The quality is good. They’re all from Celestial Barrier Mountain."
"But they’re still damp. When you have a free moment, lay them out to dry. Otherwise, they might not last until I return."
Wei An quickly agreed.
"When are you departing, sir?"
"In the next few days," Bai Mo said.
"After I’m gone, take good care of the shop. If any trouble comes up, go find Daoist Friend Xu and the others for help."
Xu Ruyuan was currently active around the Green Dragon River area, so it wouldn’t be difficult for Wei An to find him.
After giving a few more instructions, Bai Mo left the shop.
Along the way, the Cultivators from the various Demon Hunting Teams were so enthusiastic that Bai Mo had considerable difficulty reaching Lanshan’s home.
In the courtyard, Lanshan was reclining in a chair, his upper arm tightly wrapped in cloth bandages.
He started to rise when he saw Bai Mo arrive, but Bai Mo motioned for him to stay seated.
"Where are the strange fish? I can get them myself."
Lanshan pointed to a room. Bai Mo went over, pushed open the door, and retrieved two strange fish that were hanging from a rafter.
They were heavy, each one likely weighing forty to fifty pounds.
Four limbs dangled from the blackish-green belly of each fish, ending in long, sharp, three-taloned claws.
Lanshan’s voice was a low rumble. "You really can’t believe everything you read in folktales."
"These fish can walk as well as they swim, and they aren’t tempted by bait."
"Limping Ma and his crew spent half the night fishing for them with rods, all excited. They had no idea the creatures were perched on a dead branch right over their heads, just watching them work."
Lanshan shook his head.
In the end, one of the tougher guys stripped down, jumped into the murky water, and after a fierce struggle, managed to bring out two of the fish.
However, this led to an unexpected discovery.
"There’s something strange in the water. It gives off a green glow at night. No idea what it is."
Hopefully, it was a place of treasure.
Bai Mo smiled. "My thanks to everyone for their hard work."
As he spoke, he took out a knife, pried open the fish’s mouth, and made a quick slice.
He squeezed its body, and a pale green pearl slid out, emitting a rich, oily fragrance.
Lanshan leaned in for a look.
"If you didn’t know how these things were formed, you could easily mistake it for a Treasure Pearl."
The quality of the fish pearl was excellent. It wouldn’t be difficult to fool the city’s pretentious nobles with it.
Bai Mo examined it for a moment before carefully putting it away.
"How did you get injured, Brother Lanshan?"
"It was a sneak attack from some kind of tree monkey," Lanshan said dismissively. "The damn beast was probably trying to rip my heart out."
It was because of this injury that he hadn’t been able to join the latest trip into the mountains.
Lan Ru had gone, though.
After a moment’s thought, Bai Mo said, "You should still be careful. At the very least, you should perform the ritual at the old tree stump before entering the mountain..."
Lanshan gave Bai Mo a surprised look.
"Shopkeeper Bai, why do you say that?"
Bai Mo lowered his voice. "I’ve heard that Celestial Barrier Mountain is truly haunted by wandering ghosts and lost souls."
"It’s just like the legends that are passed around here. Perhaps the people who die in there really do get trapped."
"Oh?" A glint appeared in Lanshan’s eyes.
A man of Bai Mo’s standing wouldn’t spread baseless rumors like some idler on the street.
"Is there more to this story?"
"I only heard it mentioned by someone from another race. I don’t know the details."
Lanshan nodded. He had always thought it was just a superstition, something done for peace of mind.
He grinned, baring his teeth. "So there really is some truth to the things passed down by our ancestors."
Bai Mo pressed for more details about the tree stump legend, but Lanshan couldn’t offer any.
He just rubbed his head and said he didn’t know.
"By the way, when are you leaving the city, Shopkeeper Bai?"
"Soon. In the next few days. I have to wait for things in the city to settle down first."
The two chatted for a while longer before Lanshan’s gaze fell upon the fish carcasses on the ground.
"These fish... do you want them, Shopkeeper Bai?"
Bai Mo answered without a second thought.
"With our constitutions, I’m afraid neither I nor Wei An could handle something so bizarre."
"I’ll pass."
"Fair enough." Lanshan wasn’t sure about them either.
"I’ll just take them to a restaurant and sell them cheap. See if anyone will buy them."
