Chapter 24: Old He's Pain
Qingzhu Mountain Marketplace.
“Have you heard? Recently, Shensword Sect issued a bounty—kill a Lihuo Palace inner disciple, and you can exchange it at Shensword Sect for a high-grade magical artifact.”
“That’s nothing. Both Lihuo Palace and Xuanyin Pavilion also have bounty orders. As long as you kill a corresponding Shensword Sect spy or cultivator robber, rewards will be given based on identity and strength. There are even Foundation Establishment Pills.”
In the bustling marketplace, crowds came and went, but many cultivators carried a fierce look between their brows.
There were even large quantities of demon-beast meat and leather armor-like goods appearing on the market.
Treasure Pavilion.
“Talisman Master Lin, you’re a rare guest these days.”
The familiar Shopkeeper Miao had been glowing with vitality lately due to the arrival of sect cultivators. Upon seeing Lin Chang’an arrive, he broke into a smile.
“Shopkeeper Miao, don’t tease me. If I had known Lihuo Palace would open up to outsiders, who wouldn’t sell themselves?”
Lin Chang’an shook his head, feeling utterly helpless inside.
Who could’ve guessed that right after he had just attached himself to the Zhou Family, such a thing would happen?
Noticing Lin Chang’an’s displeasure, Shopkeeper Miao chuckled and cupped his hands.
“Talisman Master Lin, aren’t you joking with me? Even I didn’t catch the slightest wind of news from above.”
Shopkeeper Miao spoke cautiously, but Lin Chang’an simply shook his head and said nothing more. He slapped the table and handed over five Spirit Stones and a mid-grade Golden Light Talisman.
“Oh my, Talisman Master Lin, your craftsmanship just keeps getting better.”
Seeing Shopkeeper Miao change his expression so quickly, Lin Chang’an couldn’t help but laugh and waved his hand.
“Alright, top-grade mid-grade cinnabar and talisman paper, and some cultivation-enhancing pills.”
Every month, aside from the talismans owed to the Zhou Family, he would naturally sell the rest outside.
However, to avoid suspicion, he bought cinnabar at the Treasure Pavilion so others would see him as a struggling cultivator.
Mid-grade talismans were hot sellers in the marketplace—there was no shortage of buyers at all.
“Talisman Master Lin, we also have other mid-grade talisman inheritances here—just over a hundred Spirit Stones.”
After handing over the cinnabar and pills, Shopkeeper Miao skillfully began promoting, while Lin Chang’an put on the look of someone poor yet still pretending to endure.
“Better to master one than dabble in many. Besides, over a hundred Spirit Stones—I’d need a whole year even without eating or drinking. Not to mention I still owe the Zhou Family a ten-year debt.”
After receiving the pills, cinnabar, and talisman paper, Lin Chang’an didn’t leave, and Shopkeeper Miao wore a knowing smile. After all, many new things had been opened to the public at the Treasure Pavilion lately.
“Talisman Master Lin, the outside world hasn’t been peaceful lately. I’ve heard that cultivator robbers are committing crimes in the marketplace. Inside the store, we’ve got everything—defensive magical tools, spells, you name it.”
Looking at Shopkeeper Miao’s beaming, greedy face, Lin Chang’an was speechless, but still nodded.
“Shopkeeper Miao, you know my worth—barely anything. I’m not even thinking about defensive artifacts. I just wanted to ask if you have any manuals with insights from advanced cultivators? Spell experience handbooks would be fine too.”
“Yes, of course we do.”
Shopkeeper Miao smiled from ear to ear. As long as you did business with him, he was happy.
“Cultivation insights from a late-stage Qi Refining wood-element cultivator—eighty Spirit Stones! High-grade Talisman Master’s experience handbook—one hundred eighty Spirit Stones.”
Hearing the prices, Lin Chang’an fell silent, asking if they could be sold separately—like a handbook for just one specific spell.
In response, Shopkeeper Miao nodded with a smile. But the next sentence—that it would come with a Spirit Contract—made Lin Chang’an leave without turning back.
“Just one Fireball spell handbook costs ten Spirit Stones, but comes bundled with a fifteen-Spirit-Stone Spirit Contract! What a scam! Total scam!”
Leaving the Treasure Pavilion, Lin Chang’an, still pretending to be poor, dejectedly tried his luck elsewhere.
Yet after making several twists and turns, Lin Chang’an had changed into a new disguise.
Half an hour later, Lin Chang’an, now in gray robes and a bamboo hat, appeared again at the Treasure Pavilion.
“These manuals with cultivation insights usually can’t be found outside. This is a rare opportunity—even if pricey, at least the Treasure Pavilion guarantees authenticity.”
His previous long chat with Shopkeeper Miao was actually to observe things secretly.
There were several shopkeepers on the first floor, each managing different things.
...
Half a stick of incense later, the gray-cloaked, bamboo-hatted Lin Chang’an exited the Treasure Pavilion and quickly vanished into the crowd.
“Two hundred and thirty-five low-grade Spirit Stones—such a rip-off!”
After several twists and turns, Lin Chang’an clutched the jade slip in his storage pouch with heartache.
One high-grade Talisman Master’s experience manual had cost him one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones.
The late Qi Refining Stage Fire Control Technique experience manual cost thirty Spirit Stones.
The Spirit Contract worth fifteen Spirit Stones, and the final ten were spent on this specially restricted jade slip.
Only his own mana could reveal the contents of the jade slip.
“The anti-theft awareness in the cultivation world is seriously excessive.”
He hadn’t known much before due to lack of contact, but now Lin Chang’an finally understood why these sects were so powerful.
Even just the inheritances alone were an endless source of wealth.
This “no unauthorized transmission” rule alone was enough to harvest endlessly.
“But I’m different.”
Blending into the crowd, Lin Chang’an revealed a meaningful smile.
To ordinary cultivators, someone else’s experience might deepen insight and understanding, and only the perceptive ones could benefit from it.
But for most cultivators, it was rather mediocre.
However, that wasn’t the case for him—every insight he gained was a permanent improvement.
“Permanent certification”—this was his strongest talent.
“Over two hundred Spirit Stones might be nothing to the Treasure Pavilion, probably won’t raise suspicion. Plus, I deliberately bought a Fire Control Technique.”
He had purchased the Fire Control Technique to make others think he practiced a fire-element cultivation method.
After multiple rounds of disguise and careful alertness, Lin Chang’an finally returned to his original appearance and merged into the crowd of the marketplace.
“Twenty jin of mid-grade first-rank demon-beast meat.”
“Coming right up.”
Looking at the fresh demon-beast meat, Lin Chang’an smiled with satisfaction. After paying the Spirit Stones and just as he was storing the meat into his storage pouch—
Suddenly, a familiar hunched figure in the distance was being chased away.
“Get lost, you old fool! Don’t interfere with my business!”
“No, no, fellow Daoist, I’m just looking for my grandson. Have you seen my grandson? He’s a genius!”
A disheveled old man, clearly not in his right mind, was dragging people around and boasting about his grandson.
“Old He?!”
Lin Chang’an was startled. The old man with dry, graying hair and sallow complexion in front of him was actually Old He.
Old He’s miserable state, his mind obviously unstable, and his cultivation had already fallen to the early Qi Refining Stage.
Unknowingly, he had returned to his old street, and familiar neighbors recognized Lin Chang’an and greeted him respectfully as Talisman Master Lin.
“Sigh, Old He is really pitiful.”
Next to him, the meat seller surnamed Luo shook his head and sighed, then explained Old He’s situation.
Back then, after He Yan passed the assessment, the group he traveled with had left the marketplace, only to encounter a demon-beast attack on their way to Lihuo Palace.
The outcome was predictable, and once Old He learned about it later, he ended up like this.
“So that’s what happened.”
Lin Chang’an let out a long, deep sigh. The biggest blow was probably learning that the Black Wind Wolves had driven the demon-beasts to attack the marketplace.
It was as if Old He, out of greed, had indirectly caused the death of his own grandson.
“Old He, come, I’ll take you to find your grandson.”
“Ah, it’s Fellow Daoist Lin. I’m telling you, my grandson is a genius.”
Hearing someone was taking him to find his grandson, Old He immediately smiled.
Lin Chang’an gently nodded in agreement. It wasn’t that he was especially kind-hearted, but Old He’s life force was clearly running out—he didn’t have many days left.
He was merely doing what little he could to let Old He depart with dignity.
This scene was seen by the demon-beast meat seller surnamed Luo, who shook his head and let out a long sigh.
“Old He is still better off than most—at least someone will collect his corpse.”
Under the setting sun, Lin Chang’an walked away with the old man toward the distance.