Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 3 Ghost Market
The next morning, the wind was clear and the snow had stopped. Hu Xiaode called four or five people and was loading the horses with goods.

Xu Boyang came out, already dressed in moon-white clothes, even his cloak had been changed into a white fur coat, looking radiant. He called him to a deserted place and instructed:

"Sell your goods in the morning, and go to the market this afternoon to check out everything you want to take back. Also, inquire about the situation in the north to see if there's any useful information. Then go back to the Wang family and exchange it for some money. Just listen, don't be too nosy, and don't go around asking around."

Hu Xiaode smiled and said, "I see, Brother Yang, there are two teahouses in the city, and I know the owners well. By the way, aren't you going?"

"Are you stupid? The horse died and I have to go buy it back, otherwise how will I load the goods tomorrow?"

Xu Boyang glared at him, feeling that this guy was really confused and had no brains at all. He said in a cold voice,

"I have something else to do this afternoon, so don't worry about me."

Xijiao Horse Farm is the only horse farm in Dongke Town and is also the property of the Fei family. The farm is not big and is sparsely populated with only seven or eight horses idle, which looks very desolate.

Horses, as a means of transportation and travel, were a necessity for ordinary people in this era. Any family with a little extra money would raise one or two horses for emergencies.

But for some reason, the Fei family's horse farm became much quieter.

"Boss, why are there so few horses?"

Xu Boyang looked at the horses walking listlessly in the stable, became suspicious, and asked a question.

"Brother, you don't know something!"

The horse farm owner looked depressed and sighed.
"Ever since the fight between the Chen family of Wuyin Town and the Lin family of Jinguang Town in the north, many refugees have fled here and are wandering around. There has been unrest for generations, so naturally, there are fewer customers buying horses."

Xu Boyang had been to Wuyin Town and Jinguang Town before. They were towns larger than Dongke Town. The forces there were intertwined and business was difficult, so he went there less often later on. It was said that there were several aristocratic families there, including the Chen family and the Lin family, and he had heard of them.

"What does this have to do with selling horses? Does the shopkeeper not have any good horses and is lying to me?" Xu Boyang laughed.

"How can it not matter? It matters a lot!"

The horse farm owner stared and stroked his beard.

"When these noble families start fighting, the common people suffer. Refugees arrive with nothing to eat, and they become bandits. A few days ago, several caravans were robbed on the road, and their horses were eaten."

"Oh, is it so?"

"Of course not! The trade routes to Wuyin Town are now cut off. If this continues, I'm afraid even the trade routes to Dongke Town will be lost. I heard that a caravan coming from Fengqing Town was robbed in the eastern suburbs last night. Fortunately, those people were very powerful and killed them all! Tell me, in such a situation, people dare not go out, so what's the use of horses?"

"I see."

Xu Boyang remained calm, but he had another plan in mind. He smiled and said,

"In that case, what the shopkeeper said does make some sense. But I heard that your Dongke Town is managed by the master of the Fei family. Now that the trouble has reached his doorstep, he won't intervene?"

"Ouch!" The shopkeeper slapped his thigh and quickly pulled Xu Boyang aside, whispering, "Look at what you're saying, little brother. Don't let others hear it. Go take a look at Loufu Mountain in the southern suburbs. There are so many spiritual fields planted at the foot of the mountain. Who would dare to go there without any eyes?"

"My master is a vassal of the immortals, and he was ordered to guard here. He has the jade seal given by the immortals as proof. This is just a disturbance by some refugees. My master has the ambition to ascend to immortality, so how could he care about such trivial matters? We can't mobilize the army just because of a few gangs of bandits and alarm the immortals."

"Besides, these people are just ordinary people who are just looking for a living. After a while, when the situation in the north is peaceful, they will naturally disperse."

"After all, those who died were merchants from other places. The local clansmen are all under the care of the small clan leaders. When you are away from home, you can't blame others for not being as skilled as others."

"Boss, you are right."

Xu Boyang glanced at his heartless appearance and the incoherent words, and felt nauseous for no reason. He stopped asking questions and walked into the horse farm.

He pretended to be reckless and asked this question just to test the Fei family's attitude. Since they didn't want to bother with it, then this was a good opportunity to make a fortune. He discovered a business opportunity in this moment and thought to himself:

"Go home and ask your father!"

Although the owner of this horse farm is from the Fei family, Xu Boyang is a customer when he buys horses. He will not say anything more when he is just saying this casually.

But there were too few horses, so Xu Boyang picked out two that looked pretty good. He patted the horses' necks, brought them over by the reins, and paid.

The shopkeeper looked down at the young man who seemed to be very familiar with horses. He was puzzled and asked, "Where are you from, sir?"

"Fengqing Town!" Xu Boyang thought he was being too long-winded, so he threw down a sentence and rode away.

"Could it be the man who killed someone last night?" The shopkeeper looked at the dust going away in surprise.

Xu Boyang returned to his residence, tied up his horse and fed it with fodder, then went into the room.

Hu Xiaode and the others were all in the market, so they naturally had lunch there. There was no one in the room at the moment.

Xu Boyang lied to him that he had something to do in the afternoon, but in fact he had nothing to do at all. It was just that he had tasted the sweetness of cultivation for the first time last night, and all he wanted to do was practice.

I breathed in and out all night last night and I feel pretty energetic, but I feel hungry quickly. It's only been three quarters past the hour when I feel my chest pressing against my back.

Xu Boyang was too lazy to go to the hall to order food. He took a few pancakes from his bag and ate them casually. Then he began to meditate and breathe. He did not walk out of the room until the sun was setting.

When he went outside the yard to look at the horses, he happened to meet Hu Xiaode and others coming back, their faces full of joy.

"The goods have all been sold, the prices are good, and there's still some left at home! The news is similar to what I heard last night, but the goods have been ordered, so we're all done!"

"Let's go! I'll buy you a drink!"

Xu Boyang laughed and pulled him to order some food and wine.

"Brother Yang, stop teasing me!" Hu Xiaode still remembered being scolded by him last night.

"Everyone has worked hard on the journey, so we can't skimp on the wine and meat. Let's go home early tomorrow morning! Let's have a good meal tonight. Any extra will be on my shoulders!" Xu Boyang shouted to everyone.

Everyone cheered and laughed at the table, clinking glasses. Even Xu Boyang, who didn't drink on weekdays, toasted everyone.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Xu Boyang put on a protective hat and a ghost mask and appeared in the ghost market again.

There is still one Peiyuan Pill that has not been used.

Although it would be okay to hand it back, as this situation had happened frequently in the past, after all, the boss couldn't be made to suffer losses. However, Xu Boyang himself would have missed out on the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Now that he had gotten a glimpse of the situation, how could he let go of such an opportunity?

There seemed to be fewer people tonight than last night. Xu Boyang was secretly surprised as he walked. There were more people when it was snowing, but fewer people when the snow stopped.

But after a moment, he saw a small yellow porcelain bottle placed among a pile of items in a white tent. He immediately stopped and asked in a hoarse voice:

"How are you, Daoist friend? How much is the Pei Yuan Dan?"

Three fingers were extended from the tent: "Condensation Stage, two palms plus this number."

Thirteen spirit stones?
Xu Boyang was secretly delighted and said in a deep voice:
"Taller!"

There was a pause in the tent, and he retracted a finger. "This is the lowest number."

Xu Boyang said nothing more and left, but he was very happy in his heart.

The low price offered by the owner of Peiyuan Dan was ten spirit stones. After deducting the toll, he could at least take one away.

How could this not make him happy?

You know, he sold so much goods in the past two years to save up these eight spirit stones. Unexpectedly, only two days have passed and he has earned at least three.

He thought to himself as he hurried to look for the tent that was out of stock.

The rules of the ghost market are that if the tent has goods, it is for sale, and if it doesn't have goods, it is for buying. Selling and buying at the same time are not allowed to prevent price gouging and disrupting the market. Of course, barter is another matter.

"Peking Yuan Pill, Condensation Yuan Stage, how much is it?"

After wandering around for a while, Xu Boyang stopped in front of a yellow tent. The tent stretched out a hand, turned it over, and said nothing.

"It's less, add this amount."

Seeing that the other party only gave two palms, Xu Boyang stretched out three fingers and said in a deep voice.

The yellow tent pulled the tarpaulin and stopped responding.

Seeing his refusal, Xu Boyang cursed inwardly and turned away.

I visited two more stores, but to my surprise, the highest reward I could get was only eleven spirit stones. So, I spent almost the same, and didn't get a penny.

The boss has stipulated that each time you ship something, you can only go to the ghost market once, and the toll will be borne by the boss. You can sell all the goods, and return the rest if you don't. You are not allowed to go a second time. Tonight, Xu Boyang acted on his own, thinking that maybe he could make the money back.

This means that he has to sell this Peiyuan Pill for at least eleven spirit stones to complete the task, and he must sell it tonight, otherwise he will lose one for no reason and he will not be able to explain it when he goes back.

The main reason was that he was eager to practice and used up all the remaining spirit stones from last night. Those twenty-four spirit stones were already the minimum price given by the boss.

Of course, he was not acting on impulse. He had already taken a rough look last night and found that the price of Peiyuan Dan was around twelve spirit stones. However, there were very few people accepting the goods last night, and only many people buying them, so he thought of trying his luck tonight.

In the ghost market, only one spirit stone is required for passing through, while five are required for setting up a tent stall.

Passersby cannot trade with each other, tents cannot communicate with each other, and passersby cannot act as dealers. This is also the rule.

If you are discovered, it’s not as simple as just asking you to leave.

Xu Boyang was a little panicked, but he was not in a hurry. The ghost market would last until at least the end of midnight, and it was only the beginning of midnight, a full two hours, so there was plenty of time.

Of course, you can’t ask again if you have asked before. The more you ask, the lower the price will be, and it will be easy for people to take advantage of you.

He paced slowly, looked carefully, and looked up the price at several stores. He found that the price was only eleven spirit stones, but the buyer only gave ten.

"I got ripped off by the White Tent guy!"

Xu Boyang was annoyed and stamped his feet and spat. He planned to find another store, sell the eleven coins, and then retreat.

When passing by a brown tent, he suddenly stopped. There were more than a dozen small black bottles densely packed in the tent.

"Is this a bone-growing pill?"

Xu Boyang thought to himself.

Most of the immortal items are distinguished by the color of the bottle. Of course, the color varies for different realms. For example, the Qi Gathering Pill in the Ningyuan period is blue, the Peiyuan Pill is yellow, and the Yangling Pill is green.

The boss also gave me a list of several elixirs that could be purchased or bartered, and this bone-growing elixir was one of them.

However, this thing rarely appears, and this is the first time Xu Boyang has seen it.

After a pause, he asked in a hoarse voice:
"Fellow Daoist, how much is this item worth?"

A white, tender, and delicate hand stretched out from the brown tent, with the little finger and thumb extended, and then a clear female voice floated out.

"Growing Bone Pill, Condensation Stage, this number."

Xu Boyang was surprised that the other person was actually a woman. This was extremely rare. He was slightly startled and took out a small yellow bottle from his arms and held it in his palm.
"Peking Yuan Pill, Condensation Yuan Stage, the market price is two palms and three fingers. In exchange for two bottles of Shenggu Pill, I'll give it to you for two palms and two fingers!"

There was silence in the brown tent for a moment, then a delicate little hand reached out and gently took the Pei Yuan Dan. After looking at it for a moment, he said lightly:

"can."

Xu Boyang's heart finally settled down and he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he was replaced. Otherwise, if he messed up tonight, he would not be able to explain himself when he returned.

Holding the two bottles of Bone-Growing Pills and touching the small black bottle, a sudden flash of inspiration came to his mind. He suddenly remembered that the price of the Bone-Growing Pills given by the boss seemed to be eight spirit stones, and there was no limit on the quantity.

But there are only six for sale in this tent!
This unexpected turn of events almost made Xu Boyang too excited.

It's been so long since I bought this thing that I can't even remember the price.

"Daoyou, is there anything else?"

Seeing Xu Boyang standing still, a question floated out from the brown tent.

"This... I want to get two more bottles and use spirit stones."

Xu Boyang suppressed his excitement and spoke calmly.

"Okay!"

Seeing that Xu Boyang wanted more, the voice in the brown tent also became happy.

Xu Boyang silently put the four bottles of bone-growing pills into his bag and walked out quickly, almost too happy.

The minimum price given by the boss was thirty-four spirit stones, so I made a net profit of nine.

It’s just that!

The feeling of getting rich overnight!

When he was about to reach the exit, he suddenly saw the white tent. Xu Boyang couldn't help feeling a little resentful, so he deliberately walked over to see if he had sold his Peiyuan Pill.

Unexpectedly, when I looked over, the tents were all empty.

Xu Boyang couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Where are the Pei Yuan Dan? Are they all sold out?"

When the man in the white tent saw the mask, he knew it was him, laughed, and said:
"No, it's hard to ship goods tonight, so I'll receive them instead!"

"Is this okay?"

Xu Boyang was surprised and asked in astonishment.

The white tent's actions clearly did not comply with the rules of the ghost market.

"Why not? I went out and came back in, it's not a violation of the rules." The white tent explained.

“It turns out you can play like this.”

Xu Boyang suddenly realized something, and suddenly his heart moved. He said in a hoarse voice:
"How much does the Bone-Growing Pill cost?"

"Growing Bone Pill, that's a rare thing! This amount."

The white tent stretched out a palm and turned it over.

Ten spirit stones?

"Sure! Deal!"

Xu Boyang coughed, knowing that there was no need to bargain anymore and that he should quit while he was ahead.

Good!

Earned four more coins!

I got thirteen spirit stones, I really made a fortune tonight!

Xu Boyang quickly walked to the exit and was about to leave when a man suddenly walked out of the darkness and said lightly:
"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment!"

(End of this chapter)