Divine Tang Era

Chapter 144 Long Arrow Incense Ball

The group was digging enthusiastically on the small hill.

Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er, new to the place, were filled with excitement and curiosity, so they were full of energy. They used all their strength, even though they only had 100%. Many hands make light work, and with everyone's tools moving non-stop, shovels of soil were turned over and quickly a large pit was dug.

The pit was filled with a strong yin energy, but the aura of ghosts still lingered below.

So the group continued digging.

After digging about ten feet deep, there was a "thud," as if they had struck something. After sweeping away the top layer of soil, a skeleton was revealed.

The skeleton was missing an arm, its head slightly turned to one side, lying quietly in the soil in a somewhat contorted position. The grayish-white bones appeared particularly desolate in the dim light. Although it was unknown how long it had been buried underground, the bones had not decayed and were still quite hard. Several broken pieces of pottery were scattered around the skeleton, and next to it lay a rusty short knife, its blade almost completely corroded, leaving only a broken outline, clearly useless.

The martial arts disciple who had found the item by following the ghost's aura couldn't help but feel disappointed.

They thought they could find treasure, but reality often leaves them feeling helpless.

Actually, everyone was prepared for this kind of thing when they came out.

This wasteland has been dug up over and over for countless years. All sorts of treasure-hunting pets have been used, such as treasure-hunting rats, treasure-hunting pigs, treasure-hunting dogs, treasure-hunting ferrets, and treasure-hunting cats. There are also cheap treasure-hunting talismans and tracking talismans that are commonplace and practically essential items for diggers and treasure hunters.

Even if there were good things, they would have been taken long ago. How could they possibly wait for them?

This trip was purely to try our luck; maybe we really could find some treasure?

It would be great if it were there, but I won't be disappointed if it isn't.

"Since there's nothing here, let's come up. Don't waste time," Lu Shizong said from above.

Upon hearing this, the people in the pit jumped out of the pit. Once everyone was out, Lu Shizong took out a talisman to ward off evil and threw it at the skeleton. The talisman fluttered and landed on the skeleton, suddenly bursting out with a divine light that warded off evil.

A shadow drifted out from the bone and fled at high speed, but when it was illuminated by the divine light, it only had time to let out a mournful ghostly howl before disappearing without a trace.

"How come there are ghosts?" Xu Dan asked in surprise.

"We followed the scent of ghosts here, but how can we find them if there are no ghosts?" Xue Bao'er was even more puzzled, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

Xu Dan recalled that this seemed to be the case. Only then did he belatedly realize that the rewards issued by the county government weren't given away for nothing; it was clearly a way to get them to work and kill the escaped ghosts. Thinking about it this way, the distributed rewards didn't seem so bad after all.

These officials, they spend all their time on these things, it's really dirty.

After killing the ghost, the group continued forward, and people behind them kept digging things up.

Some people, like those before them, only found a skeleton or a skull; others were lucky enough to find a piece of jade, or a broken weapon, armor, or helmet; still others were very lucky and found a treasure.

Xu Dan also found a target by following the ghostly aura, dug a pit, and found only a broken skeleton and a black cloak inside.

The cloak was so dirty that even flies wouldn't land on it. There was a mark in the middle, probably a legion number or something.

Xu Dan thought it was unlucky and threw it away.

A martial arts school disciple picked it up, intending to take it back to the city to a pawnshop and pawn it, hoping it might be worth some money.

After digging so many holes, Xu Dan discovered that all the attacking ghosts were poor; not a single one of them was rich. Indeed, if they were wealthy, why would any ghost be willing to risk their life to attack the city alongside the Ghost King? It's like peasant uprisings throughout history; if someone had vast tracts of fertile land, immeasurable wealth, and numerous wives and concubines, who would want to rebel? Wouldn't it be more comfortable to stay home and enjoy a life of luxury?

"Hey, that looks like an arrow," someone in front exclaimed in surprise.

The word "arrow??" piqued the interest of Xu Dan and Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er, and they hurried forward.

Upon closer inspection, a martial arts school disciple was seen examining a long, dirty, and completely black arrow.

Xu Dan felt the style of the arrows was somewhat familiar, like the long arrows he had bought from Kuang Kui. A thought flashed through his mind: Could these arrows be standard issue arrows from some sect or dynasty? Otherwise, how could there be so many?

A group of martial arts students passed the arrow around for a look, but couldn't find anything unusual about it.

Everyone agreed that it couldn't be a magical artifact, but the material did look a bit better than a regular long arrow.

After they finished looking at it, Xu Dan stepped forward and took it. It was quite heavy, and the familiar feeling confirmed that it was indeed the same long arrow he had bought from Kuang Kui. This was a treasure; he had to buy it. He pretended to examine it for a while before saying, "Senior brother, this arrow is good. Putting aside everything else, at least the materials are solid and the quality is good. I just need it. Are you selling it? If you are, I'll buy it."

"What do you need? It's a gift for you." Bu Lugu waved his hand generously.

"That won't do. Our relationship as fellow disciples is one thing, and business is another. We can't mess it up." Xu Dan shook his head and said, "I've bought a few of these long arrows at the market. The man sold them to me for thirty taels of silver. How about I give you thirty?"

"No, no, we can't price our own people the same as outsiders, it's too much," Bu Lugu said.

"No need to push it back and forth, fellow disciples, no need to be polite. If it's two taels short, just give us twenty-eight taels from our ancestor," Lu Shizong advised from the side.

"That's still too much. If you like it, Junior Brother, just give me twenty taels. We're not running a stall, so there's no need to price it the same as outside," Bu Lugu said.

Seeing his insistence, Xu Dan had no choice but to accept it.

The martial arts disciples' eyes lit up when they saw Bu Lugu exchange a broken arrow for twenty taels of silver. This was because the arrow Bu Lugu had unearthed wasn't found through ghostly means, but rather using a treasure-hunting talisman.

The treasure-hunting talisman only cost a few coins, yet it could find something worth twenty taels of silver in one go, which greatly excited everyone.

Everyone came out to find treasure, and everyone carried a few treasure-hunting talismans. Now, everyone's enthusiasm for treasure hunting was ignited, and they no longer felt the frustration they had felt earlier when searching for ghost traces using ghost aura talismans.

Perhaps because the team had left the city and come to the wilderness, they actually managed to dig up a few good items using treasure-hunting talismans.

However, none of them were to Xu Dan's liking.

Xue Diao, however, bought a scented ball for ten taels of silver.

When the incense ball was dug out, it was still a round ball of earth. After removing the outer soil, the rusty, tangled ball inside was revealed, and the incense ball that should have been inside had turned to ash. When Xue Diao gave him ten taels of silver, the martial arts disciple was embarrassed to take it.

Selling such a lump of stuff for ten taels of silver felt a bit unfair.

Xue Diao said the incense ball has an old-fashioned design. He suggested washing it and adding a tassel handle, which would make it look nice.

In Chang'an, these incense balls were quite expensive, so he shouldn't feel embarrassed. Hearing this, the martial arts disciple finally accepted the money.

Xu Dan glanced at it with his double pupils, and a golden light flashed beneath the tangled rust. He thought to himself: Xue Diao looks honest, but I didn't expect him to be such a cunning merchant. He hadn't even considered himself.

With two people selling items in succession, the martial arts school disciples became even more eager to find treasure.

The further you go, the further you get from Jingning, and the more desolate it becomes.

Xue Diao secretly rejoiced that he and Xue Bao'er had joined the Mo Clan Martial Arts School's group; otherwise, walking alone in this wilderness would have been truly terrifying.

Xu Dan recalled the scene of emerging from an underground cave and walking alone in a deserted wilderness, and his heart was filled with emotion.