Divine Tang Era

The things at the market were really strange and unusual; you could find all sorts of things.

After walking a few steps, Xu Dan saw a small stall selling stones.

Calling it a stone isn't quite right; it's jade. Here, jade is everywhere—foothills, riverbeds, lakes, grasslands, deserts—you can find it if you're willing. Unless it's a spirit jade imbued with spiritual energy, its price is lower than rice.

The jade stones that can be displayed for sale are naturally the finest pieces that have been carefully selected.

Xu Dan looked at them and saw white jade that looked like mutton fat, black jade that was dark, gold-threaded jade that was inlaid with gold threads, and chicken-fat jade that was orange like amber.

Curious, he stepped forward and touched them. Surprisingly, two of them felt warm to the touch, unlike the coldness of other jade stones. Seemingly noticing his expression, the stall owner explained, "This is warm jade. I had a hard time bringing it out of the Gold Mountain. I'll give you a discount if you want it."

How much?

"Ten low-grade spirit stones."

Upon hearing this, Xu Dan immediately stood up. The stall owner quickly stopped him, "If young master is truly interested, we can offer a discount."

"You're asking for spirit stones right off the bat, how cheap can it be?" Xu Dan squatted down, picked up the warm jade and weighed it in his hand, saying, "This is just ordinary jade, yet you dare to sell it for ten spirit stones. Aren't you afraid of getting your business smashed up?"

"There is still spiritual energy, but it's a little less, and it's hard to sense without careful observation. Besides, even if it's not a spirit jade, the warm jade itself is worth quite a bit of money."

"That won't fetch the price of spirit stones."

"not necessarily."

"Then you might as well keep yourself and wait for a sucker!"

Xu Dan got up to leave, but the stall owner quickly stopped him, "Young man, why are you in such a hurry? Business is always a give-and-take. If you feel it's not right, you can make an offer. Anyway, we haven't made a sale today, so this is just a small token."

"Ten taels of silver."

"How much?" The stall owner stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Ten taels of silver," Xu Dan said again.

"Ten...ten...ten taels..." the stall owner repeated, trembling. People usually say that haggling involves getting a 50% discount or buying at the absolute bottom. Good heavens, Xu Dan went straight for a double discount, a discount within a discount, a discount after a discount, making the stall owner so angry his lips turned white, and he almost fainted.

Catching his breath, the stall owner pointed ahead and said, "Go, get out of here."

Xu Dan didn't intend to buy it; he was just casually haggling over the price. This warm jade can't be eaten or drunk; at most, it's just something to wear to keep warm. What's the use?

Hearing the stall owner's words, he got up and walked forward. He had only taken a few steps when he heard a voice call out from behind, "Here you go."

Xu Dan hadn't expected him to actually sell it, but since the words were already out, he had no choice but to take out the silver and buy the warm jade. To be honest, if the warm jade were taken to a major city, its price would definitely be much higher. After some carving, it could probably fetch more than ten low-grade spirit stones in the capital. But this was a remote border region, and people were interested in spirit stones, medicinal herbs, and monster meat—things that could be used for or beneficial to cultivation. They weren't really interested in material possessions like jade.

Besides, there are plenty of things that can be taken from the borderlands to major cities or capitals, and they would be worth more than this price if taken out casually. Why should everyone carry a bunch of heavy, broken stones when they go out?

Xu Dan held the warm jade and felt the warmth emanating from the stone, feeling quite pleased.

It's still a bit chilly at night in the high-altitude area. I'll have someone carve it for me later; it should be nice to wear.

After putting the warm jade away, Xu Dan continued forward. Not far away, he saw a large stall with coffins standing upright and people with their heads covered standing in front of them. Feeling strange, he walked over.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that those were not people, but desiccated corpses.

Inside the coffins were rows of ornately dressed female corpses. Some of these corpses were as withered as old trees, while others were incredibly elastic; were they not so lifeless that one might mistake them for living people.

Grave robbing and corpse stealing have been taboo in any dynasty.

According to the Tang Code, those who robbed graves were punished with hard labor and exile; those who opened coffins were sentenced to hanging; and those who robbed graves but did not reach the coffins were sentenced to three years of penal servitude. In the Tang Code, "digging up graves" was considered one of the most serious crimes, along with "the ten heinous crimes of disobedience, official corruption, intentional homicide, conspiring to manufacture poison, arson, and carrying weapons," as well as "being associated with or involved in treason." It was an unpardonable offense.

Therefore, openly, no one dares to dig up graves and steal corpses, let alone brazenly sell them at the market.

The corpses sold here are all dug up from the deserted wilderness outside the city. Because they are all ancient artifacts from who-knows-how-many years ago, no one cares.

Xu Dan looked at it curiously and asked the stall owner, "Stadium owner, does anyone buy this?"

"There are plenty more."

The stall owner glanced at him and said, "Don't be fooled by these filthy things; they're actually good stuff." People gathered around to see what was going on. Afraid that people wouldn't believe him, the stall owner grabbed a knife from the side and slashed at the nearest corpse. There was a soft "clang" sound.

Xu Dan and the onlookers all showed expressions of surprise.

"How's it going? Hard, huh?"

The stall owner said proudly, "These bones have been buried in the ground for thousands of years without decaying or decaying. They have long since become as hard as metal and stone, making them excellent materials for refining corpses and crafting artifacts. The ones in better condition can even be used to refine avatars for ghost marriages. They are all good stuff. It's just that no one in this wasteland of Jingning City recognizes their value, otherwise they would have been sold long ago."

I never imagined that a corpse could have so many uses. Xu Dan has really learned something new.

After a while, a customer came in, and Xu Dan, not wanting to disturb them, continued walking forward.

I passed by a stall selling storage bags and asked about them. Even the most patched and tattered ones cost ten spirit stones.

Xu Dan didn't have many spirit stones in his pocket, so he naturally couldn't afford to spend them on this. Besides, if he was going to buy anything, he would buy something better, not something so shabby. So he started thinking that he would have to sell one or two jade dragon stones when he got back, otherwise he wouldn't be able to buy anything good.

There was a bookstall ahead, and he originally wanted to buy a book to study how to stimulate the meridians and acupoints.

But considering the varying quality of the products at the stall, and the potential side effects of refining them, I didn't buy any.

Anyway, I'm going to the shop to sell the jade dragon beads tomorrow, so I'll buy the books together after I sell them.

Behind the alley was a place selling demon beast meat, spiritual herbs, and other such items, which was Xu Dan's purpose in visiting the market today. After wandering around and finding nothing worth buying, he bought two catties of demon beast meat to take home. One catty cost ten taels of silver, which was exactly the price of a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills. He wondered which one was more effective.

Carrying the monster meat back, before he even reached the door, the black bear eagerly rushed out of the house, wagging its tail frantically around him.

Little Magpie ran out right after him, and only felt relieved when she saw Xu Dan.

As soon as they got back to the shop, she grabbed the black bear and scolded it, "Let me tell you, there are lots of bad people out there, but no one is as nice to you as I am. If you run away, lots and lots of bad people will want to skin you alive and eat your flesh; lots and lots of bad kids will throw stones at you and make you bump your head; and lots and lots of terrible monsters will want to devour you. You have to remember, you can't just run around, understand?"

The black bear's eyes were fixed on its owner, and it was unclear whether it had heard what she said.