The Heavenly Horse Soaring Through the Sky
Wang Cheng'an reached out and picked up a watch and a folding makeup mirror from the table, examined them from all angles, and tapped the mirror surface with his fingertips:
"These are all trinkets from the mortal realm, but the craftsmanship is exquisite; no wonder they've become so popular in the market."
His tone was indifferent; he didn't seem to take it too seriously.
"Manager, don't underestimate these things."
Zhou Meng took half a step forward, his tone tinged with surprise:
"My subordinates have been watching her closely all day. In just one day, she sold at least several thousand Spirit Stones."
Wang Cheng'an finally showed some interest. "Oh? These ordinary items sell so well?"
Zhou Meng explained:
"Of course! This watch keeps accurate time, making it perfect for keeping track of time when refining pills and crafting weapons. Male cultivators buy a lot of them; as for the female cultivators, the bags and glass mirrors are novel items that female cultivators like. The prices aren't too high either, everyone can afford them, so naturally they sell very well."
Wang Cheng'an nodded, put the items back on the table, and gave a casual instruction:
"Alright, I understand. As long as she follows the rules of the market and conducts business legitimately, there's no need to interfere. Our Spirit Creek Market is all about fairness and safety; let's not disturb legitimate merchants."
"Yes, I understand."
Zhou Meng bowed in agreement, then turned and left.
But as soon as he stepped out of the steward's office, a glint of greed flashed in his eyes.
The daily income of several thousand Spirit Stones was actually earned from these mundane trinkets. The profits from this business were far greater than what he could make as a patrol commander.
Even with extra income, he wouldn't earn that much in two or three years.
Zhou Meng did not return to the patrol team, but instead went into a secluded alley, gradually concealing his aura, and silently made his way to the outside of the Yuelai Inn.
He chose to stand in the shade of an old tree at the alley entrance, his gaze sweeping across the inn's entrance, and quickly locked onto three unfamiliar faces.
Two of them Qi Refining Sixth Layer, and one Qi Refining Seventh Layer. They kept their auras extremely low, but their eyes kept glancing towards the inn's entrance, clearly indicating that they had ill intentions.
Zhou Meng chuckled inwardly; it was still the same three of them.
Among the three, a man and a woman were the owners of the Splendid Embroidery Pavilion in the market— Splendid Embroidery Pavilion specialized in selling nunneries' robes and embroidery.
The shop is usually run by the woman Su Wan, while her husband Li Mo, rarely appears at the shop, as he is busy with sourcing goods and other miscellaneous tasks.
The rough-looking man next to him, who was at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, was called Han Laoliu. He often loitered around the outskirts of the market and had committed many murders and robberies.
It's obvious that the couple were envious of the huge profits from those mirrors and watches, and fearing they couldn't keep up with the profits, they specially hired Han Laoliu to rob the goods in a secluded spot as soon as the female cultivator left the market.
Zhou Meng gently rubbed his fingers at his sides, his mind racing with calculations.
He would wait until the three could no longer restrain themselves before revealing himself and killing them.
If only three corpses are left at the scene, people will only assume that the merchants were robbed or that the desperate criminals were double-crossing them, and no one will suspect him, the patrol commander.
Those several thousand Spirit Stones —and possibly more—naturally ended up in his pocket.
The more he thought about it, the more flawless the plan seemed. A faint, cold smile appeared on his lips. He then leaned against a tree trunk to hide himself and patiently kept an eye on the entrance and exit of the inn.
After having breakfast with Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er, Shen Jingchuan went to the backyard of the inn.
When the stable boy saw them coming, he immediately stepped forward and quickly helped to harness the horses to the carriage shaft.
When Little Black and Treading Snow saw Shen Jingchuan, they obediently came forward and nuzzled their heads against his arm.
Shen Jingchuan took out four apples from his Spatial Ring, gave two to Little Black and two to Treading Snow, and watched them eat them.
He then walked over to the Big Black horse that was tied up to the side, first stuffing two apples into its mouth, then raising his hand to adjust the saddle and reins on its back and tighten the girth belt.
After the carriages and horses were all packed up, Shen Jingchuan took out a gold melon seed and handed it to the stable boy.
The waiter hurriedly accepted it with both hands, thanking him repeatedly.
Huan'er then sat in the driver's seat, and the carriage slowly started moving as the group left the inn.
As they left the inn, Xiao Mingshu looked at the carriage and asked Shen Jingchuan in surprise, "Hey, why does this carriage look different?"
Shen Jingchuan said:
"Oh, I had someone reinforce it. I was worried about the safety on the way back, so I did it specifically."
Xiao Mingshu nodded, and she and Shen Jingchuan led the Big Black ahead, while Huan'er drove the carriage behind.
The carriage traveled slowly along the main street of Spirit Creek Market. When it passed a pharmacy, Shen Jingchuan and Xiao Mingshu went in together to make purchases.
Shen Jingchuan bought thirty Mid-Grade Qi Gathering Pills and prepared two Mid-Grade Qi Condensing Pills in advance, spending a total of four thousand Spirit Stones.
Xiao Mingshu also selected ten Low-Grade Qi Condensing Pills and two Mid-Grade Qi Condensing Pills, all of which were paid for by Shen Jingchuan.
The two left the alchemy shop, and the shopkeeper saw them off. Just as he was about to say "Take care," he saw the horse Shen Jingchuan was leading and changed his mind, calling out to them to stop.
"Fellow Daoist, please wait."
The shopkeeper's gaze swept over the Big Black behind Shen Jingchuan, and he smiled as he cupped his hands in greeting:
"Fellow Daoist, I have a Bloodline Ancestral Reversion Pill in my shop that can awaken the ancestral bloodline within beasts. I see your horse is Whirlwind Horse from the Northern Territory, and its ancestors possessed the bloodline of Heavenly Horse, which would be perfect for it. Would you like to consider it?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Jingchuan's heart stirred, and he turned to look at Big Black. Big Black was listening intently, its eyes full of anticipation as it stared at him, its hooves pawing the ground gently.
"Let me take a look."
The shopkeeper quickly turned back into the shop and retrieved a jade bottle.
Shen Jingchuan took the jade bottle, uncorked it, and poured the pills into his palm. There were four pills in total, with a warm color and a faint Blood Qi fragrance.
The Big Black next to it perked up its ears the moment it smelled the medicine, its eyes lit up, and it leaned forward, its breathing becoming heavier, as if it was eager to lick it up.
Seeing Big Black's instinctive reaction, Shen Jingchuan believed it; it wasn't fake medicine.
He looked up at the shopkeeper:
How much does this pill cost?
"This is Mid-Grade Ancestral Reversion Pill, costing six hundred Spirit Stones."
Shen Jingchuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "This price isn't low."
The shopkeeper explained with a smile:
"Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but the Ancestral Reversion Pill is an unorthodox practice, and I still managed to obtain three of them with great difficulty."
The lower-grade ones are cheap, only a hundred or eighty Spirit Stones each, but whether they can awaken the bloodline depends entirely on luck, and most of the time it's a waste of effort;
The effects of medium-grade medicine are stable; it can basically awaken any beast with a bit of Demon Beast bloodline, and can also stimulate innate attributes, directly transforming the beast into a first-tier demonic horse.
As for the top-grade ones, those are excellent items that can directly purify bloodlines and enhance aptitude; they are extremely rare on the market and cannot be bought even with money.
Although your Whirlwind Horse has a thin bloodline, the success rate of using a mid-grade Ancestral Reversion Pill is very high.
"What is the success rate of this elixir?" Shen Jingchuan asked.
"Even those with ordinary Whirlwind Horse armor of inferior quality have only about a 10% chance of reverting to their ancestral form."
The shopkeeper stroked his chin and sized up Big Black:
"But your horse Higher Vehicle physique and bloodline, almost on par with the King of Horses. In my opinion, there's a 30-40% chance of success."
If a mid-grade pill is used, the success rate can be doubled; as for high-grade or top-grade pills, forget about them, they are extremely rare, and using them on ordinary horses would be a waste."
What does it look like if you successfully revert to your ancestral form?
"With wings growing from its shoulders, it can take flight and become a true Heavenly Horse."
The shopkeeper smiled and said:
People often use the phrase "Heavenly Horse soaring through the sky" to describe this mythical beast.
Big Black, seeing the two of them talking on and on, its tail swishing loudly, got so impatient that it dug a small hole in the ground with its front hooves, thinking to itself:
My goodness, what are you still chatting with him about! Hurry up and pay for it!
That phrase "Heavenly Horse" perfectly describes me! I'm so eager to improve, get it set up for me quickly, I want to take a stroll in the sky too!
It's just that Big Black can't talk, otherwise it would love to turn its front hooves into hands and give Shen Jingchuan a big slap in the face.