At noon on the second day, taking advantage of the lunch break, Fang Yuan once again came to the market district outside the village.
Because the mountain folk had to work during the day, there were not many of them among the tent stalls at this time.
Following his memories, Fang Yuan walked to the place where Heart-Knowing Grass had been sold last night. Yet he saw an empty cart parked where it had been. A camel chicken was hitched to the cart.
It stood proudly in place, as large as an ostrich and shaped like a chicken, though its back rose into an arc.
Its broad wings were folded against its sides, its rainbow-colored feathers bright and splendid.
Its chicken head was held high, its crimson comb like an agate crown, gleaming with a lustrous sheen beneath the sunlight.
"Looks like I was still one step too late. The Heart-Knowing Grass has already sold out. What a pity. If I could have bought a few pounds of it, I could have saved quite a few primeval stones." Fang Yuan paused, then left and continued deeper inside.
"Come on, come sample the fine wines of every village! There are more than a hundred kinds of wine here: the finest Lampgrass Wine, the lingering-aftertaste Nine Bends Wine, the clear and elegant Ancient Dragon Well, the sweet-and-sour Flower Stone Daqu, the Hundred Springs Old Cellar that made one's mouth water upon entry, the richly fragrant Drunken Three Autumns..." Before a round blue barrel-shaped tent, an attendant hawked his wares with all his might.
Fang Yuan's gaze flickered, and his interest was immediately piqued. Changing direction, he entered the wine shop.
The furnishings inside the wine shop were quite distinctive.
At the very back of the tent stood a long counter. A Gu Master guarded it, and behind him, dozens of Crystal Water Ladybugs the size of baskets clung to the tent's cloth walls.
The tent floor was not carpeted, but directly exposed the mountain rock and soil. A cluster of brilliantly colored mushrooms grew from the earth.
These mushrooms came in every color, round and plump, somewhat adorable. Some were as large as tabletops, while others were as small as low stools. Often, several stool-sized mushrooms grew around one tabletop-sized mushroom.
"These are Innocent Mushrooms, deliberately cultivated by Gu Masters. They absorb dust and foul air, purifying the atmosphere. They are a type of grass Gu." Fang Yuan recognized their origins at a glance.
He chose a small mushroom and sat down. Its surface immediately sank slightly, giving Fang Yuan the illusion of sitting on a sofa back on Earth.
"Sir, here is the wine list. Please have a look and see what wine you would like." An attendant walked over.
Fang Yuan looked over the wine list and discovered that the wines here were even more expensive than Green Bamboo Wine.
"Bring me a cup of Monkey Wine." Fang Yuan put down the wine list.
"A cup of Monkey Wine!" The attendant turned his head and called out loudly.
At the counter, the Rank 1 Gu Master heard him and immediately bent down to take a bamboo tube wine cup from inside the counter.
Then he held the wine cup and turned to face the tent behind him. Dozens of enormous Crystal Water Ladybugs clung silently to the blue canvas, heads down and tails up, like ornaments hanging from the tent wall.
These Crystal Water Ladybugs were also a type of Gu. Their bellies were hollow, and Gu Masters often used them to store precious liquids.
Their entire bodies were transparent, as though carved from crystal. From outside, one could see what kind of wine was stored in their round bellies.
The Gu Master quickly found the Crystal Water Ladybug containing Monkey Wine.
He placed the bamboo tube wine cup beneath the beetle's mouthparts, then gently stroked its crystalline carapace with his other hand.
An extremely small thread of primeval essence flowed into the Crystal Water Ladybug. Then the beetle opened its mouth, and a stream of wine flowed down into the bamboo tube wine cup.
The wine splashed for a moment, then abruptly stopped.
The Gu Master placed the bamboo tube wine cup filled with Monkey Wine on the counter. The attendant outside had long been waiting, and hurriedly lifted it with great care before quickly delivering it to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan merely took a light sip. Monkey Wine was a fruit wine, clear and sweetly fragrant, soft and smooth on the tongue.
He did not drink again. Instead, with a thought, he summoned the Wine Worm Gu.
The plump white Wine Worm Gu turned into a streak of white light, tracing half an arc through the air before plunging into the wine cup with a splash.
Wine splashed everywhere, scattering across the mushroom tabletop.
The Wine Worm Gu rolled joyfully about inside the cup, while the Monkey Wine rapidly diminished at a visible rate. In only a few breaths, the cup had dried to the bottom, not a single drop remaining.
"It's a Wine Worm Gu!" The Gu Master at the counter cried out in surprise, his eyes suddenly shining. He was a Rank 1 Gu Master with only D-grade aptitude. He had followed the caravan and worked at this wine shop because he wanted to travel while searching for opportunities.
The Wine Worm Gu could refine primeval essence and raise it by a small realm. To a Rank 1 Gu Master, it was an exceedingly precious Gu worm. Was this not precisely the opportunity he had sought so bitterly?
"Sir, I wonder whether or not you might be willing to part with your Wine Worm Gu?" He walked over excitedly and asked with a face full of sincerity.
Fang Yuan shook his head and refused firmly, then rose and left.
His purpose in coming here was to deliberately expose the Wine Worm Gu. He had never intended to sell it.
"Sir, sir, please wait. I am truly sincere. Perhaps we can sit down and discuss this slowly." Unwilling to give up, the Gu Master followed Fang Yuan to the tent entrance, but Fang Yuan gave no response whatsoever.
In the end, he could only stand rooted to the spot, watching with immense regret as Fang Yuan's back turned around the corner and vanished from sight.
Before he knew it, the sun gradually set, and the crescent moon wheeled upward.
In the night, moonlight poured down like water, only to be evaporated away by the blazing lights of countless shops.
The shops were still packed tonight, and business remained booming. Fang Yuan was swept along by the crowd, and all manner of conversations inevitably entered his ears.
"The shops usually stay open for three days and three nights. Tonight is already the second night. By the morning after tomorrow, the caravan will set off again. So if we want to buy anything, we have to hurry."
"Yesterday, I took a fancy to a Golden Bell Gu. Sigh, it was too expensive. I haggled with the shopkeeper for ages, but he barely lowered the price. I'll go take another look tonight."
"Did you hear? Just last night, a youth actually opened a Warty Earth Toad at the gambling stone grounds and earned a full five hundred primeval stones!"
Fang Yuan listened carefully, but could not help feeling somewhat disappointed. He had not heard any news regarding the Wine Worm Gu.
"The Wine Worm Gu is merely a Rank 1 Gu worm. It is immensely significant to Rank 1 Gu Masters, but rank 2 and Rank 3 Gu Masters cannot use it to refine their primeval essence. Thus, it is normal that no one pays attention to it. Still, I cannot rush the matter of deliberately exposing the Wine Worm Gu. If I appear too deliberate, I will instead reveal a flaw." Fang Yuan walked while quietly pondering to himself.
Just then, the crowd ahead suddenly surged in agitation.
Immediately afterward, Fang Yuan heard someone shout, "Come look! There's actually a black-hearted shop selling fake Gu to our clansmen!"
The crowd was instantly filled with righteous indignation.
"Hm? Such a thing actually happened?"
"Quick, let's see which shop dares to deceive our clansmen!"
Fang Yuan followed the stream of people over as well.
He saw a crowd surrounding the entrance of a crimson tent, packed three layers deep inside and three layers deep outside. Some watched curiously, some folded their arms and looked on coldly, but a thin layer of anger enveloped most faces.
Two people stood at the tent entrance.
One was a young rank 2 Gu Master. Judging by his clothing, he was clearly a Gu Yue clansman.
The other was an acquaintance—none other than Jia Jin Sheng, the owner of the gambling stone grounds.
The young Gu Master gripped a pitch-black Gu worm in his hand, raised it high, and shouted to the people around him, "Clansmen, it was the man in front of me who sold me a fake Gu yesterday! He deceived me, claiming it was a Black Pig Gu, and sold it to me for two hundred and fifty primeval stones. Who would have thought that after I bought it back and refined it, I discovered that very night that this was no Black Pig Gu at all? It was clearly the most ordinary Stinky Fart Fat Worm!"
Jia Jin Sheng sneered repeatedly. "Don't spout bloody accusations. When did I ever say this Gu was a Black Pig Gu? What evidence do you have?"
Seeing Jia Jin Sheng flatly deny it, the Young Gu Master flew into a rage and grabbed Jia Jin Sheng's arm. "You crooked merchant, you still dare deny it! You actually dare deceive your Gu Yue master on Qing Mao Mountain? Are you looking for death?!"
"Let go!" Jia Jin Sheng was enraged as well. With a flick of his sleeve, he knocked away the Young Gu Master's hand. "You want to cause trouble and extort money without even picking your target carefully. I'm not afraid of you! My elder brother is Jia Fu, a Rank 4 Gu Master. What can you do to me?"
"You!" The Young Gu Master's eyes bulged with fury, yet he did not dare act again. The title of a Rank 4 Gu Master had already frightened him.
"Pah!" Jia Jin Sheng spat on the ground. Raising his head, he looked at the Young Gu Master and let out a disdainful snort. "You wanted to grab a bargain for yourself, yet you did not use your brain. The Black Pig Gu can fundamentally increase a Gu Master's strength. It is such a rare Rank 1 Gu worm that its market price is even higher than the Wine Worm Gu's, usually selling for six hundred primeval stones. You think you can buy a Black Pig Gu for two hundred and fifty primeval stones? Keep dreaming!"
"Bastard..." The Young Gu Master ground his steel teeth until they creaked. His face was full face of crimson, his whole body trembling with rage, his chest filled with the furious flames of humiliation.
The crowd buzzed restlessly, discussing the matter among themselves. Yet no one dared step forward. Jia Fu's title as a Rank 4 Gu Master was like an invisible mountain, suppressing the scene.
"That brat is too hateful. He really is a crooked merchant!"
"No wonder he dared be so arrogant on Qing Mao Mountain. So he is Jia Fu's younger brother."
"I heard they have the same father but different mothers. He himself only has Rank 1 Cultivation, but he has long been used to throwing his weight around in the caravan by relying on that connection."
"What exactly happened here?" At that moment, a loud, resounding voice rang out.
"Jia Fu has arrived!"
"The leader is here to settle the dispute. Everyone, make way."
The voices of discussion suddenly stalled. The crowd hurriedly parted, forming a narrow passage.
A short, stout middle-aged Gu Master with a large fat belly walked in through the passage. He wore a long-sleeved yellow robe. He was precisely Jia Fu, the leader of this caravan.
"Lord Jia Fu, greetings." Though the Young Gu Master was brimming with rage, he did not dare let it erupt. He forcibly endured it and took the initiative to cup his fists in salute to Jia Fu.
Jia Jin Sheng, however, stood frozen in place. He seemed not to have expected his elder brother's arrival. His face abruptly turned pale, and a trace of shock and anger flashed through his eyes.
This tiny shift in expression was seen by Fang Yuan, who had been secretly observing from afar. At once, he became thoughtful.
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