Precious Cinnabar

Pan Yun's cinnabar from the general store had long since run out, and what little she had was of poor quality, making the talismans she drew less effective.

Guangxin Prefecture was a large city. From what Tao Ji and the others said, the area around Mount Sanqing was likely remote and underdeveloped in terms of trade.

Therefore, she needed to stock up on good supplies.

She and Pan Little Black had already figured out a plan: they decided to buy some materials to expand the Three Jade Spirit Realm formation. While expanding the formation, they also needed to cultivate and accumulate merit by doing good deeds.

Even without specific metrics, the benefits would eventually manifest.

She mentally ranked several tasks by priority, placing cultivation and gathering information about her family as the top priority, followed by doing good deeds to accumulate merit, and then expanding the formation...

Whether it was cultivation, building connections to gather information about her family, or doing good deeds to accumulate merit, she needed cinnabar.

Upon hearing she wanted to buy cinnabar, Tao Ji eagerly offered to lead the way. "What good can cinnabar from a general store be? It's full of impurities, and if you're unlucky, you might even get fakes. Come with me."

Guangxin Prefecture was his territory, so Pan Yun obediently followed, but not without a retort, "You think I'd buy fakes? Maybe with other things, but not cinnabar."

"Quite the confident one, aren't you? Even Senior Brother and I occasionally get fooled."

Pan Yun snorted, full of confidence, and offered no explanation.

She possessed the Five-Sense Heart, which allowed her to connect with all things and see through deception. All falsehoods were invisible to her.

Fake cinnabar?

Hmph!

Seeing her pride, Tao Ji shook his head, thinking she would surely suffer a great loss in the future.

Tao Ji led her to a pharmacy to buy cinnabar.

Pan Yun suddenly realized. Right, she had forgotten that in ancient times, cinnabar was considered a medicinal ingredient and could naturally be purchased at pharmacies.

Tao Ji glanced at her. "Don't you know everything? How could you not know cinnabar is sold at pharmacies?"

Pan Yun replied, "I know now. Thank you, Daoist Priest Tao."

Tao Ji looked surprised, then heard Pan Yun ask, "Do you often come to this pharmacy, Daoist Priest Tao? Do you get a discount on medicinal herbs here?"

Tao Ji swallowed his surprise and led her straight to the counter.

The shopkeeper, upon seeing him, handed over the task of dispensing medicine to an assistant and went with Tao Ji to the back courtyard. "Daoist Priest Tao, it's been a while. Are you here to buy or sell medicine this time?"

On their way back, Tao Ji had often dragged them to browse those medicinal streets, where rows of shops were filled with medicinal merchants, vendors, and farmers. He had already bought quite a bit and wasn't planning to buy more, so he directly asked, "Do you have any good cinnabar recently?"

The shopkeeper smiled. "You've come at just the right time. Two days ago, I selected a box of extremely fine cinnabar. Have a look."

He turned to retrieve it, and soon returned.

The box was only palm-sized. Upon opening it, a pile of dark red cinnabar, about the size of a finger, was revealed.

Pan Yun glanced at Tao Ji.

Tao Ji looked back at her. As their eyes met, he knew she wanted something better. He then said, "Shopkeeper, do you perhaps think I don't have enough money? This quality isn't good enough."

The shopkeeper was astonished. "This isn't good enough? Daoist Priest Tao, have you struck it rich?"

Tao Ji coughed lightly. "Never mind that. Bring out any better quality you have."

The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, then said, "I do have better quality, but as you know, this cinnabar is more precious than gold, and top-grade cinnabar is even more valuable than gold."

Tao Ji replied, "Just bring it."

The shopkeeper was convinced Tao Ji had made a fortune. He then smiled and went to retrieve another box of cinnabar, naturally taking the first box with him.

When he returned, he held a box in each hand. He set the first box aside and opened the newly brought one.

Upon opening it, even Tao Ji couldn't help but be captivated.

The color was a vibrant red, brilliant yet steady, truly captivating.

Such fine cinnabar would be top-grade for both drawing talismans and alchemy.

Tao Ji was also tempted. "How much is it?"

The shopkeeper smiled. "Fifteen taels per qian of cinnabar."

Pan Yun grabbed Tao Ji's arm.

Tao Ji also felt a pang of pain. "This is too expensive..."

"This is top-grade cinnabar. I paid a hefty sum to acquire it from a medicinal merchant in Guangxi. Even the shopkeeper at Huichuntang couldn't get their hands on it," the shopkeeper explained. "That's why I paid so much for it. If it weren't for Daoist Priest Tao, I wouldn't be willing to bring it out."

This made bargaining difficult, especially since cinnabar wasn't like other goods where one could simply walk away and find another shop if negotiations failed.

Top-grade cinnabar was rare and unpredictable. Missing this opportunity, who knew when they would encounter it again.

Pan Yun had been observing Tao Ji's expression and instantly understood.

Even in the 26th century, top-grade cinnabar was rare and unpredictable. She had only seen cinnabar of this quality a few times in her life, and it had never been in her possession.

This was indeed exceptional.

Pan Yun activated her cultivation technique and focused her gaze again, discovering that it was indeed genuine.

She gritted her teeth and whispered, "Buy it."

Tao Ji smiled at the shopkeeper and pulled Pan Yun aside to whisper, "Are you sure it's real?"

Okay, he suspected it was fake too.

Pan Yun nodded and said in a small voice, "It's real."

Hearing this, Tao Ji touched the inner pocket of his robe.

Because silver was inconvenient to carry, when he accompanied Pan Yun to the bank to exchange it for banknotes earlier, he had exchanged a hundred taels for banknotes. That was the reward he received for extending Prince Zhou's life. The fifty taels he split with Xuan Miao had basically been converted into the things on the cart. If he spent a hundred taels, he wouldn't have much money left on him...

Tao Ji stingily took out a hundred taels and said, "I'll split it with you. I, I'll buy six qian."

Pan Yun lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, "I also need to buy some cinnabar of another quality."

Tao Ji immediately said, "That's not expensive. Based on my experience, one qian is about three taels."

Pan Yun had a number in mind and also started calculating how much she could buy with the money she had.

The shopkeeper waited with a smile, even thoughtfully not looking at them, but instead pouring them tea and waiting patiently.

Tao Ji returned, "How much cinnabar is in this box?"

Shopkeeper: "Only six taels."

Tao Ji glanced at Pan Yun and said, "We'll take one liang and six qian, and buy some more cinnabar from another box."

The shopkeeper was overjoyed and willing to give them a slight discount on the other box of cinnabar, saying, "I'll sell you this box for three taels of silver per qian, and I'll give you another box of cinnabar for free."

So generous?

Soon, Pan Yun saw the cinnabar he gave them.

It was called a box, but it was actually a small box about the size of a fist. When opened, the cinnabar inside was similar to what Pan Yun had bought at the general store. It had many impurities, and the color wasn't good. It was clearly a product worth a few hundred wen.

Pan Yun bought one liang of superior cinnabar and one liang of mid-to-upper grade cinnabar, spending a total of 180 taels. With this extra gift, Tao Ji said the shopkeeper was too stingy and insisted on him adding some medicinal herbs.

As the shopkeeper scooped the medicinal herbs Tao Ji requested, he sized up Pan Yun. He had seen earlier that most of the money was paid by this young girl.

Moreover, they had divided the cinnabar into two portions, one of six qian and another of one liang, clearly bought separately.

The shopkeeper packed the medicinal herbs and handed them to Tao Ji, then looked at Pan Yun and asked, "Daoist Priest Tao, who is this distinguished guest?"

"My junior nephew."

"His junior sister."

They exchanged a glance and then looked at the shopkeeper in unison.

The shopkeeper gave an awkward smile, "So it's a young Daoist priest from Sanqing Temple. My apologies, my apologies. Young Daoist priest, next time you come to our pharmacy to buy something, mention my name, and I'll give you a discount."

Her heart, which was saddened by the excessive expenditure, was instantly soothed. Pan Yun felt that she might indeed come back to him next time she needed something.

After leaving the pharmacy, Tao Ji handed all the medicinal herbs to Pan Yun, "You'll be able to use these things on the mountain."

Pan Yun frowned, "Although I don't know much about medicine, I know these medicinal herbs don't really go together. How can they be used?"

"You can gather some more on the mountain to combine with them," Tao Ji glanced at her and shook his head, "With your body, you should be cultivating the Pill Dao, so why are you learning spellcraft like Junior Sister?"

He said, "You'd better listen to me. When you get to Mount Sanqing, the first thing you'll do is regulate your body, then body refinement. Cultivate both internally and externally. Otherwise, if you only focus on spellcraft, your body won't be able to handle it in the future."

This time, Pan Yun didn't object, she just curiously glanced at the medicinal herbs she was holding, "Are these for body refinement?"

Tao Ji nodded, "Yes, and we still need to go into the mountains to gather some herbs to mix with them. The temple should have some. I'll show you later."

Pan Yun became a little kinder to him and smiled at him, "Thank you, Daoist Priest Tao."

Tao Ji sighed and muttered to himself, She's so nice when she needs something, but just calls me by my name when she doesn't.

However, he knew it was because their first meeting hadn't been pleasant, and their subsequent interactions weren't based on trust. Considering her filial piety and loyalty, he wouldn't dwell on the details.

Tao Ji led her back to find the cart.

Xuan Miao was already waiting by the cart, her expression calm. Tao Ji immediately explained, "We went to buy cinnabar. Look, Junior Sister."

No Daoist priest could resist good cinnabar, whether they cultivated the Pill Dao or the Talisman school.

Xuan Miao, rarely seeing such good cinnabar, rubbed it and smelled it. After confirming it was real, she asked, "How much did you buy it for?"

Tao Ji said heartbrokenly, "Fifteen taels per qian. I only have thirteen taels of cash left on me."

Pan Yun remained silent beside him, she didn't have much left either.

Xuan Miao closed the box and returned it to him, saying, "When we get back, I'll have Senior Brother give you the money."

Tao Ji's eyes rolled around, and he thought this was a good idea.

"Let's go. While it's still early, let's leave the city."

Tao Ji had reorganized the things on the cart early in the morning, leaving a space for Pan Yun and the black cat to sit. She no longer had to squeeze with the two of them.

However, she was sitting next to Xuan Miao and wasn't arranged to sit in the back, lest she fall off the cart while they were traveling, because it was said that the road from Yushan County to Mount Sanqing was also difficult to travel.

Pan Yun sat next to Xuan Miao and handed her the cold, unfinished steamed bun, "Immortal Master Xuan Miao, the matter I entrusted you with..."

"It's already been handled," Xuan Miao said, "Someone will go to your old home in Changzhou Prefecture soon to investigate. As soon as there's news, it will be sent to Mount Sanqing."

Pan Yun breathed a sigh of relief and praised Xuan Miao profusely, "Immortal Master Xuan Miao is truly beautiful and kind-hearted, and well-liked..."

Xuan Miao said, "Once you enter Mount Sanqing, you'll be my junior nephew. As fellow disciples, it's my duty to help you. You don't need to call me Immortal Master."

The lucky number for this chapter is any number ending in 1. Screenshot as proof.