Precious Cinnabar

The little cinnabar Pan Yun had bought from the general store had long since run out, and the finished product had been poor to begin with, leaving the talismans she drew rather substandard as well.

Guangxin Prefecture was a large city. From what Tao Ji and the others had said, Mount Sanqing was probably tucked away among remote mountains and distant roads, where trade was underdeveloped.

So she needed to stockpile more good things.

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

Even without exact figures, whatever she did would eventually settle upon her.

She ranked several matters by urgency in her mind, placing cultivation and investigating news of her family side by side at the top, doing good deeds to accumulate merit second, and expanding the formation third...

Yet whether it was cultivation, building connections to investigate her family's whereabouts, or doing good deeds to accumulate merit, she would need cinnabar.

The moment Tao Ji heard that she wanted to buy cinnabar, he took the initiative to lead the way. "What good cinnabar could you find at a general store? It's full of impurities, and if your luck is bad, you might even buy fake goods. Come with me."

Guangxin Prefecture was his territory, so Pan Yun obediently followed, though her mouth gave no ground. "Could I possibly buy fake goods? Other things, perhaps, but cinnabar? Impossible."

"You sure have a big mouth. Even Senior Brother and I occasionally misjudge something."

Pan Yun snorted, brimming with confidence, and offered no explanation.

She possessed the Five-Sense Heart. It could connect with all things and see through falsehoods; no forgery could hide from her eyes.

Fake cinnabar?

Hmph!

Seeing how proud she was, Tao Ji shook his head, certain that she would suffer a huge loss someday.

Tao Ji took her to a pharmacy to buy cinnabar.

Pan Yun suddenly understood. Right—she had forgotten. In ancient times, cinnabar was medicine, so naturally it could be bought at a pharmacy.

Tao Ji shot her a sidelong glance. "Didn't you know everything? How did you not know cinnabar was sold at pharmacies?"

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

Tao Ji was surprised, only to hear Pan Yun ask, "Daoist Priest Tao, do you often come to this pharmacy? Would medicinal ingredients be cheaper if you bought them here?"

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

When the shopkeeper saw him, he handed the task of filling prescriptions to the pharmacy boy and went with Tao Ji into the back courtyard. "Daoist Priest Tao, it has been a long time since you came by. Have you come down the mountain to buy medicine this time, or to sell it?"

On the journey back, Tao Ji had often dragged them through those medicine streets—streets lined with medicine merchants, peddlers, and herb farmers. He had already bought quite a lot and had no intention of buying more, so he directly asked, "Have you had any good cinnabar lately?"

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

He turned to fetch it and returned shortly afterward.

The box was only palm-sized. When he opened it, it contained a heap of dark red cinnabar pieces the size of fingertips.

Pan Yun glanced at Tao Ji.

Tao Ji looked back at her. The instant their eyes met, he knew she wanted something better, so he said, "shopkeeper, are you worried I cannot afford it? This quality will not do."

The shopkeeper was greatly surprised. "This still will not do? Daoist Priest Tao, have you struck it rich?"

Tao Ji gave a light cough. "Never mind that. Bring out anything better for us to see."

After hesitating for a moment, the shopkeeper said, "There is better cinnabar, but you know that cinnabar is worth its weight in gold. The finest cinnabar is even more precious than gold."

Tao Ji said, "Just bring it out."

The shopkeeper was certain now that Tao Ji had struck it rich. Smiling, he went to retrieve another box of cinnabar, taking away the one they had been examining as well.

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

The moment it opened, even Tao Ji could not help feeling tempted.

Its color was vivid scarlet, bright yet composed. Just looking at it made one's heart stir.

Cinnabar this good was top-grade whether used for drawing talismans or refining pills.

Tao Ji was tempted as well. "How much?"

The shopkeeper smiled. "Fifteen taels for one qian of cinnabar."

Pan Yun grabbed Tao Ji's arm.

Tao Ji's heart ached too, and he hurriedly said, "That is far too expensive..."

"This is superior cinnabar. I spent a fortune buying it from medicine merchants from Guangxi. The shopkeeper from Hui Chun Tang tried to snatch it and still failed," the shopkeeper said. "I paid a great price for it, so if it were not Daoist Priest Tao, I would not even be willing to bring it out."

That made bargaining difficult. Cinnabar was not like other goods, where one could simply haggle and go elsewhere if the deal fell through.

After all, top-grade cinnabar was something one could encounter only by chance. If they missed this shop, who knew when they would see such a thing again?

Pan Yun had been watching Tao Ji's expression the entire time and understood at once.

Even in the twenty-sixth century, superior cinnabar was something that could only be encountered by chance. To be honest, she had only seen cinnabar this good a few times, and every single time, it had not ended up in her hands.

This was simply too good.

Pan Yun circulated her cultivation technique and focused her eyes to look again, discovering that it really was genuine.

She gritted her teeth and said quietly, "Buy it."

Tao Ji smiled at the shopkeeper, then pulled Pan Yun aside to whisper, "Are you sure it is genuine?"

Well then—he suspected it was fake too.

Pan Yun nodded and whispered, "It is genuine."

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

Since silver was inconvenient to carry, when he had accompanied Pan Yun to the bank to exchange money for banknotes earlier, he had exchanged one hundred taels into notes. That had been his reward for extending Prince Zhou's life. The fifty taels he had split with Xuan Miao had mostly been turned into the things on the cart. If he spent one hundred taels, he would have little money left on him...

Tao Ji painstakingly pulled out one hundred taels and said, "I will split it with you. I-I will buy six qian."

Pan Yun lowered her eyes in thought for a moment, then said, "I also need to buy some cinnabar of another quality."

Tao Ji immediately said, "That kind is not expensive. In my experience, it is about three taels per qian."

Pan Yun now had a rough idea and began calculating how much cinnabar the money on her could buy.

The shopkeeper waited at the side with a beaming smile. He was even considerate enough not to look at them, instead brewing tea and pouring it for them as he patiently waited.

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

The shopkeeper said, "Only six liang."

After looking at Pan Yun, Tao Ji said, "We will take one liang and six qian, and we will also buy some cinnabar from the other box."

The shopkeeper was overjoyed upon hearing this and was willing to give them a slight discount on the other box of cinnabar as well. "I will charge you three taels of silver per qian for this box, and I will give you another box of cinnabar for free."

So generous?

Very soon, Pan Yun saw the cinnabar he was giving them.

He called it a box, but it was actually only a box the size of a fist. When it was opened, the cinnabar inside was about the same as what Pan Yun had bought from the general store—full of impurities and poor in color. One look told her it was goods worth only a few hundred copper coins.

Pan Yun bought one liang of superior cinnabar and one liang of upper-middle-grade cinnabar, spending a total of one hundred and eighty taels. As an extra throw-in, Tao Ji said the shopkeeper was too stingy and stubbornly made him add some medicinal ingredients as well.

As the shopkeeper gathered the medicinal ingredients Tao Ji named, he sized up Pan Yun. He had seen it just now—the young girl had paid most of the money.

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

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

"My nephew-disciple."

"His Junior Sister."

The two looked at each other, then both turned to look at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper smiled awkwardly. "So you are a Young Daoist from Sanqing Temple. My apologies, my apologies. Young Daoist, if you come to our pharmacy to buy anything next time, mention my name, and I will charge you a little less."

The sorrow in Pan Yun's heart from spending so much money was instantly soothed. She thought that if she needed anything next time, she really could come find him again.

After leaving the pharmacy, Tao Ji stuffed all the medicinal ingredients into Pan Yun's arms. "You can use all these things on the mountain."

Pan Yun frowned tightly. "Though I do not know much about medicine, I know these medicinal ingredients do not match very well. How can they be used?"

"You just need to gather some more herbs on the mountain to combine with them," Tao Ji said. After glancing at her, he shook his head. "With your body, you should be cultivating the Dao of alchemy. Why did you instead go learn spell arts like Junior Sister?"

He said, "You cannot go wrong listening to me. Once you reach Mount Sanqing, the first thing you need to do is condition your body, then temper it. Internal and external cultivation must go hand in hand. Otherwise, if you focus solely on the path of spell arts, your body will definitely be unable to bear it in the future."

This time, Pan Yun did not object. She merely looked curiously at the medicinal ingredients in her arms. "Are these ingredients for tempering the body?"

Tao Ji nodded. "Yes. You will also need to gather some herbs in the mountains to go with them. The temple should have them. I will check for you later."

Pan Yun became kinder toward him and smiled. "Thank you, Daoist Priest Tao."

Tao Ji sighed and muttered inwardly, Truly, whoever gives her milk is her mother. When she needs something, it is Daoist Priest Tao; when she does not, it is just hey.

But he knew that was because their first meeting had been unpleasant, and their later interactions had not been built on trust either. Seeing that she possessed both filial devotion and loyalty, he decided not to quibble with her too closely.

Tao Ji led her back to find the cart.

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

No Daoist could resist superior cinnabar, whether they cultivated the Dao of alchemy or the talisman arts.

Xuan Miao had rarely seen cinnabar this good as well. She rolled it between her fingers, smelled it, and after confirming it was genuine, asked, "How much did you pay?"

Tao Ji said with a pained heart, "Fifteen taels per qian. I only have thirteen taels of whole silver left on me now."

Pan Yun remained silent beside him. She did not have much left either.

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

Tao Ji's eyes shifted as he thought that was quite a good idea.

"Let us go. While it is still early, we will leave the city."

Early that morning, Tao Ji had rearranged the things on the cart, leaving a place for Pan Yun and the black cat to sit. At last, she did not need to squeeze in with the two of them.

However, she sat beside Xuan Miao rather than in the back, lest she fall off the cart again as they traveled. According to them, the stretch of road from Yushan County to Mount Sanqing was not easy to travel either.

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

"It has already been handled," Xuan Miao said. "Someone will go to your old home in Changzhou Prefecture to investigate in the next few days. The moment there is news, it will be sent to Mount Sanqing."

Pan Yun let out a breath of relief and lavishly praised Xuan Miao. "Immortal Master Xuan Miao is indeed beautiful and kind-hearted, with such wonderful connections..."

Xuan Miao said, "Once you enter Mount Sanqing, you will be my nephew-disciple. We are fellow disciples, so helping you is only right. You do not need to call me Immortal Master."