Cloud Stepping Lynx

In Hundred Herbs Hall.

Lu Xuan strolled around the market and came away with nothing, but he was not disappointed. He simply took the opportunity to visit Manager He.

"Lu Boy, you're here?!"

The Gaunt Old Man was going over the account book. He glanced at Lu Xuan, then paid him no further attention.

Lu Xuan casually found a place to sit and watched several thirteen- or fourteen-year-old Herb Boys bustle about inside Hundred Herbs Hall, coming and going.

The Spirit Plants they collected had to go through several procedures, and what the Herb Boys did was the crudest initial processing.

There was not much technical skill involved, so Hundred Herbs Hall handled it openly in the main hall, not afraid of anyone seeing.

"Here, have a cup of hot tea."

Before long, Manager He, who had temporarily finished the matter at hand, came over to Lu Xuan and handed him a cup of tea with tender green spirit tea leaves floating in it.

With one mouthful of spirit tea down his throat, a refreshing fragrance that gladdened the heart and lungs drifted into his nose and mouth, leaving Lu Xuan savoring it for a long while.

"How is it? Are the Spirit Plants growing well? If they don't meet the standard, your interests will suffer quite a loss!"

The Gaunt Old Man asked with concern.

"Not bad. The quality is even better than the previous batch."

Lu Xuan replied with a smile. He knew that the Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field were not only tied to his own income, but to a certain extent also represented Manager He's face, since it was Manager He who had introduced him into Hundred Herbs Hall.

Hearing Lu Xuan's answer, Manager He relaxed slightly, and the two chatted idly.

Suddenly, a Woman hurriedly burst into Hundred Herbs Hall with a child.

The Woman looked tearful and distraught, her eyes swollen high, showing that she had already been crying for a long time.

The child's face held a trace of bewilderment. His mouth hung open as he let the Woman hold him tightly.

The Woman asked a couple of questions, then entered the inner part of Hundred Herbs Hall. Manager He, worried something had happened, followed her in as well.

A moment later, he returned to the main hall with a heavy expression.

"A Spirit Plant Master who had established a cooperative relationship with the hall accidentally met with misfortune. His family came to ask about how the Spirit Plants would be handled afterward."

"What happened?"

"It's said several people invited one another to go to a Secret Realm to pick spirit herbs. In the end, their luck was bad, and they ran into an injured Second Grade Demon Beast. Of the four of them, two died on the spot, while the other two were also gravely wounded, their lives hanging by a thread."

"What was the name of the Spirit Plant Master who had established a cooperative relationship with the hall?"

Hearing Manager He say this, Lu Xuan could not help thinking of Lei Fei, who had invited him to enter a Secret Realm together some time ago.

"Lei Fei. One of the two who died. What, you know him?"

Sure enough, Lu Xuan received confirmation from Manager He's mouth. It was precisely Lei Fei, the Spirit Plant Master who had invited him at the time.

"At that time, they tried to invite me to explore the Secret Realm with them. I couldn't stop worrying about the Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field, and I was also afraid of running into danger, so I didn't agree."

Lu Xuan sighed.

"Good thing you didn't agree. Otherwise... you might have been added to the ones who met with disaster."

Manager He could not help saying.

"One can only say they were destined for this calamity. In a Secret Realm that countless cultivators had already entered before, they actually managed to run into a Second Grade Demon Beast."

"Then how will the Spirit Plants he took on be handled?"

"The Spirit Plant Master is dead, and his family members don't really know how to cultivate First Grade Spirit Plants. According to the rules, the hall should take over, transplant the Spirit Plants here, and give the family a certain amount of compensation."

"It's just that compared to mature Spirit Plants, that would be much cheaper. His family came this time to plead for mercy, hoping the hall would leave the remaining Spirit Plants to her to grow."

Manager He did not state outright how it would be handled, but from his expression, Lu Xuan could guess seventy to eighty percent of it.

Hundred Herbs Hall would definitely put profit first. In the face of profit, that tiny bit of affection was something one could take or leave.

In his heart, he became even more resolute in his thought of not risking himself. After all, if he went out and could not return, wouldn't the Spirit Plants in his courtyard end up benefiting others for nothing? After this interlude, he no longer had any thought of savoring spirit tea. He swallowed it down like a whale and got up to leave.

"You want forty Spirit Stones for such a tiny Cloud Stepping Lynx? Are you mad?"

"Fellow Daoist, this isn't an ordinary Cloud Stepping Lynx. Look at its eyes. This is a Variant lynx. The price definitely can't be the same as usual."

As he wandered, an argument at a nearby stall drew Lu Xuan's attention.

Lu Xuan's thoughts stirred, and he came before the stall. His attention was drawn to an iron cage in the corner.

The iron cage was made of some unknown material. Its slender bars had fine patterns on them and gave off a chill. Talismans were also pasted on the four corners of the cage to prevent the thing inside from escaping.

Through the gaps between the bars, Lu Xuan saw a young lynx inside the cage.

The lynx's fur was jet-black, with only its four paws as white as snow. When it stood, it looked as though it were stepping on four white clouds; the words "Cloud Stepping" likely came from this.

Its two long, slender ears stood tall, with two small tufts of white fur at the tips, growing straight up like two antennae.

A pair of pupils like emerald-green jade were especially eye-catching, gazing coldly all around.

Seeing Lu Xuan's gaze sweep over, the scarred Cloud Stepping Lynx bared its teeth, its body leaning slightly forward as it put on a posture as though it were about to fight.

"Just because its eyes look pretty, that makes it a Variant? Then does having Diao Chan on my waist make me a Variant cultivator?"

A Qi Practitioner in front of the stall could not help retorting to the Stall Owner.

No wonder anger burned in his heart. If this Cloud Stepping Lynx young beast were priced as usual, twenty Spirit Stones would have been enough to get it with ease. Yet this Stall Owner, relying on the fact that the Cloud Stepping Lynx before him had Different Pupils, had opened his lion's mouth wide and actually wanted forty Spirit Stones.

"Forty Spirit Stones. Not one less!"

The Stall Owner did not waver in the slightest, stubbornly sticking to the original price.

"Then keep this so-called Variant Cloud Stepping Lynx for yourself! It's so pretty, you can look at it all you want every day!"

The Qi Practitioner threw down those words and strode off.

"No eye for goods."

The Stall Owner mocked him mercilessly.

"Fellow Daoist, may I ask how you obtained this Cloud Stepping Lynx, and what is going on with its pair of pupils?"

Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded from the side. The Stall Owner looked toward the sound and saw a bright, handsome youth standing before the iron cage, his clear eyes gazing at him.

"I obtained it together with my companions, after going through endless twists and turns, from deep within a Secret Realm."

"The Cloud Stepping Lynx is a First Grade Spirit Beast. It moves swiftly, without sound or trace, and has decent offensive power. This young beast before you is also somewhat different from a Common Cloud Stepping Lynx. After it grows up, its twin pupils might possess some slight marvel."

"What do you think, Fellow Daoist?"

"How about thirty Spirit Stones?"

Lu Xuan habitually chopped off a large chunk.

"Heh."

The Stall Owner folded his arms across his chest and could not be bothered to pay Lu Xuan any more attention.

"Fellow Daoist says it is a Variant Cloud Stepping Lynx, but I wonder what basis you have. Just that pair of Green Eyes?"

"You should know that Variant Demon Beasts are extremely rare, and the chance of a Rank 1 Demon Beast producing a variant is one in ten thousand."

"That pair of Green Eyes might also simply be the result of some stimulation during the formation of the embryo, or perhaps the influence of a special spiritual energy environment. For Fellow Daoist to directly determine that it is a variant is far too casual."

"Moreover, from what I can see, the Cloud Stepping Lynx young beast in your cage is not in very good condition. It likely suffered no small amount of injury during Fellow Daoist's capture, and it has been trapped in the cage all this time, unable to receive proper treatment or rest."

"In its current state, whether it can even be raised successfully is still unknown."

"Thirty-six Spirit Stones. Not one less. You should know we paid a great price to capture it."

"Thirty-two Spirit Stones, and I'll take it directly."

Lu Xuan knew the Stall Owner had already been persuaded by his reasoning. On top of that, he liked this Green Eyes Cloud Stepping Lynx exceptionally much, so he loosened the price a little further.

"Fine. Then Fellow Daoist, you're getting it cheap."

The Stall Owner gritted his teeth and finally agreed.

In his heart, he was also well aware that the possibility of it being a variant was extremely low. Besides, if it remained in his hands, he was afraid he would be unable to keep it alive. Being able to earn more than half again as much as an ordinary Cloud Stepping Lynx young beast was already quite a decent result.