A Small Windfall

A Small Windfall

Once Lei Dong entered the marketplace, his eyes were opened. The marketplace wasn't large, but it had many old-fashioned storefronts. Each shop sold all kinds of dazzling magic tools, pills, talismans, and other items. Some shops sold everything, like little general stores, while others specialized in pills or magic tools. There was also a street set aside for cultivators to sell their wares at stalls. For just one Spirit Stone in stall fees, they could set up there for the whole day.

Lei Dong had never dreamed that so many cultivators would gather here. It wasn't quite a sea of people like the market fairs back in his hometown, but it was still crowded with heads as far as the eye could see. After wandering around discreetly for half a day, he gradually began to understand how things worked. The shops that sold a bit of everything did good business, but precisely because they carried such a broad range of goods, it was hard to find anything truly top-notch there.

The specialty shops sold their goods in a very professional manner. For the sake of long-term business, they were usually very particular about their reputations. However, the same small items cost one or two tenths more in specialty shops than elsewhere, though their quality was more reliable. As for the assorted stalls, they were run by individuals and sold everything from a single yin mushroom to magical treasures used by Golden Core Cultivators. Of course, the quality of the goods at the stalls was hard to judge. Many people, hoping to get a great bargain for a small price, ended up losing out.

The buyer was never as shrewd as the seller. From what Lei Dong had observed, most of the stall owners were old hands who had been doing business here for years. The stall owners seemed to have formed a tacit alliance, and they specialized in fleecing newcomers and cultivators with low cultivation. Still, a few people had set up stalls because they weren't satisfied with the prices offered by shops when they tried to sell their goods. They would rather sell their wares here in hopes of getting a better price.

Even when it came to this latter group of stall owners, Lei Dong didn't dare trust them too easily. Who knew whether one of those old hands was just pretending?

He spent one Spirit Stone to rent a room for a month at an unremarkable little inn. Every night, he practiced qi cultivation and meditated in his room. During the day, he continued wandering around, occasionally chatting casually with shop assistants and stall owners. Having lived two lifetimes, Lei Dong might not have been especially adept at dealing with people, but he still understood more than most his age. When others weren't busy, he would offer a few auspicious words and quietly flatter them. That way, even though he refused to spend money on anything, he didn't make himself unwelcome. He committed everything he heard and saw to memory, then quietly mulled it over.

More than twenty days later, Lei Dong confidently stepped into a small shop that specialized in selling Spirit Ghosts. Since this place was still within the Yin Sha Sect's sphere of influence, many members of unorthodox sects gathered here, and the market for Spirit Ghosts was quite large. After gathering bits and pieces of information and discreetly making inquiries, he compared several similar shops and concluded that this one had a good reputation, fair prices, and didn't take advantage of newcomers. Only then did Lei Dong decide to sell his Middle Grade Spirit Ghost here.

After carefully listening to Lei Dong explain his purpose, the mortal shop assistant, who had no cultivation, politely ushered him into a private room. Knowing that he couldn't make decisions about buying a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost, he bowed and went to fetch the shopkeeper.

Soon afterward, two palace-dressed serving girls, both only seventeen or eighteen, came to pour tea and serve water. They were shy and delicate, and rather pretty. But Lei Dong, who had spent so long at Myriad Ghost Cave, wasn't particularly interested in them. For one thing, Myriad Ghost Cave had all kinds of mortal serving girls in abundance. For another, Lei Dong felt he was still young and should devote more of his energy to cultivation.

Before long, a shopkeeper who looked to be in his middle years and dressed with an air of geniality came in with a broad smile. He clasped his hands in greeting. "My apologies, my apologies. I was tied up with something important just now, and I'm afraid I kept you waiting. I'm the third shopkeeper of this Spirit Ghost Pavilion. My surname is Li; you can call me Old Li. May I ask your name, young friend?"

"Senior Li, you're too kind. This junior's surname is Chen, and my given name is Hua." Lei Dong rose calmly and returned the greeting. "Your cultivation is far beyond this junior's. How could I presume to address you so casually?" In the Cultivation World, strength was respected, and the strong preyed on the weak. When dealing with a senior cultivator stronger than himself, it was better to be humble and keep a low profile. Otherwise, he might say the wrong thing and offend the other party, then die without even knowing why. Lei Dong couldn't see through the cultivation of this third shopkeeper, who called himself Old Li. How could he dare to actually call him that?

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Shopkeeper Li sipped his tea and smiled. "I heard from the shop assistant that you have a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost you'd like to sell to our pavilion. I'd like to thank you for trusting our shop. I'm sure you looked into our reputation before coming here. I can assure you that we never disclose any information about our customers, and we guarantee that every transaction between us is fair and impartial. We won't let you come out on the losing end."

Lei Dong nodded. Businesses, especially those hoping to last, did indeed care a great deal about their reputations. But he also understood that if the item he brought out made them extremely covetous, and they could quietly dispose of him without trouble, they might not mind playing bandit for a day. It came down to where they drew the line. As the saying went, it wasn't that people wouldn't betray you; the price of betrayal simply wasn't high enough, and the cost was too great.

Still, considering the Spirit Ghost Pavilion's strength and reputation, the risk and reward of killing him for the sake of one Middle Grade Spirit Ghost didn't add up. That made Lei Dong feel fairly reassured. Of course, it was still necessary to keep his wits about him and remain on guard. After all, he was far too weak right now.

"That was a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost I happened to capture while carrying out a sect mission," Lei Dong said calmly. "I'm selling it because, first, I don't primarily cultivate the Ghost Taming Art, and second, I don't want my fellow disciples to get too envious." He explained why he was selling it and subtly hinted that he was a sect disciple, not just some low-level Rogue Cultivator one might find anywhere.

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Li grew even more enthusiastic. Sect disciples were indeed very different from Rogue Cultivators. If a sect disciple, even the lowest-ranking one, suffered a loss while traveling outside, the sect would certainly seek revenge. It was a matter of survival for a sect. If it ignored its own disciples when they were bullied and cowered like a turtle in its shell, its members would gradually lose their sense of belonging. Once their hearts drifted away, the sect would naturally grow weaker by the day.

This place was still within the Yin Sha Sect's sphere of influence, and the nearest other sect seemed to be tens of thousands of miles away. From that, if the young man was telling the truth, he ought to be a disciple of the Yin Sha Sect. Faced with a behemoth like the Yin Sha Sect, Shopkeeper Li wouldn't even consider offending it.

"Please rest assured, Young Master Chen. Not a word about this transaction will get out," Shopkeeper Li said solemnly. "As for that shop assistant, I'll personally take care of him as well."

Lei Dong was slightly taken aback, then couldn't help laughing. "There's no need for that. It's not as serious as you imagine, Shopkeeper Li. Just don't spread the word." He thought to himself that Shopkeeper Li had probably guessed he was a disciple of the Yin Sha Sect. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so cautious. But it didn't matter. The Yin Sha Sect had countless caves and mansions, and nobody would be bored enough to trace a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost back to him.

Shopkeeper Li was secretly relieved. Raising a clever, quick-witted shop assistant took a fair bit of effort. After a brief pause, he asked, "What price are you hoping to get for it?"

Before coming, Lei Dong had carefully looked into the prices of Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts. At reputable specialty shops like the Spirit Ghost Pavilion, Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts were fairly rare. Because of their scarcity, they usually sold for around thirteen or fourteen hundred Spirit Stones, and demand was high. Lei Dong had already settled on his price, and stated it calmly. "Twelve hundred Spirit Stones."

Shopkeeper Li's expression faltered slightly, and he gave a wry smile. "Your price is a little high, young friend. Although we can sell one for thirteen or fourteen hundred, our shop is located here, and the rent, taxes, wages, and other expenses aren't cheap. One thousand Spirit Stones. If you agree to sell, we can close the deal right now."

"That's not quite right. Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts are rare and in high demand. If you buy it from me, you can turn around and make two hundred Spirit Stones on the sale. If you don't make this deal, do you suddenly stop paying rent and all those other expenses? It's just one more transaction." Lei Dong sipped his tea and argued his case with easy confidence. It wasn't that he enjoyed haggling; it was just that this was a major transaction, involving dozens or even a hundred Spirit Stones. That was no small sum. Although he had the Soul Devouring Pagoda and could make Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts, if he went around selling them without restraint, his days would be numbered.

After going back and forth, Lei Dong held firm and sold it for eleven hundred Spirit Stones. That was already four hundred more than he'd estimated before coming to the marketplace. He could barely contain his satisfaction. At last, his Spirit Stone assets had topped a thousand.