Crafting a Belt

Crafting a Belt

After hearing Li Xuan's words, Zhao Xiaohu pondered for a moment. Clearly, children Zhao Xiaohu's age did not usually pay much attention to jewelry.

"Young Master, I remember there is only one shop in Sala City that can make jewelry. It's in the west of the city. Their craftsmanship is impeccable, but their prices are indeed rather high." Zhao Xiaohu scratched his head and told Li Xuan everything he knew, leaving the decision to him.

As one of Spirit City's satellite cities, Sala City's strategic purpose was to protect Spirit City and provide it with troops. Thus, both the Spirit Hall branch and the garrison here possessed formidable combat strength, while the city's defenses were exceptionally sturdy.

This led everyone to believe that war could break out here at any time, so virtually no Spirit Master families or nobles chose to settle here.

Therefore, although Sala City's military strength was fairly powerful, its economic development was truly lacking.

The various shops merely managed to stay afloat.

"As long as the craftsmanship is good, that's enough. Brother Xiao Hu, take me there." Li Xuan smiled and nodded at Zhao Xiaohu.

After receiving Li Xuan's definite answer, Zhao Xiaohu said nothing more. Since Li Xuan had made up his mind, there was no need for him to persuade him otherwise. He immediately led Li Xuan toward the jewelry shop.

Li Xuan did not want to visit a jewelry shop because he wanted to dress himself up. He wanted to find a jeweler to craft a container for his Void Pearls.

Although Li Xuan was rather skilled at weaving grass rope, its material was simply too poor. With only a little force, it would snap. If he lost the Void Pearls, the loss would be far too great.

Thus, embedding the Void Pearls into an item was the safest option.

More than ten minutes later, Zhao Xiaohu brought Li Xuan to the entrance of a shop in the western part of the city.

"Yuning Jewelry Store"

"That name is quite elegant." Li Xuan looked at the signboard and smiled.

"Yes, the owner is a very nice person. The husband and wife are especially loving." Zhao Xiaohu smiled at Li Xuan.

"A husband-and-wife shop, huh? Come on, Brother Xiao Hu, let's take a look." After saying that, Li Xuan walked through the entrance, with Zhao Xiaohu following behind him.

As soon as he entered the shop, Li Xuan saw several display counters filled with all kinds of jewelry.

Li Xuan stepped forward and carefully examined the jewelry within the counters.

Although the materials used for these pieces were ordinary, mostly common copper, iron, and wood, the carving craftsmanship was excellent. Li Xuan could also sense that their maker had put a great deal of care into them.

"Greetings, Young Master. I am Li Yu. May I ask whether you have come to purchase jewelry?" A steady middle-aged male voice sounded from behind him.

A simply dressed middle-aged man with a broad smile walked in from the backyard and came before Li Xuan.

The man's features were gentle, and his face was full of smiles, giving him a very approachable feeling.

"Yes, Uncle. I would like to buy a piece of jewelry that can hold this." Li Xuan removed the grass rope from his wrist. With a light flick of his finger, the rope came undone on its own, and five Void Pearls fell onto the counter.

"These are...?" Li Yu's eyes noticeably lit up when he saw the Void Pearls.

Although Void Pearls were fruits borne by plants, they were crystalline like jade and hard as iron, no worse than precious gems.

Li Yu had not used gemstones to craft jewelry in many years.

"Young Master, could you sell these pearls to me?" Li Yu hesitated for a moment before asking Li Xuan.

"Haha, these things are precious, Uncle. I'm afraid I can't sell them to you. I came here today because I want something crafted that can embed these pearls into jewelry." Li Xuan refused Li Yu without hesitation.

Void Pearls were no ordinary gems. They were treasures comparable to Soul Tools.

Li Xuan did not have many of them, so naturally, he could not waste them.

"That's fine. Just letting me work with them would satisfy me. It's been too long since I last touched gemstones. What kind of jewelry would you like to have made, Young Master?" Although Li Yu was somewhat disappointed, the thought of crafting something with gems like these made him happy again.

"I would like you to use some precious materials to craft a belt. I still have quite a few pearls like these, and I want all of them embedded into the belt." Li Xuan explained his idea to Li Yu.

Li Xuan's Void Pearls could cultivate one per day, so their production was fairly stable.

Belts and rings were the most suitable choices for storage space. However, Li Xuan currently only had Void Pearls that were numerous but held little space individually, so a belt was more suitable for him.

Therefore, however many Void Pearls the belt could hold would determine the size of Li Xuan's portable storage space.

"A belt made entirely of metal... that can be done. However, I will need to design it first. It should be ready in around three days. Will that be in time, Young Master?" Li Yu thought for a moment before asking.

"Three days... Could you rush it a little? I'm afraid it won't be ready in time." Li Xuan frowned. After hesitating briefly, he spoke to Li Yu somewhat embarrassedly.

"If you want it rushed... that can be done, but it will cost a little extra. In that case, I should be able to finish the belt by tomorrow night. Would that be acceptable, Young Master?" Li Yu considered it before replying.

"Yes, yes. Then Uncle, how much would this belt cost?" Li Xuan asked again.

"Perfect. I have a piece of Red Jade Fire-Pattern Steel, enough to make your belt. Add in some precious metals, and the materials will cost around two Gold Soul Coins. The labor fee is one Gold Soul Coin. If you want it rushed, another fifty Silver Soul Coins will do." Li Yu thought for a moment, then took out a watermelon-sized red steel ingot from beneath the counter and placed it on top.

The red steel ingot before him was as large as a watermelon and extremely heavy. It was fiery red throughout, with a layer of orange patterns on its surface that resembled flames burning across the steel.

"Uncle, you can use some more precious materials as well. I'll give you five Gold Soul Coins. Once the belt is finished, just deliver it to the building materials store at Brother Xiao Hu's house. Sorry to trouble you these next two days." Li Xuan bowed to Li Yu.

At the same time, Li Xuan took five Gold Soul Coins from the money pouch in his robes, then took out another Void Pearl and handed it to Li Yu.

After a Void Pearl absorbed Li Xuan's Soul Power, the space inside could only be activated by Li Xuan's Soul Power. In someone else's hands, it was merely a slightly prettier ordinary pearl.

"This... Then I will certainly craft a belt for you as quickly as possible." It was Li Yu's first time seeing such a generous child. He froze for a moment, then nodded and accepted the Gold Soul Coins and Void Pearl from Li Xuan.

However, Li Yu thought that he could not take those Gold Soul Coins for nothing. He had to use his finest craftsmanship to make this belt.

Li Xuan nodded to Li Yu again before leaving the jewelry store.

Once outside the shop, Li Xuan finally relaxed. His purposes for coming to Sala City had all been accomplished.

He had left the Flower Sea, surveyed the surrounding terrain, bought enough building materials to lay the foundation for digging a tunnel, and commissioned a belt to expand his storage space so he could store more resources from the Flower Sea.

As for the map, that was purely an unexpected bonus.

Next, Li Xuan could properly explore Sala City.

"Brother Xiao Hu, all my goals for coming to Sala City have been completed. Now, take me around Sala City properly. Good food and fun places are both fine." Li Xuan spoke to Zhao Xiaohu with his whole body relaxed.

Zhao Xiaohu smiled and nodded, then began showing Li Xuan around Sala City.

I hope all my dear readers are happy every day. I will work hard on writing, but I've been truly busy lately, and I'm not feeling very well either. I'm sorry, dear readers.

I kowtow to all my dear readers.

(End of Chapter)