Trade

The young lady had summoned him, so naturally he could not delay.

However, Yang Yi still returned to his room and wolfed down breakfast before heading to Xiude Hall.

Xiude Hall was where Qiao Yaoyao handled official business during the day. Yang Yi had been there before.

"Young Lady, you sent for me." Yang Yi stepped inside.

"Attendant Yang, have a seat." Qiao Yaoyao looked as she always did. Today, she was not seated behind her desk, but in a chair to the side.

Without the desk blocking her, Yang Yi realized just how excellent Young Lady Qiao's figure was—curves in all the right places, every inch of her brimming with mature charm.

She gestured, and Yang Yi sat down beside her, a small table separating them.

A faint fragrance lingered around his nose.

"Have some tea." Qiao Yaoyao raised her hand in invitation. Two cups of hot tea already sat on the table, steam curling upward.

Yang Yi lifted his teacup and used it as cover to steal a fierce look at those towering peaks. Qiao Yaoyao's mature allure was far too lethal for someone his age...

"Attendant Yang, you have been in the Inner Fort for half a month now. Have you grown accustomed to living here?" Qiao Yaoyao asked with concern.

"Quite well. As you know, Young Lady, we were farming folk. Where would we ever have enjoyed such fine clothes and rich food before?" Yang Yi took a sip of tea and answered with a straight face.

Qiao Yaoyao smiled gently. "A hero is not judged by his origins. Before the Qiao Household rose to prominence, we were merely traveling merchants peddling goods along the roads."

Young Lady Qiao was undoubtedly skilled at conversation. Her words naturally made others feel close to her.

"And how has your cultivation been lately?" she asked again.

She had heard some things from Qiao Wuwang. Yang Yi was young and reckless, having taken three extremely difficult martial arts manuals from the Martial Hall. Qiao Wuwang was simply waiting for him to smash his head bloody against the wall before replacing them for him.

"It has been fairly smooth."

That answer surprised Qiao Yaoyao. But then she recalled Tie Shan saying that Yang Yi's Body Tempering Art was exceptionally profound. If that was true, perhaps he really possessed the qualifications to cultivate those three martial arts. Only the qualifications, though—whether he could master them still depended on his comprehension and perseverance.

After chatting a few more lines, seeing that Yang Yi only answered her questions, Qiao Yaoyao finally got to the point. "Attendant Yang, I invited you here today because there is something I wish to discuss."

"If there is anything you need, Young Lady, simply give the order. So long as it is within my capabilities, I will not refuse."

"I would like to ask whether you have an old mountain ginseng on you."

Yang Yi held his teacup and blew on it, the hazy steam concealing his expression.

Qiao Yaoyao said, "Please do not misunderstand, Attendant Yang. I was born with a particularly keen sense of smell and can often detect scents others cannot. In fact, the first time we met, I smelled mountain ginseng on you."

She had not paid it much mind then. Yang Yi came from Yang Family Hollow, which lay near Crouching Ox Mountain. It was only natural for him to gain some harvest from the mountains, and the Qiao Household did not lack mountain ginseng.

Yang Yi stared at her in astonishment. Does this woman have a dog's nose? We were not even that close that day, yet she could smell it?

Qiao Yaoyao smiled radiantly. "Wuwang has called me a dog nose many times as well."

She could read minds too!

"For instance, that mountain ginseng is still on you right now." As Qiao Yaoyao spoke, her gaze fell upon Yang Yi's chest.

Ever since arriving at the Qiao Household, Yang Yi had kept this treasure close to his body. It was mainly for the convenience of cultivation, allowing him to take it out and use it whenever needed.

"Wuwang told me about what happened to you. Later, I sent people to investigate you further. At the time, I found it rather strange—what could Black Wind Stronghold possibly want in your tiny Yang Family Hollow? It was not until afterward... when I looked into another piece of information."

"What information?" Yang Yi turned to look at her. The old mountain ginseng was naturally very precious to him. He had relied on it at the beginning of his cultivation, but now that he had entered Qiao Family Fort and become one of their Attendants, with so many supplies available to him, he did not absolutely need the old mountain ginseng anymore.

From Qiao Yaoyao's words, she was clearly very interested in it.

If the Qiao Household could offer a suitable price, he was not unwilling to transfer it.

"Black Wind Stronghold caused quite a stir outside some days ago. They were said to be searching for a lost treasure. Only recently did I learn that it was an old mountain ginseng at least three hundred years old."

The scent of ginseng on Yang Yi and Black Wind Stronghold's night raid on Yang Family Hollow were not the crucial points. It was the loss of a three-hundred-year-old mountain ginseng that made Qiao Yaoyao form her suspicions.

Given Yang Yi's skills, killing a few bandits and seizing their treasure would naturally have been as easy as turning over his hand.

What a clever woman! Yang Yi secretly marveled. She could infer so much from only these scattered clues. No wonder a woman could hold the reins of such a vast clan.

But... was it actually a three-hundred-year-old mountain ginseng? He had previously thought it was merely a hundred years old.

"Young Lady, this should be the item you mean." Yang Yi reached into his robes, took out the old mountain ginseng, and placed it on the table.

Qiao Yaoyao's gaze was immediately drawn to it.

Over the past days, Yang Yi had cultivated many times and used this old mountain ginseng for nourishment many times. More than half its roots had been consumed, leaving only two sparse, straggling ones.

Yet Qiao Yaoyao revealed a delighted expression. She examined it carefully and confirmed that it truly was an old mountain ginseng more than three hundred years old.

She did not touch it. Instead, she raised her eyes to Yang Yi. "Attendant Yang, to be frank, this item is of great use to me. If you are willing to part with it, the Qiao Household will certainly offer you a generous gift."

The Qiao Household did not lack ordinary mountain ginseng, but an old mountain ginseng over three hundred years old was a treasure anywhere. It had already surpassed the realm of ordinary medicinal herbs.

She did not beat around the bush, saying directly, "From this day onward, the Qiao Household will provide Attendant Yang with thirty portions each of Myriad-Treasure Dew and Hundred Herbs Liquid every month for ten years. In addition, Bamboo Garden's supplies will be unlimited, and you may choose any shop in the Outer Fort for the Yang Household to manage."

Myriad-Treasure Dew was a cultivation resource that could replace food-based nourishment.

After each cultivation session, Yang Yi used the old mountain ginseng to nourish himself. It was convenient and swift, but others did not have such conditions. They could not possibly eat meat after every session of cultivation. Myriad-Treasure Dew had therefore been specially developed by the Qiao Household. It used many precious medicinal ingredients and was extremely valuable.

Hundred Herbs Liquid was likewise a cultivation resource. When used for a medicinal bath, it could help martial artists repair hidden injuries within their bodies more quickly.

Within Qiao Family Fort, both items cost twenty taels of silver per portion, and only those in the Inner Fort were qualified to purchase them.

When Yang Yi had gone to the Martial Hall with Qiao Wuwang half a month ago, Qiao Wuwang had told him this information.

Yang Yi had never bought Myriad-Treasure Dew because he had the old mountain ginseng. But he had recently used Hundred Herbs Liquid, and its effects were indeed quite good. It helped him recover more thoroughly and gave him much more time to practice martial arts.

Thirty portions of each every month meant twelve hundred taels of silver. That was over fourteen thousand taels a year, and over ten years, more than one hundred forty thousand taels!

Compared to that, the unlimited supplies were nothing much. They were only rice, flour, and meat, after all, and Bamboo Garden's current provisions were already sufficient.

Qiao Yaoyao had even thoughtfully assigned a shop in the Outer Fort for the Yang Household to manage. It had to be said that this woman considered matters with great thoroughness, covering everything from every angle.

This showed just how sincere she was.

Yet Yang Yi shook his head.

Qiao Yaoyao said, "Does Attendant Yang have any other requests? We can discuss them."

"Myriad-Treasure Dew—I want a hundred bottles every month!" If he drank one bottle for each cultivation session, that would be roughly the amount he needed per month, and it could completely replace the old mountain ginseng.

"A hundred bottles..." Qiao Yaoyao was stunned. She did not know why Yang Yi wanted so many. He certainly could not use them all himself.

A hundred bottles of Myriad-Treasure Dew were worth no small sum. If she truly agreed, it would be equivalent to doubling the value of the terms she had originally offered.

But this three-hundred-year-old mountain ginseng was something one could only encounter by chance, never seek by effort. She had been searching for it for many years.

For a moment, she was torn.