A Day Out Before Heading Home

Jade Capital really didn't have much in the way of local specialties.

Chen Shu took Qingqing around all afternoon. They found stalls selling dried fruit and pastries under signs touting "imperial cuisine," but none of it tasted good.

Jade Capital did produce a kind of tea, but after browsing the shops, Chen Shu felt he might be better off buying it online. At least there he could order straight from the best-known brand's flagship store. The tea in these shops was all over the place.

Jade Capital had one other specialty, though—a genuine one you couldn't buy anywhere else:

The handicrafts sold by Jade Peace Temple, the Ancestral Court of the Daoist Order, and New Orthodox Temple, the Ancestral Court of the Buddhist Order.

This world had no concept of consecration. If you really wanted something blessed to ward off evil, any Cultivator who understood Runes could do it.

The appeal of these handicrafts was their beautiful design. They were handmade by disciples of the Daoist Order and Buddhist Order, complete with authenticity marks. It all sounded rather prestigious.

They often came with simple sets of Runes that could calm the mind or soothe the spirit.

Those Runes were engraved by hand, too.

You could also buy amulets with basic protective effects or accessories with more advanced functions. But their Spirit Power accessories weren't necessarily more effective than the ones sold elsewhere, while their brand markup was higher. So most people bought the cheaper pieces, which were more decorative keepsakes than anything else.

To buy those, however, you had to go to the temple or monastery.

Chen Shu couldn't be bothered.

The street below Astrology Tower had them for sale too. Every vendor called out that their goods were genuine articles from Jade Peace Temple or New Orthodox Temple. Some