Buying and Selling Cultivators

(Votes for the new week, please!)

"I'm not too sure about that myself!" The old man frowned. "According to the steward who brought that brat back, he seemed obsessive and deranged by nature. His parents died early, and he returned two years after leaving his village. The day after he came back, he poisoned every villager with some unknown poison, sparing not even the children. Apparently, if that steward hadn't been tasked with finding mortals with immortal roots and needed to catch the brat to fill his quota, he would never have brought him back!"

"Tch! I never imagined this guy was so terrifying!" Wang Yan suddenly lost his appetite for the meat. He set it on the table and muttered to himself, recalling what Wang Ziling had done that day. All the disciples who had usually been close to Wang Ziling had died at his hands in one fell swoop. With Wang Ziling's cultivation and divine abilities back then, even dealing with Wang Yan alone would have been a struggle, let alone fifteen or twenty disciples. At the time, Wang Yan had suspected that Wang Ziling had used some kind of poison. Later, when Wang Ziling set him up, he had likewise fallen victim to that poison...

"That guy really is dangerous. Brat, if you don't find a way to kill him, you'll probably be in danger yourself!" Card Fairy said inside Wang Yan's mind. Clearly, she also thought Wang Ziling was far too insidious and vicious to deal with easily!

"Then... you old geezer! Do you know where Wang Ziling is now?" Wang Yan hurriedly asked the old man, a trace of murderous intent flashing involuntarily through his eyes...

"Hmm? You still want to take revenge on that brat?" The old man went on eating his meat and spoke casually. Then he paused and said gravely, "I'd advise you not to go!"

"If I don't avenge this grudge, I'll be the one in danger!" Wang Yan said solemnly.

"All right! Actually, even if you went looking for him now, you wouldn't find him. Apparently, he's already received the patriarch's permission and gone straight to the Cultivation Chamber inside the mountain to cultivate!" The old man made no attempt to stop him and spoke indifferently.

"The Cultivation Chamber!" Wang Yan narrowed his eyes and murmured. Then, as though he had made up his mind, he said gravely, "All right! Thanks, you old geezer!" With that, he wasted no more time, stood up, and headed out of the house...

"Hmm? You're not planning to come back?" Watching Wang Yan's retreating figure, the old man's eyes flickered with an unusual look as he asked calmly.

"I'm not coming back!" Wang Yan paused and answered casually. "Take care of yourself! I'm off!" With that, he pushed the door open and left...

"..." As he watched Wang Yan disappear into the distance, a cold gleam suddenly flashed through the old man's eyes. He sighed and murmured to himself, "Go on! A man's ambitions reach to the four corners of the world. Go out and see this cruel world!" With a casual wave of his hand, the little wooden cabin's door closed without a sound...

"Hey! Brat! Who was that old man? He didn't look like a cultivator to me!" Card Fairy's voice rang through Wang Yan's mind as he crept along a mountain path. Before leaving, he had quietly returned to his old room and taken a few changes of clothes and some other belongings. Another disciple would be using that room before long anyway, so there was naturally no reason to leave those things behind... Besides, he was short on clothes and such himself...

Moreover, he had a few other uses for those clothes.

"Card Fairy! Would it kill you to keep your voice down?" Wang Yan complained irritably. Although Card Fairy's voice made no actual sound, it still felt quite loud when it rang inside his mind. After a pause, he explained, "That old geezer is called Old Meat. He especially likes eating demon beast meat, but he's just a mortal with extremely skilled martial arts. He's a gatekeeper! He's the one who taught me martial arts!"

"Hmm? That explains it!" Card Fairy replied, then hurriedly asked, "Are you still going to look for Wang Ziling?"

"Of course!" Wang Yan said gravely. "Wang Ziling is so treacherous and ruthless. If I don't kill him now, once he becomes stronger, I'll have even less chance of dealing with him!" He paused, then continued, "But from the looks of things, my plan won't work anymore!"

"Your plan won't work anymore?"

"Wang Ziling has already become the patriarch's disciple, and he's reached major attainment in the Cultivation Realm. No matter how high a price the Ma Family offers, they won't be able to buy him!" Wang Yan said with a frown.

"That's true! No Lineage would sell a talented disciple, no matter what!" Card Fairy said calmly. Then she hurriedly continued, "What are you going to do, then? Go to the Cultivation Chamber to find Wang Ziling?"

"Not to the Cultivation Chamber just yet!" Wang Yan said gravely. As he spoke with Card Fairy, he soon emerged from the little path and continued, "I don't think the Ma Family will give up easily just because they can't buy Wang Ziling. Let's do this: we'll keep an eye on them. I reckon they'll have some sneaky scheme in mind!"

"Oh? Looks like you've got something else planned, brat!" Card Fairy said...

"Just watch when the time comes!"

"All right!"

"...!"

Rather than heading deeper into the Wang Household's grounds, Wang Yan went far away from their Azure Spirit Mountain, returning to the stretch of cliff where he had been earlier. Amid a rustle of cloth, he changed his clothes. His original clothes had long since been torn beyond recognition, so this was a good opportunity to replace them...

Then he waited quietly on the cliff...

"What are you waiting for?" Card Fairy hurriedly asked.

"The Ma Family!" Wang Yan replied without a change in expression. After a pause, he asked with some puzzlement, "Hey! Card Fairy! Are you really a True Immortal?"

"Tch! Why are you starting to doubt me? If I'm not one, are you?" Card Fairy retorted.

"No... are you really a True Immortal who's lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years?" Wang Yan asked doubtfully.

"What do you mean by that?" Card Fairy said irritably.

"Nothing!" Wang Yan hurriedly replied, then fell silent. In truth, he had begun to suspect that Card Fairy was not the True Immortal she claimed to be. Judging by her words and actions, she did not seem like a deeply composed, highly accomplished cultivator. On the contrary, she seemed somewhat childish... That was rather strange. Perhaps it had something to do with the injuries she had suffered, or perhaps she was deliberately acting this way...

"Tch! What do you mean?" Card Fairy persisted.

"Shh! They're coming out!" Wang Yan hurriedly said instead. It truly was a headache when Card Fairy started making a fuss. Once she got going, he could not even stop her, so naturally it vexed him...

"Hmm? They're here?" Card Fairy paused, then quickly said, "No, they aren't!"

"They'll be here in a moment!"

"...!"

Sure enough, before long.

The Ma Family's Third Elder emerged through the Wang Household's ceremonial archway with the three young people, displeasure written all over his face. The Wang Household's smiling steward saw them off, and sure enough, they left without Wang Ziling...

"They're here!" Wang Yan hurriedly said. He swiftly descended the other side of the cliff, circled around, and ran onto the road on the far side, where he pretended to stroll along casually...

"What are you running over here for?" Card Fairy asked in confusion.

"Shh! Just watch!" Wang Yan hurriedly answered in a low voice.

Meanwhile...

"That damned Wang Household! They wouldn't sell even for three hundred Spirit Stones! How infuriating!" A voice swearing angrily came from farther up the road... It was unmistakably the young woman's voice.

Clearly!

Just as Wang Yan had expected, the Ma Family had failed to buy Wang Ziling from the Wang Household. Indeed, whether in small Lineages or great sects, low-level cultivators were beneath their notice and could be bought and sold at will. It was actually an extremely common occurrence. Hadn't the same happened to her?

However, the better the disciple, the higher the price naturally became. No one would do business at a loss. Third Elder Ma had offered three hundred Spirit Stones, which was already an enormous sum. Even an ordinary cultivator at the perfected Cultivation Realm might not possess that many Spirit Stones. Still, these Lineages could not sell just anyone. Members of their direct bloodline would certainly never be sold, nor would disciples with tremendous potential...

Since Wang Ziling was so highly valued, the Wang Household certainly would not sell him. That was why Wang Yan had been so sure. Moreover, if the Ma Family offered too high a price, they might arouse the Wang Household's suspicions.

"Exactly. He's just one cultivator!" the young man said. After a pause, he asked doubtfully, "Third Elder, do you think there's something fishy...?"

"Ahem!" Before the young man could finish, the Third Elder seemed to notice something and coughed several times. Then he suddenly said gravely, "Let's take a look up ahead!"

"Oh!" The young man and woman exchanged a glance and hurried after him...

They walked seventy or eighty zhang and rounded the mountain...

Ahead, they saw Wang Yan strolling leisurely toward the Wang Household. At the sight of the three of them, Wang Yan froze, looked around, then hastily turned and ran...

"Young friend! Wait!" the Third Elder hurriedly called out to Wang Yan.

Wang Yan only ran faster at his words...

"Hmph!" At that sight, the Third Elder abruptly moved. Blue light burst from his body as he raced forward at an astonishing speed. In just a few strides, he crossed the dozen or so zhang between them and blocked Wang Yan's path.

"Whoosh, whoosh!" The Ma Family's young man and woman were not slow either. They followed and cut off Wang Yan's retreat...

"Y-you... what do you want? I... I'm from the Wang Household!" Wang Yan stammered in a panic, looking utterly terrified.

"Young friend! We have a few questions for you! Answer them well, and these Spirit Stones will be yours!" the Third Elder said affably. As he spoke, seven or eight Spirit Stones appeared in his hand, and he waved them before Wang Yan's eyes. Then he paused, his expression turning icy as he said coldly, "If you don't want to answer, heh heh!" The threat needed no further explanation...