Five Dragon Market, Yunchuan Studio.
A couplet hung by the entrance. The first line read, "Every herb a marvel," and the second, "Every pill a miracle."
Perhaps because the shop had only just opened, it was rather quiet inside. There were no customers, only a delicate-featured girl tending the counter.
Steward Mu led Fang Hong into the shop, and the girl hurriedly rose to greet them.
Steward Mu introduced him. "This is Young Master Hong of our Fang Household. From now on, he will be the owner of this shop."
The girl looked curiously at Fang Hong, gathered her skirts, and curtsied. "Greetings, Young Master Hong."
"Mind the shop for now. We're going to the courtyard to talk."
Steward Mu gave her this instruction with a smile, then went with Fang Hong to the courtyard behind the shop.
It was an elegant courtyard residence enclosed on four sides. The three rooms at the front served as the shop, while the rear courtyard housed the storerooms and living quarters.
The little courtyard was quiet and secluded. An old elm stood outside the eastern wing, with a stone table and stools beneath it. A water vat stood nearby, with several koi swimming inside.
The two sat down at the stone table. Steward Mu brewed a pot of hot tea, and they chatted as they drank.
After the incident at the Shangqing Sect's Lingyun Pavilion that day, several Golden Core cultivators had flown out from Tianyu Island. Unfortunately, they had failed to catch Rogue Person Xuanyin, and the matter had eventually been left unresolved.
After all, the Shangqing Sect was only a Golden Core sect. Against a Nascent Soul sect like the Yin-Yang Sect, it could only swallow the loss in silence.
Left with no other choice, Fang Mu and Xiao Ya had returned to Shangqing Immortal Market and found Fang Qing in a room at the inn.
The little fatty had been lucky enough to escape disaster.
The three had immediately returned to Yunchuan Island and reported the matter to the lineage. Only after Fang Jian went out to make inquiries did they learn that the Yin-Yang Sect had been abducting disciples.
Afterward, Steward Mu had been sent to open a shop at the market on Five Dragon Island. Every day, he left the shop's affairs to others and wandered around the market gathering information.
Until today, when he had run into Fang Hong on the street.
Fang Hong also briefly recounted what he and Su Yao had experienced, including Fang Li's death and the grudges he had formed with disciples of several great demonic Aristocratic Clans from Black Demon Island in the secret realm.
However, everyone who had offended him was now gone.
What he needed to consider was how those lineages on Black Demon Island would react afterward.
"I'll report this to the lineage shortly," Steward Mu said solemnly.
Fang Hong also handed Steward Mu the many storage bags he had obtained in the secret realm. They were filled with things he thought little of and had no use for, which should still fetch a fair number of spirit stones. He left Steward Mu to handle all of them.
Steward Mu took out a storage bag as well and said, "Young Master Hong, the grand elder specifically asked me to bring this. Inside are spirit pills, talismans, and spirit stones for your cultivation. If you need anything in the future, just contact me through this talisman."
As he spoke, he took out a jade talisman and handed it to Fang Hong along with the bag.
These voice-transmission jade talismans allowed people to contact one another within a thousand li. Beyond that range, they became less reliable.
Yunchuan Island was tens of thousands of nautical miles away. Steward Mu generally used specially trained spirit birds, such as spirit pigeons and messenger hawks, to relay messages.
Fang Hong pondered for a moment, then said, "There actually are some things I need the lineage to help me collect. Here's the list."
As he spoke, he handed Steward Mu a list of the various materials required to prepare the tier-one [Seven Great Medicines].
After a brief look, Steward Mu's brows furrowed slightly. "Young Master Hong, although the things you want aren't high-grade, they're all rather rare. I'm afraid we'll need to mobilize all the stewards in the lineage's External Affairs Hall to search for them together."
"There's no rush. Find whatever you can for now, and let me know when you have something."
Fang Hong smiled as he spoke.
The shops run by the Fang Household's External Affairs Hall were spread across more than a dozen markets, large and small, in the Donglai Sea Region. Together with the collections in the lineage's treasury, this would be far easier than slowly gathering everything by himself.
"Very well. I'll inform the hall master and have everyone do their utmost to search. As soon as anything is found, it'll be delivered here immediately," Steward Mu replied.
He knew how to read between the lines and was not foolish enough to take "there's no rush" literally.
Since the young master had given the word, the sooner, the better, of course.
Ask for instructions often and report diligently-this was the way stewards and elders conducted themselves.
They chatted a while longer. Seeing that it was getting late, Fang Hong finally asked Steward Mu where Fengle Tower was, then rose to attend the banquet.
In a small alley in the northern part of the market.
The elderly shopkeeper of Golden Sandalwood Pavilion slowly approached the entrance to a small courtyard and knocked gently on the gate.
"Come in." A pleasant voice came from within, rich with the resonance of a mature woman.
At the same time, an opening appeared in the restrictions surrounding the courtyard.
The old shopkeeper pushed open the gate and entered. The doors of the main house directly across the courtyard stood wide open, revealing a voluptuous woman seated inside, wearing a plain dress and a veil over her face.
Though her features were obscured, the graceful, alluring air that inadvertently shone through her phoenix eyes was enough to suggest that she was certainly no plain-looking woman.
"Your subordinate greets you, Mistress."
The old shopkeeper turned to close the courtyard gate, then knelt on one knee in the courtyard and saluted the woman.
"Rise," the woman said indifferently, her gaze settling on him. "Have you found something else?"
The old shopkeeper nodded. "Mistress, one of the thirteen Yin-Yang Sect inner disciples you instructed me to watch for has just appeared in the market."
"Oh?" the woman asked casually. "Which one?"
"The one who recently joined-Fang Hong," the old shopkeeper answered with utmost respect.
The woman gave a soft laugh at this and scoffed. "It seems I was right to have you sell furniture. There isn't a Yin-Yang Sect disciple who doesn't love buying beds. Running this shop really does let you come into contact with quite a few of them."
Not a trace of simple honesty remained on the old shopkeeper's face. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he asked softly, "Mistress, shall I secretly chop him down?"
He had spent most of his life as a woodcutting spirit cultivator, but after he began following the woman before him, he had come to understand one truth profoundly.
There was no future in chopping trees. Chopping people was where the future lay!
Over the past year, he had killed seven people for his mistress. The gains exceeded everything he had earned from felling spirit timber over the previous ten years combined.
His mistress held an exalted status and possessed profound cultivation. Naturally, dirty, tiring work fell to a subordinate like him.
The woman in the plain dress mocked him. "All you ever think about is chopping people down. Do you know who this man's father is?"
"I do not. But at your command, Mistress, even if I must sacrifice all my cultivation, I will bring back his head for you."
The old shopkeeper lifted his head slightly and spoke in a deep voice.
He dared not look directly at the voluptuous woman inside the house. His gaze lingered only on her shapely, long, beautiful legs.
The woman in the plain dress chuckled. The proud, round, full peaks of her breasts trembled, straining her clothes almost to bursting.
"He is the legitimate son of that great Golden Core cultivator of the Fang Household on Yunchuan Island," she said in a lilting voice. "Not only does he have tier-two talismans and Dharma Treasures to protect him, he is certain to have Golden Core Divine Abilities guarding his body and soul as well. How could a mere Qi Refining Rogue Cultivator like you possibly deal with him?"
The old shopkeeper was stunned, but he quickly composed himself and lowered his head without a word.
"Where is he now?" the woman suddenly asked.
"According to my informants, he entered Fengle Tower," the old shopkeeper replied.
The woman waved a hand. "All right, I know about this now. You needn't concern yourself with what comes next. You may leave."
"Yes, Mistress."
The old shopkeeper bowed with his head lowered and slowly backed away. Only when he reached the courtyard gate did he turn and leave.
Inside the house, the woman leisurely shifted into a more comfortable position and crossed her legs, smiling as she murmured to herself, "If this works out, it should bring no small amount of trouble down on the Xun Household, shouldn't it?"
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