Market trading

Steward Li left, his big belly swaying. Clearly, he was very satisfied.

But for Wang Ba, being left without a penny was simply unbearable.

He buried himself in finishing the day's chores. Before it grew late, he tucked away a few Precious Chicken eggs he had hidden and planned to exchange them for grain at West Garden Market.

Luckily, over the past few days, the Precious Chickens had done him proud and laid plenty of eggs, not only meeting the Sect's quota but exceeding it a little.

Otherwise, he really would have had to go hungry.

"What? One Precious Chicken egg is only worth five taels of silver?"

Outside Chen's Mixed-Grain Shop, Wang Ba could not help raising his voice.

In the mortal world, five taels of silver could buy hundreds or even a thousand chicken eggs. It was no small sum, but that depended on the comparison.

In the Market, a single Precious Chicken egg sold for over ten taels.

And here, even ordinary rice was extremely expensive, costing one or two taels of silver per catty, whereas a few copper coins would suffice in the mortal world.

There was no helping it. In an immortal Sect, many wealthy mortals brought money in when they joined, while too little flowed out. Silver suffered from severe inflation; Spirit Stones were the true hard currency.

But Spirit Stones were not something mortals like them could use.

"That's the price. Decide for yourself."

Steward Chen of the mixed-grain shop lounged lazily in a reclining chair, looking as though he could not care less whether Wang Ba sold or not.

Although his shop was called a mixed-grain shop, it did not sell only grain. It stocked practically anything edible.

Chicken, duck, fish, meat-Precious Chickens, Treasure Pigs, Colorful Ducks, and so on.

It was rather like the neighborhood food market outside his residential complex in his previous life.

Of course, the variety could not compare.

Wang Ba gritted his teeth and ultimately chose to sell the four Precious Chicken eggs he had for ten catties of rice.

There was no helping it. Chen's Mixed-Grain Shop already counted as relatively fair among the shops in the Market.

The other mixed-grain shops drove prices down even harder.

Just then, a middle-aged man in the Sect's standard Daoist robes approached the mixed-grain shop, looking wary as he cradled a covered black basket.

Wang Ba could not help twitching his nose.

He smelled something extremely familiar.

When the man cast an alert glance at him, Wang Ba had the sense to walk away.

But he paid attention. After walking a short distance, he pricked up his ears.

He faintly heard snatches of conversation.

"...Spirit Chicken...twenty..."

"...No...this much at most..."

"Spirit Chicken?!"

Wang Ba jolted!

That middle-aged man was selling a Spirit Chicken!

Recalling the extremely familiar smell he had just caught on the middle-aged man, he was utterly certain!

Because it was the most distinctive smell in the chicken coop: chicken manure!

"Spirit Chickens can actually be sold too?!"

Wang Ba was quite shaken.

He had always thought that since the Sect attached such importance to them, they naturally could not be traded.

Yet this transaction instantly opened up a whole new avenue of thought for Wang Ba.

An idea immediately formed in his mind.

He hid in the shadows and watched for a while longer, discovering that the middle-aged man soon left with a bulging bundle tucked away.

Judging by its size, he had most likely been paid in Spirit Stones.

Not daring to delay, he hurried back to Mountain Manor and put on Old Sun's ragged Daoist robe, which was covered in patches.

He had not had the heart to throw it away before, thinking it would make suitable bedding for the hens' nests.

Now it happened to come in handy.

Old Sun's build was much the same as Wang Ba's. Wearing Old Sun's clothes and deliberately smearing his face, he would never be recognized by anyone who did not know him extremely well.

"Ahem...ahem..."

He tried adjusting his voice. Once he was sure he would not be recognized at once, he returned to West Garden Market. Rather than going to Chen's Mixed-Grain Shop, he looked around and entered another shop.

He said nothing when he entered, merely looking this way and that.

Shopkeeper Lu did not drive him away.

They all belonged to the same Sect. Who knew whether he might be connected by blood or marriage to someone, or even have someone backing him? There was no need to make enemies.

He simply sat composedly behind the counter and said as usual:

"Feel free to look around."

Wang Ba saw that there were no other customers in the shop and none of the helpers were nearby.

Wang Ba only then approached the shopkeeper and said quietly:

"Shopkeeper Lu, would you buy something good?"

"Something good?"

Shopkeeper Lu could not help raising his head to scrutinize this incredibly slovenly fellow Sect member.

He swiftly matched the man's appearance against the people in his memory. Only after finding no match did he slowly speak:

"Customer, everyone in West Garden Market knows that if even our Lu Family Grain Shop won't buy something, no shop in the Market can. Just tell me what it is."

His tone was level, yet full of confidence.

Wang Ba was not surprised, though.

He had been in the Sect for over two months now and naturally knew a little of the common knowledge.

The Lu Family Grain Shop had been established by the family of the Sect's leading Outer Sect disciple.

It ranked among the very best in the nearby mortal markets.

Not only did it have a good reputation, but having the leading Outer Sect disciple behind it also put people at ease.

Of course, it also drove its purchase prices down hard.

If he were selling eggs, he would never come here, because it was far too poor a deal.

But...

"I have a Spirit Chicken."

Wang Ba spoke quietly.

At Wang Ba's words, Shopkeeper Lu, who had not been particularly attentive, immediately grew serious and hurriedly asked:

"What tier and grade? Male or female?"

The questions left Wang Ba stumped!

Male or female-that was easy enough to answer.

But what was this about tiers and grades? Were Spirit Chickens divided into tiers and grades too?

Seeing Wang Ba's blank expression, Shopkeeper Lu understood:

"It seems you don't know this Spirit Chicken's tier and grade."

"Simply put, Spirit Chickens are the same as Spirit Beasts, so naturally they're divided into tiers and grades."

"First tier corresponds to a cultivator's Qi Refining realm, and is generally divided into four grades: low, middle, high, and supreme."

"If you trust our Lu Family Grain Shop, you could bring the Spirit Chicken here and let me appraise it."

Hearing this, Wang Ba hesitated.

Bringing the Spirit Chicken for the man to appraise-would that not put the initiative in someone else's hands?

Worldly and experienced, Shopkeeper Lu saw Wang Ba's concern. Rather than taking offense, he said with a smile:

"Well, if you don't trust me, you can go to the talisman shop and buy a low-tier Spiritlight Talisman. They're not expensive, twenty taels each, and can determine the grade of a first-tier Spirit Beast."

Seeing how firmly he spoke, Wang Ba believed him about seventy percent.

But rather than leave immediately, he asked:

"What are the respective prices?"

Shopkeeper Lu avoided answering and asked instead, "Is its provenance legitimate?"

"Absolutely no problem!"

Wang Ba spoke with ironclad certainty.

Shopkeeper Lu stroked his beard and said:

"If there's no problem with its provenance, then a first-tier, low-grade Spirit Chicken hen is worth six Lower-grade Spirit Stones!"

"A Middle Grade one is worth fourteen."

"A high-grade one is worth thirty."

"A supreme-grade one would fetch more than a hundred!"

"For a rooster, cut all those prices by at least half!"

These prices were completely different from what Wang Ba had imagined.

They were also far removed from the equivalent of seventeen or eighteen Spirit Stones that Old Sun had mentioned.

"Why are roosters so cheap?"

Wang Ba could not help asking.

Shopkeeper Lu was quite direct:

"Roosters contain less Spiritual Qi than hens, and aren't good at mounting and mating. They have no other uses, whereas hens can also lay eggs. Spirit Chicken eggs are quite beneficial to Qi Refining cultivators too."

Wang Ba understood.

Then he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for clearing that up, Shopkeeper. I don't have the Spirit Chicken with me right now. I'll bring it to you later."

"No matter."

Shopkeeper Lu knew Wang Ba still harbored doubts and did not press him, merely saying earnestly:

"Rest assured, customer. Our purchase prices are absolutely the highest here. If you intend to sell, please come to us."

Wang Ba nodded and left.

He went to several other mixed-grain shops to ask about prices, and also looked around the one and only talisman shop.

After winding this way and that and making certain no one was following him, he finally left the Market.

He walked some distance in the direction opposite Mountain Manor.

Still finding no one following him, Wang Ba finally let out a slow breath.

"It looks like I was being overly suspicious. But regardless, it's better to be cautious."

After some thought, he had made arrangements for the four Spirit Chickens at Mountain Manor.