Just as Long Qianming stared at the gold hairpin in his hand, wavering and wondering whether the other party was that person's spy, a rather prettily decorated carriage, clearly meant for nobles, stopped outside the restaurant.
"Little Dong, the carriage we hired is here. It's time to leave."
"Wait, Grandpa Su Yuntao. Let me have a few more bites of noodles."
Bibi Dong immediately wolfed down a few mouthfuls of noodles, stretched her limbs, and followed Su Yuntao into the carriage, thoroughly satisfied. Before leaving, she did not forget to turn back toward Long Qianming and call out,
"Little big brother, you must stay alive! I look forward to seeing you next time. Goodbye-"
Only then did Long Qianming come back to his senses. He hurried outside after them, but the carriage had already driven off into the distance.
"Little Dong... could she have been Bibi Dong? I should have asked one more question back then."
If she really was Bibi Dong, that meant she had only recently awakened her Martial Soul. As long as he built a good relationship with her, once she became Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden, wouldn't he have the resources for his future evolution?
Actually, joining Spirit Hall now would also be a good choice for him.
But on second thought, how could he happen to run into a once-in-a-century genius with Twin Martial Souls and innate full Soul Power?
"Little Dong, Little Dong-which Dong was it? There are countless people on the continent with Dong in their names. As for her looks? That girl was certainly pretty, but she was still a far cry from the Bibi Dong I remember."
After briefly lamenting this, Long Qianming spent half an hour searching before finally finding the leader of a southbound merchant caravan who looked kindly and genuinely was.
Seeing that Long Qianming was pitiful, knew some unusual medical techniques, and was rather quick-witted, the caravan leader gave him a ride.
The journey was fairly calm. Not only did they encounter no particularly great dangers, but Long Qianming also saw many novel things.
He had to admit that this era was truly a splendid time of a hundred flowers blooming and a hundred sects competing in brilliance. Sects and clans of every size throughout the Soul Master World competed in matches and sparred with one another, openly recruiting commoner Soul Masters to strengthen their sects.
Spirit Hall still held enormous prestige, but it had not yet reached the point where a single call brought a hundred responses and its power blotted out the sky. The Clear Sky Sect, known as the world's number one sect, stood on equal footing with it.
Although the Clear Sky Sect had fewer top-level fighters than Spirit Hall, its four subordinate sects and the other smaller sects it had drawn to its side brought its total force to a full ten thousand Soul Masters.
Although the Clear Sky Sect was not at its peak at this time, it remained an unshakable presence in the Soul Master World.
Moreover, in recent years, Tang Hao, an exceptionally gifted direct-line disciple, had emerged within the Clear Sky Sect. At only twelve or thirteen, his Soul Power had already surpassed rank thirty. In the recent Hundred Sects Tournament, he had defeated a host of his peers and was hailed as a peerless genius seen only once in a century in the Clear Sky Sect.
Two months later, a vast, steampunk-style mechanical city stood before Long Qianming.
"Gengxin City. This is where my life begins."
After briefly reflecting on this, Long Qianming followed the main road into the city. Everywhere he looked, the buildings were all made of metal.
At regular intervals, burly, bare-chested men hawked the weapons they had forged along the streets. These street-hawking blacksmiths were merely apprentice blacksmiths who had failed the Blacksmith Association's assessment.
Long Qianming entered a pawnshop, rose onto his tiptoes, and handed over the gold hairpin tucked inside his clothes.
"Shopkeeper, how many Gold Soul Coins would you value this gold hairpin at?"
An old man with graying hair took the gold hairpin with a lofty air and examined it closely. After glancing at Long Qianming's clothes, he held up eight fingers with a hint of disdain.
"Eight Gold Soul Coins."
"Shopkeeper, couldn't you go a little higher? Look at the carving on this gold hairpin. It's worth far more than that!"
Long Qianming wanted to make one more attempt and see whether he could sell it for a little more money. After all, eight Gold Soul Coins probably would not be enough to open a shop.
The shopkeeper shook his head and said irritably,
"This gold hairpin of yours only weighs 105 grams. At fifteen grams per Gold Soul Coin, that makes seven coins. As for the carving? You can see its quality at a glance. I'm offering an extra Gold Soul Coin because I think well of you. If you find the price unreasonable, try the next shop."
Long Qianming thought it over repeatedly. Eight coins it is, then. After all, the pawnshops in the cities he had passed through had all offered the same price for gold.
"All right, shopkeeper. I'll sell it."
The shopkeeper swiftly took the gold hairpin, retrieved eight Gold Soul Coins from a box beneath the counter, and handed them to Long Qianming. After taking the money, Long Qianming did not forget to turn back before leaving and remind him,
"Shopkeeper, please keep this gold hairpin for me. Once I have the money, I'll definitely redeem it."
"Fine. I'll keep it for you for six months. If you can't earn sixteen Gold Soul Coins, I'll melt it down."
Hearing this, Long Qianming merely stared at him before turning and leaving the pawnshop. Selling it back to its original owner for twice the price-these pawnshop owners really know how to do business!
Long Qianming walked along the street, carefully inspecting shops available for rent and the merchants selling goods by the roadside.
When he reached the tenth vendor's stall, which was also the closest to the Blacksmith Association in the city center, he suddenly stopped. His eyes fixed on a piece of ore displayed on the stall, only palm-sized and weighing about four jin.
The ore had a stone layer resembling red rust on its surface, with yellow flesh visible through some thinner spots. To Long Qianming, who had watched the anime, this stone was no ordinary thing. It was hair gold, a rare metal.
It was also the essential stone material used to make the Dragon Whisker Needle, the simplest hidden weapon to produce.
Although this piece of hair gold was small, if made into Dragon Whisker Needles, it would yield at least five hundred, if not a thousand.
Long Qianming did not choose the hair gold right away. Instead, he first picked up the pure silver beside it, which was also something he needed.
"Shopkeeper, how much is this piece of pure silver?"
"Customer, I can tell at a glance that you're from out of town. As a blacksmith, I won't cheat you. This piece of pure silver weighs about two jin. Give me twenty Gold Soul Coins, and you can take it."
The stall owner spoke to Long Qianming with a thoroughly sincere expression.
"Shopkeeper, what about this one?"
Long Qianming sighed, then set down the pure silver in his hand and picked up the hair gold he truly wanted. He could only hope this shopkeeper did not recognize hair gold for what it was!
The shopkeeper looked at what Long Qianming was holding, a piece of miscellaneous material extracted alongside pure silver ore. After thinking for a few seconds, he said casually,
"Two Gold Soul Coins will do for that useless scrap. After all, it was dug up together with pure silver."
"All right, I'll buy it."
Long Qianming's eyes lit up. Rather than haggle, he paid two Gold Soul Coins outright, then hurried away.
After observing for an hour or two, he discovered that the closer a rental shop was to the Blacksmith Association, the higher its price.
Yet among them was a shop called the Yaokun Four-Room Residence, located at the junction of the busy South Street and East Street. It was not too far from the Blacksmith Association either, but not a single merchant asked about its rent.