All under heaven bustled

"Full iron lamellar armor, a hundred taels; leather lamellar armor, twenty taels; goose-feather sabers, ten taels..."

Li Xin offered Zhou Wuji a very fair price, almost the same as the market rate.

The sale of armor and bows was strictly prohibited, after all. Li Xin was taking no small risk by buying these weapons and armor.

Originally, Li Xin would not have dared make the decision himself, but the head of the household had mentioned several times that they should purchase weapons and armor if the opportunity arose.

After all, these were troubled times. Demons ran rampant, and rogue soldiers brought disaster everywhere.

After what had happened last night, Li Xin had also realized the importance of weapons and armor.

This band of rogue soldiers had all come from the Crimson Phoenix Army. Their armor and weapons contained runes forged from profound iron, which could restrain demons and ghosts while also enhancing the power of the equipment.

With an opportunity like this, Li Xin certainly would not let it slip.

Zhou Wuji glanced at the list and found the prices reasonably satisfactory.

The weapons and armor were far too conspicuous, and he had nowhere to store such a large pile of things.

Besides, he had no sales channels. Being able to sell them straight to Li Xin could not have been better.

Exchanging them for five hundred taels of silver was a very substantial gain.

With the deal settled, both Zhou Wuji and Li Xin were in good spirits.

Li Xin took the opportunity to ask, "Daoist, the valuables the rogue soldiers plundered come to more than two hundred taels of silver. I've gathered those up for you as well."

After a moment's consideration, Zhou Wuji said, "I won't take that money. Keep it to arrange the funerals for the people of White Stone Village. Divide whatever remains among the survivors."

As he spoke, he gave Li Xin a long look. "I'll leave the arrangements to you."

Li Xin already knew how formidable Zhou Wuji was. Now, under the sweep of that bright, piercing gaze, his heart trembled. He hurriedly promised, "You are compassionate, Daoist. Please rest assured. I'll see everything done properly. I won't let anyone stick their hands in and take the money."

"Good."

Zhou Wuji knew these miscellaneous matters were troublesome. It was not just a matter of burying the dead; someone also had to report to the authorities and distribute the money.

Dealing with the authorities alone would be extremely troublesome. It would take someone seasoned and capable to navigate it all.

He had a heap of troubles of his own and had no time to linger in White Stone Village.

As second manager, Li Xin was capable, had the Li Household behind him, and maintained close ties with the authorities. No one could have been better suited to handling these matters.

After daybreak, everyone ate breakfast. Li Xin stayed behind with a few men to handle the aftermath, while the merchant ship continued toward Yunyang Prefecture as planned.

The mountain pepper oil aboard the merchant ship had an established retail outlet. The two sides had worked together for years, so Li Xin's absence would make little difference.

The situation in White Stone Village, however, was more complicated. The weapons and armor also needed to be dealt with properly, so Li Xin had to handle things in person.

The wounded Li Qiang stayed behind too. Although his life was no longer in danger, he was still seriously injured and unfit for the jolting of a voyage.

The bird ship was swift, with both wind and current in its favor and a few fewer people aboard. By the time the setting sun hung low, it had reached the docks of Yunyang Prefecture.

Yunyang Prefecture governed eight surrounding counties, its territory spanning a thousand li.

As the center of this thousand-li region, its docks were lined with densely packed ships large and small. Goods and people mingled on the docks themselves in a noisy bustle.

A little over a li beyond the docks stood the towering outer walls of Yunyang City, imposing and grand.

Zhou Wuji had visited Yunyang Prefecture several times with his master and was reasonably familiar with the place.

He said a word to the Wanfeng Trading House's workers, then carried his trunk ashore ahead of them.

Many of the porters on the docks looked toward Zhou Wuji, and quite a few stared at his trunk for some time.

Some men even approached to solicit work, offering to carry Zhou Wuji's goods, but he turned them all down.

Zhou Wuji wore a loose Daoist robe and carried a sword. Though dragons and snakes mingled on the docks, with thieves and swindlers specifically targeting outsiders, no one dared take liberties with him.

Daoists, monks, and martial artists were all best left alone.

The collar of Zhou Wuji's robe bore a seven-star design embroidered in silver thread. Anyone with a discerning eye would know at a glance that he was a Daoist of the Northern Pole Sect.

The Northern Pole Sect wielded tremendous influence throughout Chu Province.

Yunyang Prefecture also had the Cloud Dragon Lower Court, which boasted numerous disciples and considerable power. Its name was renowned throughout the prefecture.

Anyone who truly had no fear of the Northern Pole Sect would hardly be scraping out a living on the docks.

Zhou Wuji left the docks and entered the city before the gates closed.

He first needed to visit the Jin Fu Clothing Shop to buy two sets of Daoist robes. It was the lower court's designated clothing supplier, and people privately said its proprietor was related to one of the lower court's higher-ups.

The Daoist robes at the Jin Fu Clothing Shop cost fifty percent more than those sold elsewhere.

Fortunately, all the robes bore the Northern Pole Sect's silver-thread embroidered insignia, and their materials and styles met the sect's requirements.

"You are...?" The plump, middle-aged proprietor, Jin Fu, blinked his little eyes as he studied Zhou Wuji. The young man looked somewhat familiar, but he could not recall his name.

"My name is Zhou Wuji. My master is Yiyuan. We've bought Daoist robes from your shop a few times." Zhou Wuji introduced himself. This proprietor had connections and was not someone to offend.

Besides, Northern Pole Sect robes could not be sold to outsiders. That, too, was a rule.

To prove his identity, he took out his master's Tianshu Demon-Warding Token and handed it to Jin Fu.

Jin Fu accepted the token in his fleshy hand and examined it carefully before returning it to Zhou Wuji.

Smiling, he said, "I remember now. You visited last year. Your cultivation has advanced, Daoist, and your elegance and bearing have become so distinguished that I hardly dared recognize you."

As he spoke, his gaze casually swept over the stains on Zhou Wuji's robe. In his experience, they were clearly bloodstains that had not washed out completely.

Jin Fu was a little curious. Had this handsome young Daoist killed someone?! How had he gotten blood all over himself?

He noticed the keen light held within Zhou Wuji's eyes, and something stirred in his mind. This lad had clearly reached the Qi Consumption realm, where he could breathe in and out True Qi.

Realizing this, Jin Fu adjusted his expression slightly, adding a little more sincerity and warmth to his smile.

Zhou Wuji smiled too. The fat man really was a city dweller; he certainly knew how to say pleasant things.

He chatted with Jin Fu for a while and asked about the lower court.

Jin Fu shook his head as he said, "The Crimson Phoenix rogue soldiers are plundering and slaughtering everywhere, leaving every region in turmoil. When enough people die, vengeful ghosts and evil spirits start causing trouble.

"The lower court has sent people out to help the imperial court suppress the unrest. I hear there have already been casualties..."

Seeing that Zhou Wuji had already advanced to the eighth rank, Jin Fu became somewhat more courteous and talkative. An eighth-rank cultivator of his age might not qualify as a genius, but he was not to be underestimated either.

Zhou Wuji did not listen to this information for nothing. He spent thirty taels of silver on three sets of Daoist robes, shoes, socks, and other items.

The price was far higher than that of the so-called affordable luxury goods in his previous life. These could just about count as luxury goods outright.

Fortunately, Li Xin had given him a hundred taels in banknotes as a deposit. These banknotes bore talismans blessed by both the Buddhist and Daoist orders, effectively giving them the backing of both. No one dared forge them, and they were reasonably convenient to use.

He also bought a specially made broad belt with more than a dozen separate compartments for carrying personal belongings.

After leaving the clothing shop, Zhou Wuji found a clean inn to rest in.

The inn provided hot water and a wooden tub. Zhou Wuji bathed and changed into new clothes from the inside out. That night, he slept well.

He took a hundred taels of gold from his trunk and tucked it into his belt. His Daoist robe was loose, and the gold was shaped into flat, round cakes, so no one could notice anything with it stored in his belt.

After breakfast the next day, he arrived at the Cloud Dragon Lower Court during the morning hour of the Snake and requested an audience with Yiping.

The Cloud Dragon Lower Court stood on Cloud Dragon Mountain, occupying half of its sunny slope, with dozens of buildings and courtyards stretching from top to bottom.

The grandest of these was the North Pole Heavenly Emperor's main hall on the summit. Golden glazed roof tiles glittered in the sunlight, while incense smoke curled upward, leaving the hall half-hidden amid smoke and cloud in an impressive scene.

At the front gate, Zhou Wuji introduced himself to the guest prefect and presented his master's Tianshu Demon-Warding Token.

The middle-aged guest prefect inspected the token. One look at Zhou Wuji's attire told him that the person before him was a ninth-rank Daoist acolyte.

He could not be bothered to pay him much attention. Casually pointing toward a side room, he said, "Go wait there."

The middle-aged guest prefect was not deliberately making things difficult for Zhou Wuji. He was busy and had no time to spare for a little Daoist acolyte.

The key was that this acolyte did not understand the rules. Never mind this little acolyte-even Yiyuan would not amount to much in the lower court.

Zhou Wuji had come here several times with his master, and they had always entered the lower court directly. He had never encountered anything like this.

Seeing the middle-aged guest prefect's attitude, he immediately understood: the man resented his failure to offer a gift.

Having awakened the wisdom of his past life, Zhou Wuji actually understood these ins and outs very well.

Never mind a place as strictly hierarchical as a Daoist court-even in the modern society of his previous life, staff responsible for handling matters putting on airs was perfectly commonplace.

Daoist Yiyuan had also told Zhou Wuji that the head of the Cloud Dragon Lower Court was extremely greedy for money. Those below followed the example set above, and the lower court had developed a habit of doing things only when paid.

Zhou Wuji gave the guest prefect a long look, committing that ugly face to memory and making up his mind. I won't swallow this insult for nothing. Just wait until I'm a badass-then see how I deal with you!

He did not indulge the man. It was not that giving a gift was out of the question, but the fellow's attitude was truly disgusting.

While the guest prefect was greeting visitors, Zhou Wuji quietly crossed the front courtyard.

The lower court was vast, and he genuinely did not know where his martial uncle Yiping lived. But that did not matter. Someone here was bound to know.

After walking for a while, Zhou Wuji stopped a kind-looking Daoist acolyte to ask.

The acolyte looked deeply troubled. "Grandmaster Yiping is currently the head of Flying Profound Hall, just behind and to the left of the Northern Emperor's main hall. I'm busy right now, so you should go there yourself."

"I've only just arrived and don't know my way around. Sorry for the trouble, fellow Daoist."

Seeing that the little acolyte was about to refuse again, Zhou Wuji slipped a small piece of silver into his hand.

The little acolyte's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the silver. "You've come from afar, senior brother. Of course I should help..."