Ready to Help Others

"Water-Purification Talismans, Fire-Igniting Talismans, Armored Horse Talismans-all kinds of high-grade talismans, seven for one Spirit Stone fragment! Take a look, you won't find a better deal!"

"Fragments of Law Artifacts, all shining with extraordinary treasure light! Fine pieces used by sect disciples, perhaps even from high-grade Law Artifacts! Just three Spirit Stone fragments!"

"The complete Qi Refinement section of the Five Elements Instruction, only missing the Cultivation Method for after the fifth layer! Cultivators with five Spirit Roots can cultivate it too. Yours for just eight Spirit Stones, don't miss out!"

"Talisman Artifacts! Fine Talisman Artifacts! Even a cultivator at the First Layer of Qi Refining can refine one and wield it like an extension of their arm. Six Spirit Stones for eight, take your pick!"

Only a few merchants in the nameless market had shops. Most were Rogue Cultivators with stalls, and most buyers and sellers were cultivators at the Early Qi Refining Stage. What they bought and sold was mostly junk. On the rare occasion a cultivator at the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer appeared, they stood out like a crane among chickens.

The group of three children and one adolescent boy drew quite a few eyes, especially Han Yundao and Duan Anle. To the vendors, the two little cultivators at the First Layer of Qi Refining were prime fat sheep.

Fortunately, Wu Meng was a shrewd child, and he helped the two avoid quite a few traps.

The four found a teahouse and paid two Spirit Stone fragments for a private room upstairs.

"Little Brother Wu, are you saying they set up stalls here and can't even earn one Spirit Stone in a month?!" Han Yundao exclaimed under his breath.

"Of course." Wu Meng sipped the low-grade spirit tea in his cup, his eyes narrowing with happiness. He hadn't expected such good fortune today, to meet such kindhearted immortal masters.

This was a rare treat. Who knew what year of the monkey or month of the horse it would be before he got to drink it again?

"Take Immortal Master Ge, who sells talismans. Over the years, he's been thrown out of the market at least three times because he couldn't afford the Spirit Stones to rent a place."

Wu Meng spoke like a little adult, showing no shyness before the two kind immortal masters his own age. He bobbed his head as he talked, looking rather cute.

"Does it cost a lot of Spirit Stones to rent a place in the market?" Duan Anle asked curiously.

"I've heard the immortal masters talk about it. Apparently, somewhere closer to the Spirit Vein costs ten Spirit Stones a year. For an ordinary place, five a year is enough." Wu Meng really did know quite a lot.

"Is it like this for everyone who knows one of the hundred arts of cultivation?" Han Yundao sounded somewhat incredulous.

"I think the other immortal masters said Immortal Master Ge only knows a few talismans that aren't worth much, so they don't fetch a good price. Things like Clear Breeze Talismans, Water-Purification Talismans, and Fire-Igniting Talismans are all hard to sell. Fireball Talismans and Golden Armor Talismans sell well, but I don't think Immortal Master Ge knows how to draw them."

"Why doesn't he just buy a book on talismans and learn?"

"I think it's very expensive and hard to learn, and Immortal Master Ge can't scrape together enough to get started." Wu Meng scratched his head.

"Then he could just leave the market and find somewhere to cultivate on his own," Duan Anle persisted.

"The immortal masters say that won't work. The Fellow Cultivators Association controls the places on Fish Mountain Island with decent spiritual conditions. Outside the market, the spiritual conditions are mediocre, so the immortal masters cultivate very slowly. There are also Evil Cultivators and Demon Beasts out there. If someone harms you outside, the association won't do anything about it." His mouth a little dry after all that talking, Wu Meng drained his cup of spirit tea.

Han Yundao pushed his own cup over. Wu Meng made a show of politely declining twice, then narrowed his eyes and began drinking again. He hadn't expected the next time to come so soon!

Han Yundao spent another two Spirit Stone fragments on a bowl of noodles with tender braised meat. Fine lean White-Cavity Swine meat had been braised until soft and fragrant, and beneath the noodles lay a few slightly wilted and spoiled spirit vegetables.

When the bowl arrived, its fragrance filled the room.

Even the shop assistant in brocade found it a little strange. This market errand boy was awfully lucky. Such Spirit Cuisine was even somewhat beneficial to immortal masters at the Early Qi Refining Stage, yet somehow it had ended up in his mouth.

Wu Meng had never eaten anything so good in his life. He forgot all about putting on a reserved front and immediately wolfed it down.

Watching him, even Jin Shilun felt his appetite stir. He had only recently joined the sect and hadn't eaten many good things with his elders. And these two senior brothers of his-why couldn't they treat their junior brother a little better too?

"Phew." Wu Meng ate until his belly was round. With a bowl of Spirit Cuisine in him, he felt all his meridians flow freely and had benefited greatly.

"Thank you, three elder brothers." Wu Meng's little face reddened as he expressed his thanks. However sensible he was, he was still only a child and terribly thin-skinned.

"As long as you're full. Let's carry on talking," Han Yundao said without concern.

"A lot of Rogue Cultivators can't make ends meet, so they go to mortal towns and stockades and become Attendants. Life is much better that way. Someone like Immortal Master Ge has a hard time making a living in the market, but he could live very well if he left." Wu Meng was young, but he spoke in an orderly way.

"How well could he live?" Duan Anle was somewhat skeptical.

"Well, lots and lots of immortal masters have always said so, so it must be very, very good." Wu Meng couldn't explain clearly, but Jin Shilun nodded in agreement beside him. When he was younger, he had once seen the elderly immortal master who served as an Attendant in Gongxing Stockade. The man stood above ten thousand people, and a single word from him decided life and death, reward and punishment.

Compared with Immortal Master Ge's lot, that life could naturally be considered excellent. Yet perhaps there wasn't much difference between their abilities?

"Are Spirit Stones really so hard to earn?" Duan Anle looked at the intact Spirit Stone in his hand, its surface giving off a faint glow. Han Yundao thought of the three Spirit Stone fragments he had just spent without batting an eye and felt a faint pang of regret.

"Immortal Master Ge doesn't have it the hardest. Some immortal masters make mistakes in their cultivation, and by the time the market patrol comes to collect the rent, their bodies have rotted in their rooms." Wu Meng shared more of what he had seen and heard.

"Some shops in the market sell basic Cultivation Methods with annotations. The immortal masters would be much safer cultivating according to those, but they're all very expensive. I've heard even ordinary immortal masters at Middle Qi Refinement can hardly afford them."

Hearing this, Han Yundao and Duan Anle exchanged a glance, both looking thoughtful.

The four left the teahouse and continued through the market until they came to a spirit medicine shop. Three large characters above the door read "Abundant Elixir Hall."

A flicker of hesitation crossed Wu Meng's face. He gritted his teeth, cupped his fists, and bowed deeply to the three. "I have a request. If you three elder brothers are willing to help, I'll remember your great kindness all my life."

Han Yundao and Duan Anle were taken aback and looked at Jin Shilun in unison. After all, he was the oldest.

Why didn't you think of me when it was time to eat noodles? Jin Shilun grumbled inwardly. "Little Brother Wu, please tell us first. If it's within our power, my two senior brothers are both warmhearted men of the old school. They certainly won't stand by and do nothing."

"I have a friend whose elder is also an immortal master, but he was badly injured some time ago and has no money to buy medicine. Those of us who run errands in the market received quite a lot of care from that immortal master before, so we pooled some Spirit Stones. I don't dare go buy the medicine alone, so please come with me, elder brothers."

Hearing that it was a good deed to help someone, they were naturally happy to assist and entered the medicine shop together.

Cultivators suffered their share of disasters and tribulations too. Besides, this shop seemed to do business with mortals as well, making it all the more prosperous.

A gray-bearded old man was seeing patients, and a long line had already formed before him. Wu Meng had already found out what prescription he needed, so there was no need to pay a consultation fee.

They went straight to the dispensary. When the assistant saw two immortal masters approaching, he hurriedly shooed several mortals at the front of the line aside.

Han Yundao thought that no wonder Wu Meng had asked him and his fellow disciples for help. At least this shop wouldn't dare fleece cultivators to death.

The assistant took the prescription with a fawning smile and looked it over. "Three qian of bright thunder seeds, half a liang of ghost elm coins, two liang of white-haired flower bark, and four li of spirit ox bone powder. This is a prescription to be taken internally for fire poison. Filling it will cost one Spirit Stone fragment and eleven gold grains. Would you like a Fire-Dispelling Pill? It's much more effective than this prescription and only costs nine Spirit Stone fragments. Generally speaking, two pills will cure the illness as soon as they're taken."

"There's no need for that."

"Then we'll take two." Duan Anle cut Wu Meng off. He and Han Yundao took out all the Spirit Stones they had and pooled them with Wu Meng's to buy two Fire-Dispelling Pills. After receiving them, they handed them to Wu Meng along with the remaining change.

The Spirit Stones are no use to us for the moment, and this little brother is quite to our liking. We might as well help him. Han Yundao and Duan Anle were equally kindhearted and acted in perfect accord. Jin Shilun felt all the more that his two senior brothers had the hearts of heroes, worthy of being his own fellow disciples.

"Thank you, elder brothers, for your great kindness!" Wu Meng made no fuss, bowing with his head to the ground in thanks.

"Let's go see your elder first."

They wound their way to a remote corner of the market, picking their way on tiptoe through alleys awash with filthy water.

Just after they passed a house with a broken roof, someone burst out of it. His face was deathly pale, yellow fluid seeped from the pores all over his body, and he gave off a stench of decay.

The sight startled the four. A moment later, the man let out a series of wild shrieks, then fell to the ground with a thud and breathed his last. Only then did they relax.

Pinching his nose, Wu Meng went over. It took him a while to identify the man. "It's Immortal Master Lang from Le County. I heard he ended up like this after earning Spirit Stones by testing medicine for a pharmacy."

They sighed over it for a while, then continued toward the home of Wu Meng's elder. They passed several more dilapidated houses, all inhabited by Rogue Cultivators clinging to their last breaths, their miserable condition horrifying to behold.

After walking for the time it took an incense stick to burn, Wu Meng led them to a half-open door and pushed it open. A blast of rotten stench hit them in the face.

Dim yellow light filtered through the paper-covered windows. The room was furnished very simply, with only a table and a desk and no other furniture.

A tall man lay facedown on the bed, his face ashen, his eyes closed and his back bare. A terrifying burn, as wide as a bowl, covered his back. The wound was full of rotting flesh, with a ring of yellow pus around it.

A youth who resembled him was carefully wiping the wound with a white cloth dipped in herbs. It seemed to be doing little good, or the man wouldn't have been in such a state.

"Brother Wu, what brings you here? And who are these people?" The youth had risen at the sound, highly wary at first. Seeing Wu Meng, he relaxed considerably, but still asked about Han Yundao and the other two.

The man was clearly gravely injured. He seemed not to have heard the commotion and didn't so much as lift an eyelid.

"Don't worry, Brother Pei. These are three elder brothers I met today. They're our benefactors, look." Wu Meng took out the two Fire-Dispelling Pills and held them in his palm for the youth to see.

"On behalf of my uncle, I, Pei Que, thank you three for your noble kindness. I'll never forget your great generosity!" Joy lit the youth's face, and he bowed with his head to the ground in thanks.

"Brother Pei, you're too kind. Treating your uncle's injury is what matters. Little Brother Wu, the time our master told us to return is approaching, so we'll head back first. If anything comes up later, just come find us at the inn as before." Duan Anle also said he would come see them again. With that, the three took their leave of Wu Meng and Pei Que.

"Brother Wu, who are they?" Pei Que first gave his uncle the Fire-Dispelling Pills with water. Joy rose to his face, and he turned, drew Wu Meng outside, and asked in a low voice.

"I heard them mention that they seem to be disciples of the Chongming Sect's sect master. They're all softhearted. Immortal Master Pei is sure to get better this time." Wu Meng's delight shone plainly on his face.

"Why did you do this? You tricked them out of their Spirit Stones. Aren't you afraid they'll come looking for you?"

"I'm not afraid. If you and Immortal Master Pei hadn't helped us, there would probably be only half as many of the brothers and sisters making a living in the market. As long as Immortal Master Pei gets better, that's enough."

"Forget it. If they do come looking for us, we'll bear it together. The Chongming Sect, was it? I think I've heard Uncle mention it."

Thank you all for your votes and support.

I hope those of you who have time will keep following the story. It's very important for this book to get a contract. Thank you.