"Please, have a seat," said Eleventh Lady.
"Master Hu has spoken highly of your talismans, so they must indeed be of excellent quality. We are willing to purchase as many as you are willing to sell."
The Taoist nodded and replied, "That sounds good. However, there's no need to keep addressing me as 'guest.' Now that we've exchanged names, you can call me Xin Zhan."
Eleventh Lady nodded as well.
"Alright, then you can call me Eleventh Lady instead of 'fellow Taoist.'"
Both of them found the titles a bit odd.
The Taoist, in particular, felt it was strange.
Eleventh Lady? Was that even a proper name? It sounded more like a woman's personal name.
Was this how people addressed each other in the north? It seemed quite different from the customs in the south.
He turned to Master Hu and asked, "How do you price these talismans of mine?"
Master Hu had already made up his mind after examining the talismans.
He said, "Based on the market in White Jade City, thunder talismans, wind talismans, water talismans, and fire talismans are priced higher. I can offer you one gold for every twenty of these. The others are priced lower, at one gold for every twenty-five talismans. How does that sound?"
Cheng Xin Zhan was pleasantly surprised by the offer and immediately agreed.
Master Hu smiled and added, "Since you've met our master, and Master Wang mentioned giving you a discount, we’ll also throw in a five-acre water pouch from our market. You can use it to keep live fish or even store cave stones, though I wouldn’t recommend leaving the stones in there for too long."
"Can I keep sea fish in a mountain pond?" Cheng Xin Zhan asked.
"That’s no problem. But if you want to preserve their freshness, seawater is better. We’ll also give you some salt shells. These shells can turn pond water into seawater. They’re unique to our market and not sold elsewhere."
Cheng Xin Zhan thanked him profusely.
He had been thinking of buying more sea fish for his younger sister but was worried about transporting them.
This solution was perfect.
He could keep them in a pond in the woods, ensuring his sister would have plenty to eat for a long time.
Then, he suddenly thought of something and turned to Eleventh Lady.
"May I ask, Eleventh Lady, do you know what kind of food dragons prefer?"
The people in the room weren’t too surprised by the question.
After all, it wasn’t unusual for someone from Mount Sanqing to raise a few dragons.
As it happened, Eleventh Lady was close friends with the daughter of a dragon ancestor from the Bohai Sea and knew a thing or two about their preferences.
"Dragons love to eat loaches and clams," she replied.
"Then, if it’s not too much trouble, could you exchange all my talismans for two portions of sea loaches and one portion of clams?" Cheng Xin Zhan said, pulling out the talismans he had been practicing with from his cave stones.
Master Hu, ever the shrewd businessman, then asked, "I noticed that the talisman paper and ink you use are quite ordinary. No gold or jade paper, no ink made from gall or musk. Why is that?"
The Taoist smiled and replied, "I mainly use these talismans to comprehend the essence of the Dao."
Master Hu had a hunch and asked, "Do you have any talismans that you use personally? May I take a look?"
Cheng Xin Zhan nodded and took out a thunder talisman.
"This one, for example, is made from the bark of a thunder-struck jujube tree, and the ink is made from thunder essence. It’s an offensive thunder talisman, called the Five Thunder Strike."
Master Hu’s eyes widened as he saw the purple lightning flickering on the talisman.
He didn’t dare to touch it.
"Would you be willing to sell this kind of talisman?"
Cheng Xin Zhan shook his head.
"I don’t have many of these, so I won’t be selling them."
Master Hu wasn’t discouraged.
Instead, he proposed, "How about this? We provide the talisman paper and ink, and you draw the talismans for us. We’ll pay you for your work. Alternatively, we’ll give you ten sets of materials, and you give us eight finished talismans. The remaining two will be your payment. How does that sound?"
Cheng Xin Zhan’s eyes lit up.
This wasn’t a bad idea.
High-quality talisman materials were hard to come by.
"That’s worth discussing, but..."
"But what?" Master Hu asked eagerly.
"I’m only at the first realm, and traveling to White Jade City isn’t convenient for me. Once the talismans are done, how would I deliver them to you?"
Master Hu chuckled, relieved.
"Don’t worry about that. We do business all over the world and have ways to communicate. We’ll give you a communication device. If you ever want to visit White Jade City, just let us know, and we’ll arrange transportation. If you prefer to stay and cultivate, we’ll come to Mount Sanqing to collect the talismans."
Eleventh Lady’s eyes sparkled at the thought of establishing a connection with Mount Sanqing.
Cheng Xin Zhan thought their business arrangements were quite thoughtful and nodded in agreement.
Master Hu laughed.
"Then, honored guest, why don’t we discuss the details in a private room at our restaurant? Our master happens to be here as well."
Eleventh Lady immediately stood up to lead the way.
The young Taoist agreed, and the group made their way to the restaurant.
Once inside the private room, Eleventh Lady removed her veil, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.
She had a fair, oval-shaped face, delicate eyebrows, sparkling eyes, and lips as red as cherries after the rain.
Though young, she carried herself with the poise of a seasoned host.
Eleventh Lady and Cheng Xin Zhan chatted pleasantly.
His younger sister, San Mei, was busy munching on a plate of fried sea loaches, while the lion cat kept trying to approach but was held back by Deng Ge.
The lion cat pawed at Eleventh Lady’s skirt, but she didn’t seem to notice, her gaze fixed on the young Taoist.
After an hour and a half of discussion, all matters were settled, and both parties were satisfied.
"Do you have a place to stay tonight, Xin Zhan? Today is the 29th, and White Jade City is crowded. If you haven’t booked in advance, there might not be many available rooms in Peacock City, and the prices will be high. Especially in the area where you were drinking earlier—that’s the wine district. I went there specifically to sample some wine. Staying there would cost much more than staying with us."
This caught Cheng Xin Zhan off guard.
His senior brother, Miao Shu, hadn’t been to White Jade City often and might not have made arrangements.
He wasn’t sure if they had enough money for lodging.
Seeing the Taoist hesitate, Eleventh Lady quickly added, "Our market’s restaurant always keeps a few rooms reserved. If you and your fellow disciples from Mount Sanqing haven’t found a place to stay, why not stay with us? As our honored guest, we’ll give you a discount."
She smiled warmly.
Cheng Xin Zhan nodded and clasped his hands in gratitude.
"Thank you for your kindness, Eleventh Lady. I’ll go find my fellow disciples. If we haven’t secured lodging, I’ll trouble you again."
"It’s no trouble at all. Oh, by the way, Qing Yu, bring a pair of 'Like-Meeting Letters.'"
Eleventh Lady gave the order, and a maid waiting outside entered.
Her demeanor and attire were far superior to the average maid in the restaurant, indicating she was one of Eleventh Lady’s personal attendants.
The fact that she even had a cave stone further confirmed this.
Qing Yu took out two letters from her cave stone and handed one to the Taoist and the other to Eleventh Lady.
"Xin Zhan, these are 'Like-Meeting Letters.' Whatever you write in your letter will appear in mine. In the future, once you’ve finished drawing the talismans, just write a note here, and we’ll come to collect them. If you have any special requests for paper or ink, or need anything else, just write it down. Later, when you meet up with your fellow disciples, you can also let me know if you’ll be staying with us. Once I see your message, I’ll make the necessary arrangements."
The Taoist took the envelope, feeling intrigued.
Only cultivators who had reached the second realm and mastered certain abilities could communicate over long distances.
But since most cultivators were still at the first realm, they had come up with various methods to send messages.
The trumpet flowers at his doorstep were one such method, and this 'Like-Meeting Letter' was another interesting invention.
"Taoist Master, here are your loaches and clams," Qing Yu said, handing him a tightly tied pouch.
"When you’re ready, just untie the string and pour out the loaches and clams along with the water."
Cheng Xin Zhan accepted it, finding it quite fascinating.
"And here’s the paper and ink," she added, handing over a box filled with spiritual paper and ink, radiating with spiritual energy.
Cheng Xin Zhan stored everything in his cave stone.
"Today’s visit to the market has been quite fruitful, thanks to Eleventh Lady."
"It’s us who are grateful to you, Taoist Master," Eleventh Lady replied with a smile, her bright eyes and white teeth as refreshing as summer flowers.
Afterward, Eleventh Lady put her veil back on and personally escorted him out of the restaurant.
Once the Taoist was out of sight, Qing Yu asked, "Mistress, we have the Tong Sheng Gu and the Qing Bird Talisman. Why did you choose to use the 'Like-Meeting Letter'?"
Eleventh Lady shot her a look.
"What do you know?"
Then she added, "Master Hu did well. Increase his monthly salary by one gold."
Qing Yu acknowledged the order, and Master Hu thanked her profusely.
Meanwhile, Cheng Xin Zhan returned to the area near the previous restaurant and soon ran into Sun Miao Shu, who was hurrying along.
Seeing his anxious expression, Cheng Xin Zhan stopped him.
"Brother, did you not find a place to stay?"
"Ah, Xin Zhan," Sun Miao Shu wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Yes, I was so focused on bringing you all here for the festivities that I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to find lodging."
"Don’t worry, Brother. I’ve already found a place, though it’s a bit further away."
"Oh?" Sun Miao Shu was overjoyed and finally relaxed.
"How did you manage that?"
"Well, it’s like this..."
The two began strolling leisurely, chatting as they waited for the others to return.
During this time, Cheng Xin Zhan took out his talisman brush and a sheet of paper from the 'Like-Meeting Letter.' The paper was green with natural leaf veins, though he wasn’t sure what kind of spiritual plant it came from.
He wrote on the paper:
"Eleventh Lady, there are seven of us in total. We would like to stay at your market’s restaurant tonight. If there are any available rooms, please reserve them for us. Many thanks, Xin Zhan."
On the other side of the market, in a courtyard that was rare in the densely populated Peacock City, Eleventh Lady had purchased a residence for herself after arriving in the city.
In her bedroom, the 'Like-Meeting Letter' on her bed lit up.
Having just finished a long day, she opened her eyes and picked up the letter.
Seeing the message, she smiled and spoke into an amber bracelet on her wrist.
"Qing Yu, Taoist Master Cheng is coming. Personally attend to him and arrange seven rooms."
A woman’s voice soon came from the bracelet.
"Understood, Mistress."
Eleventh Lady then took out an eyebrow pencil and wrote a reply:
"Alright, no need to thank me. Eleventh Lady."
The Taoist’s handwriting was soft yet dignified, while Eleventh Lady’s was neat and elegant.
That evening, the group gathered and went to the market’s restaurant.
Eleventh Lady didn’t make an appearance, but Qing Yu arranged everything perfectly.
The luxurious furnishings in the rooms left the group in awe, though we won’t dwell on the details here.
The next morning, the group emerged from their rooms and were treated to a fine breakfast by Qing Yu.
Sun Miao Shu tried to sneak off to pay the bill but was told it had already been charged to Cheng Xin Zhan’s account.
When Sun Miao Shu tried to insist on paying, Cheng Xin Zhan, who had just walked over with a smile, pulled him away.
As they enjoyed their meal, they noticed the people on the streets were unusually excited.
Cheng Xin Zhan asked Qing Yu, "Miss, what’s going on outside?"
Qing Yu replied, "Early this morning, the city lord announced that Peacock City will be jointly celebrating with the Returning Pearls Tower, and the tower will be flying here."
"What’s the Returning Pearls Tower?" He Ji Yuan asked.
Qing Yu chuckled and explained, "The Returning Pearls Tower is one of the twelve towers of White Jade City. The master of the tower is a sword immortal who has yet to ascend."
The group finally understood.
"Is the joint celebration that exciting? Everyone seems so happy," Cheng Xin Zhan remarked.
Qing Yu replied, "It’s not just the celebration. As everyone knows, the master of the Returning Pearls Tower loves to host sword competitions. Some say, 'The Returning Pearls Tower in the heavens, the Emei Peak on earth,' referring to the two most famous sword competitions in the cultivation world. However, the master of the Returning Pearls Tower hosts these competitions based on his own whims and schedule. It’s been five or six years since the last one, so everyone is speculating whether he’ll hold one during this celebration. It would be a grand event."
The group grew more interested.
Feng Ji Hu asked, "What’s so special about the Returning Pearls Tower’s sword competitions?"
Qing Yu explained, "The competitions are divided into flying swords, magical swords, and physical swords. But the master only allows first and second-realm sword cultivators to compete. He believes that by the third realm, most sword cultivators have excessive killing power but lack spiritual depth, and few can break free from this pattern.
I’ve heard that at Emei’s competitions, even fifth-realm cultivators participate!" However, at the Returning Pearls Tower’s competitions, the master himself provides commentary.
It’s a rare opportunity to receive guidance from a sword immortal.
And the winners receive additional rewards.
"Qing Yu looked at the group from Mount Sanqing and asked,"Would any of you like to give it a try?
"They all turned to Cheng Xin Zhan, as he was the only one among them who was passionate about swords. Cheng Xin Zhan was indeed tempted. Since he began practicing swordsmanship, he hadn’t had many opportunities to spar with sword cultivators from across the land. If he could participate today, it would be a shame to miss out. He asked,"Are there any requirements to join the competition?
"Qing Yu shook her head."
As long as you’re in the first or second realm, you’re eligible.
If there’s a competition today, the master will set a challenge on the spot.
Those who pass can enter the competition arena."
Cheng Xin Zhan nodded.
It seemed he would have to give it a try.
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(End of Chapter)