The disaster at Heavenly Yang Mountain finally ended, and Chen Shi could finally relax. He had been tense and on edge for days, and now that he was unwinding, he felt exhausted.
He slept soundly that night.
In the middle of the night, he suddenly woke up and sat up quickly, only to find a few people by his bedside.
Startled, he looked closely and saw it was Prince Xiao, Li Jindou, and others. His grandpa stood in the corner, still holding a green umbrella.
The five of them were staring at him with strange looks.
"No episode tonight," Grandpa shook his head and walked out, still holding the umbrella.
The other four sighed regretfully and left Chen Shi's room. Granny Sha said, "Could it be that those killed by the cannon can't eat souls?"
Chen Shi felt baffled.
Did they come to his room to watch him sleep just to see if he had an episode?
The next morning, Chen Shi got up to pay respects to his godmother and saw people already working in the fields.
Although the demonic change had been terrifying and claimed many lives, life continued.
By the third day, the villages were mostly back to normal, and markets even opened.
With five extra mouths to feed, including Li Jindou, Granny Sha, Jin Hongying, and Prince Xiao, plus the medicine Chen Shi needed, the Chen family quickly ran out of resources.
Granny Sha was always poor, earning a little money by acting as a village shaman, and she had been practically bankrupted treating Chen Shi like her own son.
Li Jindou, despite being from the Li family in Spring City, seemed to have little money, as his simple but well-made clothes suggested.
He only paid three taels of silver for his stay at the old Chen's house, indicating that both he and his grandfather were quite strapped for cash.
Prince Xiao would stop his carriage at night to pick up ten taels of silver he found on the road, likely spending most of his money maintaining his style.
The wealthiest among them was Jin Hongying, an officer in the Divine Mechanism Battalion, who had a high salary.
But after getting injured, she dressed like a village woman, suggesting she spent money lavishly and regretted it when she needed it.
In local slang, this was called "poor as a rat."
The medicine they used daily cost over twenty taels of silver, and the family was so poor they couldn't make ends meet. Chen Shi thought about selling a turtle shell he found in the Mountain Lord Temple at the market.
The turtle shell was incredibly hard and could fetch a good price.
Grandpa also needed to buy medicine, so he took Chen Shi with him.
Chen Shi loaded the turtle shell onto the cart, and they set off, with Heiguo leading the way.
Chen Shi looked at Grandpa's green umbrella. Ever since the demonic change ended, Grandpa had been holding this umbrella without ever closing it, even at night.
Chen Shi also noticed that yesterday, for some reason, Black-Clad Mysterious Mountain had come to their village and stood outside their house until dawn.
"Heiguo, have you noticed that Grandpa and Mysterious Mountain are acting strange?" Chen Shi asked the dog.
Heiguo hesitated, not daring to respond.
The wooden cart started moving towards Bridge Bay Town.
Despite the recent disaster, Bridge Bay Town was bustling. It wasn't large, with only a few hundred households, but it was quite prosperous, located on the main road to New Township County.
Thirty miles east was New Township County Town, and thirty-two miles northeast was Water Buffalo County Town, so travelers between the two often stopped here.
In Bridge Bay Town, many people from the mountains could be seen, often men or women in their forties or fifties, short but strong, wearing simple clothes with bronze skin glistening with sweat, carrying loads of a hundred pounds or more.
They would put down their loads in Bridge Bay Town, drink a bowl of tea for five coins, then pick up their goods again and head thirty miles to the county town.
They made a round trip in a day, earning just a few dozen coins.
They faced dangers like streams, rickety bridges, cliffs, and wild animals, sometimes losing their lives.
But this was the life of ordinary villagers.
It had always been this way for generations.
After the disaster, many families lacked money, so more men were carrying goods to the city to exchange for cash.
Seeing this, Chen Shi thought of Li Xiaoding, who paid him fifty taels of silver to draw a peachwood talisman, and felt something was off.
But he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
Grandpa went to the town's herbal shop to buy medicine, while Chen Shi looked for a spot in the market. But he arrived late, and the stalls were already full. However, seeing Chen Shi, the simple villagers made room for him.
The people who came to buy and sell here were all from nearby villages, familiar faces who knew Chen Shi.
Chen Shi thanked them and set down the turtle shell, waiting for business.
"What a big turtle shell! Is this dog for sale?" a talisman master from out of town asked, eyeing Heiguo.
"Not for sale!" Chen Shi replied firmly.
"What a pity, it would make a lot of black dog blood," the talisman master shook his head and moved on to other stalls.
The market in Bridge Bay Town attracted many city cultivators looking for items, as things that seemed ordinary to villagers could be valuable to them, often fetching a good price.
After a while, the talisman master returned and offered, "Ten taels of silver for your dog, how about it?"
Chen Shi shook his head, "The dog is not for sale."
The talisman master gritted his teeth, looking pained, "I'll add two more taels, twelve taels of silver, and throw in the turtle shell."
The villagers around them were amazed, looking enviously at Chen Shi.
Village dogs weren't worth much, and twelve taels could buy dozens of black dogs.
Chen Shi was tempted but shook his head, "The dog is not for sale, only the turtle shell."
The talisman master gritted his teeth again, "I really like this dog. I'll add three more taels, fifteen taels of silver for the dog and the turtle shell! I'm a talisman master and need the dog blood for talismans. The turtle shell can be a bonus, how about it?"
"Sell it, sell it!" the villagers urged.
Chen Shi shook his head, "The dog is not for sale."
The talisman master left reluctantly, frequently looking back at Heiguo, sighing as he went.
"Heiguo, I think he wants the turtle shell, not you," Chen Shi whispered, suspicious.
Heiguo hesitated, unsure.
"I'm worth a lot too. What's so special about this turtle shell? It's too hard to bite."
After a while, another well-dressed cultivator from the city came to Chen Shi's stall, pretending to be interested in buying the dog, with the turtle shell as a bonus.
Chen Shi became more convinced of his suspicion and firmly refused.
Several more people came, eyeing the turtle shell, and soon Heiguo's price rose to twenty-four taels of silver.
They claimed to like Heiguo and wanted the dog, with the turtle shell as a half-sell, half-gift.
"Could this turtle shell really be something valuable?" Chen Shi wondered.
The turtle shell was heavy, weighing over a hundred pounds.
He punched it, and it made a metallic sound, with light flowing from it, but the shell didn't break.
He was surprised. He had been practicing the Seven Northern Dipper Refinement and had become much stronger, yet he couldn't break the turtle shell, showing how tough it was!
He was about to punch it a few more times to test its limits when a voice said, "Stop hitting it. If you break it, the turtle shell won't be worth anything."
Chen Shi looked up and saw a scholarly man in green clothes at his stall. He had delicate features, a high and full forehead, and a spirited look, wearing black oiled boots without a speck of dust.
"This person is using the Armored Horse Talisman, not touching the ground, so his shoes are clean," Chen Shi thought. "He must be rich!"
Although Chen Shi was also a talisman master, he rarely used the Armored Horse Talisman, only in life-and-death situations.
This person had come from the city, and his shoes were clean, indicating he used the talisman the whole way without touching the ground, so he must be wealthy.
"Do you recognize the turtle shell and know its value?" Chen Shi asked.
The scholarly man smiled, "A turtle that lives a hundred years is called a whole, a thousand years is called a mythical strength tortoise, five thousand years is called a mythical domineering tortoise, and ten thousand years is called a mythical black tortoise. A turtle shell four feet wide is a whole, five feet wide is a mythical strength tortoise, and seven feet wide is a mythical domineering tortoise. But ordinary turtles don't live that long, mostly temple turtles that absorb the extraordinary power from incense to live so long."
Chen Shi roughly measured the turtle shell, about six feet wide.
The scholarly man took an iron ruler and measured it carefully, "This turtle shell is six feet and five inches wide."
More talisman masters from the city gathered around. One said, "This turtle shell is from a mythical strength tortoise, not yet a mythical domineering tortoise, at most over a thousand years old."
The scholarly man shook his head, "A mythical strength tortoise is five feet wide, a mythical domineering tortoise is seven feet wide, meaning turtles grow slower as they age. This turtle is at least two thousand years old, maybe more! Its shell has been infused with incense qi and tempered by extraordinary power for over two thousand years, making it incredibly strong! This treasure can be ground into medicine or refined into an artifact. Alive, it's most valuable, but the shell's worth after death is uncertain. However, I'm willing to offer a thousand taels of silver."
Chen Shi was overjoyed. A thousand taels was a fortune, enough to treat Jin Hongying and the others, and still have plenty left to support Grandpa and marry many wives in the countryside!
"A thousand taels of silver!" The talisman masters shook their heads and left, "Even if there's profit, it's not much. Besides, who carries a thousand taels of silver?"
The scholarly man took out silver notes from his sleeve, each worth a hundred taels, and was about to hand them to Chen Shi when a voice said, "Great item! I'll offer two thousand taels!"
Chen Shi was even happier and looked at the newcomer, a short, stout man with triangular eyes and a sharp nose, who smiled mischievously, "I only have two hundred taels in silver notes. Young man, come with me to get the rest. My house isn't far."
The scholarly man's face changed, scolding, "Where did this scoundrel come from? Trying to scam in front of me, you blind fool! Get lost!"
The short man turned red, sneering, "I offered more, and you accuse me of forcing a sale? Watch out for lightning strikes!"
He left, cursing as he went.
The scholarly man waited for him to leave before saying to Chen Shi, "That man had ill intentions. He offered you two thousand taels, then said he didn't have that much money and lured you to follow him. He would have killed you outside town to take the silver and the turtle shell. I've seen this trick many times, so I scolded him, not forcing a sale."
Chen Shi's eyes lit up, breathing heavily, "Is there such an easy opportunity?"
The scholarly man was puzzled, not understanding why Chen Shi called it an opportunity.
Chen Shi felt regretful. If he had agreed, he could have gotten two hundred taels for free, and still sold the turtle shell. It would have been perfect!
He accepted the silver notes, "The turtle shell is yours. Be careful, though. If he couldn't rob me, he might try to rob you."
The scholarly man smiled, "It's not easy to take the turtle shell from me, but be careful with your thousand taels of silver. Someone might target you."
"I'm Chen Shi, also called Little Shi. How should I address you?" Chen Shi asked, feeling some goodwill towards him.
"New Township's Shao Jing," the scholarly man smiled, "If you go to the county town, you can visit the Immortal Gathering Tower and mention my name. It's my family's business."
Shao Jing clapped his hands, and two strong men from the crowd came over to carry the turtle shell.
Shao Jing smiled, "By the way, Chen Shi, can you tell me which temple you got this turtle shell from?"
Chen Shi smiled and shook his head.
Shao Jing understood and smiled, "No need to say. If you find anything else, feel free to bring it to the Immortal Gathering Tower," and left with the two strong men.
Chen Shi felt a stir in his heart, remembering the stone box he found with the turtle shell.
The stone box had been under his bed, untouched.
Could the stone box be a treasure too?
But the stone box was very hard; how could he open it?
Soon after, Grandpa returned with the medicine and asked, "How much did you sell it for?"
Chen Shi told him honestly.
Grandpa was surprised, "This Shao Jing is an interesting person, not making much from you. The turtle shell contains twenty-four pearls, holding the old turtle's spiritual power, which can be refined into treasures. Each pearl is worth a hundred taels, totaling twenty-four hundred taels. Giving you a thousand taels is fair. Did he tell you not to break the shell? If you broke it, the pearls would roll out, and the price would naturally be higher."
Chen Shi was startled and wanted to find Shao Jing to settle the score.
"You found it by chance, a thousand taels is plenty. He has to take the risk of being ambushed on the way back to the county town," Grandpa said, putting the medicine in the cart, "Get on, we're going to the county town to buy more medicine. The town doesn't have enough."
Chen Shi climbed onto the cart, with Heiguo leading the way, and they headed towards New Township County Town.
By afternoon, they arrived in New Township County Town, which hadn't been affected much by the demon domain.
After buying the medicine, the cart was filled with supplies.
"I have some friends in the outskirts of New Township County. I'll take you to meet them," Grandpa said, taking out a prescription, "Little Shi, memorize this prescription. It's for your treatment, and you must remember it."
Chen Shi agreed and memorized the prescription, curious, "Grandpa's friends? He never called Prince Xiao or Granny Sha friends. How could he have friends in the county outskirts? I've never heard him mention them before."
As evening approached, they reached a village called Rapeseed Village in the county outskirts.
The village was famous for its rapeseed flowers.
In the flowering season, the hills were covered in bright yellow flowers, making it hard to find paths.
People from New Township and nearby counties would come to admire the flowers.
Unfortunately, Chen Shi and his grandpa arrived after the flowers had withered, and the fields were full of green rapeseed plants.
The sky was red, and the sun was closing its eyes.
The moon was about to open its eyes.
The wooden cart passed through the village under the villagers' watchful eyes and stopped in front of a haunted deserted house outside the village.
The fiery sky extinguished, and the moon revealed a crescent shape, like a willow leaf, slowly unfurling and growing rounder.
"They're heading to the haunted house!" someone exclaimed.
"The evil spirits there are fierce, they're seeking death!" another said.
Chen Shi was startled, "Grandpa's friends are evil spirits? Is Grandpa going to reveal his true form? Wait, if Grandpa is an evil spirit, does that mean I am too? Am I about to reveal my true form?"
Unintentionally, he saw Black-Clad Mysterious Mountain again, standing in the middle of the rapeseed field, watching them from afar.