Chapter 241: Chicheng Marketplace
More than three months had passed, but Tianmu Mountain hadn’t relaxed one bit. If anything, the deaths of Lu Yuanji and that steward surnamed Yan had only made the mountain’s people more alert. And furious.
Because of that, now wasn’t the right time to send out another hero’s post. Liu Xiaolou decided to put that idea aside.
Still, he couldn’t help but wonder. Who was it that hunted down Lu Yuanji? The four brothers from Guzhang Mountain, maybe? Quite possible. And the steward Yan... who killed him? Could’ve been anyone.
Whoever did it, Liu Xiaolou secretly applauded them. That’s exactly what needed to happen. Keep striking like this until Tianmu Mountain truly knows what pain feels like.
He stayed at Green Serenity Courtyard for another two days before saying goodbye to Sister Qing, who could barely hide her sadness. She didn’t try to stop him, just helped him into a new set of clothes, her eyes red as she murmured, “If you ever run into danger, come straight back to me, all right? Promise me you’ll remember…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You worry too much.”
Liu Xiaolou packed the wine and tasty food she’d prepared into his Qiankun Pouch. He waved her off with a grin.
He slipped on his bamboo hat, left Yueyang Market behind, and returned to the cave at Tiger’s Maw Gorge. Once inside, he laid out the food and wine and treated Fang Bunai to a proper feast; he hadn’t had a decent meal in over three months.
Between bites, Liu Xiaolou warned him, “Tianmu Mountain’s still on high alert. Their search hasn’t eased up yet. Luckily, they still don’t know who’s really behind it all, though they’ve more or less guessed it’s us from Wulong Mountain. So just stay put and focus on your cultivation, don’t go wandering off. anywhere.”
Fang Bu’ai looked up. “Big brother, where are you headed?”
Liu Xiaolou replied, “I was planning to sell Fenglin Manor’s alchemy materials at Yueyang Market, but Tianmu Mountain’s put a bounty on every last one of us from Wulong Mountain. I don’t dare show my face there. The nearby markets aren’t any better, so I’m thinking of heading to Chicheng Mountain’s market instead.”
Fang Bu’ai’s eyes lit up. “Aren’t Senior Tan and Senior Zuo at Chicheng Mountain too?”
Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Yeah. They should’ve been back by now, though. No idea where they’re hiding. It’s starting to worry me.”
Fang Bu’ai said, “Those two seniors are old veterans of Wulong Mountain, Big Brother. No need to worry about them. But as for Chicheng Mountain… I want to go! I’ve already reached the fourth layer of Qi Refinement. Maybe this time, I can actually be of some help to you.”
Liu Xiaolou thought it over. Having one more person at a critical moment could make all the difference. So he agreed. The two of them quickly packed up, drew water from the river, and washed away every trace of their stay in the cave. Then, under the cover of night, they set out.
Chicheng Mountain lay in the Wu-Yue region, close to the sea. Nearly two thousand li away. Since there was no urgent rush, they made their way to the northern edge of Dongting Lake, planning to buy passage on a boat heading east.
The fishermen were up early. Even while the sky was still full of stars, small groups of boats were already setting out across the dark waters.
They found a fisherman and, without a word, Liu Xiaolou tossed him ten taels of silver. When the man heard they wanted to go all the way to the river mouth, he hesitated. So Liu Xiaolou threw down another ten taels. That settled it. The fisherman grinned from ear to ear, raised the sail, and set off at once. He even told his wife to cook up a pot of fish stew at the bow, to properly treat their generous guests.
By the time the sun rose, the lake was alive with a thousand sails and countless boats racing across the waves. Watching the spectacular sight, Liu Xiaolou felt his heart open up. The world suddenly seemed wide and boundless.
By noon, their boat had left Dongting Lake and entered the Great River. The river breeze was brisk, carrying them swiftly downstream. They traveled by day, moored by the shore each night, and on the fifth day, the river widened before them. The sea mouth at last.
Leaving the boat behind, they headed south for about two hundred li. Ahead, a gorge appeared, and beyond it rose a cluster of green peaks wreathed in drifting clouds. Chicheng Mountain, the heart of the Chicheng Sect.
Places like this weren’t somewhere you could just wander into. So the two men followed the west side of the canyon, looping south for another twenty li. When they finally reached a valley at the southern foot of the mountain, the view suddenly opened up. And it was bustling with life.
Walking along the Shifeng Creek, the road was lined with shops, taverns, teahouses, and inns that stretched as far as the eye could see. The crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder, a sea of people bustling and chatting. Easily in the thousands.
No wonder they called it the greatest marketplace under heaven. It was truly massive and bustling. At least five times bigger than the one at Tianmen Mountain!
Entering from the west end, they passed famous establishments like Tianfu Record, Spirit Beast Incense, Lingnan Roasts, and Central Plains Banquets -- all restaurants run by the ten great sects: the Qingcheng Sword Sect, Weiyu Soaring Crane Sect, Luofu Sect, and Wangwu Sect among them. The air was thick with mouthwatering aromas that made their stomachs growl.
Liu Xiaolou didn’t bother to resist. He dragged Fang Bu’ai straight into Tianfu Record, grabbed a table, and ordered dish after dish. Fatty intestines, pork trotters, blood tofu, pork belly… Soon the whole table was covered with fiery red plates that smoked and sizzled. The food burned their mouths and bellies like fire, but they couldn’t stop eating. Didn’t dare to stop. The moment they paused, that numbing, spicy heat would surge right up to their heads, impossible to fight down.
Tianfu Record was a tavern run by the Qingcheng Sword Sect, and naturally, it carried their signature spirit wine -- Cave Heaven Spirit Milk. Liu Xiaolou ordered a pot of it, and after a few small sips, he had to admit... it was smooth, fragrant, and went down nicely. Still, if we’re talking pure spiritual potency, it fell a bit short of the Bamboo Leaf Green from Tianmu Mountain, and nowhere near the Osmanthus Fragrance from Shenwu Mountain.
By the end of the meal, the bill came to thirty taels of silver. A small fortune. Most of that went to the wine alone; that single pot of Spirit Milk cost twenty taels by itself!
After their luxurious indulgence, Liu Xiaolou and Fang Bu’ai wandered out to browse the market streets. Everywhere they looked, there were jade shops. Dozens of them in a row. Jade was one of the most important spiritual materials: formation disks were almost always built on spirit jade bases. And many magical tools and talismans, whether for combat or cultivation, were made from it.
Even items like Yun Ao’s Cooling Jade Pendant could be found here. In fact, the same style was on sale in several shops, starting at just three spirit stones a piece.
Inside Liu Xiaolou’s Qiankun pouch were six pieces of jade. He set aside three of the best ones for refining formation disks and took out the remaining three to test his luck. After a lively round of haggling with a shopkeeper, he finally closed the deal for eight spirit stones. His first real earnings!
Encouraged by the success, the two kept wandering deeper into the market until they found themselves on a street full of shops selling magical ingredients. There were so many, lined up side by side; it must’ve been dozens of them.
No wonder, Liu Xiaolou realized, that whenever someone had “gray goods” to unload, this was where they came. With so many shops competing for business, who could possibly keep track of where things came from? No one cared, as long as the price was right.
And judging by the crowd, two out of every three customers wore the same thing. A bamboo hat pulled low to hide their faces. Seeing this, Liu Xiaolou couldn’t help grinning. He quickly followed suit, pulling on his own hat just like Fang Bu’ai, blending right in with the rest.
After wandering around for quite some time, Liu Xiaolou had more or less figured out the going rates for the spiritual materials he carried. He was just about to decide whether to sell when Fang Bu’ai suddenly tugged on his sleeve, nodding toward a shop on the right.
It was a sizable place—five rooms wide, with a grand signboard hanging over the entrance. But what really caught their attention were the words written on it: “Lu’s Alchemy House of Tianmu Mountain.”
Liu Xiaolou’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly pulled Fang Bu’ai into a shop across the street, pretending to browse while his eyes stayed fixed on Lu’s Alchemy House. He scanned the place carefully from afar. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, no familiar faces in sight.
Still, just to be safe, he tugged the brim of his bamboo hat a little lower and quietly stepped inside.