“Junior Martial Sister Lu, you have been following your Senior Martial Brother Zhao around for a few days now. Have you come across any sect job that you are interested in joining so far?” Gu Qiansi casually asked as they slowly made their way towards the Sect Market.
“Hmm, I’m not sure,” Lu Zhiying rubbed her chin in contemplation. “Perhaps the ore mines?”
“The ore mines?” Gu Qiansi was caught by surprise. “That’s a rare choice! May I ask why you are interested in that?”
Working at the ore mines was known to be hot and tiring.
It was not graceful by any measure either. That was why few female disciples actually chose to work at the ore mines.
“Well, it seems exciting!” Lu Zhiying answered.
However, her answer only confused Gu Qiansi further.
She had heard people describe working at the ore mines as hot, exhausting, and even crude. Prior to today, she had never come across anyone who described it as exciting!
Gu Qiansi could not help but turn towards Zhao Yunxiao, who in turn let out a helpless sigh.
“Something happened when I brought Junior Martial Sister Lu to the Yellowshell Mines three days ago,” Zhao Yunxiao explained. “While we were there, Senior Martial Brother Nie managed to excavate a huge piece of rare grimiron ore, causing a huge commotion in the mines. In a way, you can say that he hit the jackpot.”
“Senior Martial Brother Nie? Do you mean Nie Hanchang? Wow! That’s great news!” Gu Qiansi exclaimed in surprise. “I wonder why the news did not spread.”
“I wonder why too. Word should have gotten out if such an ore ever appears in the market. Perhaps he has yet to sell it,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged before turning towards Lu Zhiying. “But didn’t I tell you that things like that are extremely rare and only happen to those blessed with extraordinary luck? You should not be going to work at the ore mines with hopes that something like that will happen to you as well!”
“Your Senior Martial Brother Zhao is right this time,” Gu Qiansi added. “It is best to take a more stable route in life instead of constantly looking for shortcuts.”
Gu Qiansi knew that Lu Zhiying was talented, so she would definitely have a bright future as long as she capitalised on her talents while seriously and methodically building herself up.
There was simply no need for someone like her to place her bet on such lucky encounters.
In fact, doing so might just serve to slow down her future progress!
“Hahaha, all right, all right. There’s still some time before I have to decide on my sect job anyway, so I will give it some more thought!” Lu Zhiying agreed nonchalantly.
Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi could only look at each other helplessly.
They could tell that Lu Zhiying did not truly absorb what they were telling her, but that was all they could do for her anyway.
In the end, they could offer their advice but Lu Zhiying would still have to be the one making her own decision.
At the same time, they also understood that no one could predict the future.
Who was to say that what they believed was the right choice for Lu Zhiying would truly be the best option?
As they walked along, the number of people around them gradually increased.
The Sect Market had always been a popular spot within the sect grounds, and for good reason as well.
Before long, they had arrived before the grand tower that was the Sect Market.
“Wow!” Lu Zhiying exclaimed in awe while looking up, trying to search for the top of the tower that was hidden within the clouds.
Rather than the exquisite architecture of the Sect Library, Lu Zhiying was far more impressed by the sheer size of the Sect Market!
“Come on, let’s get going now,” Gu Qiansi chuckled while nudging Lu Zhiying along. “There are far more things inside for you to be impressed about.”
“Okay!” Lu Zhiying nodded and followed along with an excited grin.
Zhao Yunxiao looked at them and could not help but smile as a familiar scene came to mind.
Despite the years that had passed, it felt like just yesterday when he first brought Gu Qiansi to the Sect Market.
Back then, Gu Qiansi had a similar look of awe on her face as well. In fact, she fared far worse than Lu Zhiying and could hardly keep her mouth closed.
How long has it been since then?
The group slowly made their way into the Sect Market, this time going in a different direction as compared to the last time Zhao Yunxiao came.
The Sect Market was divided into three main areas.
The first area was where anyone could get their goods assessed by staff of the Sect Market. At the same time, they could also choose to either sell their goods to the Sect Market through direct market sales where they follow the assessed price, or through the auction route where the Sect Market would help to put up the goods for open price bidding.
The second area served the opposite purpose, where people could look at goods put up for sale by the Sect Market. Goods here were mostly priced at a fixed rate determined by the Sect Market, but there was also a section that listed all the goods that had been put up for auction by others. Anyone could place their bids accordingly if they found anything that caught their eye.
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As for the third area, it was actually an open area meant for free trade, where anyone could set up shop selling anything they wanted. The trades here were unregulated, and disciples had to rely solely on their own judgement to decide how much they were willing to price for any goods, be it when it came to buying or selling. At the same time, this also allowed for more flexible forms of trade such as bartering.
Previously, Zhao Yunxiao had headed straight to the first area for a quick and easy disposal of the nightspirit rat carcasses that he had on hand.
This time, however, they were here as buyers instead of sellers.
Most of the things that he and Gu Qiansi were looking for could be found at the second area, but they chose to head over to the third area for a start.
After all, the Sect Market usually sold items at a slightly marked up price. So if they were lucky enough, they might just find a better deal being offered by their fellow disciples!
The downside of selling goods at the open area instead of through the Sect Market was that sellers had to be physically present at the Sect Market to tend to their shops, which meant wasting time that could have potentially been used on other matters.
Despite that, there was no lack of sellers present at the moment.
When Zhao Yunxiao and company entered the area, they were greeted by rows and rows of shops, lined up in a neat and orderly manner.
Even though this was just one of three areas within the Sect Market, it was still extremely large in scale. It seemed to stretch on endlessly, making it impossible to see the end with a single glance.
One good thing about this area was that while the transactions were unregulated, the setting up of shop was still controlled in a way.
Aspiring sellers would have to set up shop within pre-defined lots within the area, with each person taking up no more than one lot at a time.
If anyone was found to have infringed on this basic policy, they would get fined for sect points by the Sect Market.
Thankfully, these lots were more than big enough for most people, so there was little need for infringements in the first place.
Because of that, the shops here were all set up in an organised manner, making it much easier for potential buyers to look around and explore.
“All sorts of spiritual herbs for sale! Red root ginseng, crystal hair grass, queen grapes, and more! Come take a look!”
“Only the finest pearls that you have ever seen! Lowest price guaranteed!”
“Weapons made only from the strongest steel, each of them tempered for no less than forty-nine days straight! Hurry up and buy one before they all get snatched up!”
“Need elixirs and pills? Look no further! Refined only by experienced alchemists who have been doing this for years! Even your ancestors will end up flipping in their graves if you miss out on these great deals!”
Shouts of solicitation could be heard all around as sellers tried to draw over as much attention as possible from potential customers.
This was on top of colourful and attractive signboards that many had created for their own shops.
Faced with such a scene, anyone who was not in the know could easily mistake this as a festival of sorts!
“Look at this, Senior Martial Sister Gu!” Lu Zhiying tugged on Gu Qiansi’s sleeve as she pointed to a shop selling all sorts of beautiful accessories.
Be it rings, necklaces, pendants, or bangles, they were available in all shapes and sizes.
The dazzling light coming from the array of accessories seemed to be reflected in Lu Zhiying’s eyes as her gaze swept across the wide display of items.
It was not as though she had never seen jewellery before joining the sect, but what she had seen before would probably be considered mere trash when compared to what was laid out before her right now!
“Haha, just take a look and don’t linger in front of a shop for too long,” Gu Qiansi advised. “Otherwise, you might give the shop owner the false impression that you are a potential customer.”
“That’s right,” Zhao Yunxiao added. “Some people don’t take kindly to time wasters.”
“I know that! The same concept applies to markets outside of the sect too!” Lu Zhiying said indignantly. “Oh, do you think there will be dancing shoes that helps people dance better?”
“Are you open to letting a spirit possess you, taking over your body to dance in your place?” Zhao Yunxiao asked with a chuckle. “If so, then there might really be something suitable here. There’s just a small chance that you might lose yourself forever after being taken over by the spirit, no big deal.”
“That doesn’t sound very worth it...” Lu Zhiying felt the corner of her lips twitch. “I will just try to learn how to dance by myself.”
The trio continued to explore the area, mostly looking at whatever they needed.
While Lu Zhiying was just enjoying herself looking at the different items that she had never seen before in her life, the other two were more focused in their search.
Gu Qiansi mostly wanted to buy supplies for her garden plot, while Zhao Yunxiao was looking to restock on various items such as preserved food and other consumables like poison, medicine and ropes.
To make sure that he did not miss anything, he pulled out a list that he had made the night before, detailing the items that he had to restock on.
But as they continued to look around, the group realised that something was amiss.
Just like how they were paying attention to the different goods on sale, people were starting to pay more attention to them as well.
It was common for shop owners to pay attention to potential customers, but this attention went beyond shop owners. Even others who were here to look around started to become conscious of them.
“Isn’t that the admirable one?”
“Are you sure? I can’t tell because of her face. What happened to her?”
“Don’t you see those two beside her? I’m positive she’s the one!”
“Who are you talking about? What admirable one?”
“Don’t you know? Elder Mo praised an outer disciple in their monthly cultivation lecture yesterday, saying that she is admirable.”
“Elder Mo did? This girl? Just what led to that?”
“This is what happened...”
While most outer disciples would have attended the monthly cultivation lecture, there were still some who had missed out on it, therefore not having heard about the little interaction between Mo Tianfeng and Lu Zhiying.
Not just that, but some of those present here were inner disciples, none of whom had attended the outer disciples’ cultivation lecture for obvious reasons.
Slowly but surely though, even this group of people started to focus their attention on the trio as word about the matter began to spread within the Sect Market.
Lu Zhiying seemed to be oblivious about the matter, but Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi naturally felt the increasing attention. Still, they tried not to think too much about it and focused on getting their shopping done.
The two of them were never used to receiving this much attention, thus could not help but feel uncomfortable about the current situation.
All they wanted right now was to quickly gather what they needed and leave!
Unfortunately, they were just about to be done with their shopping needs when they were stopped in their tracks by someone suddenly stepping in their path.
“Greetings, junior martial disciples,” the young man clasped his fists towards them in a respectful manner. “My name is Du Cuishan, pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Zhao Yunxiao recognised him at first glance.
While he was not nearly as famous as Huo Bubai from the group that they encountered earlier, Du Cuishan was also an inner disciple of the Black Tortoise Sect.
Du Cuishan – inner disciple of the Black Tortoise Sect.