Chapter 48: Do I Look Like an Idiot?

After Chi Yixuan finished teasing the life-bound artifact, he opened a teleportation portal. His destination was Lan City, the same place where he had stayed in the Beisheng Continent before.

The teleportation portal was worthy of being a game product. Unlike a teleportation array, which required a large number of spirit stones, it only needed the user to input spiritual power. The farther the teleportation distance, the more spiritual power it required. With Chi Yixuan’s current cultivation, he could only jump between the Easternmost Continent, Dongchen Continent, Eastern Central Continent, and Beisheng Continent.

But for him, that was enough.

The moment Chi Yixuan entered Lan City, his feet carried him with practiced familiarity into the same pastry shop he had visited last time: Yu Xiu Pavilion.

Near Yu Xiu Pavilion was a whole stretch of food shops, and in Chi Yixuan’s opinion, this one was also the best snack shop nearby.

The reason he called it a snack shop was because it specialized in all kinds of pastries, candied fruits, fruit cakes, and other things made from spiritual food. It did not serve proper meals.

Even more coincidentally, Chi Yixuan did not like proper meals. He liked snacks. He felt that his aura was simply far too compatible with Yu Xiu Pavilion’s. “I really want to move this shop to Zhaoge.”

The life-bound artifact immediately said, “According to my reconnaissance, this shop has twenty workers, five cooks, and one shopkeeper. Aside from the shopkeeper, who is at high-level Qi Refining, everyone else’s cultivation hovers around mid-level Qi Refining. With your cultivation, you can take all these people, along with the entire shop, away.”

The life-bound artifact even began dutifully planning it out for him. “Behind this shop is Yuanlu Palace, one of the Beisheng Continent’s Nine Immortal Gates. If you wish to act, it would be best to choose midnight, after Yu Xiu Pavilion has closed. Your backpack slots can transfer away everything in this shop without anyone noticing. Your teleportation portal can bring everyone in the shop ten thousand li away in an instant. Please rest assured. Teleportation arrays are extremely rare, and teleportation portals are things utterly unique in this world. No one will suspect you.”

“To prevent any tracking traces from being on these people, allow me to conduct another careful reconnaissance. Then have them sign a contract. In that case, there will be absolutely no loose ends.”

Chi Yixuan broke into a sweat. “You really thought this through!”

The life-bound artifact’s tone was modest. “Being able to offer you advice and strategy is the greatest honor of my life.”

Chi Yixuan waved a hand and, just as he had with the kun boat, refused the loyal and devoted life-bound artifact. No matter how much he wanted it in his heart, he would not rob this place.

In Chi Yixuan’s eyes, immortal gates were not anything good nowadays. Given the chance, he could empty an immortal gate’s treasury without the slightest mercy or shame.

But the kun boat was the same as Yu Xiu Pavilion. The people running the business inside were all mortals working for a living. Chi Yixuan could leave after taking what he wanted, but the mortals here all had relatives left behind. When the immortal gate failed to find anyone to blame, would they not turn their blades on those people’s families? Workers already had it hard enough. If he dragged these people into trouble too, his parents could beat him to death in his dreams.

There were not many people in front of Yu Xiu Pavilion. Instead, white egrets lined up one after another before the entrance, spreading their wings and taking flight. They were elegant in posture, their feathers pure white, and identical little boxes hung around their long, slender necks.

Seeing Chi Yixuan look over, the life-bound artifact explained, “Those are specially made spatial magic artifacts. They can keep food from spoiling or going bad. Even if the food is taken out half a month later, it will still be warm. The last time you came, it was a little late, so you did not see them. These delivery egrets finish taking off before evening every day.”

As the life-bound artifact spoke, the final egret also flapped its wings and flew into the sky. Its streamlined figure soon disappeared into the clouds.

Chi Yixuan was very surprised. “Spatial magic artifacts can be used like that?” The storage bag he had dug out from Song Dianlai before only had the function of holding things, and its capacity was less than one-tenth the size of his backpack slots. Chi Yixuan had handed it over to Qiu Ping’an and the others for purchasing goods.

His own backpack slots did have this function, but he could not possibly use them as Zhaoge’s public warehouse. If he could buy some similar spatial magic artifacts this time, then would Zhaoge not never need Cold Ice Talismans to store food again?

The life-bound artifact was quiet for a moment, seeming to be investigating information about this type of magic artifact. A moment later, it said, “This is a Linglong Box, produced by Zaohua Sect. However, Zaohua Sect seems unable to combine storage and freshness preservation. Even the Linglong Box with the largest capacity can only hold a few boxes of pastries. Therefore, they are often used to preserve food, or certain precious pills.”

Chi Yixuan understood.

Freshness preservation was different from storage. After food entered it, it was equivalent to time being frozen, making it a hundred times more exquisite than a simple storage bag.

“Zaohua Sect is one of the Three Great Sects. Because the sect produces many artifact refiners, its magic artifacts sell well across the fourteen continents, so it is extremely wealthy. But Zaohua Sect’s thousand years of operation cannot even compare to your backpack slots. From this, it is clear that you are the only one favored by the Heavenly Dao. If the world is a stage, then you are its one and only protagonist.”

Chi Yixuan: “...”

Thank you. I would be even more grateful if you had not added those last two sentences.

Chi Yixuan restrained his toes from curling in embarrassment. In the next moment, he met the shopkeeper’s enthusiastic greeting.

Shopkeeper Hu of Yu Xiu Pavilion had noticed that cultivator long ago.

Lan City’s climate was cold. It was not even winter yet, but passersby coming and going had long since put on padded jackets. Those dressed thinly yet unaware of the chill around them were naturally cultivators who came with their own protective spiritual light.

Shopkeeper Hu watched him stand at the door and stare at the egrets, and in his heart he had already decided this was a bumpkin who had never seen the world.

Shopkeeper Hu had seen plenty of cultivators like this. They had either just come from some rural place, or they had been in seclusion deep in the mountains and old forests, then rushed out to see the world as soon as they broke through to Foundation Establishment. Everything they looked at was new and strange, and they stopped for ages at the sight of anything.

Thinking this in his heart, his expression became even more enthusiastic. He personally came out to greet him. “Immortal Master, please, hurry inside. Our Yu Xiu Pavilion has elegant seats and private rooms. May I ask whether you will be taking your order away or dining in? You have come at an unfortunate time today. Had you arrived earlier, you could have had the egrets deliver it to your cave estate.”

The moment Chi Yixuan came in, he stared at the pastries inside the counter. After all, he had been here once before and knew which ones tasted better. But before he could order, the shopkeeper warmly guided him toward an elegant seat and began recommending several pastries to him.

“Look, this is Autumn Dew White. It is brewed from dew condensed atop an earth-grade spiritual vein. One cup not only soothes sorrow and relieves worries, it can also help you condense your spiritual power!”

Shopkeeper Hu opened an illustrated booklet for him. Printed on it was a drink served in a crystal bowl. Its color was burnt yellow, and the liquid was thick, as if very appetizing.

But Chi Yixuan only swept it with a glance before looking away with a lack of interest.

Seeing this, Shopkeeper Hu turned another page. “Look, this is Jade Amber.” In the image was a stack of translucent flower-petal pastries. “This was created by Fairy Jinyan, the number one beauty of Hongxiuxiang. Do you really not want to try it?”

Chi Yixuan did not say a word. With a puzzled expression, he met Shopkeeper Hu’s eyes. Under Shopkeeper Hu’s baffled gaze, he pointed at his own face. “What, do I have the words ‘idiot’ written on my face?”

Shopkeeper Hu instantly stiffened, and cold sweat poured down.

Although Yu Xiu Pavilion was a pastry shop famous throughout the Beisheng Continent and even had many branches in other immortal continents, not every pastry sold well. There were also items that some chef had developed and put on the shelves on a whim, only for no one to care about them afterward. For example, the Autumn Dew White and Jade Amber he had just promoted.

He had treated this customer like a country bumpkin and wanted him to pay for those unsellable things. In any case, how could country folk who had just arrived possibly tell what was good from what was bad? As long as something came from the immortal continents, even if they suffered losses and were deceived, they would not realize it at all. They would even think the problem was that country people could not keep up with the tastes of people from the immortal continents.

This was not the first time Shopkeeper Hu had done this. It was precisely because he had done well and earned more at other branches that he had been transferred to Lan City’s main shop these past few days. He had assumed he could repeat the same old trick and make a huge profit. He had not expected to run into a customer who knew what was what. In his heart, he silently cursed his miscalculation and hurriedly lowered his brows, adopted a submissive manner, and apologized. After all, this was a cultivator. If the other party deliberately made things difficult for him, it would be no small trouble.

Unexpectedly, this customer had an unusually mild temper. He did not yell loudly, nor did he show displeasure. He merely waved a hand and ordered several pastries for him to send over.

This left Shopkeeper Hu rather surprised. He quickly withdrew, and when he served the pastries, he additionally sent over two extra dishes of the shop’s popular items. Facing the customer’s puzzled gaze, he smiled until a layer of wrinkles appeared on his face. “Honored customer, your magnanimity leaves this humble one deeply admiring you. This is a small token of my regard.”

Having been a shopkeeper for so long, Shopkeeper Hu naturally was not the kind of fool who did not know what was good for him. A customer being generous did not mean he could accept it as a matter of course. At a time like this, smoothly flattering him and making amends worked better than anything else. Sure enough, this unfamiliar customer was also satisfied with it and spoke with him while eating and drinking.

“Shopkeeper, do you know whether Lan City, or any other place nearby, has anyone selling Moonlit Cotton seeds?”

The shopkeeper was surprised for a moment, but then he smiled. “Honored customer, you asked just the right person. Behind our Yu Xiu Pavilion is a seed shop. I am acquainted with that shop’s shopkeeper. If you do not mind, I will find him and ask him to come over right away.”

After receiving the customer’s agreement, Shopkeeper Hu had a worker invite over Shopkeeper Fang from behind the shop. When the two met, Shopkeeper Fang’s plump face smiled with great eagerness. “Old Hu, you’re really a good friend. You even introduced business to me.”

But Shopkeeper Hu said to him, “This customer wants to buy seeds. Give him a fair price. Don’t rip him off!”

Meeting Shopkeeper Hu’s warning gaze, Shopkeeper Fang was somewhat astonished and looked him up and down. “You old fox, since when did you have such a good temper? What, is he your son?”

Shopkeeper Hu sighed. “If I had a cultivator son, would I still need to work myself half to death for someone else? That customer is a good person. On account of my face, just earn a little less.”

Shopkeeper Fang patted Shopkeeper Hu on the shoulder and sighed. “You’ve had it hard too.”

In earlier years, when Shopkeeper Hu had first come to the immortal continents, someone had tricked and harmed him. His wife had damaged her foundation in order to save him, and for all these years she had remained bedridden with illness. To earn more money, Shopkeeper Hu had taken risks and done many things against his conscience. It was rare for him to show kindness for once, so Shopkeeper Fang decided to help him and earn a little less.

He strolled toward that tender-faced cultivator. The abacus in his heart clacked loudly. Earning a little less was earning a little less. When he cheated others, he cheated them by ten parts. On account of Old Hu, he would only cheat this person by seven parts.

Shopkeeper Fang smiled at that customer and said, “I heard you wish to buy Moonlit Cotton seeds. Then you have truly found the right person!” Shopkeeper Fang launched into a round of boasting at the young customer, praising his own seeds as rare in heaven and unmatched on earth. At last, he quoted a price. “If you want them, then on account of an acquaintance, for a bag of one hundred seeds, you can just give ten spirit stones.”

That young and handsome customer slowly ate a bite of pastry and said, “Three spirit stones a bag. That still lets you make some profit.”

Shopkeeper Fang’s eyes went round, and he hurriedly said, “Honored customer, how can you... If it really is three spirit stones, we’ll lose so much we’ll have to pawn our pants. You might as well go out and ask around. Even if you search all of Lan City, the price will still be ten spirit stones!”

But Chi Yixuan smiled faintly. No matter how one looked at it, that smile was far from kind. “I hear your purchase channels are special, and your costs are a few spirit stones lower than other people’s.” He silently mouthed a few words. Those words were none other than Shopkeeper Fang’s secret purchase channel, and at the sight of them, Shopkeeper Fang’s pupils trembled and his heart pounded wildly.

“Calculate it yourself! Either you supply me long-term, or I find someone else to go there and purchase goods.”

Shopkeeper Fang: “...”

He held in a breath and did not dare let it out, almost choking himself into coughing blood.

Old Hu, oh Old Hu. So this is what you meant by telling me to earn a little less! You should have said so earlier! Aren’t you just setting me up?

The boat of our many years of friendship has capsized! Capsized!

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