Demonic Tribulations - Chapter 87 preview (Patreon)

Chapter 87 – Yang Mu

The city had been profitable. Even including the fines that Wu Ying had to pay – related to her by Yu Ag after she had calmed down– they had made a profit. The process of making deals with the various merchantmen and traders had taken up a good portion of the afternoon, one that she had spent arguing under the awning of a hastily built tent.

Once she was done with sale of what she had acquired and negotiated purchase of goods from some of the traders, Yang Mu had departed the landing strip. It was not amongst the other traders that she would acquire the goods she needed to turn a proper profit.

No, what she needed was to find items of uniqueness and rarity. To do that, she would have to lean into the characteristics of this city, repackage the goods and ascertained upcoming demand, that was how she would make a significant multiplier in her investment.

That was being a merchant, really. Not just about what to buy and where to sell, but how to package things in a manner that would appeal to another individual or group. Adding value through ones knowledge, rather than just transporting things from location to location.

Though, that too was important. The risk that merchants took on, whilst transporting goods were often diminished. Yang Mu knew that her profession was ill-viewed, and she understood why. There were too many such individuals who brought their profession into ill-repute, as though stockpiling and hoarding grain when individuals were starving and raising prices afterwards made sense in the long run. As though tricking an individual out of their hard earned funds or accumulating excesses was somehow noble.

Many saw it as a game, the taels and coins they gathered a way to keep score. As though the increase in coins, the progression of numbers in their ledger meant anything more than idle entertainment. The reality being that everything important – their own health, their relationships with others, the society around them – slowly declined. Resources that should have been utilized to improve the world was hoarded.

“This is a fascinating city. You say that your land is made up like this? Loosely aligned city states?” Yang Mu asked Yu Ag as they traversed the city. She had her senses expanded, tracing the connection between herself and Wu Ying by reflex. He was holding still, fixed in a specific spot for hours now and so, Yang Mu assumed he had found an inn for them to rest within.

A proper bath and a bed that did not move would be a luxury in truth. While the true probably of plummeting to death off the peng were low, it still had not been what she would have called restful. Yu Ag – amusingly enough after she had gotten over her fear of falling over – had enjoyed the flight the most. It was only the falling that had scared her.

Not that she could be blamed for that.

“Yes.” Yu Ag nodded. “We call ourselves a confederation, but it is one more of convenience. The lands in-between are difficult. The merchants link us together, and we share many beliefs, but…” She shrugged. “Some of the great powers that exist on the edges of our cities do not like armies. They have been known to make their lives difficult when passing through, allowing us to be more loosely allied and individual.”

“While also protecting you from invasion.”

“Exactly.”

“What do you know of the other demonic plains? The one that we intend to enter, I understand is much different.”

“Very much so. They are linked together in ways that we are not, much like your kingdoms in truth.” Yu Ag smiled. “They are, however, inward looking. They demand some small concessions from the confederation, the occasional bride or groom and an annual stipend. They call us a vassal state, we agree and add them to the litany of acknowledgements during official functions. Everyone is happy, in truth, and life does not change.”

“Even those in power?” Yang Mu knew the powerful. While the ordinary people cared little about who was supposedly in charge, knowing that taxes would be taken, corvee labor required and the occasional series of conscripts demanded. Though it sounded like there were few enough conscripted periods here. For those in power, who had to mouth the words, who believed that inclining their heads in subservience was more harming than sending others to die – and it was always others -, that calculation was different.

“They are… content. I believe they consider it prestigious to be aligned with the greater demon plain. Many children are sent to study and cultivate in the other demon realm.” A shrug from Yu Ag. “Or so I am brought to understand.”

“Not your area of expertise?”

“STET was the chieftain, I am but your guide and translator. What I know, I see from guiding others. But the day-to-day and their thoughts…” Yu Ag eyes lit up, beckoning Yang Mu over as she spotted a particular stall. She hailed the man and requested two of the fragrant meat sticks he had been cooking over his charcoal burner, bringing it back to the cultivator moments later. “Try this. It is made with his own sauce, and very good.”

“Does he-”

“No. He won’t sell the recipe or the sauce.” The demoness just sighed. “Just enjoy it.”

Yang Mu agreed, taking a bite of the meat and then, growing silent as she proceeded to stuff the entire piece into her mouth with little elegance. The sauce was sweet and smokey, had just enough spice in it to tingle the tongue but, also, there was a subtle tingle in her mouth. Onions and garlic and something else that she could not identify, even as her mouth salivated and that tingling spread to the insides of her mouth entirely. The meat came apart when bitten, but was still a little chewy and gamey, pairing well with the spice and smoke, the sweetness lingering along with the tingle.

“There’s poison in this,” Yang Mu said, tilting her head to the side at Yu Ag.

Yu Ag nodded genially. “That’s why I only bought one each.” She sniffed. “He won’t let non-regulars order more than one. And even then, he limits it to two.”

“An interesting cooking method.” Even knowing it was poisoned, Yang Mu was considering going back to acquire a second. As an immortal, her body was quite immune to most poisons, such that it likely would not have affected her at all.

Probably.

“A family one.” Yu Ag nodded to the surroundings as she started walking again, perhaps understanding the temptation that Yang Mu felt. “There are many like that here. This is a city of families, of neighborhoods and small craftsmen. The hidden experts, the master craftsmen. Famous only within the city, and far afield.”

“Far afield?”

“Mmmm, I learnt about the food vendor in a small village a month and a half’s ride from here.” A small smile. “True mastery reaches far, though it might be lost in the surroundings. Especially in a place like this, where so many others compete for attention.”

It was not a lesson that needed to be repeated. The overflowing abundance of goods that she had acquired was clear to her. She had spent near all her earnings from this portion of the trip acquiring another storage ring.

Still, if it saved them from Wu Ying taking another creative way of depositing their acquisitions, it was well worth the spend. Now, all they had to do was get to him, and find the beds that awaited them.