Chapter 145 - House Hunting

While Ao Wen and Alchemist Ma discussed their shared profession, Zhang Bai, Tang Jin and Feng Xi left the Lapis Lantern in search of a better place to stay while living in Lantern City. Surprisingly, the woman who had plastered herself to Zhang Bai when they arrived at the Lapis Lantern, Shuli, had found her way into the group. "I know I'm just a humble Aesthete," she'd said as they gathered to leave. "But I've lived all my life in Lantern City. If you're looking for a place to live for a time, let me be your guide." While Feng Xi had misgivings about the young Artist's intentions, she couldn't deny that having a local guide to accompany them would be beneficial. 

"Where should we begin our search?" Feng Xi asked, opening a paper umbrella and stepping into the light drizzle that had replaced the early morning fog. Despite the late morning hour when the sun should be climbing high overhead, lanterns continued to burn throughout the city to ward off the unsettling gloom brought by the dark gray skies. 

"Further up the valley there's an Office of the Lord Mayor that holds all property deeds," Shuli offered. "The biggest business in Lantern City is the exploration of the spirit crystal mines further down river. Every year, lives are lost in the mines and the homes and assets of those people may be sold by families that can no longer afford them or who leave to live with other family members. There are also those who find their fortunes in the mines and build lavish new manors only to be unable to sustain their lifestyle. All of this has led the Lord Mayor to create a specific Office of Property and Inheritance that can help people to both sell property they no longer need or to acquire property held by the Lord Mayor." 

"And how much of each sale is the Lord Mayor taking for herself?" Tang Jin asked only to receive a solid punch in the arm from Zhang Bai. "What? I was just curious," Tang Jin said in protest. 

"The Lord Mayor is my Third Mother Wan Yue's aunt," Zhang Bai said with a scowl. "It's normal for a Lord Mayor or City Lord to take a percentage of property sales when they administer the deeds and records of the city. Don't make it sound like Great Aunt Wan is enriching herself inappropriately." 

"Sorry," Tang Jin said sheepishly. "I was just wondering if we'd have to pay a lot more by going to the Lord Mayor's office instead of talking to sellers directly." 

"It doesn't matter even if we did," Zhang Bai said casually. "My purse may not weigh me down, but it's not so light that I'm worried about the price of the place we stay. I'm more concerned with ensuring that it's suitable for our needs."

"What is it exactly that you need, Young Lord Zhang?" Shuli asked, pressing herself close enough to him to share an umbrella. "Will you be looking for a small villa or a grand manor for your stay? If you're going to be hosting gatherings then we should probably locate a suitable manor on the south side of the river but if you'll be keeping mostly to yourselves then a villa on the north side of the river could be much more affordable."

"What's the difference between the north and south sides of the river?" Feng Xi asked, peering south through the drizzle but failing to gather any clues from what she could see of the opposite side of the valley.

"The south side is where most of the cultivation families have established themselves," Shuli explained. "Most of the important businesses are over there as well, and the wealthiest of mortal families. The south side of the valley gets more sunlight, things dry out better in the rainy months and there's less moss and mold growing all over everything. The Lord Mayor and all of the official city offices are over there as well."

"So the north side is mostly mortals and loose cultivators?" Feng Xi asked, giving Zhang Bai an appraising look since he'd decided to bring them first to the city's north side. "Does Brother Bai think we should stay in the north side of the city to avoid attention?"

"No, not really," Zhang Bai answered with a shrug. "The south side of the city is probably more convenient if we can get into the right parts of town. I imagine that being close to the Alchemist that Brother Wen is visiting will be useful and I'm sure there are other conveniences over there as well," he said. While it felt odd to refer to Ao Wen as 'Brother Wen', he'd accepted her arguments in favor of appearing as Feng Xi's male companion to avoid trouble while they traveled. "It's just a question of whether or not our other needs can be met there."

Once the arrived in the Office of Property and Inheritance, a mortal clerk quickly compiled a list of potentially suitable properties that could be purchased for between fifty and five hundred small spirit crystals. Tang Jin's eyes widened at the price but Zhang Bai didn't seem terribly perturbed. The most expensive properties might be out of her reach without pooling money with the others but fifty to one hundred spirit crystals wouldn't bankrupt her. Of the four of them, only Ao Wen and Tang Jin were tight on money. Ao Wen could easily have asked for more from the Zhang Bai's father and the City Lord would have given it gladly but she felt that the compensation she'd received in the form of the cosmos sack, the alchemy tools and many herbs more than covered the value she'd provided to the Zhang family. Tang Jin on the other hand might have brought more money with him if not for the mountain of expenses his family had incurred when someone from the Mo family arranged to have his parent's famous restaurant burned down. 

"I think we should start with this one," Zhang Bai suggested, pointing to a sprawling villa on the upper slope of the south side of the valley. "It's a long walk up and down the valley to go to most places and the notes say it's in heavy disrepair due to neglect from the previous owner but with a little bit of work it will give plenty of space for Sister Xi to practice archery, for Brother Ao to set up an alchemy lab, and for all of us to spar without leaving the walls of our own villa. There's even a space suitable to house staff if we want to take on a few mortals as housekeepers, gardeners and whatnot while we focus on our cultivation."

"Just how bad is the disrepair though?" Feng Xi asked. "If it takes us half the winter to restore the place then it's hardly worth investing in. This one is a bit more expensive and only half the size," she said, pointing out another listing. "But it's closer to the businesses in the south side of the city and if we need more space to train I'm sure we could venture into the Darkwood a bit to practice. It's not like we need so much space to ourselves." 

"What about this one?" Tang Jin said, tapping on the only property they'd shown interest in on the north side of the city. "It's just as large as the first one and it's supposed to be all but brand new. It's the cheapest one on the list too." 

"It's the cheapest on the list because the family that built it was slaughtered for offending someone," Shuli pointed out. "Unless you have a method of addressing vengeful ghosts, I wouldn't go anywhere near it."

"They're just ghosts though, right?" Tang Jin asked. "We're second-stage cultivators, surely it wouldn't be that hard to cleanse the place."

"You'd have to trouble Wen for that," Feng Xi said with a shake of her head. "I know there are songs of cleansing and purification but I don't know any of them and my cultivation manual would require me to be an Exceptional Artist before I tried to sweep ghosts and phantoms into an Illusionary World to lay them to rest. Wen has purifying emerald flames but I don't know if those would work on a building without burning the whole thing down which defeats the point." 

"Well, it can't hurt to ask, right? Or just take a look?" Tang Jin asked. 

"Let's start with the south side of the valley," Zhang Bai said, collecting several of the listings. "We can discuss them with Brother Wen when he returns this evening. Sister Shuli," Zhang Bai said to the eager young woman. "Do you know any reputable businesses offering construction and repair services? I'd like to bring a skilled tradesman along with us to look at each of these places and see what it would take to ensure they suit our needs." 

"Of course Young Lord Zhang," Shuli said, smiling deeply and gazing up into his jade green eyes through her long lashes. "And if Young Lord Zhang wishes, I'm happy to help with other things as well. While you and your friends focus on cultivation, I would be happy to take over the management of your household and mortal staff. I promise, my services aren't very expensive and since your Brother Ao Wen is an alchemist, I'd be willing to work for the occasional elixir."

"We appreciate the offer," Feng Xi said, stepping in before Zhang Bai could respond. "I'll talk to my love about whether or not we could hire you with alchemy services, but for now, we should focus on the immediate task of finding a residence, right Brother Bai?" Feng Xi asked pointedly. 

"Of course," Zhang Bai said, feeling that he'd unintentionally wandered into a snake pit. "Sister Shuli, how about you lead the way for us," he asked, hoping to conclude their search by the end of the day to get on with their plans.