Chapter 13 Sale_1

Time waits for no one.

Tomorrow is the day when Deacon Li is due to arrive, leaving Wang Ba with very little time.

But still, he meticulously blended the feed, fed the chickens and cleaned up.

Afterward, despite being in a rush, it was evening by the time he was finished.

The market would soon close for the day.

Still, Wang Ba didn't seem overly anxious.

After all, this was the outcome he'd chosen.

During the day, when there were many people around, carrying so many Spirit Chickens was bound to draw attention.

Should a Cultivator pass by, there's a risk of being exposed.

Wang Ba didn't fully trust the concealing effect of the Power of the Yin God.

But heading off to the market just before it closes carried much less risk.

The most important thing was that using the Power of the Yin God came with some limitations.

"The more people that are concealed, the more power is consumed. For instance, concealing Old Hou and Niu Yong only consumed approximately one-twentieth."

But, obviously, one drop of the Power of the Yin God would not be enough to cloak an entire market.

Therefore, the only option was to avoid the crowds.

After some hesitation, he finally set off with thirteen Spirit Chickens.

The male Spirit Chicken, which was a bit different from the rest, he kept for breeding and to replace the one which was sold off, Jia 2.

That is to say, there were still four Spirit Chickens hidden in his estate.

Jia 1, Jia 2, two male chickens, Jia 3, Jia 4, two female chickens.

This time, he didn't go to the West Garden market, which was closest, but instead headed for 'South Lake Market' in a different direction.

South Lake Market was situated by the lake in a valley, surrounded by fantastic scenery.

Despite its status as the outer fringe of the Sect, it was as far as one could go within the Sect's boundary.

A bit further south, several miles away, the boundary of the East Saint Sect would be crossed.

Of course, outer disciples frequently patrolled the Sect's boundary and he, a mere laborer, would undoubtedly be discovered.

But Wang Ba wasn't planning to leave the Sect.

Despite the restrictions, this place was his land of fortune.

Where else outside the Sect could he find a place to breed Spirit Chickens while simultaneously extending his lifespan?

The seemingly ordinary free chicken feed here was already a significant issue to tackle.

Especially given that he needed the market here to exchange Precious Chickens for him.

Perhaps due to the Empowerment of the Stage III of the Strong Body Sutra, even carrying thirteen Spirit Chickens didn't slow his pace.

Along the way, he tried to avoid encountering people directly.

He didn't want to waste the Power of the Yin God on passersby.

Luckily, the timing he chose was quite good. He didn't run into many people along the way.

Primarily because South Lake Market was secluded, and there were few Cultivators residing nearby.

Thus, he managed to enter South Lake Market with the Spirit Chickens on his back.

Unlike the bustling West Garden Market, South Lake Market had evidently fewer shops.

Correspondingly, in the entire South Lake Market, there were only two grocery stores.

On the narrow pathway paved with bluestone slabs, a few people hurried by.

Some glanced at Wang Ba casually but instantly turned their heads away without a care.

What they saw was a middle-aged man clad in a rough robe, shouldering a large bamboo basket.

The basket was quiet, seeming to contain some herbs or something similar.

Feeling the rapid shrinkage of the drop of Power of the Yin God within him, Wang Ba hurried his steps even more.

Fortunately, he had previously scouted the place and was quite familiar with the layout of the market, so he swiftly arrived at his destination.

'Randao Grocery Store.'

What gave Wang Ba some relief was that there were no other customers in the store except for the shopkeeper who was accounting and cleaning, along with a boy servant.

The consumption of the Power of the Yin God drastically slowed.

Thankfully, nearly seventy percent of the Power of the Yin God was left.

"Please take your time. But we'll be closing soon."

The shopkeeper was a portly middle-aged man sporting a small moustache. He glanced at Wang Ba, who just stepped into his shop, greeted him casually, and then continued to instruct the boy servant to tidy up.

In his eyes, this was nothing more than a plain-looking laborer dressed in ordinary attire.

Although he was carrying a large bamboo basket, he looked poor.

A single look at the shopkeeper's gaze made Wang Ba understand his thoughts.

But he didn't have time to spare. He promptly cut to the chase: "Do you buy Spirit Chickens here?"

"Sorry, our store doesn't buy Precious Chickens ... Spirit Chickens?!"

The middle-aged shopkeeper turned his head subconsciously, sizing up Wang Ba again, a look of surprise in his eyes.

But he immediately recovered, cleared his throat, and said:

"You wanted to sell Spirit Chickens?"

"Indeed, may I ask if your shop buys Spirit Chickens? And at what price?"

Wang Ba inquired, bowing his hands.

The middle-aged shopkeeper revealed a smile, raising his hand in welcome.

"Erhu, make tea. Come, customers, please sit."

Despite his urgency, Wang Ba maintained a calm demeanor and took a seat.

The middle-aged shopkeeper once again discreetly scrutinized Wang Ba and glanced at his worn bamboo cage, his smile broadening and tone becoming nonchalantly slow:

"Of course, we do buy Spirit Chickens. At first, I even thought you had a Precious Chicken."

"My, oh my, you might not know this, but these days Precious Chickens aren't worth much. Only Spirit Chickens are somewhat valuable, how many do you have?"

Wang Ba was momentarily befuddled.

Spirit Chickens... are marginally valuable?

Since when did Spirit Chickens become so cheap?

Or was his judgement lacking?

What he thought valuable, was it, in fact, worthless in others' eyes?

Wang Ba hesitated for a moment, before finally speaking: "One, a male Spirit Chicken, Class I, lower grade."

"Oh, a Class I lower-grade, and a male one at that..."

The middle-aged shopkeeper lengthened his speech in a leisurely manner, stroking his goatee as he chuckled:

"In fact, it is very likely you may not know, for Spirit Chickens, males are not worth that much, at most their price is half of the females.'

"Plus, the market for Spirit Chickens has been down recently, so the price..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ba nodded in agreement; he was well aware of this.

However, to him, this was virtually a no-cost transaction, thus if the price was a bit lower, he would immediately agree.

"Shopkeeper, you might as well name your price directly,"

Wang Ba hastened.

"Alright! Candid, now let me be frank with you, this Spirit Chicken of yours, I'll give you this amount..."

The shopkeeper extended five fingers.

"Five Spirit Stones?!"

This time it was Wang Ba's turn to be surprised.

Could it be that the grocery shops in the West Garden market had previously collectively lowered their prices?

They were really cunning merchants indeed!

"What Spirit Stones!"

The middle-aged shopkeeper retorted somewhat irritably: "Five thousand taels of silver!"

Hearing this price, Wang Ba froze, hardly daring to believe his ears:

"How much? Five thousand... taels of silver?"

"That's right. These Spirit Chickens, they used to not be cheap, at least seven to eight thousand taels of silver! Unfortunately, due to the recent massive supply of Spirit Chickens by Ding Villa, the price has dropped significantly..."

The shopkeeper prattled on.

However, Wang Ba had lost any interest in listening to his babbling.

"Seeing as the shopkeeper isn't sincere, I'll let it go."

Having listened to his spiel, how could Wang Ba not understand that the other party had treated him just like a fat lamb ready for slaughter.

At the market price, ten-thousand taels of silver could just be exchanged for a lower-grade Spirit Stone.

He did not wish to waste any more time; he picked up his bamboo cage, preparing to leave.

"Wait, customer, how much do you want for it?"

The shopkeeper asked in return.

"Three Spirit Stones!"

Wang Ba paused for a moment before stating his expected price.

The offer by Lu's Grain Shop previously was three and four-tenths Spirit Stones. He was rushed to settle this, even if the price was lower, he'd be willing to accept.

However, the middle-aged shopkeeper kept shaking his head:

"Three? That's too much! At most eight-tenths of a Spirit Stone!"

Although he wasn't fond of wasting the Power of the Yin God, Wang Ba wasn't willing to waste time bargaining: He grabbed his bamboo cage and started to leave.

"Eh, customer, don't leave. If you still think it's too good of a deal, why not name a price, eh, eh!"

The middle-aged shopkeeper, in the rear, stood on his tiptoes calling out.

However, he still watched as Wang Ba carried his bamboo cage and went off to another grocery store.

Seeing this, the middle-aged shopkeeper sneered:

"Hmmph!"

"A country bumpkin who's had a lucky break, and he dares to dream of Spirit Stones!"

"Let's see him come crawling back to me!"

"Once he leaves here, would the shopkeeper of 'Liu's Shop' dare to take over?"

"Still wants eight-tenths of a Spirit Stone, haha!"