Chapter 287 (2): Traveling North
In the first shop they entered, Lu Tai purchased two small spirits that Chen Ping'an had never even heard of before. One was called "puppil" and according to the near-obsequious introduction by the shopkeeper, Chen Ping'an learned that one could raise this spirit in their pupil. Not only could this spirit absorb some spiritual energy of heaven and earth every day, but more importantly, it could help its owner "brighten their eyes" when it saw breathtakingly beautiful individuals. Many Qi refiners who practiced immortal techniques relating to the eye were most fond of this kind of spirit.
After spending a whopping 800 snowflake coins to purchase this spirit, Lu Tai announced that he was going to give it to Chen Ping'an as a present. However, Chen Ping'an naturally turned down this act of goodwill. Seeing this, Lu Tai could only shake his head in pity, asking, "Chen Ping'an, don't you want your vision to improve every day?"
The implied question to Chen Ping'an was this: With Lu Tai in front of him, and with this puppil in his eye, wouldn't looking at Lu Tai be equivalent to cultivating his vision?
The old shopkeeper glanced at the extraordinarily handsome Lu Tai before turning his gaze to Chen Ping'an. There was an amused and meaningful smile on his face.
A layer of goosebumps appeared on Chen Ping'an's body, and he pretended that he didn't understand anything at all.
Compared to the puppil that Lu Tai had purchased, Chen Ping'an was actually more interested in the miniature spirits that were running around in a lively manner beside it. They were as small as grains of rice, and this species of spirits was called "eer," a homonym with "ear." They lived in a person's ear, and they would use their owner's eardrum as a literal drum.
When their owner went to sleep, they would quietly beat their owner's eardrum in a manner that couldn't be heard by their owner or anyone else. However, this act could magnify the yang energy of their owner, formlessly deterring the many sinister spirits and ghosts that wandered around during the night.
This was a type of spirit that wealthy clans from outside the mountains definitely had to purchase if they were haunted by ghosts or accidentally possessed by evil spirits. ReAd lateSt chapters at nô(v)elbin/.c/o/m Only
Because of their lowly cultivation base, many Qi refiners at the Lower Five Tiers would also bring such a spirit along with them if they needed to travel through mountain forests or lakes and marshes.
Apart from the puppil, Lu Tai also purchased a spider that was as large as a fingernail. Its body was five-colored, making it appear especially likable. However, its name was enough to make Chen Ping'an stand back and keep a respectful distance. It was called "Intimate Dream Spider," and it liked to harvest and collect the intimate dreams of people.
When its owner fell asleep, this spider would spin a small web above their head, one that was colorful and dazzling. Afterward, their owner would enjoy a dream filled with wealth and intimacy.
Because of this, many immortal forces used Intimate Dream Spiders as a tool to temper their disciples' Dao Hearts. At the same time, teachings and forces that advocated dual cultivation also viewed Intimate Dream Spiders as a necessary item.
In a row of small cages near the Intimate Dream Spider, there were many other species of spiders including the Nightmare Spider, which was pitch-black like ink. Each type of spider had its own unique appearance and ability.
Chen Ping'an naturally didn't like these kinds of creatures.
However, Lu Tai happened to like these spiders very much. Indeed, he had spent 600 snowflake coins simply because he thought the appearance of the Intimate Dream Spider was very adorable.
And thus, the old shopkeeper's smile became even more amused and meaningful.
Afterward, Lu Tai got into a bidding war with a cultivator at the Middle Five Tiers in front of some stall. This was a rare sight, yet Chen Ping'an didn't blame Lu Tai for being reckless this time. Instead, he felt like that item was well worth the 12 lesser heat coins that Lu Tai had spent.
In the end, Lu Tai had only managed to win the bidding war because his opponent hadn't had enough immortal money on him. Moreover, Lu Tai had been exuding an air of confidence, making it seem as if he would fight to the end no matter how many times his opponent raised the bid. The cultivator at the Middle Five Tiers had eventually muttered curses and left.
There was an incredibly rare Mutton Fat Beast happily jumping around in Lu Tai's palm. The body of the small beast was jade-like, and this was because it was formed from the essence of beautiful jade. Its body was innately a high-grade natural treasure, making it an optimal choice to forge talismanic jade tablets with. However, Mutton Fat Beasts were extremely fiery and unyielding, so once they grew up and matured, they would choose to commit suicide once they were caught. In other words, one couldn't capture and raise mature Mutton Fat Beasts.
Meanwhile, the Mutton Fat Beast in Lu Tai's palm had been unintentionally caught by a cultivator, and it had only managed to survive and avoid death by suicide because it was still young. If it were properly raised, it could potentially become a living treasure that was worth an exorbitant amount of money. However, there was a catch in the sense that raising a Mutton Fat Beast would cost even more than the initial price of buying one. This was because Mutton Fat Beasts only ate snowflake coins.
The stall owner was an ordinary-looking woman. After Lu Tai purchased the Mutton Fat Beast, she smiled and said that such a valuable beast would have definitely been purchased at a high price right away if it weren't for the fact that Planchette Writing Sect already owned a pair of Mutton Fat Beasts.
Chen Ping'an and Lu Tai walked left and right along the bustling Sky Calling Street, entering and exiting numerous shops.
During this time, Chen Ping'an had also taken a fancy to three items. However, he had been struck with indecision, and he had ultimately been reluctant to spend so much money.
There was a Three-legged Golden Toad that was a spirit beast belonging to heaven and earth. It was said that its owner could increase their fortune in making money.
There was a silver-white Treasure-Seeking Mouse whose sense of smell was extremely sensitive to spiritual matters in the world.
There was also a small creature called the Wine Insect, and this was a creature that could only be born in high-quality aged wine. If this insect were placed in a newly fermented pot of wine, then the pot of wine would become as rich as one that was stored for several years after just a few hours. Thus, these kinds of Wine Insects were naturally adored by those who liked to drink wine.
When they stayed at inns, Lu Tai would brew himself a pot of tea almost every single day. However, he would never invite Chen Ping'an over to enjoy the tea with him, and he would instead sit alone and quietly sip tea, not saying a single word.
He would appear calm and relaxed, filled with an aura of rightness and morality.
When Lu Tai played out games of Go from the manuals, Chen Ping'an felt like he had only witnessed this kind of elegant demeanor from Cui Dongshan before.
Lu Tai also owned a bamboo flute that sounded especially pleasant to the ear when it was played in the mountains and rivers.
Even when he sat lazily in some random place to gaze up at the moon with a folding fan in his hand, he still appeared as graceful as always.
Chen Ping'an knew of a term called "cultural artiness." This was a very derogatory term.
However, Lu Tai wasn't guilty of this.
Just like how Chen Ping'an was a country bumpkin at his core, Lu Tai was an innately graceful person. He was an innate scholar.
Having money implied wealth, while understanding etiquette implied nobleness.
This was the true meaning of being a wealthy noble.
Chen Ping'an couldn't learn and emulate Fan Er's brilliant and positive mindset. He felt like he couldn't learn and emulate Lu Tai's graceful and carefree demeanor either.
On this day, Chen Ping'an stood atop a tall tree and gazed into the distance. To his surprise, he saw a castle standing amid the majestic yet sparsely populated mountains.
Before this, Chen Ping'an and Lu Tai hadn't come across a single mountain or water spirit during their journey.
This place was already hundreds of kilometers from Planchette Writing Sect, the most powerful sect in the central region of Parasol Leaf Continent.
Chen Ping'an initially didn't want to tell Lu Tai that there was a castle in the distance. He wanted to focus on traveling to their destination. However, the handsome young man who had been uninterested in the mountains and waters this entire suddenly decided to jump onto a tall branch today. He rocked his folding bamboo fan and chuckled, "Very good, very good, it's a brilliant location to kill people and steal goods before fabricating evidence and framing someone else."
Chen Ping'an didn't understand Lu Tai's words right away. However, it wasn't long before he came to a realization.
There were skulking figures in the surrounding forest, with their small movements giving rise to quiet rustles. Even though they were well-hidden and extremely careful, Chen Ping'an's eyesight and hearing were even better. He immediately discovered that he and Lu Tai were surrounded.
Chen Ping'an looked around and said slowly, "I'm at the fourth tier of martial arts, and I own two bonded flying swords and many immortal talismans."
As if in tacit understanding, Lu Tai smiled faintly and said, "I'm a Qi refiner at the eighth tier, the Dragon Gate Tier. And what a coincidence, I also have two bonded flying swords and many immortal treasures."
There was one person wearing a white robe with a sword strapped to his back. Hanging on his waist was a Sword Nurturing Gourd that hadn't been removed and used as a wine gourd for a long time.
There was one person wearing an azure robe with a jade pendant hanging by his waist. Noble people wouldn't remove their jade pendant for no reason[1].
Chen Ping'an and Lu Tai were facing a large group of scheming bandits who had tailed them for hundreds of kilometers. Moreover, it was without a doubt that most of them were Qi refiners from the mountains.
Lu Tai gently rocked his fan and smiled with squinted eyes, asking, "Before throwing hands, should we try to speak some reason with them?"
Chen Ping'an pursed his lips and patted the wine gourd by his waist, not saying anything else in reply.
His reasons were all inside the wine gourd.
1. This is a line from the Book of Rites (礼记). In ancient China, the character of noble people was compared to the quality of jade. Thus, wearing a jade pendant is a constant reminder that one needs to remain virtuous and upright. ☜
