Chapter 78: Eating a Grape
Chapter 78: Eating a Grape
Light follows shadow, courts have their shadows in the underworld. Official Spirit Markets exist, and naturally, so does the wild Night Market beyond the city.
Fang Cun didn’t need much effort to persuade the usually firm-minded He Zhenzhang. Right after school that day, he invited He Zhenzhang into a carriage. With the clopping of hooves and rumbling wheels, they slowly left the city and arrived at this legendary Night Market…
Calling it a market was not quite accurate.
It couldn’t compare to the supermarkets of his past life, nor even a shopping street.
Truthfully, it was more like a bustling rural gathering!
Every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, people gathered on a wild hill outside the city. Those selling cultivation pills, treasures, talismans, or methods, and those seeking such items, all came quietly. Sellers and buyers met, exchanged silver for goods, and walked away. Whether you got a good deal or a raw one depended entirely on your own judgment. Once the deal was done, no refunds!
“Second Young Master Fang, are you truly buying Qi-Refining Pills?”
Inside the carriage, He Zhenzhang remained puzzled, his voice full of doubt.
“What, worried I can’t afford them?”
Fang Cun tilted his head with a smile and turned the question back.
“No, no!”
He Zhenzhang waved his hands swiftly. Who would doubt the wealth of the Fang Family of Willow Lake? He sighed softly. “I just find it… pitiable. If I had your talent, Second Young Master Fang, I would never touch Qi-Refining Pills. At least not before reaching the peak of the Breath Refining Realm. Cultivating Internal Breath is best done through sensing heaven and earth, meditative breathing, and studying the classics. It’s the purest path. Taking pills may make one’s cultivation surge rapidly, but it harms one’s foundation! The more pills you take, the weaker the foundation becomes!”
“Qi-Refining Pills were originally meant to replenish Internal Breath temporarily when lacking,” Fang Cun understood his point. It was like relying on medicine while injured or weak to heal. But taking them solely for faster progress? That could backfire severely. Instead of achieving a robust body, you might ruin your cultivation potential permanently.
“If you understand this, why have you taken them?”
Fang Cun smiled curiously at He Zhenzhang.
“Because… I was left with no choice!”
He Zhenzhang let out a bitter laugh. “Who among the Academy Disciples didn’t dream big at first? Swearing they’d never rely on pills, determined to cultivate purely through their own effort? But eventually, most realize they just aren’t cut out for it. People like your elder brother and Fairy Meng? How many exist in the world? Walking the righteous path… it’s painfully hard.”
“Hm?”
Fang Cun had been chatting lightly, but He Zhenzhang’s words suddenly caught his interest. He turned to him with genuine curiosity. “What do you mean by that?”
“Isn’t studying the classics and understanding principles the true root of Qi Refining?” He Zhenzhang smiled wryly. “When a person stands upright and acts righteously, they naturally develop a strong spirit. The more they understand true principles, the purer their Internal Breath becomes. Your elder brother and Fairy Meng, they are such figures. The steadier their Dao Heart, the more they uphold righteousness, the greater their openness, the deeper their Cultivation Power becomes, and their cultivation advances. People like me? Even though my Destined Scripture is the Classic of Documents, even though I’ve copied mountains of calligraphy… I lack Fairy Meng’s innate purity. What can I do?”
Fang Cun’s heart stirred unexpectedly, seeming to grasp something elusive.
Could it be…?
A new thought flickered within him.
………
Willow Lake City’s Night Market soon came into view.
Fang Cun had heard of this market west of the city but never visited before. Nestled between rolling hills, following a quiet trail, were scattered figures standing or sitting. Some merely laid a cloth on the ground and sat; others set up flimsy little shelters. A few had carts, looking more like dumpling sellers than cultivators.
People in plain robes moved along the path, seeking goods they needed. At a glance, the Night Market pulsed with surprising liveliness and revealed the size of Willow Lake City’s cultivator population. Though a decent-sized city, its official Qi Refiners — Academy Elder Mentors, Instructors, Disciples; the City Governor’s Divine Generals and Secretaries; officers from the Demon Capture Bureau; clan descendants and elders — barely counted two or three hundred.
But add in the unregistered rogue cultivators, demonic practitioners, and various hidden eccentrics? That number swelled considerably. Without this hidden mass, such a market couldn’t exist. Fang Cun spotted many faces resembling young Disciples. They had shed their academy robes, desperate to boost their cultivation since graduation was near. Year three was when they spent the most on pills, yet yielded the least.
“The Qi-Refining Pills here are much cheaper than at the City Governor’s Spirit Pill Pavilion,” He Zhenzhang, clearly a frequent visitor, explained as they walked. “The best cost about two or three hundred silver taels each. Lesser ones? Thirty or fifty taels can get one. Second Young Master Fang, what price range would suit?”
Fang Cun smiled easily. “You must have a regular seller, yes?”
He Zhenzhang grinned. “I do. Though the pill master is rather blunt. Please don’t take offense later, Second Young Master.”
“No problem!”
Fang Cun agreed, letting He Zhenzhang lead him deeper into the market stalls.
The journey was an eye-opener. Stalls lined the narrow path sold everything imaginable: Qi-Refining Pills, Healing Pills, Antidote Pills; various tiers of Talismans; magical bugs sealed by strange arts; small Flying Swords and enchanted beads; anything a Qi Refiner might need. One stall even displayed glass jars filled with nameless chunks of soaked meat, priced at ten thousand silver taels!
“What is that?”
Fang Cun eyed the jars curiously.
He Zhenzhang flushed slightly. “They say it’s… parts of certain male beasts. Soaked in wine. It supposedly strengthens… those functions.”
“That’s a thing?”
Fang Cun stared in disbelief, glancing slyly at He Zhenzhang. “Have you ever bought any?”
“Ridiculous!”
Young Master He drew himself up indignantly. “I never dabble in such unorthodox paths!”
Just then, the stall owner peeked out. “Young Master He! Back so soon? Got something strong this time, want it?”
He Zhenzhang’s face turned crimson. “…Yes!” He blurted out angrily.
………
Fang Cun barely stifled his laughter as He Zhenzhang walked away clutching two glass jars.
Soon, they reached the southern corner of the market. Fewer people lingered here. Most buyers entered from the north and exited after finding what they needed. Yet a few stubborn sellers remained huddled in the far corner, neither moving nor calling out, seemingly waiting to strike it rich any moment…
“The person I want to introduce, Second Young Master Fang, is Mister Qu…”
He Zhenzhang pointed to a small thatched hut beneath the largest tree near the end. “He’s a master of pill-making. It’s said he once came to Willow Lake City wishing to be an Elder Mentor at White Xiang Academy. But his background was unclear, so he wasn’t admitted. Yet no one investigated him either. He became a rogue cultivator here, using his pill art to make a living at this market. But his temper… oh it’s fierce! Cold, hard, rude. His face snaps shut in an instant. He deliberately gives people a hard time. It’s why his business is poor. Few dare to buy from him…”
“A hot temper often means genuine skill…”
Fang Cun mused inwardly. Aloud, he said, “I’m here to buy pills. All I care about is his pills. His disposition is irrelevant!”
He Zhenzhang chuckled. “His pills are acknowledged as top-quality. It’s just a shame about the—”
Before he could finish, as they neared the hut, a young woman emerged from the nearby creek bank holding a white porcelain plate. She almost collided with Fang Cun on the narrow path. Startled, she looked up… straight into Fang Cun’s face. Her large, fluttering eyes widened instantly. She froze, rooted to the spot. Under his gaze, a bright blush crept across her cheeks.
Fang Cun also looked at her. She was eighteen or nineteen, slender, with delicate and gentle features. Wearing simple blue clothes commoners wore, she looked like a lovely girl from a modest family. In her hands, the white plate held a bunch of translucent, freshly washed grapes.
Without thinking, Fang Cun plucked one grape and popped it into his mouth. He stepped aside politely. “After you, miss.”
The girl’s blush deepened drastically. Suddenly, she thrust the entire plate of grapes into his arms, covered her face firmly, and fled!
“Uh…”
Fang Cun stood frozen, arms now full of grapes. What just happened?
Beside him, He Zhenzhang also froze momentarily. Then his face abruptly paled with alarm. “Second Young Master Fang! RUN!”