Chapter 11
After receiving the reward from Shadowless Hand, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi pawned off their remaining belongings.
Among the remaining items, only the large hammer was worth anything significant, selling for eight hundred spirit stones.
Outside the pawnshop by the bridge, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi stood in the shade of a tree.
The sun blazed overhead, and there was no one around. Heat waves rose from the scorching ground, so hot that even a passing yellow dog was panting with its tongue out, hurrying along.
With the spirit stones stored in the Mustard Seed Pouch, Jian Huan lowered her head to count them while Shen Jizhi stared without blinking.
All told, this venture had earned them about 2,200 spirit stones each, plus a Mustard Seed Pouch.
It could be said they'd made a killing.
Jian Huan looked up and briefed Shen Jizhi on the general situation.
Shen Jizhi had actually kept track of every amount in his head, and hearing that it matched his calculations, he nodded: "Mm."
Jian Huan asked him: "Shall I keep it here for now and give you your share when we get back?"
With so many spirit stones, keeping them in the Mustard Seed Pouch was more convenient.
Currently, Jian Huan was managing the Mustard Seed Pouch.
Shen Jizhi nodded: "Fine."
Jian Huan looked at him while gently tracing the patterns on the Mustard Seed Pouch, suddenly saying: "Actually, you don't have to give me the hundred thousand spirit stones all at once. Why don't you first repay me with these..."
Shen Jizhi cut her off before she could finish: "Impossible."
Jian Huan paused: "Why? Why can't you repay me a portion first?"
Shen Jizhi's gaze fell on her as he calmly said: "Because you're twenty-first in line."
"What?" Jian Huan was confused.
What was this about?
"My master still has twenty outstanding debts, and those people found me before you did."
Shen Jizhi explained casually as he picked up the sack and walked out of the shade into the sunlight, heading toward the other end of the bridge.
Seeing him leave, Jian Huan quickly tucked the Mustard Seed Pouch into her clothes and hurried after him, asking curiously: "So how much do those twenty debts add up to?"
Shen Jizhi was silent for a long while: "Just under two million."
Jian Huan: "..."
She couldn't help but worry.
Would her turn ever come in this lifetime?
Yesterday, there had already been many people waiting at their stall.
A large crowd was waiting for Shen Jizhi - some had left their magical equipment with him for repairs, while others had come with broken items after hearing of his reputation.
Jian Huan had only started setting up her stall yesterday, several days after Shen Jizhi, so her reputation hadn't spread yet. Only one person was waiting for her.
Cultivators came and went at the Immortal Storage Tower. After an hour passed and the people they were waiting for still hadn't shown up, complaints began to arise.
"What's going on? Don't tell me I've run into another scammer! This is infuriating! I've already had three swords stolen from me at this Immortal Storage Tower! Can't they do something about these fraudsters? I'm never coming back to this dump again!"
"Maybe they were delayed by something on the way. I still feel that equipment master is trustworthy."
"It shouldn't be a scam. I've had him repair items three times already. The first two times he returned them, and the repairs were excellent! Really, even the masters outside who charge much more aren't as skilled as him."
"Well, we can only wait a bit longer..."
Nearby, the Broken Sword Cultivator who had bought a Teleportation Talisman from Jian Huan yesterday listened anxiously to these conversations.
However, he wasn't worried about getting his broken sword back, but rather was anxious about not seeing the talisman master.
Yesterday on the road, he had encountered the bandit Shadowless Hand, who, seeing that he was only at the Qi Condensation stage and unarmed, had tried to attack him.
Usually, bandits who only wanted money weren't too bad. But Shadowless Hand was notorious - he didn't just rob, he also violated people's... dignity, regardless of gender, using despicable methods.
In his panic, the Broken Sword Cultivator had used the Teleportation Talisman he had bought.
Usually, Teleportation Talismans sold outside would fall short of their claimed distance - for instance, one claiming to cover ten kilometers might only manage six or seven, and the more unscrupulous ones might only work for five hundred meters.
There were even worse ones that would teleport you to an even more dangerous place.
The Broken Sword Cultivator had traveled far and wide over the years and met many people, including some sword cultivators who, because of these dishonest talisman masters, couldn't escape during crucial moments and ultimately died in the mouths of demon beasts.
But the Teleportation Talisman he bought yesterday was truly excellent!
He was teleported directly to a forest ten kilometers away, landing in a tree.
Although his bottom hurt from falling down, escaping from Shadowless Hand was truly fortunate!
That's why he had brought all his spirit stones early this morning and was waiting here miserably, hoping to buy all the talismans from that master.
Talismans that were both cheap and effective weren't something you could find every day.
The Broken Sword Cultivator thought of this as he stood on tiptoes, looking expectantly.
Suddenly, a commotion arose, and the waiting crowd immediately surged toward the newcomers.
The man who had just sworn never to return to the Immortal Storage Tower called out in a loud voice: "Master, you're finally here! I knew you wouldn't deceive us. How is it? Is my knife repaired?"
Shen Jizhi nodded.
The crowd made way for him, and he sat down in yesterday's spot, opened the sack, and began distributing the repaired magical equipment while collecting payment.
Just as the Broken Sword Cultivator was about to go collect his sword, he caught sight of Jian Huan behind the crowd.
He hurriedly went to greet her: "Master!"
Despite her black robe, her height and indefinable personal aura made her recognizable to him, and she greeted him with some surprise: "It's you? How was it? Did you use my Teleportation Talisman? How did it work?"
The Broken Sword Cultivator replied: "It worked perfectly! It saved my life last night! That bandit Shadowless Hand, you know of him, right?"
Hearing this, Jian Huan maintained a calm expression and nodded, her hand unconsciously touching the location of the Mustard Seed Pouch through her black robe.
This one, she knew all too well.
While listening to the Broken Sword Cultivator recount his miserable experience from the previous night, Jian Huan took out fifty talismans she had prepared from her clothes.
She could have made more, but was delayed because of Shadowless Hand.
As soon as she took out the talismans, the Broken Sword Cultivator immediately said: "I'll take them all!"
Jian Huan was stunned: "All of them?"
She hadn't even set up shop yet, and she was already sold out?
The Broken Sword Cultivator nodded seriously and said: "Master, just name your price."
Jian Huan thought for a moment. Yesterday she had sold twenty-one, and today she had planned to sell twenty-five.
But given his generous offer to buy everything, Jian Huan gave him a discount, hoping it would bring good luck for future business: "Fifty talismans, same price as yesterday - one thousand spirit stones."
Without hesitation, the Broken Sword Cultivator took out his Mustard Seed Pouch and poured out a pile of spirit stones.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea since arriving, Jian Huan had already completed a major transaction.
She pretended to remain calm as she put the spirit stones into her own Mustard Seed Pouch.
After making his purchase, the Broken Sword Cultivator didn't leave. Instead, he took out a Xuantian Mirror and asked hesitantly: "Master, may I add you as a friend? So I can contact you through the Xuantian Mirror when I need talismans in the future."
Jian Huan stared at the mirror in his hand, her eyes lighting up.
After two months in this world, she had almost forgotten that for doing business... online was definitely faster than offline.
She said: "Sure, but wait a moment. I'll be right back."
The Broken Sword Cultivator didn't understand but nodded anyway.
Jian Huan immediately turned and walked away quickly. She had seen a stall selling Xuantian Mirrors yesterday and, following her memory, found it. After haggling for a while, she bought the cheapest Xuantian Mirror for one thousand spirit stones.
When paying, Jian Huan's hands were trembling.
"Master, will you be here tomorrow afternoon?" asked the knife owner who was lovingly holding his repaired knife. "I have a brother whose knife is also broken, and he wants to find someone to repair it. But he's not in the city and won't arrive until tomorrow."
The Jade Clarity Sect only had one day off per month, so Shen Jizhi shook his head.
The person asked again: "Then when will you next be here, Master?"
Shen Jizhi had only started secretly setting up his equipment repair stall at the Immortal Storage Tower after making that talisman brush for Jian Huan.
The Equipment Forging Hall regularly sent people to Approaching Immortal City to transport crafting materials, and Shen Jizhi would take advantage of these trips to come to the Immortal Storage Tower and take some private jobs.
But the timing wasn't fixed, so Shen Jizhi replied: "Hard to say."
"Looks like we can only try our luck then," the person's tone was clearly disappointed. "Master, if only you had a Xuantian Mirror, you could let us know when you're coming, and we could rush over."
The surrounding cultivators all nodded in agreement: "Indeed."
Aliali: 674932e7c4f3f33ac4838e86If these scattered cultivators weren't so poor, they would have pooled their money to buy one for the master.
Hearing this, Shen Jizhi suddenly paused.
Xuantian Mirrors were all expensive, starting at one thousand spirit stones.
He had to repay the money by the fifteenth of next month, and he hadn't gathered enough yet, so buying was impossible.
However—
Shen Jizhi turned his head, glancing in Jian Huan's direction.
She was engrossed in an animated conversation with her customer, who seemed to be teaching her how to use the Xuantian Mirror.
Shen Jizhi withdrew his gaze and beckoned to everyone with a curl of his finger.
Everyone obediently drew closer.
Shen Jizhi lowered his eyes and said softly, "The person selling talismans next door lives with me. Adding her would be just the same."
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