Chapter 021

Chapter 21: Spirit Market

“I know,” said Ye Wan Wan, her face calm.

Fang He An and Li Wan Zhi were watching her too. Ye Wan Wan thought for a moment and asked: “Why are you staring at me?”

“Junior sister, you had a killing intent just now,” said Fang He An.

Ye Wan Wan sighed and said: “Senior brother, we are law-abiding citizens.”

“What law?” he asked.

“In the city, brawling and killing are forbidden,” said Ye Wan Wan.

Li Wan Zhi clapped once and said: “Then we drag them outside the city and kill them there.”

Bai Jian and Fang He An both nodded.

Ye Wan Wan paused and said: “…Why do all of you sound more like devil cultivators than me?”

Fang He An grinned and said: “Don’t be mad, junior sister. That Ye guy is just making things up. He didn’t learn his lesson last time when our eldest senior brother beat him, so he came again. When eldest senior brother gets back, I’ll tell him.”

Ye Wan Wan blinked and asked: “This isn’t the first time?”

“No,” said Fang He An as he bought four apples and handed one to each of them. “This makes the third time. Every time we go down the mountain, we run into him.”

“But senior sister doesn’t even know him.”

Bai Jian looked innocent as she said: “I’ve never seen him.”

“He just mentioned the Bai Clan,” said Li Wan Zhi.

“All the more impossible,” said Fang He An with a wave. “Senior sister has nothing to do with the Bai Clan. Eldest senior brother brought her back as an abandoned baby. She has no family.”

Bai Jian nodded.

Li Wan Zhi groaned, saying: “Why do all of you have tragic backstories like you’re main characters?”

“You looking to die?” said Fang He An.

They shook off the people tailing them, then went to the docks together to find Yan Ju. They told him the situation and said they were heading back to the Heavenly One Sect.

When Yan Ju heard someone had bullied Bai Jian, he put down his work and said in a cold voice: “Where are they?”

His killing intent rolled off him like a sharp wind. Fang He An and Bai Jian were used to it. Ye Wan Wan wondered if this was their usual routine.

Fang He An said: “Senior uncle, junior sister already taught them a lesson.”

Yan Ju frowned and said: “Next time, call me.”

“Got it,” said Fang He An.

Seeing it was getting late, Yan Ju said: “Wait a bit. I’ll go back with you.”

They did not refuse. Yan Ju even bought each of them a bowl of tofu pudding from a nearby stall. He finished his last heavy chore and then left with the four of them.

Sometimes Ye Wan Wan wondered about him. With Yan Ju’s skill, he did not need to do hard labor. He could easily earn far more Spirit Stones.

Fang He An explained, saying: “Senior uncle does it to look after us. These jobs are close to the sect and the hours are flexible. If he took missions like the other senior uncles and went far, he couldn’t watch over us.”

“And don’t underestimate senior uncle. This isn’t his only job.”

“He’s great,” Fang He An added.

Except he couldn’t cook.

Yan Ju brought the four of them back to Heavenly One Sect by Sword Flight. Bai Jian carried Fang He An. Ye Wan Wan and Li Wan Zhi had the good luck to ride on Yan Ju’s sword. This time, Li Wan Zhi thanked him deeply, because Yan Ju’s Sword Flight was very steady. He did not throw up at all. He was moved to tears.

At the gate, Yan Ju said: “Next time you go down the mountain, report to a lord inside the sect. If you run into something you can’t solve, fire a signal.”

He looked at Fang He An and asked: “Did you bring the signal flare?”

“Brought… probably,” said Fang He An.

Yan Ju raised his eyes a little and said: “Hmm?”

“Brought it,” said Fang He An, standing straight and sounding very sure.

Only then did Yan Ju leave. But that last look he gave made Fang He An feel nervous.

“What was Young Senior Uncle’s look just now?” he asked.

“The look of wanting to cut you,” said Li Wan Zhi.

The words had barely left his mouth when Fang He An punched him in the arm.

“What a pity. We met that idiot, or we could have bought clothes,” said Fang He An with a sigh.

Li Wan Zhi shook his head and said: “Nothing to pity. We can buy them at the Spirit Market.”

“The Spirit Market is expensive, you brat. You don’t know the price of oil, rice, salt, and tea if you don’t run a household,” said Fang He An.

Ye Wan Wan paused and asked: “There’s already a Spirit Market?”

“There is,” said Fang He An. “But not many people can access it. You need a password to get in. This brat led us in.”

Li Wan Zhi cupped his fists and said: “Too kind, too kind.”

Ye Wan Wan looked at Li Wan Zhi and said: “So the Spirit Market showed up this early.”

That same day, Li Wan Zhi taught Ye Wan Wan how to use a Jade Token to enter the Spirit Market. He glanced at her Disciple Token and said: “The Heavenly One Sect’s Disciple Token works even better. Its spiritual resonance is stronger and the Array Arts link is more stable.”

“But it has a drawback. It gives away your identity too easily.”

Ye Wan Wan thought and said: “Locked by aura?”

“Pretty much,” said Li Wan Zhi. “Are you in?”

“I’m in. Check with your Divine Sense,” said Ye Wan Wan.

She stepped into a huge web of spirit sense. The space was clean and blank at first, but as her thoughts moved, the scene changed into an old-style street. Stalls lined both sides. There were figures walking around, but they were all projections made by Divine Sense. Every person had the same face, so you could not tell who was who. They looked like copy-pasted NPCs from a game.

“This is the Spirit Market,” said Li Wan Zhi. “You can trade items and techniques here. You can buy or sell. As long as both sides agree, the deal goes through.”

Ye Wan Wan withdrew her sense and asked: “Did you make this Spirit Market?”

Li Wan Zhi looked like he had seen a ghost. He coughed lightly and said: “Junior sister, I know you think highly of senior brother, but I really don’t have that kind of skill.”

“I didn’t make it. The Spirit Market has existed for years. People only started to learn about it recently. Of course, I did help spread the word,” he added with a chuckle.

Ye Wan Wan understood. He had promoted it.

Li Wan Zhi taught her how to enter, how to buy, and how to sell. He explained: “Small items can be sent straight to your hand through the formation. For bigger or more valuable things, they use Wan Tong Delivery. It will be delivered right to you for safety.”

“Got it,” said Ye Wan Wan.

“That’s about all the features. Don’t stay too long in there. It wears out your Divine Sense,” he warned.

“Okay,” said Ye Wan Wan.

As soon as he left, Ye Wan Wan entered the Spirit Market. She scanned the dazzling stalls. Everything was for sale. Some people left goods up even when they were offline.

[In my last life, I only learned about the Spirit Market after I met Li Wan Zhi. Who would have thought it already existed so early?] she thought.

Ye Wan Wan set out some of her own items for sale: the Mystic Spirit Pills she had refined, a bit of Mystic Spirit Grass, and two Peace Spirit Talismans. Her stall looked a little bare, but she was satisfied.

Pei Xuan had given her two more days. On the second day, Ye Wan Wan turned the soil in her front yard and planted more Mystic Spirit Grass. During that time, Fang He An came to learn how she planted it. Ye Wan Wan taught him everything, but they found the key was her unique spiritual power. When Fang He An followed the same steps, he still could not get her results.

He accepted it and went to help Xun Yin with spirit plants and spirit foods instead, but he promised to come weed for Ye Wan Wan and said: “Just give me a little Mystic Spirit Grass later.”

Ye Wan Wan agreed with a smile.

That night, Ye Wan Wan entered the Spirit Market again. No one had bought anything yet. She was just about to log off after a stroll when a voice asked from the other side of the stall: “How much for the Peace Talisman?”