The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 35: Revealing Oneself

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Revealing Oneself

Holding this piece of white jade in his hand, Deng Hao, such an expert, could feel the hint of Spiritual Energy hidden within, unmanifested. He would stake his reputation in the marketplace on this being a Spirit Jade!

His thoughts raced, and suppressing his excited emotions, he asked the girl in front of him, "Is this truly an heirloom jade of your family?"

To his astonishment, Ning Xiaoxian tilted her head and outright denied, "Of course not." As Deng Hao looked on in astonishment, she continued, "This was just my excuse to meet Mr. Deng. The Jade Pendant was given to me by an old Daoist, who asked me to exchange it for money, and also to pick some goods that I like in return."

She fabricated a nonexistent backer for herself, but seeing that her eyes were clear and not deceptive, and considering this country girl was young with nothing special apart from her spirit-filled eyes, which were different from ordinary people, it seemed probable that the expert didn’t want to personally show up, and let her run the errand instead. Thinking again of the Spirit Jade, his heart skipped a beat, and he nodded with suppressed agitation, "Alright, I’ll take this item. I estimate its worth to be one thousand taels of silver!"

What he didn’t know was that Changtian was telling Ning Xiaoxian at that moment, "After you presented the Jade Pendant, his heartbeat doubled. It seems he is truly moved."

Ning Xiaoxian smiled slightly, then carefully wrapped the Jade Pendant again and was about to leave. Deng Hao hurriedly reached out to stop her, saying, "Miss, are you dissatisfied with the price? If you take it to a pawnshop, you can get at most three hundred taels of silver for it!"

She shook her head vigorously, "I’m not going to the pawnshop. Don’t the immortals live on Chixiao Mountain? Selling to them is just an extra ten miles’ effort."

Upon hearing this, Deng Hao realized that she knew the real value of the jade. While many merchant teams act as bandits in desolate locations during their travels, he couldn’t figure out if the girl had an expert backing her, so he could only give a wry smile and say, "Alright then, how much would you be willing to sell it for?"

She extended three fingers, "Three thousand taels."

"Two thousand taels at most. This Jade Pendant is useful but having a hole carved at its center reduces its value significantly."

This point was indeed correctly pointed out by the team leader, as without the hole, this Jade Pendant would be a priceless treasure! She looked at Deng Hao, just shaking her head, her expression resolute.

Deng Hao pondered internally that if he could safely deliver this Jade Pendant back to Feng Province, he could make a profit of five thousand taels of silver. After deducting the cost, there would still be a substantial profit, so he grit his teeth and said, "Two thousand five hundred taels, not a tael more!"

Upon hearing this, Ning Xiaoxian’s face darkened, "Two thousand five hundred and one taels then!" The implication of two thousand five hundred taels, as ten times twenty-five, was too distasteful.

Deng Hao, not understanding the implication, thought it was just one more tael, which was not worth quibbling over. Right then, the two reached an agreement. Two thousand five hundred taels of silver, when converted to gold, amounted to two hundred fifty taels, which were cumbersome to carry. Thus, what he handed to Ning Xiaoxian were the universally accepted silver notes of Jitong Bank from various Southern States, along with some broken silver.

"May I know what other goods does the Miss wish to purchase?"

Ning Xiaoxian, attentive by nature, noted that Deng Hao deliberately left the room door wide open when he brought her in, indicating that he would not deceive in the shadows nor tarnish her reputation. She developed a good impression of him. As for the subsequent haggling, it was all part of being a merchant, so she said, "I need some nourishing medicinal materials, as well as ginseng seeds." She casually took out a prescription.

This prescription was drafted according to Changtian’s requirements, listing seven or eight types of medicinal ingredients. Just as she was about to hand it over, Changtian suddenly said, "Aren’t you trying to make some money? I will read and you write down a few more medicinal materials."

"...Ah, wait, I missed a few." She asked for a brush and ink from the middle-aged uncle in front of her and quickly noted down the string of medicinal names that Changtian recited.

Upon inspecting the list, Deng Hao was even more convinced that there must be an expert behind her; otherwise, why would a common young girl need so many nourishing medicines?

He pondered for a moment and said, "The medicines you are asking for are all quite common; I came across them on my travels, just not in large quantities." He sighed, "In the past when coming to Siping County, I always managed to collect plenty of white Poria and angelica roots, but this time it’s strange. Several major medicinal herb shops mentioned that in the last two or three months, many families in the county with members in frail health continuously bought a lot of blood-nourishing and Qi-refilling herbs to take home and cook, which means less for me to buy."

Wealthy families? Frail health? A thought flashed through her mind, but it moved too swiftly and she couldn’t grasp it.

Deng Hao continued, "As for the seeds, that’s easy to arrange. Among the ginseng I received yesterday, there was a very fine specimen, complete with leaves and seeds. If you want, you could take the ginseng seeds for free. Our merchant team won’t leave for another three days, so if you need anything, you can still find me."

When Ning Xiaoxian walked out from the merchant team, her storage bag had already gained a large bundle of medicinal herbs. She felt extremely happy because Changtian told her that making mortal silver wasn’t difficult; she could refine some elixirs to sell. There might be some more dealings with this merchant team in the future, so she decided not to take the ten taels of silver from the collecting clerk and just let it be. As a result, the clerk was deeply grateful, gazing at her with much kinder eyes.

Having made a good profit today, she was planning to treat herself at a restaurant, but Changtian spoke in a grave tone, "There’s demon energy again. Among those who just passed by you, the one dressed as a servant is a demon; his aura is similar to the one who spied on you yesterday."

A demon out in broad daylight? She was startled but did not turn around immediately. Instead, she silently counted to ten before turning, only to see the two individuals already twenty steps away. It turned out to be a servant boy supporting a fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth, slowly heading into a small alley. The young man wore a satin robe with a jade belt around his waist, appearing to be a wealthy young master, but he walked somewhat crookedly, as if drunk, leaning heavily on the servant.

The servant was muttering, "Young master, oh my young master, how could you steal and drink the master’s wine in broad daylight?" His head kept turning, obviously observing the surroundings. Once he looked back, Ning Xiaoxian saw this man had a plain face, but his eyes gleamed red every time they opened and closed. Thankfully, his eyes were small and it was broad daylight; these subtleties were not noticeable amidst the ceaseless flow of the street.

Changtian had noticed as well but disdainfully commented, "Hasn’t even eaten it yet, and he can’t help but risk revealing his identity; such a cheap way to be a demon!"

What was this despairing tone about? She rolled her eyes and was about to follow, but stopped to look around and grabbed a child playing nearby.

"Little brother, can you do me a favor?" She stuffed a mace of broken silver into the child’s hands, "Go now to Mr. Huang’s residence, find an uncle named Quan Shifang, tell him ’a matter of life and death’, and then lead him to the alley ahead. If you do this well, I’ll give you two more maces of silver!"

This child appeared ordinary, seemingly from a common family, but even though he was young, he already understood the value of silver, so he nodded eagerly and dashed towards Huang Mansion. The mansion was in a bustling area not far from here, and at the child’s pace, he should reach it soon.