Chapter 31

It is said that Jiao San, a low-level clerk at the "Four Seas Pavilion," after waiting for Ye Qingxuan for half a day without a trace, felt lost and decided to leave. Just as he was about to depart, a heavenly voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

"Uncle San, wait a moment."

Thump, thump, thump, quick steps hurried over, and it was precisely the young Daoist Qingxuan, who had made Jiao San wait for half a day. A fine layer of white sweat appeared on the fair face of the young Daoist, who looked as if he had rushed over in a hurry. Jiao San's low spirits immediately lifted, and he became excited, thinking that this time the deal might be successful.

"Oh, my little ancestor, why are you so late today?"

"Hehe, this little Daoist did some personal business—Uncle San, did you bring the items?"

Seeing Qingxuan frown with worry, the wrinkles on Jiao San's old face spread into a broad smile.

"Rest assured, rest assured... I brought them, I brought them..."

Jiao San carefully pulled out a hemp cloth package from his armpit. Before he could open it, Qingxuan snatched it away.

In a few quick moves, Qingxuan found the book he wanted, the "Wulin Zashi Lu" (Martial Arts Miscellany) Volume 33 of the Gengzi Year.

Good—this is it.

Just as Qingxuan was about to pay, he suddenly noticed a thicker magazine with the same name.

"What is this?"

"This is the national edition of the 'Wulin Zashi Lu.' The one in your hand is the Yuzhou edition. This is the original edition, containing news from all over the country. It costs 5 taels of silver."

"Is it just a bit thicker, and ten times more expensive?"

"The information is top-notch, little Daoist. What's most important in the martial world these days?—Information... You can know everything without leaving your house. There are countless martial world anecdotes in here. One day, you might meet a hermit or discover a treasure left by a predecessor, and then you'll soar to the top,震慑 the martial world..."

Jiao San rambled on for a while, but Qingxuan pouted, showing little interest.

Jiao San's eyes darted around, and he changed the topic, "Little Daoist, let's not talk about the other things in the book for now. The information in here is the fastest and most up-to-date. It's all from the capital, delivered by carrier pigeons. Not only is the information new, but the 'High-Level Martial Analysis' section alone is worth the price."

"'High-Level Martial Analysis'? What kind of so-called expert is worth so much this time?"

"'Qingyi Tower,' the 28th floor lord, 'Fast Blade' Hong Gang, annotated the 'Five Tigers Gate Knife Technique.'"

"'Qingyi Tower' sounds impressive. But this Hong Gang? Such a common name, is he really that good?" the young Daoist Qingxuan asked, his chubby little face wrinkled in doubt.

"Ancestor, Hong Gang is a master with a portrait on the first floor of Qingyi Tower, at the 10th level of the Earth Yuan realm, the peak of the Later Heaven stage, a true expert. 'Qingyi Tower' is one of the ten major sects, ranked fifth, and has held this position for nearly a century. The 108 floors of 'Qingyi Tower' across the land, anyone with a portrait on the first floor is a high-level expert, capable of competing on the 'Earth Absolute List.' It's said that our provincial chief spent a lot of money to get him to speak this time. Usually, no amount of money can move him. He's rich and influential, and doesn't need this."

"Oh, indeed impressive. But unfortunately, I don't practice knives, only swords." After saying this, he handed Jiao San five taels of silver, took the thinner book, and turned to leave.

This wasn't because he forgot his plan, but because Qingxuan had dealt with Jiao San for a long time and knew his slippery nature. This old man is like a female dog, only taking in and never giving out. If he asked to see the book, Jiao San might come up with some trick and wouldn't readily hand it over.

People are cheap, you can't beg, you have to pressure them.

"Wait, Daoist, Daoist, little Daoist Qingxuan..."

Sure enough, seeing Qingxuan turn to leave without achieving his goal, Jiao San became anxious.

Jiao San quickly grabbed Qingxuan's sleeve, putting on a pitiful face, "Little Daoist Qingxuan, don't go yet, don't go yet. Uncle San's business has been bad lately. If I don't sell more, I'll lose my job, and your aunt and your younger brothers and sisters will have to beg on the streets. I..."

As he spoke, Jiao San pretended to cry, but Ye Qingxuan didn't see a single tear from the old man, no matter how long he covered his face with his sleeve.

Damn, he must have cried too much before, the bastard, now he can't even cry—

Jiao San was anxious, his crying face turned into a pained one, and he used his sleeve to cover his face, sticking his finger into his nostril—

"Uncle San, you don't have to cry like that, do you?"

"Little Daoist Qingxuan, you don't know, Uncle San's life is hard—"

"Alright, alright, stop crying... You're crying, but why is your nose bleeding?"

"Ah, ah?—This is anger affecting the liver, sadness affecting the lungs... Uncle San's lungs are too hot, it's nothing, nothing..."

Hey, this cheap bastard, even dealing with a child, he cries and whines, really has no bottom line.

Ye Qingxuan secretly despised Jiao San.

His wife was a well-known fat woman in Qingyang Town, always well-fed, and his children were pampered. Yet Jiao San had a naturally poor appearance, living a life of luxury but always dressing like a beggar.

"Alright, Uncle San, stop crying, I'll take a look at what else I can buy. I don't want the national edition of the 'Wulin Zashi Lu,' don't sell it to me."

"Sure, sure." Jiao San, hearing there was a chance, wiped his sleeve, stopped his tears and nosebleed, and immediately put on a fawning face, "How about this 'Shijia Xinshuo' (New Sayings of the Families)?"

This old man is definitely a dog, changing his face faster than turning a page.

"What is it?" Ye Qingxuan asked helplessly.

"An introduction to the major families of the martial world in the Nine Provinces."

"No."

"How about this 'Menpai Daquan' (Comprehensive List of Sects)?"

"Boring, boring..."

"How about the 'Jiuzhou Yizhou Lu' (Nine Provinces Strange Beasts Record)?"

"What's it for?"

"A catalog of almost all the strange beasts in the Divine Martial Land, with pictures and descriptions, and some methods for dealing with and capturing them..."

"Hmm? Interesting, how much?"

"50 taels."

"Robbery? No, no..."

"How about the 'Tianjue List' and 'Dijue List'?"

"What are these?"

"The 'Tianjue List' ranks the 36 top innate experts; the 'Dijue List' lists the 72 top later heaven experts. If you buy both, I'll throw in the latest 'Qianlong Qifeng List,' which lists the young heroes under 40 years old in the world... Hehe, maybe your name will be on it one day..."

"Oh? Thanks for your good words, how much?"

"The 'Tian List' is 2 taels, the 'Di List' is 10 taels."

"What, what? Why is the 'Dijue List' more expensive than the 'Tianjue List'?"

"Little Daoist, the 'Dijue List' is updated every season, with significant changes in rankings. But the 'Tianjue List' hasn't changed much in the past 50 years. If you buy a copy 50 years ago, you don't need to buy it again, so it doesn't sell well."

"Oh, anything else?"

"More..."

...

Jiao San quickly recommended dozens of books, all of which Qingxuan usually paid attention to. However, with the "Lianghuan Lingmiao Pavilion," Qingxuan's horizons had broadened, and these odd stories were no longer his interest.

After a short while, Jiao San picked up the "Qingfeng Wuliu Sword Technique" again.

"Little Daoist, there's this one, take a look..."

As soon as the manual was picked up, Qingxuan snatched it away.

"Why hasn't this treasure sold yet?"

"Oh, you see, little Daoist, this 'Qingfeng Wuliu Sword Technique' is specially reserved for you. Others want it, but I won't sell it. Only a future great swordsman like you deserves this book."

"Stop flattering me," Qingxuan stood on a stone bench by the path, his eyes slanted at Jiao San, "Can't sell it? 5,000 taels of silver, enough to buy a large mansion and two concubines in Qingyang Town, who would buy your broken book?"

Ye Qingxuan, full of contempt, mocked Jiao San's tricks while flipping the book, making it rustle.

"Be careful, be careful, this is my life."

Jiao San reached out to grab it, but Qingxuan dodged and immediately stood on a higher stone table, holding the book high, making Jiao San jump like a monkey.

After several jumps, Jiao San, out of breath, couldn't reach it. He didn't dare offend this little master on the White Cloud Temple grounds and had to stop.

"Little Daoist, I can't do it. If you don't buy it, please return the book to me. I'll go set up a stall at the gate, maybe a rich man will buy it."

"Don't worry, let me take a look first."

Qingxuan couldn't afford such an expensive book, so he casually flipped through the manual.

Unable to contain his excitement, Qingxuan immediately activated the "Martial Arts Collection System."

A mechanical voice said, "Starting collection..." A progress bar appeared in front of Qingxuan's eyes, growing slowly as he flipped the pages: 5%, 10%, 20%...

When Qingxuan heard the mechanical voice, he was startled and immediately looked at Jiao San. Seeing the old man's cheap face, bowing and waiting for his response, clearly he hadn't heard it.

It seems only I can hear the mechanical voice.

Thinking this, Qingxuan calmed down and calmly flipped through the sword manual, nodding and shaking his head, making sounds of admiration.