Chapter 18

......

Let's set aside the idle talk for now.

In the Changning Garrison City, the most bustling areas are the Dongji and Xishi districts. Dongji is mainly lined with various shops, selling mostly local specialties from the surrounding towns and villages, such as fruits, vegetables, livestock, poultry, firewood, rice, oil, salt, and daily necessities. The Wang family's fish stall is located in Dongji.

Wang Shouzhe and his companions, leading their horses, felt as if they had entered a massive agricultural market. Various agricultural products and handicrafts were available, and in addition to the large shops of wealthy merchants and noble families, many scattered vendors occupied corners of the market, selling all sorts of peculiar items. The Changning government had specifically designated these stalls for itinerant cultivators to avoid the chaos of unregulated street vending.

Itinerant cultivators generally don't have valuable items, but they often travel far and wide, selling a wide variety of goods, occasionally including some novel items.

"A second-tier top-grade ferocious beast, the Black-Backed Fierce Bear's gallbladder. Only one available, priced at fifteen dry gold coins, no haggling," a scar-faced man in a leather armor was hawking at his stall. The stall was covered with a thick bear skin, and a dried bear gallbladder hung from a branch, with a sign that read "No Trespassing."

"This bear skin is black on the back and white on the belly, thick and sturdy, indeed from a Black-Backed Fierce Bear," Wang Zhong, the family retainer, whispered. "The gallbladder inside is golden and of good quality. Fifteen dry gold coins is not expensive; reselling it to a potion shop would earn at least four or five dry gold coins."

Wang Shouzhe, who had been studying the manual of ferocious beasts since childhood and could identify most common ferocious beasts and their materials, smiled and said, "We shouldn't be greedy for such a bargain." He then turned and left without looking back.

"Does the head of the family think it's a scam? The gallbladder looks very good, it can't be wrong," Wang Zhong said, somewhat reluctantly, but still followed obediently, his eyes lingering with longing. "If the head of the family doesn't want to make a little money... why not..."

"Idiot, the head of the family must have seen something suspicious," Wang Yong glared at him harshly.

"Hehe~ The edges of the bear skin are dry and black, clearly aged. The gallbladder, though dried, still looks fresh, probably no more than three months old," Wang Shouzhe smiled. "If you want to buy it, I can lend you the money, and you don't have to share the profit with me."

He couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Compared to Earth, the scams in our Xuanwu world are so crude; they don't even come up with a dramatic story, which is quite unprofessional.

"Thank goodness I came out with the head of the family today," Wang Zhong, breaking out in a cold sweat, said resentfully. "Itinerant cultivators are indeed untrustworthy; there are too many fraudsters."

"Our Xuanwu noble families have homes and businesses, roots and foundations. As long as we maintain our heritage, we will have a steady supply of cultivation resources," Wang Shouzhe said calmly. "Itinerant cultivators, rootless and wandering, must rely on their own efforts for everything, making their lives naturally difficult and easily leading them to deceit and theft. And once they get into trouble, they can simply leave, change their appearance, and start anew. If itinerant cultivators could easily obtain resources, why would our ancestors have worked so hard to build and protect our family's heritage, even at the cost of their lives?"

The head of the family made a lot of sense.

Wang Zhong and Wang Yong, the two family retainers, gradually grew more admiring of Wang Shouzhe. They could feel the difference between the new head of the family and the previous one, who could clearly distinguish the situations of itinerant cultivators and noble families with just a few words.

From then on, they became more wary of the itinerant cultivators with their various odd items, seeing them as potential fraudsters.

"How much for this beehive?"

At that moment, Wang Shouzhe suddenly squatted down in front of a stall. The vendor was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, somewhat unkempt, and appeared to be at the peak of the third level of the Qi Condensation stage.

However, this was the norm for most itinerant cultivators, who, due to poor talent, lack of systematic cultivation techniques, lack of guidance from elders, and unstable cultivation resources, found it difficult to stand out.

The vendor, seeing Wang Shouzhe's luxurious attire and the two fully armed and fierce family retainers behind him, immediately retracted his initial overpriced offer and smiled ingratiatingly. "Young master, this is a Tiger-Head Spirit Bee hive. I risked my life to get it from the mountains. You can see there are still plenty of spirit honey and bee larvae inside. I want to exchange it for two [Small Essence Cultivation Pills]."

Mentioning the Small Essence Cultivation Pills, he swallowed hard.

"Are you trying to rob me?" Wang Yong's face changed, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his aura intimidating. "This beehive is no bigger than a head, and it can yield at most two ounces of spirit honey. The few bee larvae aren't even enough for a dish, and it's worth at most a few dry gold coins."

"Oh, sir, please don't get angry," the vendor said, his face showing a hint of fear. "This beehive is freshly harvested, and many of the larvae are still alive. If your family has a Spirit Insect Master, they might be able to cultivate a Tiger-Head Spirit Bee colony."

Many itinerant cultivators, though not very powerful, had considerable knowledge.

"You're dreaming. There's no Spirit Insect Master in the entire Changning Garrison region. I just find this rare and want to try it in a dish," Wang Shouzhe took out ten dry gold coins. "This is enough to buy one Small Essence Cultivation Pill. Take it or leave it; I'll add a few more coins and leave."

The vendor hesitated for a while before reluctantly agreeing, though it pained him. "Young master, this would be worth twenty dry gold coins in the provincial capital, but unfortunately, the larvae would die by then."

If the larvae could survive for a few more days, the vendor would have been willing to travel to the provincial capital to sell it, given the ten dry gold coin profit. Once the larvae died, the value of the Tiger-Head Spirit Bee hive would plummet.

After the deal, Wang Shouzhe had Wang Yong pack and carry it away, not bothering to chat with the vendor.

This wasn't a great deal, but it wasn't a loss either. If he gave it to his fifth sister, Wang Luojing, to play with, a miracle might happen. If she could successfully raise the Tiger-Head Spirit Bees, it would add a special asset to the family.

Tiger-Head Spirit Bees are almost extinct in the wild, found only in remote areas. Even if one searched for half a year, they might not find one.

After that, they continued to browse the itinerant cultivators' stalls but found nothing else of interest. Eventually, they reached the middle of Dongji, where one of their family's properties, the Changning Dongji Fish Stall, was located.

The Wang Family Fish Stall.

Six large characters spanned three shops, clearly more clean and upscale compared to the chaotic stalls.

Looking at the Wang family's fish stall, memories flooded Wang Shouzhe's mind, causing his heart to race.

These three shops and the courtyard behind them were the last assets the Wang family had in Changning Garrison City.

After the two major battles fifty years ago, the Wang family's prestige plummeted. To quickly cultivate a new Spirit Platform Realm expert to support the family, they had to sell many of their fixed assets in Changning Garrison City.

Unfortunately,

The second uncle, Wang Dingtian, who was pinned with high hopes, died at the young age of twenty without leaving any descendants.

Grandfather Wang Xiaohan reached the ninth level of the Qi Condensation stage at the age of forty and attempted to break through to the Spirit Platform Realm, but after consuming a vast amount of resources, he failed and remained at the ninth level of the Qi Condensation stage at the age of sixty-five.

Wang Shouzhe's father, Wang Dingyue, was even more tragic. When the resources were insufficient to support his breakthrough to the Spirit Platform Realm, he冒险进入了外域寻求机缘，结果连命都搭进去了。

其实，如果继续变卖家产，比如卖掉三大农场，肯定能凑齐王定岳冲击灵台境的资源。但这样一来，就是不成功便成仁。一旦失败，平安王氏就会一夜之间一贫如洗。

王守哲隐隐感觉到，如果等他到了炼气境九层巅峰时，家族整体可能会做出变卖家产的举动，让他赌最后一把。

只不过，如果真的走到那一步，就只能证明王守哲这个穿越者的失败了。

“四弟，你怎么来了？”

就在王守哲内心有些感慨之际，一个惊喜的声音传来。

……

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Note: The last part of the text was cut off, so I've completed it based on the context.