Chapter 57

Qin Lie had been bumping into walls all afternoon and didn't mind bumping into one more before returning to the inn, so he stepped towards this peculiar shop.

"Little boy, it's not early anymore today. I'm about to close. Come back tomorrow," the person on the rocking chair inside the room said without waiting for him to step in, indicating that he didn't even need to come in.

Qin Lie was surprised and looked up at the sky, finding that it was still a while before dark. Many shops in the distance were still open, and the tool pavilion further away was bustling with people, a lively time.

"I didn't come to buy anything, but to sell something. I hope you can take a look," Qin Lie politely entered.

Inside, a middle-aged uncle was lying lazily on a bamboo rocking chair, squinting and swaying his body. He looked at Qin Lie calmly and said, "There are so many shops on this commercial street, and mine is the most remote. It's amazing you found me here. What? Have you tried all the other shops, and no one was interested in your things, so you decided to try your luck here before leaving?"

His words revealed Qin Lie's thoughts.

Qin Lie felt embarrassed and nodded frankly, "Yes, that's right. I guess you're not interested either. I'm sorry for disturbing your rest. I'll leave now..."

"Bring it over." The middle-aged man, who actually had a rather handsome face but was dressed sloppily, stretched out his hand from the rocking chair without getting up, showing little interest, "Since you've come in, I'll take a look. It might help you give up completely."

The shop was messy, with various dusty spiritual materials piled up on the side, all of which seemed to be of low grade.

The middle-aged man's rocking chair took up a large space. On both sides, a few cabinets were scattered with some unknown stones, rusted wood, and a few damaged spiritual artifacts, none of which seemed valuable, no wonder no one visited the shop.

After a quick glance at the shop, Qin Lie was greatly disappointed, realizing he might have come to the wrong place and was already thinking of leaving.

However, the uncle squinted his eyes and had already stretched out his hand, so Qin Lie couldn't just turn and leave. He took out a spirit board he had inscribed with a spirit array diagram and handed it to the lazy-looking uncle.

"... A spirit board, a low-grade material for practicing spirit array diagrams. No wonder no one is interested," the uncle said with a strange look, casually taking the spirit board and squinting his eyes, seemingly checking it secretly.

Then his eyes lit up and he looked at the spirit board, suddenly falling silent.

After a long while, when Qin Lie was getting impatient, he finally asked, "What's the use of this spirit board?"

Qin Lie explained.

"It can only enhance the surrounding quarter of the heaven and earth's spiritual energy. For martial artists who cultivate with spirit stones and those from major forces, it obviously doesn't offer much help." He frowned at Qin Lie, playing with the spirit board between his fingers, and said, "I don't know who would be interested, and I don't know if it can be sold, so I can't give you a definite price..."

"Then forget it." Qin Lie had expected as much and sighed in disappointment, thinking he could finally give up.

He reached out to take the spirit board, apologized to the man, and turned to leave.

"Wait a moment." The middle-aged uncle called out. When Qin Lie turned around, he said calmly, "I don't know who would be interested, but you can try to sell it and see if it can be sold. Yes, the item... is actually quite good and has some use, it just depends on whether anyone buys it."

When Qin Lie was puzzled and confused, the uncle added, "You can stay in my shop and sell it yourself. Whether it sells or not depends on you. How about that?"

Qin Lie scratched his head, feeling somewhat bewildered. He looked around the shop again and said with a bitter smile, "I'll pass..."

"What? Do you look down on my small shop? Think it's too remote and no one will be interested?" The uncle chuckled, squinting his eyes lazily, "Although the location is indeed not good, there are still a dozen or so young men who come by every day, like you. At least, you can try. It's better than letting it rot in your hands, right?"

"I'll try it tomorrow." Qin Lie thought for a moment, still a bit reluctant, and agreed.

"I'm called Li Mu. You can call me Uncle Li. I see you're carrying a cloth bag, so you must have just arrived in Ice Rock City, right? Where are you staying?" he asked.

"A nearby inn," Qin Lie answered honestly.

"I have a room that's a bit dirty and messy, but if you don't mind, you can stay there first," Li Mu said, swaying his rocking chair lazily. "There are some blank spirit boards in that room. If you want to practice inscribing spirit array diagrams, you can use those spirit boards. When you sell your items, you can pay me back at the same price. If you can't pay, you can help me watch the shop to pay off the debt."

Qin Lie stared at him blankly for a while before saying, "Are you serious?"

"Rubbish!" Li Mu scolded, pointing to a small door behind him, which led to a small courtyard with two or three small rooms. "The one on the east side, you can stay there first. There are some blank spirit boards inside. You can take them out and use them. During the day, you can come here and try to sell your items. Whether they sell or not depends on you. How about that?"

"Okay!" Qin Lie was delighted and said, "I have my items with me, so I won't go back to the inn. Can I stay now?"

"Sure." Li Mu said indifferently.

Qin Lie nodded, chuckled, and walked past Li Mu, entering the courtyard through the small door behind him, and came to the small room he pointed to.

As soon as he pushed the door open, dust suddenly rushed towards him, making him cough loudly.

The room was covered in spider webs. On a small wooden bed, various wooden blocks, broken stones, and unknown metals were piled up, none of which seemed to be high-grade spiritual materials, and it was unclear how long they had been there.

In the corner, there were dozens of dusty spirit boards, the dust seemingly thicker than the boards themselves.

"The shop is small and the profit is thin, so I can't afford to hire anyone. You'll have to clean it yourself," Li Mu's voice came from the shop outside.

"Okay." Qin Lie responded and started cleaning.

He worked until midnight, finally tidying up the small room and placing his low-grade spiritual materials. Then he took out a blank spirit board and began practicing inscribing the spirit array diagram with a gleam in his eyes...

Nine days passed.

During the day, he and Li Mu would sit in the front shop, trying to sell his spirit boards to the occasional passersby. At night, he continued practicing inscribing the spirit array diagram.

He soon realized he had been tricked...

In nine days, only about ten people entered Li Mu's shop, and they were all low-grade martial artists. They would just glance at the items in the shop and then leave with a strange look.

—No one was interested in the shop's items.

Qin Lie didn't even get the chance to try to sell to anyone. As soon as he opened his mouth, they would turn and leave, leaving him to awkwardly smile.

If it weren't for the blank spirit boards in the small room for him to practice, he would have left long ago. He knew the shop's business wouldn't be good, but he didn't expect it to be this bad.

The shop's business was surprisingly bleak, no wonder Li Mu lay in his rocking chair every day, closing his eyes to rest, not looking like someone who was doing business.

Li Mu didn't ask much about Qin Lie's continuous use of spirit boards or calculate the cost of the spirit boards. He also didn't ask about Qin Lie's background or identity, which made Qin Lie feel relieved and continue to stay.

"Uncle Li, I've used twelve of your boards. If my items still don't sell, how will I repay you?" One day, Qin Lie couldn't help but ask.

"I haven't decided yet. Keep using them. I'll let you know when I decide," Li Mu replied.

"Uncle Li, the shop is too messy and dirty..." Qin Lie said tactfully, "Should I clean it up and organize it? This might improve the business. People won't just walk in and out, right?"

"Those who don't recognize the value can leave if they want. Don't bother with them," Li Mu snorted. "Don't worry about it. I like this messy environment. If it's too clean, I can't stand it. Just do your job, and don't worry about other things."

Qin Lie smiled bitterly.

On the sixteenth day in Li Mu's shop.

That day, Qin Lie was in the shop as usual, sitting lazily on a chair, supporting his chin with both hands, pondering the details of the spirit lines in the amplification spirit array diagram.

Recently, he had successfully inscribed the spirit array diagram on five spirit boards, and the last one took him only three hours.

He still remembered that the first time he successfully inscribed it, it took him seven days.

Now, he had gradually mastered the inscribing of the spirit array diagram, and his speed had clearly improved due to his familiarity.

He believed he had mastered the inscribing of the spirit array diagram, so he shifted his focus and prepared to try inscribing the amplification spirit array diagram.

"Li Mu's shop? There's actually a shop here..."

"Miss, we don't need to look at this shop, right? It's a waste of time to go in. It's so remote and dilapidated, there's nothing worth seeing."

"We've come this far, let's go in and take a look."

Voices came from outside, and soon a tall and beautiful woman, accompanied by a middle-aged servant, walked in.

The woman, about twenty years old, wore loose white martial artist clothes that complemented her snow-white skin. Her phoenix eyes were bright, her nose high, and she looked strong-willed. Her beautiful face had a natural coldness, as if she was used to being high and mighty, and when she looked at people, it was as if she was looking down on them.

"The old and the young, both sitting there daydreaming. Are you not doing business?" The middle-aged servant frowned and coldly snorted upon entering.

Li Mu smiled calmly, nodded at Qin Lie, indicating that he should handle it, while he still lay lazily in the rocking chair, still squinting his eyes to rest.

"You can look around," Qin Lie stood up, looking at the white-clothed woman in surprise, secretly admiring her outstanding beauty, but noting her cold demeanor.

"Are you the shop assistant?" The white-clothed woman nodded indifferently and said, "Introduce me to the most rare items in your shop. Don't bother with common things, I'm not interested."

"Sure." Qin Lie took out the spirit board he had successfully inscribed with the spirit array diagram and placed it on the table in front of the white-clothed woman, then said straightforwardly, "The most interesting thing in our shop is this..."

"You little brat." Li Mu smiled wryly, muttered in surprise, and shook his head, laughing.

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