nyslfriends Chapter 86 The beginning and end of the market
Chapter 86 The beginning and end of the market
"The high-grade cave dwellings that you requested, senior, are now few and far between. If you were to seek them out from others, you would likely have to pay a hefty price..."
The broker sighed, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense.
"However, I have been working as a broker here for several years, from the founding of the country until now, and I have accumulated quite a few connections. There are indeed a few of these superior cave dwellings."
The Ya people were talking about founding the Great Yun Kingdom.
Ever since the Niu family made the new dynasty establish its capital here, he has lived in Yunxia City.
The capital of the Great Cloud Kingdom is Cloud City.
Yunxia City is bordered by markets to the north and south, and by wards and markets.
The east and west are mountains, the mountains of Lingshan.
The Niu family doesn't understand the art of affectation.
The mountain to the west is called West Mountain, and the mountain to the east is called East Mountain. The mountain is inside the city, and the city surrounds the mountain.
Ordinary people and poor cultivators live at the foot of the mountain, while the truly wealthy and highly skilled cultivators live on the mountain.
The broker was introducing the cave dwelling on the mountain.
He pushed his palm forward, and a transformation spell unfolded, bringing the two mountains to life before his eyes. There were only three cave dwellings to choose from, all marked with a yellow light.
"This place will do, thank you for your trouble, fellow Daoist."
Lu Qingyun pointed to a cave on the edge of the eastern mountain. The cave was located on a cliff, not very large, and there was no one around.
Because of the thorny bushes growing on its side, cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining are unwilling to choose it.
They all love places with beautiful scenery, nestled between mountains and water.
Lu Qingyun didn't care; cultivation was the same everywhere.
"Alright! Two hundred spirit stones a month. I'll make that agreement with you first, senior, to avoid any misunderstandings. I haven't embezzled a single penny. Although this cave is remote, it is still a first-grade high-quality spiritual vein. If it were someone else, they would have to charge at least three hundred spirit stones."
"I sincerely wish to form a good relationship with you, senior. If you need to sell talismans or purchase anything in the future, you can come to me. I'm not bragging, but I know quite a bit about what's going on in Yunxia City and I have quite a few connections."
The man with the talisman accepted the illusion and bowed.
He was very sincere. Lu Qingyun stared at him for a second, scrutinized him, and nodded, "Alright, take me to the cave."
"If there are no problems, you will naturally receive all the benefits."
The broker was right. In Yunxia City, he did need someone to gather information. Otherwise, a dignified mid-grade talisman master hiding at home would easily arouse suspicion.
Thinking of this, Lu Qingyun felt a pang of nostalgia for Mu Chuan.
If Mu Chuan were here, his information would certainly be much more readily available than it is now.
Unfortunately, there has been no news of Mu Chuan for several years.
He accepted a mission, and even the question of whether the young Marquis Xiao Daojue was still alive in the end remained unanswered.
Step out of the pawnshop.
The neighborhood remains the same; there are those who sell pills, those who sell medicine, and even those who sell their children.
Those who own their own shops, like the ivory dealers, are a minority.
Lu Qingyun walked past the woman who was selling her daughter. She just shed tears and stopped calling out.
There was no animosity towards Lu Qingyun.
His eyes were almost numb.
"I bought your daughter, but your affairs are none of my business."
Lu Qingyun spoke quietly.
The broker looked at him in astonishment, never expecting that this senior, who had been so cold-blooded, would now show compassion.
Lu Qingyun wasn't as complicated as he thought.
Being alone in Yunxia City inevitably arouses suspicion and makes people wonder if he has ulterior motives.
Buying a baby girl isn't a big deal; it's just a mouth.
She has no spiritual root, so it won't cost her many spirit stones.
On the contrary, if someone finds out about it again, there will be less malice.
The woman was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Lu Qingyun to be willing to buy her daughter.
"Thank you so much, senior! Thank you so much, senior!"
It took her a while to react. She grabbed the girl's hand and cried, "My dear, my dear...! Senior, I'm willing. I certainly won't cause you any trouble."
The girl looked to be seven or eight years old; she hadn't fully grown yet, but her features were quite regular.
Hearing her mother's words, she cried and complained.
She couldn't bear to leave, she couldn't bear to leave her mother.
However, the woman took the spirit stone and immediately handed it over to Lu Qingyun.
"Silly child, only by following your senior... will you have a chance to survive!"
She broke down in tears.
Lu Qingyun shook his head, instructed the broker to lead the girl away, and turned to leave.
However, after taking only a few steps, he suddenly turned around.
Lu Qingyun looked at the small stall. The woman's face was still wet with tears. She was curled up in a ball and had already fallen silent.
Lu Qingyun's eyes flashed as he scanned the woman with his divine sense.
Only then did I realize that she had already exhausted her mental energy.
The reason he didn't die was because he was afraid his daughter would die a violent death.
She held on until she entrusted her daughter to me, and finally, the last breath she had been holding on for was released.
The girl seemed to sense something; seeing her dead mother, she broke free from the manipulator, hugged her body, and cried.
The man with the tooth was stunned, his mouth opening and closing, but he didn't say anything for a long time.
He wanted to comfort her, but then he realized that the girl had been bought by Lu Qingyun and had nothing to do with him, so he had no reason to comfort her.
Moreover, there are far too many pitiful people in this Cloud City.
He can't manage it all.
As a dentist, he deals with all sorts of people every day; he sees this kind of thing every day.
After thinking for a long time, the broker opened his mouth woodenly, his previous joy gone:
That's just how the world is; you have to learn to accept it.
I don't know who I'm telling this to.
Lu Qingyun and the other girls cried. After they finished crying, he had the broker take the girl's mother's body into a storage bag and leave the market.
In the market, it was still a place where people sold pills, medicine, and even children...
……
After passing through the luxurious mansions of Dongshan, the brokers repeatedly showed their tokens before finally arriving at Lu Qingyun's cave dwelling.
The defenses on Dongshan were very tight. The cultivators living there were all wealthy and powerful, and the Niu family feared that the lowly people who had been forced to their deaths in the city would seek revenge.
Fearing they couldn't find a powerful cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining, they turned to these officials and their families.
Therefore, within Dongshan, there was a guard every five steps and a sentry every ten steps. These sentries were all at least at the fifth level of cultivation. When they saw Lu Qingyun and the others, they all stood tall and proud.
It wasn't until we reached the halfway point up the mountain that things got much better.
"That's just how things are in Da Yun, please don't take offense, senior."
Seeing that Lu Qingyun remained silent for a long time, the broker assumed that he was displeased and said awkwardly.
"Um."
Lu Qingyun responded with a noncommittal answer.
The scenery in Dongshan is indeed much better than that in the North and South areas. Not only is there no messy garbage, but it also has the rare birdsong and fragrant flowers that are scarce at the foot of the mountain.
I imagine the same is true for Xishan.
"With so many cultivators, why are the people of Dayun still so poor?"
Lu Qingyun asked casually.
Before the Great Virtue Dynasty was free of drought, the lives of the people were not much different from those of the previous life, except that there was a lack of variety. No one starved to death, and as for oppression, it was the same everywhere.
The situation in Dayun is quite different now. Despite having so many cultivators and the drought being over, there are still people who can't get enough to eat and are forced to sell their children.
We arrived at the cave dwelling, inside which was a palace with carved railings and painted beams, which was not marked on the map provided by the broker.
The broker activated the token, dispelling the cave's array, and gave a bitter laugh: "Tyrannical government is more ferocious than a tiger. The Great Yun Kingdom may not suffer from drought, but that demon-exorcising tax is even more terrifying than a drought!"