The Market City
The market city. The eastern market of Zheng Country was managed by the Okeum Sect, and sat a full day's travel from Mount Gyuoh.
Most of the merchants there were rogue cultivators, and it was far from rare to spot shops that kept mortal employees on their staff.
As it happened, while making my way through the crowd, I noticed a Foundation Establishment Mid Stage cultivator patrolling the market — his robes embroidered with the characters for 'Okeum Sect' — and approached him.
He was a broad, commanding-looking man, a rarity among the male cultivators of the Okeum Sect.
"Greetings, senior brother."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I am Seol Jihwa, a disciple of the Okeum Sect."
"Ah! The junior everyone's been talking about...! Haha, they call me Gi Yeonho. First time at the market?"
The moment he heard my name, he seemed to place my identity, and his gruff manner flipped over like a turned palm. Then again, with hair and a face as conspicuous as mine, there was hardly anyone in the sect who didn't know me on sight.
"This junior has some items she made while practicing alchemy, and I'd like to sell them. Might you know where I should go?"
"Alchemy? So you were a talented one after all. I'll show you the way myself — come along."
He led me to a shop run directly by the Okeum Sect, already bustling with dozens of cultivators buying and selling goods.
Gi Yeonho, clearly familiar with the place, called a clerk over and guided me to a display stand.
"There you go — just take out whatever you're selling."
I drew out my qi-condensing pills and the rest of my low-grade medicines and arranged them neatly on the counter.
"Oh! You made all of these yourself?"
Gi Yeonho looked genuinely surprised at the pills I'd laid out.
It was understandable, I supposed — these were the very first medicines I'd ever made, yet here they were at this quality.
"Yes. My skills are still lacking, but I was lucky enough to see them through to completion."
When I saw the prices they'd been assessed at, they came out far higher than I'd expected. The clerk handed me eighty low-grade spirit stones.
With that much, I figured I could afford one mid-grade pill recipe and a few more sets of ingredients.
"Excuse me — where would I go to purchase pill recipes here?"
At my question, Gi Yeonho stroked his chin for a moment before answering.
"Pill recipes? Head up to the library on the second floor. You'll find what you're looking for there."
Not an herb shop, but the library?
I went up to the second floor as he'd said.
The moment I climbed the stairs, the noise of the first floor fell away into stillness. Some sound-blocking formation seemed to have been installed.
When I reached the top, a wall crammed edge to edge with countless books greeted me.
Browsing the shelves, I quickly found volumes on medicine and herbs — and among them, the pill recipes.
Scanning them with my Augments, I found that aside from the first few pages, nothing could be confirmed through the Augment display. So I dug through the collection for recipes whose main ingredients were herbs easily obtained within Zheng Country.
As expected, most of them covered qi-refining medicines, but fortunately a few were Foundation Establishment recipes, and I began selecting from those.
As I moved my Augment along, checking the contents, I rescued one recipe that looked promising.
It was the formula for the Clear Heart Qi-Nourishing Pill, a medicine that aided the blood and qi circulation of Foundation Establishment cultivators while replenishing their spiritual energy.
In effect, it was the xianxia equivalent of a mana potion from a fantasy game.
The ingredients were easy to source and the process wasn't overly complicated — practically perfect for practicing my alchemy right away.
Recipe in hand, I went to the library's counter to pay.
A qi-refining disciple helped me check out, and the recipe cost fifty low-grade spirit stones.
The remaining thirty would go toward buying ingredients.
With the transaction complete, I headed straight back out into the market and began purchasing the herbs I needed for the pills.
Since I already knew every one of the materials, haggling wasn't difficult.
Afterward, I set about exploring the market city.
Most of the merchants simply spread out stalls and did their business in the open, but the larger establishments, on closer inspection, turned out to house artisans of smithing, alchemy, and talisman-making.
Even the shops that bought goods only to resell them almost always kept a craftsman on hand.
Seeing that, I felt I'd made the right choice in learning alchemy — and thanks to my Augments, I seemed to have talent to spare, besides.
After wandering for quite a while, I found myself at the outskirts of the market city. The main road there was nearly empty of people, yet the alleys leading off it were packed with a bustling crowd.
Curious what the fuss was about, I stepped into one of the alleys and found stalls selling goods, same as everywhere else.
Looking closely, the stalls were crammed with everything — magic tools, spirit medicines, talismans — though most were magic tools. The difference was that they were all being sold at prices far below their proper value.
That was because most of the items were secondhand goods — somewhere damaged, or with their spirituality faded.
But not all of them. Quite a few were in perfectly good condition, and even those were going cheap.
The sight piqued my curiosity, and I stopped a passing qi-refining cultivator to ask.
"Excuse me, friend. Why is everything here being sold off at such absurdly low prices?"
"Ah, senior sister — you needn't be so formal with me. By the way, this must be your first time here."
The man had sharp, narrow eyes, and at my approach he bowed obsequiously at the waist before answering.
"This is where stolen goods are sold. That's why the prices are so low."
"Stolen goods?"
"Yes. Most of it works like this — rogue cultivators sell what they've taken themselves, or leave it with a fence to sell on their behalf. In principle, selling stolen goods inside the market is forbidden, but that's only on paper. Business carries on just like this without any real trouble."
I nodded at his answer and swept my gaze over the rows of stalls once more.
Different now — every item on display somehow felt unclean.
That was when a shout erupted from the far end of the alley.
"You wretch! Isn't this my sworn brother's possession?!"
My eyes turned toward the sound, and I saw a fierce-looking man shoving a young man roughly against a wall.
Hanging at the man's waist was a strip of blue cloth, and the emblem stitched into it marked him as a member of the Cheongun Sect.
The Cheongun Sect — one of the Four Great Sects of Zheng Country, located to the south.
I considered for a moment, then stepped in between them.
"One moment, friend. I am Seol Jihwa, a disciple of the Okeum Sect. Might I ask what's caused such an uproar?"
"Hah, an Okeum disciple? Perfect timing! This scoundrel is selling my sworn brother's belongings — the man went missing not long ago!"
At the man's outburst, the young man's face drained white in an instant.
"I—I'm only a fence! I was merely holding the goods on commission!"
"Then who sold you the goods? Name him!"
Under the man's roar, the young man crumpled where he stood, trembling like a leaf.
"Let's not do this here. Why don't we move to our sect's administrative office and sort out who's in the right?"
At my calm suggestion, the man — who'd been in full bluster — hesitated, glancing around.
Every qi-refining cultivator nearby had already fled, and only a handful of Foundation Establishment cultivators remained, watching the scene with evident amusement.
In the end, the man let his anger cool, and I gathered up the fence and his stolen wares and headed for the market's administrative office.
As it happened, Gi Yeonho — the man I'd met earlier — was on duty there, so I approached him and explained what had occurred.
Hearing my account, Gi Yeonho turned to the man.
"Tell me — do you have proof that these goods belonged to your sworn brother?"
At that, the man proudly drew a letter from inside his robes.
"Here is a list of items written in my sworn brother's own hand, along with a letter bearing the seal of our sect!"
Gi Yeonho accepted the letter, examined it carefully, and frowned.
"Hmm. The letter itself looks genuine... You there — do you know who you bought this stolen goods from?"
Gi Yeonho addressed the hauled-in fence.
"I—I only bought it from a rough-looking man with a scar on his face!"
"You don't know his name?"
"When you trade in stolen goods, you don't go asking things like that."
At the fence's answer, Gi Yeonho clicked his tongue briefly. He put a few more questions to the man, then sketched a composite portrait based on his testimony and had him confirm it.
"Yes, that's him! Fix that part just a little and it'll be his exact image."
Gi Yeonho adjusted the portrait and handed the drawing to the Cheongun man.
"You know the unwritten rule as well as anyone — anything that happens outside the market stays outside. This time, out of respect for your sect, I'll turn a blind eye. Cause a disturbance like this again, and I won't look the other way."
Gi Yeonho sighed, then wrested the goods from the fence and handed them over to the man. The item was shaped like a compass, though nothing about it seemed particularly special.
The fence's expression was the picture of injustice, but with Gi Yeonho's warning hanging over him in exchange, I figured his life would at least be spared. Whether that held once he left the market city, though, was another matter.
"Thank you, senior brother! I will not forget this debt. And you too, friend — my thanks. Thanks to you, this matter resolved itself cleanly. My name is Pyo Jiun. If there's ever anything the Cheongun Sect can do for you, consider it repaid — however late."
With those parting words, the man strode off swiftly. Whether he was leaving to pursue his revenge, or simply satisfied with recovering his sworn brother's belongings, there was no telling.
Watching him go, Gi Yeonho clicked his tongue.
"That one is the son of a Core Formation elder of the Cheongun Sect. I've heard he's arrogant beyond all reason, but to raise a ruckus even here, inside Okeum Sect's own territory... Truly a child who knows nothing of the world."
I nodded along.
His cultivation realm was about the same as mine — and yet he could be that confident in himself.
Having unintentionally settled an incident along the way, and having acquired everything I needed besides, I decided it was time to leave the market city.
And so, as I departed the market and made my way back toward the sect, I ran headlong into a band of rogue cultivators.