Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Turtle Shell at Market
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Qianyang Mountain's calamity had finally come to an end, and Chen Shi relaxed at last. These past few days, his nerves had been stretched taut, keeping him on high alert. Only now, as he let go, did he feel the exhaustion sink in.
He slept soundly that night.
In the middle of the night, he suddenly woke and bolted upright. There, by his bedside, stood several figures.
He gave a start and peered closely. It was Young Master Xiao, Li Jindou, and the others. Grandpa stood in the corner, still holding a green umbrella.
The five of them stared at him with strange looks, their eyes fixed intently.
"No episode tonight."
Grandpa shook his head and walked out, umbrella in hand.
The other four sighed in regret and filed out of Chen Shi's room one after another. Granny Sha remarked,
"Could it be that souls of those killed by cannonballs can't be eaten?"
Chen Shi felt utterly baffled.
They had come to his room, gathered around while he slept, just to see if he would have an episode?
The next morning, Chen Shi rose to pay respects to his godmother. He saw people already out in the fields, laboring away.
This demonic upheaval had come on fierce and terrifying, claiming many lives, but life went on.
By the third day, the villages had mostly returned to normal, even holding markets.
With five extra mouths to feed at home—patients like Li Jindou, Granny Sha, Jin Hongying, and Young Master Xiao—on top of Chen Shi brewing and taking his own medicines, the Chen family quickly burned through their savings.
Granny Sha had always been poor, scraping by on meager earnings as a shaman for the villagers. And during the time she'd treated Chen Shi like her own son, he'd eaten her out of house and home.
Though Li Jindou hailed from the Li family of Quanzhou, his refined yet plain clothes suggested he wasn't well-off.
He had paid just three taels of silver to stay with the Chen family, showing that both grandpa and grandson were strapped for cash.
Young Master Xiao, who stopped his night carriage to pick up ten taels of silver from the road, must have spent most of his money maintaining his refined air.
The richest among them was Jin Hongying, a military officer from the Divine Mechanism Battalion with a hefty salary.
But after her injury, she dressed like a village girl, a sign she'd always spent freely. When the need arose, she was caught short—another freeloader eating wherever she went.
In local dialect, they called it "poor as a church mouse."
The herbs they and Chen Shi used up every day cost over twenty taels of silver. With the house dirt poor and pots empty, Chen Shi figured he'd haul the turtle shell from his room to the market and sell it.
He'd found the shell while clearing the Mountain Lord Temple. Its hardness was astonishing; it ought to fetch a good price.
Grandpa was heading out to buy herbs anyway, so he could take Chen Shi along.
Chen Shi hefted the shell onto the cart. The two climbed aboard, Blackie Pot leading the way ahead.
Chen Shi eyed Grandpa's green umbrella. Strange indeed—ever since the demonic upheaval ended, Grandpa had kept it open and never let it go, not even closing it.
Even at night, he held it aloft.
Chen Shi had also spotted Black-Clothed Xuanshan last night, lingering in their village for some reason. He had stood outside their door until dawn before leaving.
"Blackie Pot, have you noticed? Grandpa and Xuanshan seem a bit off."
Chen Shi said to the dog.
Blackie Pot hesitated, not daring to bark back.
The wooden cart lurched into motion, heading toward Bridge Bay Town.
Even after the great disaster, Bridge Bay Town buzzed with activity. The town wasn't large—just a few hundred households—but it thrived as a must-pass point on the road to Xinxian County.
Thirty li east lay Xinxian County seat. Northeast another thirty-two li brought Water Buffalo County seat. Travelers between the two counties all stopped here.
The most common sight in Bridge Bay Town was folks emerging from the mountains—usually sturdy men or women in their forties or fifties, short in stature but tough-built. They wore short jackets, their bronze skin gleaming with sweat, shoulders bent under loads of over a hundred jin.
They'd set down their burdens in town, gulp a five-copper bowl of tea, then hoist their mountain goods again and trudge off to the county seat thirty li away.
They made the round trip in a day, all for a few dozen coppers.
Perilous streams, rickety bridges, sheer cliffs, wild beasts—they faced it all, sometimes losing their lives.
But that was the life of ordinary country folk.
Generation after generation, always the same.
After the recent disaster, with many households short on cash, even more men shouldered mountain goods to trade in the city.
Seeing this, Chen Shi recalled Li Xiaoding commissioning a peach talisman from him for fifty taels of silver. Something felt off about it all.
He just couldn't pinpoint what.
Grandpa went first to the town's herb shop. Chen Shi sought a spot at the market, but he arrived late—the stalls were packed. Still, when the honest villagers saw him, their faces paled, and they hurriedly squeezed together to make room.
Everyone trading here was kin from nearby villages, familiar faces who knew Chen Shi.
He thanked the kind souls, set down the turtle shell, and waited for customers.
"What a huge turtle shell! Is this dog for sale?"
A talisman master from out of town took a shine to Blackie Pot.
"Not for sale!"
Chen Shi shot back crisply.
"A pity. Killing it would yield plenty of black dog blood."
The talisman master shook his head and moved on to other stalls.
Bridge Bay Town's market drew plenty of cultivators from the city scouting goods. Things that seemed ordinary in the countryside often fetched good prices in their eyes.
Chen Shi waited a bit. The talisman master circled back.
"Ten taels of silver for your dog. How about it?"
Chen Shi shook his head.
"The dog isn't for sale."
The talisman master gritted his teeth, looking pained.
"I'll add two more—twelve taels for the dog, plus this turtle shell."
The crowd buzzed at that. Villagers eyed Chen Shi with envy.
Country dogs weren't worth much. Twelve taels could buy dozens of black dogs.
Chen Shi's heart stirred, but he shook his head.
"The dog's not for sale. Just the turtle shell."
The talisman master ground his teeth again.
"I really want this dog. Fine—fifteen taels total, dog and shell. I'm a talisman master; need the blood for talismans. The shell comes free as a bonus. Deal?"
"Sell it, sell it!"
The surrounding villagers chimed in.
Chen Shi shook his head.
"The dog isn't for sale."
The talisman master slunk off dejectedly, glancing back at Blackie Pot and sighing as he went.
"Blackie Pot, I think he wasn't after you—he wanted the turtle shell."
Chen Shi said suspiciously in a low voice.
Blackie Pot hesitated, signaling he didn't dare bark agreement.
He was valuable too, after all.
What was so great about that lousy shell? He couldn't even bite it.
Moments later, another city cultivator in fine clothes drifted to Chen Shi's stall. He feigned nonchalance, inspecting it before offering to buy the dog outright, with the shell thrown in free.
Chen Shi grew more convinced of his hunch and refused flatly.
Several more groups came like that. Plenty eyed the shell. Gradually, Blackie Pot's "price" climbed, hitting twenty-four taels soon enough.
They professed love for the dog, with the shell half-price or free.
"Could this turtle shell really be some incredible treasure?"
Chen Shi wondered, more puzzled than ever.
The shell weighed over a hundred jin—heavy stuff.
He smashed a fist into it. It rang like metal or stone, with a glimmer leaking out. The shell didn't crack.
He was startled. He trained the Big Dipper Seven Refinements daily, forging a sacred embryo body. His strength had multiplied, yet he couldn't dent the shell. Its material was incredibly tough!
Chen Shi meant to punch it a few more times to test its limits when a voice laughed.
"Don't hit it. Break it, and it won't be worth anything."
Chen Shi looked up. A scholar in green robes stood at his stall, features sharp and refined, forehead high and full, brimming with vigor. Black oiled boots on his feet, spotless without a speck of dust.
"This man travels with galloping horse talismans—feet never touch ground, so no dust on his shoes."
Chen Shi thought.
"He's loaded!"
Though Chen Shi was a talisman master himself, he rarely used galloping horse talismans, saving them for life-or-death fights.
This man had rushed from the city, shoes pristine, meaning nonstop talisman travel, feet barely touching earth. Definitely rich.
"Does this gentleman know the shell and its value?"
Chen Shi asked.
The green-robed scholar smiled.
"A turtle living a hundred years is called a zhengrui; a thousand, a bixi; five thousand, a bashui; ten thousand, a Xuanwu.
Ao shells span four chi wide, bixi five chi, bashui seven chi.
But ordinary turtles don't live that long. These are temple turtles, absorbing extraordinary power from incense and offerings to reach such ages."
Chen Shi roughly gauged the shell—about six chi plus a bit.
The green-robed scholar produced an iron ruler and measured meticulously.
"This turtle shell measures six chi and five fen across."
More city talisman masters gathered. One said,
"This is a bixi shell—not quite bashui, maybe just over a thousand years old."
The green-robed scholar shook his head.
"Bixi at five chi, bashui seven—turtles grow slower with age.
This one lived at least two thousand years, maybe more! Its shell soaked in incense qi, tempered by extraordinary power for over two millennia—unbreakably tough! Such a treasure can be ground for medicine or refined into artifacts.
How much for a live one? Hard to say dead. But I'll offer a thousand taels of silver."
Chen Shi's heart leaped for joy. A thousand taels was astronomical to him—enough to treat Jin Hongying and the others, with plenty left for Grandpa's retirement. In the countryside, he could marry several wives!
"A thousand taels!"
The other talisman masters shook their heads and walked off.
"Not much profit even if any.
Who carries a thousand taels around anyway?"
The green-robed scholar drew banknotes from his sleeve—one hundred taels each—and was about to hand them over when a voice cut in.
"Fine treasure! I'll bid two thousand taels!"
Chen Shi's delight surged. He looked—the bidder was a short, squat man with triangular eyes, hooked nose, twisted face grinning slyly.
"I've only two hundred taels in notes on me, young brother. Come with me to fetch the rest.
My place is nearby."
The green-robed scholar's face darkened. He snapped,
"Where'd this thing crawl from? Swindling in my presence? Blind dog eyes! Get lost!"
The squat man's face flushed red. He sneered,
"My bid's higher, yet you bully and strong-arm. Watch for lightning strike!"
He spat curses and melted into the crowd.
Once he was gone, the green-robed scholar told Chen Shi,
"That man's up to no good.
He quotes two thousand taels but says he lacks the cash, luring you along. Then he kills you outside town and pockets the silver and shell solo.
I've seen it plenty. That's why I chased him—not strong-arming."
Chen Shi's eyes lit up, breath quickening.
"Such a sweet deal exists?"
The green-robed scholar blinked, puzzled why he'd call it sweet.
Chen Shi felt regret. If he'd agreed, couldn't he have just taken the two hundred taels and kept the shell to sell again? Perfect!
He pocketed the notes.
"The shell's yours now. Watch out—he fails with me, he'll rob you for sure."
The green-robed scholar laughed.
"Snatching from me's tough. But someone might eye your thousand taels. You be careful."
"I'm Chen Shi, Little Ten for short.
What's your name, sir?"
Chen Shi felt a fondness for him and smiled.
"Shao Jing of Xinxian."
The green-robed scholar grinned.
"If you head to the county seat, visit Juxian Tower—mention my name.
It's my family's place."
Shao Jing clapped. Two burly men emerged from the crowd and hefted the shell together.
Shao Jing smiled.
"Oh, right—Chen Shi, mind saying which temple this shell came from?"
Chen Shi smiled and shook his head.
Shao Jing got it and laughed.
"No matter.
If you find more, bring 'em to Juxian Tower."
He left with the two men.
Chen Shi's heart stirred, recalling the stone casket found with the shell.
The stone casket still sat untouched under his bed.
Was that a treasure too?
But it was rock-hard. How to open it?
Soon, Grandpa returned from buying herbs and asked,
"How much did it sell for?"
Chen Shi told the truth.
Grandpa was surprised.
"This Shao Jing's an interesting fellow—not making much off you.
Twenty-four luminous pearls inside, holding the old turtle's spiritual power pre-death. Perfect for refining treasures.
Figure a hundred taels per pearl—two thousand four hundred total. A thousand taels is fair.
He stopped you smashing it, right? Crack it open, pearls spill out, price skyrockets."
Chen Shi jumped, about to chase Shao Jing for reckoning.
"You found it free. Thousand taels is plenty.
He risks ambush on the road back to the county with the shell."
Grandpa tossed the purchased herbs onto the cart.
"Get on. We'll buy more in the county—the town's stock isn't complete."
Chen Shi climbed aboard. Blackie Pot led, and the cart rumbled toward Xinxian County.
By afternoon, they reached Xinxian County seat. The demonic domain hadn't covered it, so impact was minimal.
After stocking up, the cart brimmed with herbs.
"I've got a few friends in the county suburbs. I'll introduce you."
On the cart, Grandpa pulled out a prescription.
"Little Ten, memorize this formula.
It's for treating your condition. Commit it to memory—don't forget."
Chen Shi agreed and recited it, curiosity burning.
"Grandpa's friends? He doesn't call Young Master Xiao or Granny Sha friends. Friends in the suburbs? Never heard him mention before."
Dusk fell as they reached a village called Rapeseed Village in the suburbs.
The place was famed for its rapeseed flowers.
Come flowering season, golden blooms blanketed hills and fields, hiding the paths.
Folks from Xinxian and nearby counties flocked to see.
They'd timed it poorly—the flowers had withered, leaving green rapeseed everywhere.
The sky burned red, sun closing its eyes.
The moon prepared to blink open.
Under villagers' stares, the wooden cart rolled past the village to halt before a haunted abandoned manor outside.
The fiery sky faded. The moon revealed its crescent, like a willow leaf, slowly stretching rounder.
"They headed for the ghost manor!"
Someone cried in alarm.
"Evil spirits there are vicious—suicide mission!"
Chen Shi's heart jolted.
"Grandpa's friends are evils? Is Grandpa revealing his true form? Wait—Grandpa's an evil, so am I? Am I about to show my true colors too?"
Unwittingly, he spotted Black-Clothed Xuanshan again, standing amid the rapeseed field, watching them from afar.