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Chapter 473 Taboo
And so, they quoted prices for each item one by one, and brought them over one by one.

Lu Qing didn't react much to the price offered by the shopkeeper, but she was very knowledgeable about the quality of the goods.

The shopkeeper became increasingly polite to him. After all, if he could build a good relationship with a wealthy and knowledgeable customer, the customer would come back from time to time, and he would never have to worry about the shop's expenses again.

After Lu Qing used eight gold melon seeds to buy a piece of bark from a dragon bone tree that was said to grow only in the darkest and most dangerous valleys, the shopkeeper looked at him with even more kindness and warmth.

"It seems your shop truly lives up to its reputation!" Lu Qing took the wooden box from the shop assistant, examined it carefully, and sighed, "We're new to the land of Brahma and don't know anyone. We've taken quite a few detours in our search for these good things."

When I first heard that you had the most complete selection, I was skeptical, but it turns out you truly live up to your reputation.

He picked up the list from the small table beside him, unfolded it, looked at it, and nodded with satisfaction: "Now we only need the last item on this list—the Jade Snowbird."

The shopkeeper stood to the side, pleased to hear Lu Qing praise his shop for having such a complete selection. His expression was smug. However, when he heard that the last item on Lu Qing's list was a jade snowbird, his expression froze for a moment, showing a slight surprise and even a hint of embarrassment.

"Why would our distinguished guest want this..." Lu Qing's list just now contained a wide variety of items, any one of which could be considered a valuable and rare item, but he only glanced at it briefly.

After all, with the average person's financial resources, even if they grit their teeth and tighten their belts, they can only afford to buy one of these items.

The shopkeeper guessed that the customer was unaware of the value of the rare items on his list and would not buy them all. He figured that choosing two or three would be a big deal, so he didn't look at each item one by one.

So he had no idea that there was such a thing on that list!
"Why... is that not possible?" Lu Qing looked at the shopkeeper who suddenly hesitated with a puzzled expression. "Why do you look a little off? Is it because you don't have it here?"
"It's okay if you don't have it; I can look elsewhere."

"You probably won't find this anywhere..." The shopkeeper looked troubled, glanced at the tall stack of small wooden boxes beside him, and thought that he should still protect this distinguished guest no matter what, so he sat down and gestured for the young waiter to close the door of the small room behind him.

“I don’t necessarily need bird blood; a bird that has already been bled will do.” Lu Qing suddenly realized that he thought his requirements were too high, and “easygoingly” lowered his goal.

"If you had asked about this Jade Snowbird more than twenty years ago, as long as the price was high enough, I could have found someone willing to risk their life to get it for you, no matter the cost."

"But now, whether it's here or elsewhere, whether it's blood or a bird that's been bled, you can't find it anywhere." The shopkeeper waved his hand. "Even if I could get you a single bird feather, this fortress might be in trouble from now on."

"Oh? Why is that? Could it be that the Jade Snowbird is now a taboo in the Brahma Land? Or is it because too many were caught in the past, so now they can't be found at all?" Lu Qing asked.

"Although that thing is rare, very few people want it. Some people are curious and want to inquire, but once they hear the price, they usually back down. Moreover, this bird is also difficult to kill. If out of ten people who want to make this money, it would be lucky if six of them came back. It's not something you can just catch as many as you want."

But... it's hard to say whether anyone would be willing to catch it now, but a reputable shop like ours would absolutely not dare to sell it.

The shopkeeper hesitated, seemingly wanting to answer the question of the wealthy man before him, but also having reservations. After a brief struggle, he realized that money was more important to him, so he steeled himself and said to Lu Qing, "Honored guest, you have come from elsewhere and may not know much about our Brahma Kingdom. Here, we have an exceptionally skilled witch doctor. Not only is he skilled himself, but his apprentices are also all extremely capable."

The first person to know that the Jade Snowbird was priceless was the old witch doctor. However, the old witch doctor felt that this thing was too vicious and had too much sin, because from catching the bird to killing it, to the use of that thing, it was a sin of killing from beginning to end.

However, not long afterward, a sudden craze swept through the land of Brahma to catch the Jade Snowbird and make a fortune. At first, no one knew how this trend started, but many hunters and herb gatherers frantically searched for the Jade Snowbird.

"Judging from this, the price must be quite high?" Lu Qing interjected at the opportune moment.

The shopkeeper nodded naturally: "That's for sure. That bird is a bird of prey and likes to live on cliffs. People without skills can't even see it. Even if someone is skilled enough to find the nest, whether they have the life to climb up and steal the chicks is another matter."

With so many people risking their lives to search for it, some must have succeeded. The young Jade Snowbirds they obtained, whether their blood or flesh, could fetch a lot of money. Those people went back and immediately built big houses, feasting on fish, meat, and silk. They probably did indeed make a fortune.

So when people saw that they had made a fortune and were living a good life, some people were bound to be envious and want to follow suit. Back then, anyone with a bit of skill wanted to try their luck.

"Didn't you say that even if you managed to get that thing back with great difficulty, you might not be able to sell it? More than twenty years ago, these people were all desperate to catch the Jade Snowbird. Even if only one out of ten or twenty succeeded, they would still have caught quite a few, right? How come they were all sold back then?" Zhu Yu, with the naive attitude of a teenager, peeked out from behind Lu Qing and asked the shopkeeper with a curious look.

There were some things Lu Qing couldn't ask too directly or eagerly, lest it arouse suspicion.

So she helped Lu Qing lay the groundwork when necessary.

After all, he was just a young apprentice of a traveling doctor, a boy who was only half a child. Who could expect "him" to have any particular manners?

Upon hearing this, Lu Qing turned her head and pretended to glare at Zhu Yu: "No manners."

Zhu Yu pretended to shrink his neck.

The shopkeeper quickly waved his hand magnanimously in front of the distinguished guest, looked at Zhu Yu in a friendly manner, and said to Lu Qing, "It's alright, it's alright! Your little apprentice is right to ask. This matter is indeed quite different from what I said before, so it's no wonder he's curious."