Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 349 Journey to Chang'an

The prosperity of Chang'an was completely different from that of other areas of Shengjing.

It's not the kind of noise that's deliberately created, but rather a kind of hustle that has grown naturally over the long years and has become an integral part of the city's structure.

The shops lining both sides of the street are lined up one after another, and the characters on the wooden plaques have mostly been blurred by wind and rain.

But the shop itself continues to operate at a steady pace.

Some sell freshly baked pastries, some sell pottery just transported from the kiln, some sell old books collected from various places, and some set up a large pot at the door, steaming and simmering a kind of fragrant soup.

Zhu Ge stopped in front of a restaurant.

The restaurant wasn't very big, with a storefront about three bays wide. Under the eaves hung a wooden plaque that had become shiny from being soaked in cooking oil, with the words "Chang'an Old Shop" written on it.

The handwriting is rounded and full, as if it has formed a specific texture through repeated wiping.

The waiter at the door was wiping the door frame with a damp cloth. Seeing someone approaching, he put down the cloth and bowed slightly: "Sir, how many are in your party?"

"You two," Zhu Ge said.

The waiter stepped aside to clear the doorway and gestured towards the interior: "Please come in, sir. There are still private rooms available upstairs."

Zhu Ge followed him into the restaurant, passed through the tables on the first floor that were already mostly occupied, and went up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor was quieter than the first floor. Several tables were arranged along the windows, and outside the windows, the rooftops of Chang'an City stretched out as a gray outline in the afternoon light.

He sat down at a table by the window, with Liu Jianjian sitting opposite him.

The waiter quickly brought over a teapot and two rough porcelain bowls, and then handed over a wooden plaque covered with the names of the dishes: "Sir, what would you like to eat? Our signature dishes are Eight Treasure Duck and Braised Lamb, both made using family recipes and famous far and wide."

Zhu Ge glanced at the menu on the wooden sign, then handed it to Liu Jianjian: "Take a look and see what you want to eat, and order more."

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Liu Jianjian took the wooden plaque, her gaze moving along the names of the dishes line by line. She ordered several dishes and added a soup.

The waiter noted down the names of the dishes and then went downstairs.

A caravan carrying goods was passing by on the street outside the window, with several mules carrying sacks weaving through the crowd.

"Master, you just said outside that you wanted to sell demon beast meat to exchange for elixirs and medicines?" Liu Jianjian asked in a low voice.

"Yes," Zhu Ge said. "I've accumulated quite a few monster materials in Honghe Prefecture and the Southern Yue Burmese Wilderness. They're just sitting there in my own realm."

"The market price for elixirs and medicinal herbs in Shengjing is different from outside. If we can find a suitable buyer, we can exchange some for..."

Things you can't buy in Yunjiang.

"Shall we go look for some after we finish eating?" Liu Jianjian's eyes lit up. "I saw a few herbal medicine shops on my way in, with signs that said 'Buying all kinds of spiritual materials.' Maybe we can talk to them directly."

"No rush," Zhu Ge said. "Let's have a meal first and get used to the rhythm of Chang'an. The rules here are a bit different from outside. Let's observe carefully before we take action."

The waiter quickly brought the tray upstairs.

The Eight Treasure Duck is served in a large bowl, covered with a layer of dark brown sauce. The duck meat has been stewed until tender and the meat easily separates from the bone.

The braised mutton was neatly cut, each piece coated in a thick sauce, and sprinkled with finely chopped scallions and cilantro. There was also a dish of stir-fried seasonal vegetables and a bowl of steaming egg drop soup.

Without being polite, Liu Jianjian picked up a piece of duck meat and put it in her mouth. Her eyes lit up slightly: "Delicious, much more refined than the wild game we eat outside."

Zhu Ge also picked up a piece of duck meat and put it in her mouth.

The duck was indeed stewed to perfection; the flavor of the spices had penetrated deep into the meat without masking its own taste.

He put down his chopsticks and looked out the window.

Across the street was a herbal medicine shop with a faded wooden sign hanging at the entrance that read "Chang'an Pharmacy".

The shop door was open, revealing neatly arranged medicine cabinets and busy shop assistants behind the counter. The pharmacy was quite large, with a storefront wider than the surrounding shops.

He looked at it for a while longer, then looked away and continued eating the plate of braised mutton.

The waiter came upstairs again to refill the pot of hot tea. As he put the teapot down, Zhu Ge called out to him, "Waiter, I'd like to ask you something."

The waiter stopped and bowed slightly: "Please speak, sir."

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Where are the places in Chang'an City usually located that collect materials from demonic beasts?

Zhu Ge looked around for a while and found that it seemed that restaurants and similar establishments did not accept these offers.

Perhaps because the demand is so high, many restaurants probably have dedicated breeding operations?

The waiter thought for a moment and said, "That depends on what kind of materials you want to buy, sir."

"If it's just ordinary monster meat and fur, there are several large butcher shops and fur stores in the west of the city that will buy it."

"If it's a rarer material, such as the inner core, scales, or bones of a demon beast, then you should go to one of the major pharmacies in the city, or the market in the east of the city, where there are many buyers and sellers."

"Where exactly is the market town in the east of the city located?" Zhu Ge nodded slightly.

"Walk east along this main street, cross three stone bridges, turn right at the third bridge, and walk to the end where you will see it."

"That area is full of shops dealing in spiritual materials. The shops vary in size, so you can browse around and compare prices before making a purchase."

Zhu Ge thanked him and even gave him a silver coin.

The waiter glanced at him again, weighed the money in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then lowered his voice to add, "By the way, sir, there are a few shops in that market that are owned by the nephew of the son, wife, and aunt of the Lord of Chang'an, who are related to Bailu Official. They can offer lower prices."

"If you want a good price, sir, you'd better avoid those shops. Go deeper into the market, to the row of shops near the river; their prices are fairer."

"White Dew Official?" Zhu Ge memorized those words.

Like the official in charge of the White Dew and the official in charge of the Awakening of Insects, the White Dew official is not the title of a single person, but rather the title of a group of people.

The official in charge of the Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects) governs the taxes of the realm, while the official in charge of the Bailu (White Dew) governs the waterways of the realm.

In other words, the Bailu Office in Chang'an City was roughly equivalent to an aggregation of road administration, urban construction, transportation, and other related functions.

The power and the profits are staggering!

The waiter didn't linger any longer and turned to go downstairs.

The streets outside the window were still crowded with people, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, casting bright patches of light on the ground.

A moment later, Zhu Ge put down her chopsticks and stood up: "Let's go, let's go to the East City Market."

Liu Jianjian naturally followed.

The market areas in the eastern part of Chang'an were even more bustling than the main street.

The street was narrower than the main street, but the shops and stalls on both sides were more densely packed, as if it were crammed full of people and goods.

Some shops had whole pieces of demon beast pelts hanging at their entrances, some had bundles of medicinal herbs on display, and some simply spread out a table at their entrances, displaying fragments of spiritual materials of various shapes and colors.

The air was filled with a mixture of various smells.

It has the unique herbal aroma of dried medicinal herbs, the slightly astringent smell left by processed animal hides, and the subtle mineral aroma emitted by certain unknown minerals after polishing.

Zhu Ge strolled slowly along the streets of the market, his gaze moving between the shops and stalls on both sides, as if he were reading the rhythm of this area in his own way.

Some shop assistants were tidying up goods with their heads down, their movements unhurried and deliberate.

Some vendors were squatting by the roadside smoking pipes, occasionally glancing up at passersby before looking down and exhaling a puff of smoke.

There were also some merchants who looked like they had just come from afar, squatting next to their goods and eating dry food, their faces showing signs of fatigue from their journey.

He walked past several shops and stopped in front of one that was small but had a full range of medicinal herbs.

An elderly man with gray hair and wearing brass-rimmed glasses sat by the door, looking down at a newspaper lying on his lap.

"Sir," Zhu Ge stopped in front of him, "I wanted to ask if you accept materials from demonic beasts here?"

The old man put down the newspaper and looked Zhu Ge up and down.

His gaze lingered on Zhu Ge for a moment before he said, "Take it. It depends on what kind of material it is."

Zhu Ge quickly took stock of the resources in her mind.

The materials from those monsters filled the Red Rice Realm. Most of them were from monsters of the second and third realms. The spoils of war harvested in the Southern Yue and Myanmar Wilderness were long-lasting and still retained the texture they had when they were harvested.

He didn't have time to make a move while he was in Yunjiang, and some of the higher-quality ores and spiritual materials have been piling up there ever since.

There were also some scattered items scavenged from the warehouses of the straw-cloaked fisherman and the red-rice immortal, as well as scales, bones, and crystal cores picked up from the battlefields of southern Vietnam and Burma.

Of course, along the way, some ignorant monsters also attacked, filling his treasure trove.

"It mainly consists of the scales, bones, and inner cores of demonic beasts from the three realms," Zhu Ge said. "There are also some ores and spiritual materials, mostly ranging from high-grade spiritual to Yuan-grade."

"The Three Realms?!" The old man stood up in shock, then paced back and forth, remaining silent for a moment as if assessing the potential price range corresponding to the quantity and quality of the materials. He then said, "If you have any, you can take a look. The price will be determined based on the goods!"

"Okay." Zhu Ge nodded. "I'll look around first, and come back if there are no problems."

"Of course, of course." The old man nodded. "The shops will be open until noon tomorrow, and we look forward to welcoming you again."

Zhu Ge thanked him and did not linger at the entrance of the pharmacy, continuing to walk along the street of the market.

After he left, the old man sat down and picked up the newspaper again to read.

After leaving, Zhu Ge paused for a moment in front of several shops that had signs that read "Buying Spiritual Materials" hanging at the entrance, but only looked at the signs and did not go in to inquire.

Liu Jianjian followed behind him, her gaze sweeping over the shops and stalls on both sides, her voice low: "Master, do we really have to take all those materials out to sell tomorrow?"

Liu Jianjian also keeps a monster with a full head of hair, and often gives it away as a reward using monster materials.

So she was the most nervous, and she even felt a bit like a miser.

"Let's sell some of them," Zhu Ge said with a smile. "The scales and bones we picked up in the Southern Yue and Burmese wilderness can be sold, some of the ores and spiritual materials can be kept for our own use, and we'll decide on the rest based on market conditions."

"The space inside is limited, so it's good to make room for other things by clearing out some trash."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianjian breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Ge laughed and said, "Don't worry, let's go and continue shopping."

They crossed several stone bridges and stopped in front of a shop in a rather secluded location, but which also had a sign outside advertising the purchase of spiritual materials.

There is an old locust tree in front of the shop, and its shade perfectly covers the steps in front of the door.

An old man leaned against the shade of a tree, holding a teacup in his hand, slowly sipping his tea.

Zhu Ge stopped at the door, her gaze falling on the old man. The old man was wearing an old robe that had been washed until it was faded, the fabric so worn that its original color was no longer discernible.

His face was mostly obscured by the shade of the trees. He put down his teacup and looked at Zhu Ge, like a tree that had been growing there for a long time, confirming the person in front of him in its own way.

"Young man, you have a strong, mixed smell of blood on you." The old man, a third-realm expert, lightly touched Zhu Ge with his divine sense, being very polite and not overstepping his bounds: "Did you only recently pick up this smell?"

Zhu Ge did not deny it: "It was left behind while traveling. It's been a while, so there might still be some residue."

Zhu Ge exuded a strong aura of killing intent and malevolence.

The old man didn't ask any more questions. He picked up his teacup again, as if he didn't intend to continue the conversation. He simply said, "Go to the west of the city. There's a blacksmith shop there. His scent is more compatible with yours."

Zhu Ge nodded upon hearing this, cupped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you."

He then turned and left with Liu Jianjian.

After Zhu Ge left, the old man narrowed his eyes and muttered, "He brought a young girl with him, and her true form is a hedgehog. Hmm, this young man must be Zhu Ge. He's polite and well-mannered, not bad."

"I just wonder what the others at the academy think—"

As the old man spoke, his aura changed repeatedly, transcending the three realms to reach the Great Realm, then undergoing a fusion, and finally reaching an even higher level.

As his aura intensified, his figure gradually dissipated like wisps of smoke in the wind.

Zhu Ge, unaware of what was going on behind the scenes, went to the blacksmith's shop and exchanged a large pile of materials for gold, silver, and copper coins.

After acquiring enormous wealth, Zhu Ge went to places like elixir shops, pharmacies, and auction houses.

Buy things!

Buy and buy!

Although the official on New Year's Eve doesn't openly stop him, Zhu Ge needs to be prepared now that the battle for the Holy Path has begun.

If you were to openly crush Zhu Ge with a single finger, you would surely suffer a backlash.

The official will surely choose another method on New Year's Eve.

In the eyes of the official on New Year's Eve, killing Zhu Ge in secret would be far too easy.

The same applies to celebratory songs.

Yes, I can't beat you on the surface, but I have a cheat code.

With the Kunpeng, Spider, and Linglong all unleashed, and their strategies flawless, the outcome remains to be seen!

However, to create a vast and intricate network, one must start with each individual spider silk thread.

"Let's go auction off some items!"

Zhu Ge brought Liu Jianjian to the Chang'an Auction House.

It has to be said that the people of Chang'an are truly confident; they put "Chang'an" on every shop.

Chang'an Inn, Chang'an Hotel, Chang'an Blacksmith Shop — even brothels are called Chang'an Building.

The auction house in front of them was Zhu Ge's next target.

"Everyone says the best things are at auction houses. Let me see what good stuff they have."

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