บท 20: Wang Xiaoyun
Seeing that the Wayfarers were in town, Xue Wei wondered if he should join the group that observed their goods. Although he was no longer reading books, he still found pleasure in knowing more. If they had some books he had not read, he would gladly buy them and read them at some point when he had the time for it.
Walking towards the Wayfarers, Xue Wei's eyes roamed across the different experts that were present. One of them was a young woman. She seemed to be the same age as Xue Wei, but unlike the other experts, she was only an Ordinary Warrior ranked expert.
Wayfarers had a tough time cultivating when they had yet to activate their bloodline, but from the moment their bloodline had been activated, they would be capable of cultivating at a speed that would shock normal human beings.
To have reached the seventh layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank was already a rather amazing accomplishment, and Xue Wei appreciated her for that.
When he looked at her, he suddenly felt how his heart stirred. She was beautiful. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had long straight black hair that shone with a luster that no one could compare to; her eyes were as brown as the beautiful leaves in autumn; and her skin was pale like porcelain.
But what drew Xue Wei to this woman was not her beauty, it was her eyes. The brown eyes were so dazzling and filled with life, so gentle and soft. When he looked into those eyes, Xue Wei almost forgot everything else.
Xue Wei felt his heart beating rapidly, and his mouth opened slightly. He was not sure of what he wanted to say, but he felt that if he said nothing, then he would regret it for a long time.
But he was at a loss for what to say, and all he did was stand there and look at her with a lost expression on his face.
The woman seemed to notice his stare and looked at him. Her face eventually turned into a look of surprise, but then she frowned.
"Can I help you?" she asked as she approached Xue Wei. He nodded his head. "Sorry," he said, a little embarrassed by his previous behavior, "I am just surprised. I’ve never seen such a beautiful girl before, and to think you managed to reach the rank of a seventh layered Ordinary Warrior as a Wayfarer this soon... I was just surprised."
The woman snorted and shook her head as if she thought he was just flattering her randomly. "So do you want to buy something?" she asked after a bit of time, and Xue Wei nodded his head. "Do you have any books?" he asked.
The woman was surprised, but after a bit of time she nodded her head. "Come this way," she said and led him towards a caravan where a group of elderly experts were sitting.
Elderly amongst the Wayfarers were all close to a thousand years of age. These Wayfarers, the majority of them, women and men alike, reached the Heavenly Warrior rank and thus were capable of living for thousands of years. No one would ever underestimate these seniors, despite them seeming as if their flame of life could be extinguished at any time.
"Greetings, seniors," Xue Wei said as he cupped his fists and bowed to the elders that were sitting in the carriage. The look on the face of the woman by his side changed when she saw the way he treated these older people.
"Oh, a handsome young man has come to us!" one of the older women cackled with laughter. "What can we do for you? We only sell books here."
"I am here for the sake of books," Xue Wei answered. Although he was usually expressionless, his face was gentle right now, and he showed respect towards these seniors.
Xue Wei respected the strong, and especially the Primordial Beast Hunters. Although he could remember nothing about his father's demise, Xue Wei had been told that his father died from a Primordial Beast attack, which was why he had internally gained a severe hostility towards these beasts. He had also grown up amongst people and knew how many of the disasters for the human race had been caused by these monsters.
Xue Wei respected the hunters that protected the humans, and these hunters reminded him of his uncle, someone whom he admired and looked at with obsessed reverence. As a result, he was incredibly polite towards them.
"Which kind of books are you looking for, little one?" one of the elders asked with a gentle smile on her face, and Xue Wei shrugged his shoulders, "I am interested in all kind of books, so long as it contains knowledge. I am not interested in fiction."
"We have these books about herbs and their uses. It contains all rare herbs from the entire continent. We also have these books about the different kingdoms, and books about the different Primordial Beasts. We have books about the many sects of the continent and all martial families. What would you like to purchase?"
"All these books come from the outside of Heping Kingdom, so they cost one gold coin each as a result."
One gold coin was a lot of money for the majority of the citizens of Tiankong City, but Xue Wei was rather wealthy. His uncle had left a small fortune with him, and he had enough to live more than a hundred lifetimes pleasantly in the mansion. To spend some gold coins on books might be a luxury for others, but for Xue Wei it was affordable.
Xue Wei looked over the books. He had already read about these subjects before, but the ones about the sects and martial families had never been very in-depth. Thus, he picked up a weighty and thick book which looked reasonably old.
On the front of it were the characters for martial arts, and beneath that were families and sects. As he quickly scanned through it, he found that it was incredibly detailed and he nodded his head. "This one," he said decisively, and the elder nodded his head.
"It is always good to be aware of what is happening around you. This is quite an old book, so it is not completely up to date. However, the major sects and families are listed within, and only the new upcoming ones are not described. Perhaps this book can teach you that the world is vast and the number of experts are as numerous as clouds in the sky."
Xue Wei cupped his hands and bowed once more after which he handed over the gold coin. "Thank you for your guidance," he said respectfully and placed the book in his bag around his waist.
The beautiful woman led Xue Wei back towards the outside of the caravan again in pleasant silence, before Xue Wei finally asked, "What is your name?"
The woman looked at him for some time. She had just arrived in Tiankong City that day and was unaware of the previous young man who could not cultivate, so all she saw when she looked at him was a youngster with a low cultivation base, yet something within her heart stirred. She was confident that he was not as simple as he seemed.
"My name is Wang Xiaoyun," she answered after hesitating for a bit of time. Xue Wei repeated it, "Wang Xiaoyun. What an elegant name."
By now, they had reached the outside of the camp, and Xue Wei was about to ask another question when Luo Zhirou appeared out of nowhere. "Wei! Here you are! I rushed to your mansion to find you to tell you that the Wayfarers have arrived, but to think that you got here before even I did! That is astonishing!"
It was not before then that she realized the strange atmosphere surrounding Xue Wei and Wang Xiaoyun, and a grin appeared on her face. "So sorry for interrupting," she said, "I will go find Big Brother Mu. When you are done chatting, you should come find us."
"We are done," Wang Xiaoyun said with a cold voice and turned to leave. Xue Wei was just about to stop her, but when he saw the cold look she sent him, he changed his mind.
"If fates wills it, we will meet again," he mumbled to himself and allowed for Luo Zhirou to drag him away.
Luo Zhirou snickered as she dragged him away. "You seem to fancy that Wayfarer woman?" she asked, but Xue Wei just shook his head. "There was something strange about her," he admitted, "but I don't know if I would consider it as fancying her. I do not know her after all."
"I see," Luo Zhirou sounded as if she did not believe him at all. "Well, I will keep it a secret for you," she promised, and suddenly her eyes sparkled and shone with happiness as they landed on Shen Mu. She instantly let go of Xue Wei's arm and lifted a hand into the air. "Big brother Mu!" she called out.
Seeing this, Xue Wei was the one snickering and he whispered so quietly that only Luo Zhirou could hear him, "So the one you like is your big brother Mu. Don't worry, I will keep it a secret for you."
Luo Zhirou's face flushed beet red, and her voice trembled as she stuttered, "No way, I, uh, I only see him as an older brother!"
"Zhirou, are you okay?" Shen Mu had arrived, and he placed a hand on her forehead. "Your face is red. Did you catch a fever? You are a cultivator, so catching a fever should be near impossible. Have you been training too hard? Are you okay?"
Hearing how worried Shen Mu sounded, Luo Zhirou could not even say a single word. Instead, she nodded her head repeatedly.
"She is fine," Xue Wei said lazily, but Shen Mu just shot him a glance and continued to fuss over Luo Zhirou. Seeing that it would take them quite some time, Xue Wei shrugged his shoulders and decided that it was time for him to leave the place and return to his original aim for coming to the marketplace in the first place.
He left the crowded area and moved closer towards the inner area of the marketplace. Here, the shops were not doing great this day as the Wayfarers took all the attention, but some of the common citizens who could not afford to take a day off to drool over the items that the Wayfarers had brought with them were still moving forth and back.
Xue Wei made his way to the apothecary shop that specializes in herbs. This time, when he entered through the door, the clerk behind the counter did not dare to look down on him. In fact, he was rather honored that Xue Wei would pick their shop once again to do business with.
"Young Master, what can I do for you?" the clerk asked politely while Xue Wei looked around the shop.
Xue Wei frowned. This time, he was thinking of changing the concoction he had made last time slightly. He knew it was risky, but he was also aware that he had limited time to reach a strength suitable for him to fight Fierce Beasts.
Seeing the Fierce Beasts that the Diviners had tamed brought him back to reality. Yes, he had cultivated to the fifth layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank rather fast, but he was still nothing when matched up against a Fierce Beast, let alone a Primordial Beast.
"I need four Solar Flowers older than fifty years of age, three Blood Ginsengs older than sixty years of age, twelve leaves of Corpse Grass older than sixty years of age. I also need two Earth Rank Beast Cores. The first layer is fine. Apart from this, I will need two drops of Primordial Beast Blood; the weakest kind of Primordial Beast Blood is fine."
When the clerk heard these ingredients, his face turned solemn. The age requirements were enough to be sufficient for Earth Warriors, and the Primordial Beast blood contained such power, even at the weakest version, that he was likely to experience severe pain from consuming it – that is, if he did not end up injuring his meridians.
"Are you sure you wish to purchase these items?" The clerk asked worriedly. He was not asking because he feared that the customer did not have the money this time, but because of him being genuinely concerned that he would be wounded from the consumption of the ingredients.
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