Chuyun Village.
This is a place where clouds are born in the morning. It is halfway on a mountainside outside the Sunset mountains. The largest city below the mountains is Feng City which is located in the westernmost Penglai. Azhi is illiterate and the farthest place he has been since his birth is the county down the hill. Therefore, the messages above is all he knows.
For Lin Luoran, the most useful information is that this country is called Penglai.
She is definitely very happy about finally stepping on Penglai. In the face of her honest “saviors”, Lin Luoran only tells them she is a lady of Feng City as the old lady said before. She also says she will thank them when she is home.
The old lady looks at her honey-colored skin and is suspicious of what she says. Lin Luoran thinks secretly that maybe ladies of the ancient times don’t have the same skin color as hers. However, she has already said that and she can’t take it back. Lin Luoran can only let things run their course.
Lin Luoran stays in Chuyun Village for a few days and she knows a lot of things from the young hunter named Azhi.
She knows that this world holds the martial arts in high regard. The entire country is chaotic but this small village is relatively peaceful. Azhi hasn’t heard of cultivators. It’s said that there are immortals who can fly around this land in the legend. However, it only happened thousands of years ago.
Azhi’s father was drafted into the army a few years ago. They have not heard from him for many years. If the teenager had not grown up and learned to be a hunter, the family would have been even poorer. Life of an orphan and a widow is not easy. Azhi cannot always catch something every day. Even if he gets one, they have to take care of Lin Luoran as a “wounded person”. Besides, most of his preys will be made into bacon. Saving bit by bit, the young boy will take it down the mountain to sell in the county together with some leather goods.
Watching the mother and son eating roughage and potherbs, Lin Luoran herself as the wounded is very uncomfortable about drinking the pheasant soup. She can’t be comfortable with her identity as a patient and her “wound” goes well very soon. By the third day, she can get out of bed and walk around.
Everyone in the village comes to see this strange “noble girl”. Lin Luoran endures the gossip of village women while gathering some useful information. However, the mountain people are dull and village women have little knowledge. They are always gossiping and talking about trivial things but none of them are useful for Lin Luoran.
Lin Luoran has been idle in the mountain but her mind is not here now. She is thinking about how to say goodbye. The opportunity comes soon.
Two days later, young Azhi returns happily before noon.
It turns out that the trap he usually sets has caught a fire fox. Only its hind legs are injured and it is still alive. The blood of fire foxes is very nutritive and their fur is extremely valuable. For the Azhi family, it is a huge sum of money to sell this fire fox.
It is difficult to keep a fire fox alive so Azhi decides to go to the county town the next day.
Lin Luoran says goodbye timely. Her reason is that she has been here too long and her families may worry.
Lin Luoran feels really guilty about drinking the pheasant soup made by the old woman for totally two days. She remembers she once dug a large amount of gold from the Dragon Palace so she stealthily makes a part of it into a few golden beans. She tells them it is emergency money hidden in her heels, and now she wants to give it to the old woman as a reward.
The old woman refuses to accept it. Lin Luoran says in a gentle voice, “This is nothing since you have saved my life. It’s just my food expenses for staying in auntie’s house for so many days. When I return to Feng City, my family will send a gift as a token of my gratitude.”
The old lady is shy. At this time, she really kind of believes Lin Luoran is a well-educated lady from Feng City.
“Sister Lin, we can go down the mountain together tomorrow. I can send you home first. You are right. Your families must be worrying about you.”
Azhi is making a bamboo cages in his hands and he totally agrees with Lin Luoran. The boy is honest but not stupid. He has made efforts to save Lin Luoran. He will not decline a few golden beans she is willing to give him.
As for the gift Lin Luoran said, Azhi doesn’t take it seriously.
All of them get up early the next day. Azhi’s mother has strung a variety of bacon and hung it on both sides of the carrying pole. There is also a bundle of leather goods no less than one hundred kilograms. Azhi is strong so that he can carry these things of one hundred kilos on the mountain road while he walks vigorously.
Lin Luoran follows him with a bamboo cage in hand. She is still wearing the Protean Dress.
After the snow melting day, it is getting hotter and the summer is coming soon. It is one of the reasons why Azhi is so anxious about selling bacon and leather goods down the mountain.
Lin Luoran carries a bamboo cage with a little fire fox in it. Every hair of this fox is extremely beautiful. It must be sold at a good price.
After walking for more than four hours, they come out of the mountain. At noon, Lin Luoran finally sees the county Azhi talks about.
It’s much smaller than expected and wooden houses on the street are not tall. This county actually looks like a town. Azhi sells all bacon to the restaurant. It’s said that this small wooden building with two floods is the largest restaurant in this county. Azhi only gets less than two taels of silver for bacon of more than 50kg.
The wild meat which Lin Luoran thinks may be expensive costs only four coins more than pork per kilo.
For the remaining dozens of different sizes of leather goods, the store only bids four taels of silver which is a little better than bacon but is still unbelievably cheap. Azhi is also not very satisfied with the price so he then inquiries about information in the rice shop. Azhi is told the situation is turbulent now and brown rice has risen to a price of three hundred coins per 60kg. After threshing, it is only 40kg of brown rice.
Since the price of rice has soared, there is no reason that the price of meat has not risen. Azhi hasn’t been out of the mountain for a long time and he is obviously fooled by the profiteers who bought his bacon and leather goods.
Five or six taels of silver can buy much brown rice. However, he has saved bacon and leather goods for a long winter and his family can’t only live with brown rice.
He still has to buy cloth, medicine, salt, etc. Various daily necessities consume the six taels of silver quickly. Azhi also wants to save some money to buy a good bow. Now he can only rely on the fire fox which hasn’t been sold yet.
The owner of the leather goods store wanted to buy this fire fox with the price of two taels of silver. Azhi refuses to sell it unhesitatingly and holds the bamboo cage tightly. After ordering 120kg of brown rice at the rice shop, he waits to sell the fire fox on the street.
The teenager doesn’t handle everything promptly and now he forgets to send Lin Luoran “home”.
Lin Luoran has been following him silently all the way. In fact, her spiritual mind is scattered, receiving useful news from everywhere in this small county.
From two businessmen in the restaurant, she knows the reason for soaring prices.
Two months ago, Ying attacked the northern part of Penglai. Having problems with civil unrest, Penglai has to grapple with domestic problems and foreign invasion at the same time.
The news of war spreads to this westernmost county. People are in a tizzy and prices soar naturally.
The businessmen are talking about the difficulties of the current situation and Lin Luoran has been thinking about something else. Ying? It’s said that there are three Spirit Mountains overseas named Penglai, Yingzhou, and Fangzhang. Now she has heard two of them.
Only mortals undergoing many tests can visit Spirit Mountain. It reminds Lin Luoran of the summary statement in the ancient book of monsters of wood. Lin Luoran now has a feeling that she is fooled. She is not afraid of tests but she worries about not knowing what they are.
“Huh, this little fox is so pretty. Black guy, do you want to sell it?”
A beautiful young girl in a red dress is on a horse, condescending and looking Azhi up and down. Her tone is not very polite and she just calls him “black guy”. Lin Luoran doesn’t like it.
Azhi is about to answer when something happens at the end of the street.
The red dress girl just says “so troublesome” and throws a few golden beans to Azhi. She then flashes out the whip to get the bamboo cage.
Isn’t it transaction by force?
Lin Luoran frowns. She gently puts her hand on the bamboo cage with fire fox inside.
The whip rolls up but the bamboo cage remains motionless. The girl in the red dress is confused. She finally looks at Lin Luoran who always keeps silent.
