After dinner, Chen Mu poured a cup of sour plum juice for Jie Jia.
Sitting back in the rocking chair, he picked up the wooden cup from the low table and took a sip, heaving a sigh.
“To think I’ve transmigrated, and yet I still have to be a wage worker.”
Even though he might not get paid, even though it might be tiring, in the end, he still had to go.
Just like all those predecessors of Shell Soul who went one after another over the years.
Before boarding the ship, could they have refrained from inquiring about the situation, could they not know what treatment to expect?
“In the end, they still wanted to see the view from a higher place.”
Chen Mu’s mind stirred, and he turned his head to tentatively ask Jie Jia, “Do you know how to practice in the Perceptive Stage?”
“I know,” Jie Jia nodded.
Chen Mu immediately became interested, “Can you tell me about it?”
“Meditate and recite scriptures.”
“That’s it?” Chen Mu exclaimed, his eyes wide.
“That’s it,” Jie Jia said indifferently.
You’re freaking kidding me!
No, wait, Chen Mu thought of the Curse Command text for the Five Ghosts Bag, “Is it something like Magical Instrument Curse Command?”
Jie Jia nodded, “Stop thinking about it, you’re far from that step.”
“What do you mean?” Isn’t Perceptive the step after Shell Soul?
“You don’t have a Daoist Bone,” Jie Jia glanced at Chen Mu and said.
Okay, it’s that same old spiel about the Heavenly Father’s favorite child.
“Those who cultivate Soul Strength must first master the Soul and Spirit Unification Secret Method, and only then can they attempt to perceive.”
“Do you have it?” Chen Mu asked with a face full of hope.
There were still three or four months before departure, and he didn’t know how long the sea voyage would take. If he could obtain the Soul and Spirit Unification Secret Method before leaving, maybe by the time he arrived there, he would have maxed out this skill!
“I don’t,” Jie Jia shook his head.
Chen Mu couldn’t help but sigh.
That’s right, Jie Jia might be well-informed, but he was only fully accomplished in Shell Soul. If there were such a secret technique, wouldn’t he have trained in it himself?
“Old Jie, that’s no good!” Chen Mu teased cheerfully, “You don’t have a wide enough variety of goods!”
“Why didn’t you go collect a few?”
“If they can’t sell, you could still train in them yourself!”
“Oh, I was born with an Innate Daoist Bone. I don’t need it,” Jie Jia said with an impassive face.
Chen Mu: “…”
Once again, this elder had the chance to show off!
…
Da Liang year 642, the fifth day of the eighth month.
The weather was clear, and Chen Mu got up early.
“I can’t keep being this lazy.”
After breakfast and preparing some iced tea, Chen Mu sat in the pavilion and opened the grey wall interface.
There were still three or four months until departure. Apart from preparing various items for the long journey, he couldn’t waste this time either.
Writing: 3745/10000/Second Rank;
Drawing: 5967/10000/Second Rank;
Cooking: 6395/10000/Third Rank;
Pharmaceutical Technique: 5515/10000/Fourth Rank;
Sleeve Sword Technique: 5876/10000/Fourth Rank;
Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse: 2591/10000/Seventh Rank;
Shape-shifting Technique: 5927/10000/Third Rank;
Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique: 1889/10000/Sixth Rank;
Throwing: Ultimate;
Red Falcon Shape Cultivation Technique: Ultimate;
Blue-eyed Golden Ape Shape Cultivation Technique: Ultimate;
White Ape Shape Cultivation Technique: Ultimate; Read exclusive chapters at empire
Black Tiger Shape Cultivation Technique: Ultimate;
White Jade Toad Shape Cultivation Technique: Ultimate;
Heavenly Serpent Shape Cultivation Technique: Ultimate;
“Writing and drawing can wait. I’ll slowly grind them.”
“I can level up cooking by making meals every day, so there’s no need to train it separately.”
“I need a good plan for the Pharmaceutical Technique. I should collect more medical books. With the limitations of being at sea, where other skills can’t be practiced, it’s the perfect opportunity to grind Pharmacology.”
Counterfeit elixirs had brought him a nice profit. Overseas, this might also become a source of wealth.
“It’s too early to worry about advancing the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse.”
“There’s no need for specific training for the Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique, you can level it up just by breathing.”
“On the other hand, the Sleeve Sword Technique and Shape-shifting Technique are over halfway to proficiency and are the most likely to reach the next rank before I leave.”
Chen Mu considered each from top to bottom.
“I’ll focus on the Sleeve Sword Technique and practice the Shape-shifting Technique as a secondary.”
“At the same time, I’ll organize the Five Ghosts Bag and make Fasting Pills and Mesmerizing Divine Smoke.”
…
Five days later, evening.
Jie Jia arrived punctually like an alarm clock. He raised his hand and tossed a black brocade bag embroidered with golden threads to Chen Mu.
“Two Thousand Mechanism Tokens, a total of twenty White Jade Coins.”
Chen Mu couldn’t wait to open it.
The White Jade Spirit Money looked just like an ordinary white, round jade pendant.
The size of a cross-section of an egg, half a finger thick.
There was a hole in the middle, the surface smooth. Inside, however, were patterns of silver spots and threads connected together, as if they had naturally grown within the jade disk.
“You’re not fooling me, are you?” Chen Mu held up a White Jade Coin, examining it closely.
He really couldn’t see anything extraordinary about it.
“It’s not a counterfeit product, right?” Chen Mu was skeptical.
Substituting inferior goods for good ones wasn’t new for this old man.
“Pinch it.” Jie Jia said indifferently while taking out a white cloth to wipe the tables and chairs.
“If it breaks, you’re paying for it!” Chen Mu’s right hand suddenly turned pitch black, and he gently pinched with his index finger and thumb, raising his eyebrows instantly.
If it were an ordinary stone, it would have crumbled with such a light pinch.
Chen Mu immediately increased his strength, but the White Jade Coin remained unscathed.
“Indeed extraordinary!” Chen Mu thought of the Soul-Calming Stake.
Ordinary locust wood, after processing, couldn’t be scratched by an ebony wood dagger.
The White Jade Coin was probably similar. It was a magical currency refined on purpose!
“Is it so affluent overseas that they use magical instruments as currency?” Chen Mu marveled.
Jie Jia glanced at Chen Mu sideways and said nothing.
Chen Mu instantly understood.
This kind of White Jade Spirit Money definitely wasn’t meant for ordinary people.
Gold and silver currency were still useful.
All of a sudden, a thought struck Chen Mu, “What’s the price of a Fasting Pill?”
Jie Jia held up a finger.
“One pill for one White Jade Coin?” That’s just over a thousand taels of silver?
“One bottle,” Jie Jia said calmly.
That’s over ten thousand taels of silver, now that’s valuable.
He guessed it probably could only be exchanged one way. It was unlikely one could use silver to buy White Jade Spirit Money.
“From which prestigious family did you exchange it?” Such objects were likely only to be held by such families.
“Zhu Yi Pavilion of the Zhang Family.”
Chen Mu understood. Zhu Yi Pavilion was an assassin organization spread throughout the whole of Da Liang. Without the backing of a prestigious family, it couldn’t operate.
“Are you really not going?” Chen Mu couldn’t help asking.
“Not the time yet,” Jie Jia said blandly.
Alright then. Chen Mu shrugged. Jie Jia had always been so secretive.
“What do you want to eat? You pick today’s dish,” Chen Mu said with a smile.
Chen Mu had already decided he would head to Lijiang Guard City tomorrow morning to live in seclusion and wait.
This was probably their last meal together.
…
At night, Chen Mu staggered out of Chunfeng Tower.
He had just extravagantly tipped Miss Yu Tao a hundred taels of silver.
After watching her for so long, it was the first time he had paid.
“Wonder what the Chunfeng Tower is like overseas. If the girls there aren’t as graceful as Yu Tao, I won’t bother watching,” Chen Mu mumbled, shaking his head.
At that moment, a couple of large carriages stopped at the street corner not far away.
Three men jumped down, arm in arm, heading towards Chunfeng Tower.
Zhang Ye?
And Kui Tuo and Zhen Fan.
“These three lucky guys, they actually came back alive.”
“Not just back, they’ve probably struck it rich,” Chen Mu observed, eyeing the three men’s attire.
“Struck it rich with the deceased fortunes of Qingshan County?”
“Should we send them a gift to celebrate?” Chen Mu was tempted.
“Forget it, after all, we knew each other once.” Chen Mu shook his head, chuckling, and walked away.
“What are you looking at?” Kui Tuo noticed Zhang Ye’s strange gaze.
“That guy looks familiar, like I’ve seen him somewhere before,” Zhang Ye said, puzzled, standing still.
“An enemy?” Kui Tuo’s eyebrows tightened.
“Don’t know,” Zhang Ye scratched his head: “It’s vague, but he seems familiar.”
“Never mind, don’t think about it, today’s our treat. Having fun is what matters!” He put his arms around Kui Tuo and Zhen Fan’s necks, turning toward the entrance of Chunfeng Tower.
But after only a few steps, a sudden weakness spread through his limbs.
With a baffled face, Zhang Ye turned to look at Kui Tuo, then at Zhen Fan: “I might know who that person was.”
Kui Tuo rolled his eyes: “I ****ing know too.”
Then the three of them expertly rolled on the spot, arranging themselves into a big ‘spreadeagled’ shape.
Just as they lay down, Kui Tuo suddenly laughed: “Old Zhang, did you bring any money…”
Zhang Ye: “…”