Chapter 78 Qinglan Mountain City (Two)
Wen Weilan led Liu Sheng through the stalls, looking very familiar, as if she had been there countless times.
Liu Sheng, on the other hand, was visiting such a place for the first time, curiously looking around, finding everything incredibly new.
In this market, specially built for Hunters of the Strange, every item sold was related to the strange and hunting the strange.
There were stalls specializing in selling Spiritual Artifacts, Talismanic Incantations, Spirit Medicines, and other items needed for hunting the strange; there were even stalls directly displaying various Materials of the strange, and Little Tentacle sensed it was incredibly greedy, continuously sending Liu Sheng drooling expressions.
It was Liu Sheng’s first time seeing such strange objects displayed outside the Weaving Institute’s Imperial Storage, and she tilted her head to ask Wen Weilan, “Aren’t they afraid of Guai Qi leaking and causing infection?”
Wen Weilan said, “Anything sold here, whether Materials of the strange or weird objects, has paid a purification fee to Xiao Xiang House and been purified, so there’s no need to worry.”
As soon as Wen Weilan said this, Little Tentacle immediately clamored in Liu Sheng’s mind, wanting to eat snacks.
Liu Sheng was so bothered that she found a stall selling various eyeballs and asked for the price.
Then Liu Sheng fell silent, and Little Tentacle also fell silent.
She finally understood why some people would risk everything to become Hunters of the Strange.
Because it was truly too profitable!
Why bother working, just come out and do this!
Liu Sheng yelled internally.
Fortunately, the part of her personality that loved scientific research finally suppressed her restless “fighter” personality, telling herself that she was still working, she still had to participate in the Honghu Plan, and the National Academy was waiting for her!
Moreover, listening to Wen Weilan, the Weaving Bureau and the Ministry of Works now controlled many advanced technologies not available to the public. How could she have a chance to see them without climbing higher?
Liu Sheng looked around as she walked, finally following Wen Weilan to a relatively flat small square in the middle of the mountain village.
Above the square, two rectangular frames, taller than a person, floated in mid-air. Their borders looked like they were drawn with ink wash, and ink-colored characters were displayed in rotation, as if an invisible brush was continuously writing.
The left frame had “Information” written at the top, with messages scrolling below.
“Seeking a weapon that can slay soul bodies, price negotiable.”
“Experience Handbook for Solving Scenario-Type Strange Phenomena, ten Lingtual per copy, purchase quickly.”
“Guifen, I like you. I’m waiting for you under the crooked-neck tree in the village.”
“Seeking advice on how to deal with the feeling of always being watched, urgent!!!”
Wen Weilan softly explained to Liu Sheng, “This information board is for Hunters of the Strange to leave messages and communicate. Whether it’s buying and selling, seeking help, or, ahem, personal confessions, you can leave a message here.”
The right frame was labeled “Recruitment.”
“Searching for the lost Lingquan Village, reward twenty Lingtual, estimated Rank: ‘Dangerous’.”
“Urgent! Requesting assistance to clear the strange phenomena in Xinghua Village, participants will receive additional rewards based on contribution, estimated Rank: ‘Dangerous’.”
“Experienced Hunters of the Strange needed to investigate the missing caravan in Jinguang Peak, reward starts from thirty Lingtual, estimated Rank: ‘Dangerous’.”
“An unknown Weird Domain has appeared in the Changxing Mountains area, and three Hunter of the Strange teams have already gone missing. Inviting courageous Hunters of the Strange to team up and explore, compensation paid according to contribution, basic fifty Lingtual, estimated Rank: ‘Extremely Dangerous’.”
Liu Sheng’s gaze moved across the recruitment board, and when she saw the last entry, her brows furrowed slightly.
“Who are the publishers of these recruitment notices?”
“Most are Hunters of the Strange looking for teammates, some are victims of strange phenomena who entrusted Xiao Xiang House, just like someone entrusting your Ten Thousand Affairs Hall, and some are published by Xiao Xiang House itself. I even heard that when the Weaving Institute is short-handed, they also come here to publish.” Wen Weilan said.
Behind the two large boards was a small house, with a long queue stretching far from the door.
Wen Weilan pulled Liu Sheng to the very end of the queue, muttering, “It’s all because someone came back late. The queue is so long, it would be bad if the market closes before we get to the front.”
“I was wrong, I was wrong, but didn’t you also forget the time while eating baozi?”
“Who made me eat these baozi?”
The two, who usually maintained a cold and quiet image in front of outsiders, were quite noisy in private, often bickering.
Seeing that the queue would take a long time, Liu Sheng told Wen Weilan and squeezed out of the line, returning to buy something she had just seen and liked.
After a while, she returned, holding a small box covered with seals.
Wen Weilan saw it and asked curiously, “Why would you buy this weird objects container?”
“This is a disposable version made by someone imitating the Weaving Institute’s weird objects container. It’s probably secretly made by an old man who retired from the Weaving Bureau. Although the technology is mediocre, there’s no other way, everyone can only use this for containment. If you’re not going to hunt the strange, it’s really a bit of a waste of Lingtual.”
Liu Sheng shook her head, not answering Wen Weilan’s question.
Of course, she could tell it was a poorly made disposable imitation, but it still had significance for disassembly and study.
While in the Imperial Storage, she had always been itching to disassemble and absorb, no, ingest the box that contained the weird objects; the urge was very strong.
But unfortunately, as soon as it was analyzed, it had to be sent to the Imperial Storage along with the box, so there was really no opportunity for disassembly and study.
Now that she finally had the chance, Liu Sheng played with the small box and smiled contentedly.
Perfect, she had some inspiration in her mind.
Liu Sheng was thinking, since the principle of the weird objects container lies in its ability to create a sealed, stable environment to isolate weird objects and prevent their energy from leaking.
Then, could this sealed characteristic be used for the preservation and research of Spiritual Qi particles, especially for those unstable, easily dissipated Spiritual Qi particles?
This way, could she study the differences in Spiritual Qi particles between the two worlds?
Liu Sheng was deducing in her mind, and after an unknown amount of time, it was finally their turn to enter the house.
Inside the room, only a paper figure with a blurry face stood. On the wall behind it hung two much smaller information and recruitment boards, but they still automatically switched information.
“May I help you?” the paper figure asked politely.
Wen Weilan stepped forward and said, “I want to post information.”
“Alright, one Lingtual per entry.”
So, posting information also cost money. It seemed that the person who confessed was quite willing to spend a lot? Liu Sheng muttered to herself.
Wen Weilan paid the money and wrote down the information she wanted to post on a piece of paper, as instructed by the paper figure.
“Alright, it has been registered. You can see it shortly. Is there anything else you need?” the paper figure asked.
“I want to sign up for a recruitment mission.” Wen Weilan still said.
“This is our current complete list of missions. Which one would you like to participate in?” The paper figure unfurled a long scroll, opening it for them to see. It was densely filled with various missions, and it seemed not only missions near Qinghe, but even those outside Tang Country, indicating that this recruitment list was connected to the “Eight Sceneries.”
From time to time, a horizontal line would cross through a mission on the list, and then that mission would disappear, presumably because the mission had reached its full recruitment capacity.
Wen Weilan looked carefully, somewhat conflicted.
Liu Sheng, however, made up her mind quickly. She pointed to the recruitment mission she had seen outside, which mentioned a Weird Domain appearing in the Changxing Mountains, and said, “I want to participate in this one.”
Wen Weilan looked up at her in surprise, then remembered that Liu Sheng came from the Little Green Garden in the Changxing Mountains, and with a soft sigh, she also chose that mission.
“Alright, you have successfully signed up. After recruitment is complete, the time and location will be sent to your respective tokens.”
Walking out of the room, Liu Sheng quietly said to Wen Weilan, “Thank you for accompanying me.”
Fortunately, Wen Weilan had disguised herself at this time, so Liu Sheng couldn't see the blush on her face. She just pretended to be calm and said, “What kind of relationship do we have? Let's not say such polite words.”
“In any case, you must protect me.”
With a myriad of thoughts, the two looked up at a new piece of information that appeared on the information board:
“If you have a Guai Qi warning requirement, please go to Qingyun Pavilion at Qingcai Alley intersection in Qinghe. Customization available.”
“Do you think this will be useful?” Liu Sheng asked with a hint of doubt.
“It’s an advertisement, so it should, be useful, right?”
“If it’s useful, wouldn’t I be exhausted?”
“You are a major shareholder! The more you earn, the more you benefit!”
“I always feel like I’ve been tricked. It’s not enough to have one good job; I have to work two…”
Wen Weilan chuckled twice, then said, “Let’s go, let’s go, home. The Autumn Rain Map is about to close.”
Then she slipped away.
“Don’t run! Explain yourself!”
Liu Sheng puffed up her cheeks and chased after her.