Chapter 78: Fortune and Destiny

As they spoke, before long, a small quadrangle courtyard appeared before them.

“Xiaoyue, look who’s here,” Lu Weier called as she led Zhou Changwang into the courtyard.

“Who is it?” came a clear, melodious voice from the room to the left inside the courtyard. The door opened, revealing the figure of Qian Xiaoyue. Her gaze passed over Lu Weier and quickly landed on Zhou Changwang standing in the yard. She paused in surprise, then her face blossomed with a smile. “Daoist Zhou, I didn’t expect it would be you.”

She hurried out of the room, feigning nonchalance as she asked, “I went back to the outer district some time ago to gather a few things, and I heard you’d moved away too. Where are you living now?”

“The day you moved out, I happened to be moving as well. I’m now on South Street. It’s a bit remote—last house at the end, right next to the cliff,” Zhou Changwang explained with a smile.

“No matter how remote, it’s still South Street. I didn’t expect what you said that day to be true.” Lu Weier looked at Zhou Changwang with a peculiar expression. She remembered he had mentioned wanting to move into the inner city, but having learned he was a spiritual farmer, she hadn’t quite believed him.

Thinking of this, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Well, I’ll let you two talk. I only took a short leave from work and need to get back, so I won’t disturb you.” With that, she departed in haste.

“So, what brings you here?” Qian Xiaoyue invited Zhou Changwang to sit with her on a stone bench in the courtyard.

“I’ve been learning talisman crafting. I ordered some talisman paper from you last time and have nearly used it up. I wanted to ask if you have any more,” Zhou Changwang asked with a smile.

“Of course I do. I was just about to take some out for sale. If you’d come a couple of days later, they’d be gone. Wait here a moment, I’ll fetch them for you.” Qian Xiaoyue seemed both surprised and perhaps a little disappointed, but she quickly composed herself, got up, and went into her room.

Soon, she emerged, carrying armfuls of talisman paper. After a few trips, she’d stacked the stone table full. Zhou Changwang made a rough calculation—there were at least thirty bundles, each containing not the usual fifty sheets, but fifty-five. That was the price they had previously agreed—one lower-grade spirit stone for fifty-five talismans. In total, thirty bundles made sixteen hundred and fifty sheets, no small quantity. At Qian Xiaoyue’s rate of production, crafting these would have taken her two or three months. It was clear that ever since their last agreement, she’d been saving talisman paper for him, not putting any up for general sale.

“The same price as before: one lower-grade spirit stone for fifty-five sheets. Thirty bundles here, so thirty spirit stones. If you don’t have enough, given our friendship, you can owe me,” Qian Xiaoyue said with a smile.

“No problem. I’m doing well enough now that I don’t need to owe you.” Zhou Changwang gave her a complicated look, then, with a wave of his hand, produced thirty lower-grade spirit stones, neatly arranging them to one side. Just as naturally, he packed all the talisman paper into his storage pouch.

“So you really have a storage pouch now, Daoist Zhou? You must have done quite well for yourself,” Qian Xiaoyue remarked in astonishment.

“That was a stroke of fortune left to me by my late father. By the way, I heard you’ve run into some trouble recently?” Zhou Changwang asked.

“Did Xiaowei tell you?” Qian Xiaoyue glanced at him, then said lightly, “It was just a minor nuisance. I met an elder sister recently, a disciple of the Watercloud Immortal Sect. She was tracking an enemy and asked me to notify the Watercloud Pavilion—oh, that’s the Watercloud Immortal Sect’s office in the Fengming Market. It looks like a shop, but it also scouts for talent to recruit into the sect. Afterwards, that elder sister gave me a token, saying it would allow me to participate in the sect’s entrance examination next year. She seems to hold a high position, as the steward there invited me to join the Pavilion and prepare for the assessment. I’ve decided to quit my job at the Sixfold Pavilion and join Watercloud Pavilion instead. So, this trouble is nothing—I don’t need to mind it.”

“I never expected you’d have such good fortune, Daoist Qian!” Zhou Changwang was taken aback. He hadn’t imagined Qian Xiaoyue, so quietly, would befriend a disciple of the Watercloud Immortal Sect and gain a chance to join. The Watercloud Immortal Sect was a sect of true immortal cultivation, even stronger than Clear Source Sect, though its distance lessened its influence here. He also recalled that his own ‘mother’ had once been chosen by Watercloud Immortal Sect, only to lose her chance after being ambushed by rogue cultivators.

No wonder Qian Xiaoyue called it a small nuisance. The Watercloud Pavilion was more powerful than the Sixfold Pavilion on its own, and backed by the Watercloud Immortal Sect—enough to command respect from any cultivator, including the Bai family that managed Fengming Market.

“It’s all just luck,” Qian Xiaoyue replied, waving her hand and smiling.

“I’d call it fate and opportunity. You have quite a bit of both, Daoist Qian,” Zhou Changwang said. He remembered how the couple next door had once set their sights on Qian Xiaoyue, but she had fortuitously made friends with Lu Weier from Sixfold Pavilion, landed a job as an alchemy apprentice, and deterred her would-be predators. Now, an alchemist of the first rank had taken an interest in marrying her as a secondary wife. This time, things were even better—she’d met an elder sister from Watercloud Immortal Sect and soared directly toward the sky, joining Watercloud Pavilion and gaining an opportunity to enter the sect.

“This is only an opportunity. Whether I can really join the Watercloud Immortal Sect depends on the assessment next year. I’m only at the third level of Qi Refining, and even if I switch to practicing their foundational technique, the Watercloud Art, as suggested, my chances are slim,” Qian Xiaoyue said modestly, then, her expression serious, she cast a sound-proofing spell and lowered her voice. “Recently, something is off in the market. You must be very careful when going out.”

“Have you discovered something?” Zhou Changwang’s expression grew grave. The two had stood together through numerous dangers and trusted each other deeply. That was why Zhou Changwang didn’t hesitate to reveal his storage pouch, and why she confided in him about the Watercloud Immortal Sect.

Now, seeing her take on the same look she wore when facing crisis, he immediately grew alert.

“You must’ve heard about the Fire Crystal Geng Iron mine discovered nearby, and the large number of market guards sent there?” Qian Xiaoyue asked.

Zhou Changwang nodded.

“That story isn’t exactly true. The mine was actually discovered years ago. Only lately was the news spread and the guards dispatched. The reason so many were sent isn’t just to clear out monsters for mining, but because there’s a power struggle happening above,” she continued.

“A power struggle?” Zhou Changwang was surprised. He’d been holed up at home cultivating and farming, blind to outside news. He’d only heard about the mine from members of the Rakshasa Gang.

“Yes. The Bai family and the Chen family. The Bai family manages Fengming Market, but the Chen family is also influential here. There used to be the Wu family too, but after participating in the last market chaos, they withdrew and, for some reason, the Bai family didn’t retaliate. This time, it’s a contest for power between the Bai and Chen families. The Chen family used their influence to have most of the market guards sent to the mines. Immediately, the major gangs that used to be confined to the outskirts began moving into the inner city. For example, the area we’re in now, the West Street, has been taken over by the Tiger Shark Gang, while your area, South Street, has apparently been given to the Rakshasa Gang…”

Zhou Changwang nodded, recalling well how he’d been forced to hand over five lower-grade spirit stones.

“But why? That struck me as odd too. Since when is law and order handed over to gangs? Won’t that just make things worse?” he asked. When he’d been selling talismans, the shopkeeper of Talisman Fate Hall had also mentioned the recent chaos, and that many cultivators had been buying protective talismans, driving up prices.

“It’s the chaos that creates opportunity.” Qian Xiaoyue explained, “That’s what I heard from the steward at Watercloud Pavilion. According to him, the Chen family originally managed Fengming Market. But after Bai Dongxian—the current Bai family patriarch—rose to power, control shifted to the Bai family. Still, the Chen family had deep roots and refused to accept the loss of their holdings. That’s what led to the last market upheaval.”

“You mean the Chen family was behind the last chaos?” Zhou Changwang was shocked. He remembered that incident had occurred after the Bai patriarch was injured, and that it was the Wu family, together with the Feng family of Divine Wind Valley, who’d taken action. He hadn’t heard anything about the Chen family’s involvement.

(End of this chapter)