After waiting for a while, Li Xiangping and the others simply began chatting by the shore, laughing and sharing amusing stories from their childhood, until they finally saw a faint silvery light rising from the lake.
"Is that the large vessel for pick-up?"
In the distance, a wobbling wooden longboat approached from the center of the lake. The boat carried large sails covered in pale white feathers, and its hull shimmered with spiritual light, making it look like a fine treasure.
Before the boat drew near, a light shout was heard
"Fellow Daoist ahead, do you wish to board the Moon-Watching Lake Market? Why have you arrived so late?"
"Indeed!"
Li Chijing and the others responded in unison, replying with humility
"This is our first time at the Moon-Watching Lake Market, and we were unfamiliar with the rules, thus missing the scheduled time."
"Hahahaha, you are too polite, Fellow Daoist."
The man laughed loudly and steered the large boat toward the shore.
Li Chijing took a step forward and used his spiritual sense to investigate carefully for a moment. Feeling somewhat distrustful of the man, he spoke cautiously
"Is it you, Fellow Daoist, who will be escorting us to the market?"
"That is correct!"
The man laughed heartily. Seeing that Li Chijing and the others did not step forward but instead watched him warily, he clicked his tongue and said
"One jin of spiritual rice or an equivalent spiritual item per person."
Seeing him state a price actually put Li Chijing at ease. He tapped his silk pouch with his left hand, and a pale green token immediately flew out.
The token hovered in mid-air, slowly projecting several large characters
"Qingchi Sect, Qingshui Peak."
Only then did Li Chijing speak in a clear, loud voice
"I am Li Chijing, a disciple of Qingshui Peak of the Qingchi Sect. I am passing through here on official business. Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for giving us a lift."
Upon seeing this token, the large boat shuddered violently and paused for a few breaths as if verifying something. Then, a white-haired old man descended and replied respectfully
"So it is a disciple of an Immortal Sect. My apologies for the disrespect. Please, come aboard."
Li Chijing nodded. As the group boarded the large boat, they saw that the cabin was fully equipped with tea tables and sets, decorated in an antique and quite luxurious style.
"Since none of you have acquaintances in the market traveling with you, this old man was quite fearful. I did not dare leave the cabin to greet you until I saw that Immortal Sect token."
The white-haired old man smiled and apologized repeatedly.
"Not at all, it is only natural to be cautious when traveling."
Li Xiangping replied with a smile, and then the old man spoke
"It would be best if you all arrived by the Hour of the Rat next time. The surrounding families all enter the market at that time; it is most convenient for purchasing spiritual rice and selling spiritual items."
"I see!"
After chatting with the old man for a while, the group felt the large boat shudder suddenly. Faint sounds of clamor drifted in, and as they looked out the window, they saw the Moon-Watching Lake Market.
The market was built on a small islet in the lake. It was not large, roughly the size of half a village. Small white lights hung along the streets, and the crowds were quite thick at this moment. People stopped from time to time to inspect the goods by the roadside and haggle with the stall owners.
"I wouldn't dare charge a passage fee."
The white-haired old man docked the boat and hurriedly refused the spiritual rice Li Chijing took out from his storage bag, refusing to accept it no matter what.
The group had no choice but to bid farewell to the old man and walk along the streets with great interest. Li Tongya looked at the items on the stalls, secretly comparing them to the Guanyun Peak Market.
"The items for sale are largely similar, but most prices in this Moon-Watching Lake Market are set in spiritual rice. The goods are also more akin to bulk items; spells are sold piece by piece rather than in scrolls."
As he was pondering, he heard Li Chijing ahead of him laugh
"The quality of the items on these stalls is uneven. If you want to buy something proper, you must go to the storefronts."
Li Tongya froze instantly. Remembering how he had spent an entire day wandering aimlessly around the stalls at the Guanyun Peak Market, he found himself speechless.
After walking a few steps, the stalls gradually thinned out, and several storefronts appeared before them. Li Chijing observed for a moment, chose a shop selling magical tools, and stepped over the threshold.
"Go and ask your shopkeeper if he is interested in Fire-in-the-Miasma."
The clerk who came to greet them froze. Seeing Li Chijing speak and then turn to look silently at the many magical tools on the wall, the clerk hurriedly scurried away.
Before long, a shirtless man pushed his way in from the backyard in a hurry. He approached like the wind, the various iron tools hanging on his body clanging together in a noisy jumble.
"Does Fellow Daoist have news regarding the Fire-in-the-Miasma?"
The man had a face full of stubble and a rugged appearance, but his voice was quite gentle.
"Indeed. I am Li Chijing of the Qingchi Sect, and I have a portion of Fire-in-the-Miasma for sale."
"So it is a disciple of an Immortal Sect."
The rugged man cupped his hands and smiled. "I am Chu Minglian. I run this small shop in the market. I wonder, what is the asking price for your Fire-in-the-Miasma?"
Li Chijing raised an eyebrow and said deeply, "Seventy spiritual stones. Ideally, it can be exchanged for goods."
Having grown accustomed to a frugal life where they would split a single spiritual stone in half to use it, Li Xiangping and the others stared wide-eyed, looking eagerly at Chu Minglian.
Chu Minglian shook his head and smiled. "That is a bit expensive. I wonder, which item in my shop has caught your eye, Fellow Daoist?"
"Talisman pens."
With little time to spare, Li Chijing got straight to the point, pointing at two talisman pens hanging on the wall. "Could you introduce them?"
"Naturally."
Chu Minglian nodded, took down the two pens, and picked up the cyan one to explain: "This pen's body is made of Spiritual Green Jade, and the brush uses the tail hair of a peak Embryonic Breathing stage Weasel Demon. It is suitable for both Embryonic Breathing and Qi Refining stages. It requires fifteen spiritual stones."
Setting it down, Chu Minglian picked up another talisman pen with a milky-white body and said: "This one uses a Ye-Spirit Wood body and was crafted with the tail hair of a Qi Refining stage Fox Demon. It can only be used by cultivators at the Qi Refining stage or above. It requires sixty spiritual stones."
Li Chijing waved his hand, clearly pointing to the Spiritual Green Jade one, and smiled. "I'll take that one."
"I also need a storage bag. Any ordinary one used by the Qi Refining stage will do."
Chu Minglian smiled faintly, took a brownish-gray silk pouch from a shelf, and said solemnly, "Three feet square, thirty spiritual stones."
After a round of bargaining, Chu Minglian happily exchanged the Fire-in-the-Miasma for the two magical tools plus twenty spiritual stones.
Li Chijing walked out of the shop holding the storage bag and the talisman pen. Before Li Xiangping and the others could even feel the heartache, they saw Li Chijing enter another shop.
"Three hundred sheets of Embryonic Breathing stage talisman paper, ten spiritual stones."
Li Chijing pointed to three dozen brownish-yellow blank talisman papers on the counter and said deeply, "This is indeed Qing'ai Wood talisman paper, is it not?"
"Indeed, indeed."
The clerk, seeing Li Chijing, knew an expert had arrived and answered quickly.
Counting out ten spiritual stones and handing them over, Li Chijing tucked the talisman paper into his silk pouch. Only then did he hand the storage bag to Li Xiangping, muttering softly to himself
"Talisman pen, talisman paper, storage bag... and ten spiritual stones left. How should I spend them?"
Li Chijing's smooth, seamless series of operations left the leader, Li Xiangping, and the other one staring at each other in bewilderment. Li Xiangping quickly stepped forward and said
"Let's just keep the remaining spiritual stones at home, just in case of an emergency."
Only then did Li Chijing nod. Looking at the market as the crowds slowly thinned, he stretched and smiled.
"Is there anything else important to do back home?"