Chapter 53: Night Owl

“They don't open during the day and insist on opening only at night; what a strange habit...” Looking at the scene before him, Chen Fei felt a slight urge to complain.

Yesterday, Chen Fei had specifically found an opportunity to ask Qian Jiang where those two candles were purchased, and Qian Jiang had pointed him toward this particular shop.

Chen Fei glanced around, sensing nothing unusual, and then stepped into the shop.

"Customer, what do you need?"

A raspy voice drifted over. Chen Fei turned to look and saw a person less than a meter tall, standing on a stool, looking at him with a beaming smile.

Chen Fei scanned the surroundings; it was no different from an ordinary shop, and there wasn't even a hint of a gloomy atmosphere.

"I heard you sell things that can suppress the supernatural?"

Chen Fei looked at the shopkeeper. He didn't possess the aura of a martial artist, yet he didn't seem quite like an ordinary person either, giving off a very strange impression.

"You've come to the right place, customer."

The shopkeeper pulled a red candle from beneath the counter, placed it in front of Chen Fei, and said, "When you encounter something supernatural, light this candle, and it can ward them off. However, it only wards them off; if the entity stays by your side, the candle will burn faster. Once it burns out, the entity will still kill you."

"How much?"

Chen Fei studied the red candle intently, confirming it was identical to the one Qian Jiang had produced earlier. Back in those mountain villages, if it hadn't been for those red candles, it was hard to say how many people would have died.

"One thousand taels per candle."

"That's so expensive!"

Chen Fei looked up at the shopkeeper in surprise. His entire current fortune would likely only be enough to buy this single red candle.

"Compared to a life, what is wealth?"

The shopkeeper chuckled softly and said, "These candles are not easy to make. In all of Xingfen City, I am the only one who sells them."

"Is there anything else?" Chen Fei asked in a low voice.

"Of course!"

The shopkeeper nodded, then pulled another candle from beneath the counter—a white one—and placed it before Chen Fei. "This candle, when lit, can attract the supernatural. Five hundred taels per candle."

An indescribable scent wafted from the white candle, causing Chen Fei to recall the events of two days ago.

If one held this white candle without a red candle on hand, it would essentially be a suicide tool—one that would invite a swarm of supernatural entities to feast on you at once. The mere thought was hair-raising.

"Anything else?"

Chen Fei knew he couldn't afford anything today, so he decided to simply broaden his horizons. Once he had more money, he would come back to stock up.

"The Evil-Breaking Sword. Even an ordinary person can use it to wound or even kill a supernatural entity."

A dark red blade appeared on the counter. The blade was very thin; if it collided with other weapons, it would likely be snapped instantly. It seemed specifically designed to deal with the supernatural.

"What's the price?"

"Ten thousand taels of silver."

"Please show me the next item."

Chen Fei's teeth felt a bit sore. It wasn't that he couldn't save up this much, but it would certainly take a very long time. If one were to say the blade was useless, it could indeed slay the supernatural. But if one were to say it was useful, it could *only* be used to slay the supernatural.

The shopkeeper was not impatient. A medicine bottle appeared on the counter.

"Vision-Piercing Water. Apply it to your eyes, and you can see through the illusions of the supernatural. One thousand taels of silver."

Chen Fei looked at the bottle with curiosity, thinking of the legendary "Ox Eye Tears" from his previous life, which had a similar effect. If he had possessed this two days ago, he wouldn't have had to worry about wandering aimlessly in the mist.

"Awakening Incense. When lit, it can dispel obscuring mists. Three hundred taels." An incense stick appeared on the counter; Chen Fei had seen this before.

"Anything else?"

"That is all. I only have these."

The shopkeeper shook his head and looked at Chen Fei. "Has the customer taken an interest in any of them?"

"I'll consider it."

Chen Fei was too embarrassed to say he was short on cash. He could afford the candles and the incense, but he still needed to buy a good alchemy furnace to refine pills. If he bought them now, he wouldn't have enough left.

"If I may ask, why does this shop only open at night?"

Before leaving, Chen Fei couldn't help but ask out of curiosity. He truly saw no necessity for the shop to operate exclusively at night.

"I sleep during the day," the shopkeeper said somewhat bashfully.

Chen Fei looked at the shopkeeper with an expression akin to seeing a ghost. This expression, this reason—it clashed violently with the mental preparations he had made before coming here.

So, where exactly did the items in this shop come from?

Chen Fei walked out of the shop, wandered the streets for a couple of rounds, and then returned to the inn.

He spent the entire night cultivating. Early the next morning, Chen Fei went out again to scout various shops. This time, however, in addition to looking for an alchemy furnace, he was also looking to market his pills.

After a round of scouting, Chen Fei's expression was somewhat complicated.

Various shops were willing to buy pills, but the purchase prices they offered were extremely low—nearly only about forty percent of the market price. It was similar to the profit-sharing ratio the Zhang family had offered previously, essentially treating Chen Fei as their own private alchemist.

Compared to the prices in the black market of Pingyin County, the difference was night and day. However, the demand for pills in Pingyin County at that time had clearly been abnormal, so there was no real comparison to be made.

But being forced to sell pills to shops at such prices left Chen Fei feeling somewhat unwilling.

Aside from selling to shops, there was another way: setting up a stall to sell retail.

Xingfen City had streets dedicated to this, where rogue cultivators set up stalls to sell all sorts of things. Chen Fei had ventured in before; the items were diverse, though the quality depended on one's own discernment.

Chen Fei could refine his pills and then set up a stall there, but that would undoubtedly consume too much of his time.

The *Surging Devouring Art* needed to be cultivated to the Great Perfection stage before his cultivation could quickly break through to the Bone Forging Realm.

Then there was the deduction of the *Constant Floating Pill* formula; the remnant formula he had obtained from the Zhao family last time contained a significant amount of information. He estimated it would take at most a month to complete the deduction.

There was also archery. Archery techniques were scarce in Pingyin County, but in Xingfen City, there were many manuals. Chen Fei wanted to elevate his archery skills to the next level.

All these tasks were extremely time-consuming; setting up a stall would be more loss than gain.

"I need to find someone to help me man the stall. I can just share a portion of the profits with them."

As Chen Fei thought about it, Chi Defeng's figure immediately popped into his mind. In Pingyin County, Chi Defeng had been a street vendor; he could be said to be an expert at this.

Having made up his mind, Chen Fei spent two hundred taels to buy an alchemy furnace and returned to the inn.

"You want me to help you sell pills?"

In the guest room, Chi Defeng looked at Chen Fei with surprise. "Why not just refine them yourself and go sell them? Why do you need my help?"

"The shops offer too low a price. I need you to set up a stall and sell them retail. I'll give you half of one percent of the total revenue," Chen Fei said with a smile.

"Half a percent? That's a bit low. Make it twenty percent," Chi Defeng instinctively bargained.

"Fine, twenty percent. It's a deal!"

Chen Fei agreed immediately, stepping forward to grab Chi Defeng's hand and slapping it in a pact.

Chi Defeng looked at Chen Fei's actions in a daze. This routine felt a bit familiar—had he just asked for too little?