The morning sun bathed the streets, enveloping Qingyang in a golden glow.
In the northern square, within the commercial district, stalls with a variety of goods lined the streets. The loud cries of merchants merged into a lively buzz.
Amidst this human bustle, a girl walked leisurely.
Her light, graceful dress flowed, and her long black hair, like a waterfall, was casually tied with a simple ribbon. Without any unnecessary embellishments, she looked natural and pure.
Young, but with a budding refinement, her beauty promised to become truly captivating over time.
Most captivating were her vibrant eyes—deep and bright black pupils. Her gaze held a perceptiveness capable of looking into one's soul, and a star-like shimmer full of wisdom and mystery.
"Qingyang is indeed lively!" Mu Zi exclaimed, looking at the streets with curiosity.
Such a vibrant atmosphere was unheard of in the Mu clan.
However, a small population has its advantages. The Mu clan was spacious, and each member could live in a separate house. Mu Zi's family of three occupied a spacious courtyard.
This personal space gave Mu Zi the freedom for her secret affairs.
"First, I'll take a walk," she decided.
Being in Qingyang for the first time, Mu Zi wanted to explore the town and learn more about it.
A beautiful girl appeared in the market, her graceful silhouette attracting the gazes of passersby. Seeing Mu Zi, they couldn't hide their admiration for her beauty and refinement.
Such a charming girl couldn't go unnoticed, but surprisingly, none of the locals knew her. This suggested she was a guest from some distant place outside of Qingyang.
And this was not surprising. The Qingyang market was famous for hundreds of miles around. Not only townspeople traded here, but also residents of nearby manors, and sometimes even darker figures, such as bandits selling their loot.
Mu Zi walked through the crowd, listening to snippets of conversation.
"Did you hear about the events in the Temuizhuang manor?" one passerby asked.
"Yes, the Lin clan defeated the Lei clan in the hunt and took the manor," another replied.
"Hah, that's old news! They say the Lei didn't accept the defeat and destroyed almost everything in the manor. The Lins must be in despair now."
"No wonder, when I passed by the manor, I noticed a tense atmosphere there. The Leis are truly ruthless if they resort to such measures just to harm others."
"It's quite logical. The Leis and Lins are old enemies. Besides, Lin Dong made the Leis lose face in the hunt. Did you really think they would hand over the manor without any conditions?"
"Ah, these clans are so cunning! It seems the Lins were celebrating for nothing."
"Exactly!"
Mu Zi, listening to these conversations, felt a strange sensation.
From the memories of her past life, she knew that the Lin clan had gotten a valuable find this time. Although the Leis had destroyed Temuizhuang, Lin Dong had discovered deposits of Yang Yuan stone in the back mountains of the manor.
The value of this vein was much higher than that of ordinary iron trees. The Lin clan became fabulously rich by selling Yang Yuan stones in Yancheng.
For Lin Dong, this vein became a sort of gold reserve. With Yang Yuan stones and the stone talisman, he had no shortage of resources until he reached the Yuan-Dan realm.
Mu Zi, realizing how difficult it was for her to acquire resources on her own, mentally shed a tear of envy. That's what it means to have your own mine!
This thought made her lose interest in strolling, and she decided to get down to business.
Going deeper into the market, she stopped at a tall pavilion—the destination of her visit. It was an underground exchange where only valuable items were traded.
Mu Zi bought a wide-brimmed hat at a shop, put it on, and entered the exchange.
In the dim corridor, doors lined both sides, behind which transactions took place. Mu Zi pushed a slightly ajar door and went inside.
The room was in semi-darkness, with only a faint light falling on a wide table divided by a black grille. Below it was a small window a few feet in size.
"Have a seat. What you want to exchange, place it under the window," a slightly shaky old man's voice came from behind the grille.
Mu Zi mentally scoffed: why all the mystery?
She lowered her voice, trying to imitate a raspy tone. To sound convincing, she even channeled Yuan Li—otherwise, her delicate throat couldn't produce such a low sound.
"I have a third-rank technique that I want to exchange for cultivation resources," she said.
With these words, she took a slightly yellowed scroll from her bosom and handed it to the old man. The old man looked at her hands in black gloves with surprise.
Mu Zi remained calm, although her heart skipped a beat.
She didn't want to pass herself off as a mysterious guest, but without gloves, her elegant white hands would give her away.
Fortunately, there were many strange clients here, and the old man took her deliberately aged scroll without hesitation.
"The Shifting Trace Fist—it's a third-rank technique, it has elements of a movement art. Not a bad third-level martial art," the old man evaluated.
Mu Zi mentally nodded, listening to his words. The old man was clearly an experienced appraiser who knew his merchandise. He didn't try to lowball the price, giving the impression of an honest person.
"Fifty Yang Yuan stones," he offered.
However, after his words, Mu Zi immediately changed her mind.
"Is this old man trying to deceive me?" she thought.
She immediately recognized his cunning. Usually, a third-rank technique is worth no less than a hundred Yang Yuan stones, and especially powerful ones can reach one hundred fifty and more.
The old man named a low price, clearly testing her. If Mu Zi had been a naive newcomer who had accidentally obtained a third-rank technique, she might have been happy with even fifty stones, allowing the old man to profit.
But Mu Zi wasn't going to stay silent. In a raspy voice, she raised the bid:
"One hundred fifty!"
"That's too much. I can offer you one hundred Yang Yuan stones," the old man said, cursing to himself that he had run into such a connoisseur.
"One hundred forty-five!" came the reply.
After a short negotiation, they settled on the sum of one hundred thirty-two Yang Yuan stones.
Leaving the underground exchange, Mu Zi found a secluded spot where she discarded the dirty rag in which the Yang Yuan stones were wrapped. Then she carefully transferred them into a clean cloth she had brought with her. Satisfied with the result, she hid the bundle in her bosom.
"Ah, if only I had a Qiankun bag," she sighed. A Qiankun bag with its own storage space would have saved her from all this trouble.
"With these Yang Yuan stones, I won't be in need of resources for a while," Mu Zi smiled, feeling the bundle with a sense of relief and satisfaction. "And this is just for one scroll sold! A couple more transactions like this, and I can reach the Yuan-Dan realm effortlessly!"
However, Mu Zi didn't let the stones cloud her judgment and didn't rush to trade further. She understood that too many transactions at once could attract unwanted attention.
For now, these stones were enough, and she could continue trading later.
"Time to go back and try to break through to the eighth level of Body Tempering," she decided.
Taking off her wide-brimmed hat, she left the market. The girl walked cheerfully toward the Mu clan, and her hair fluttered in the wind like the wings of a happy butterfly.