By the time Fang Ming reached the caravan grounds, the village paths were already crowded.
Tents filled the open spaces between bamboo buildings. Fat black beetles rested beside crates, their shells marked with rope scars. Ostriches with bright feathers lowered their heads into feed troughs. A hairy mountain spider crawled over a cart wheel while two mortal servants shouted and pushed from below.
The Three Star Cave Gu house stood at the center.
Its trunk rose above the tents like an old watchman, brown bark split by windows, branches thin below and thick with leaves at the top. Two wide doors opened at its base. People entered in a slow stream, but no one pushed. The guards near the entrance wore merchant colors and held themselves like men who had killed thieves before.
Fang Ming did not go in immediately.
He walked once around the outer stalls.
Cheap Gu food. Blunt tools. Dried herbs. Beast hides. Rotten bargains mixed with a few useful scraps. Most of it could be bought with a few primeval stones and a tired argument.
Inside the tree were the real goods.
Fang Ming adjusted the pouch at his waist and entered.
The air changed at once.
Outside, the caravan smelled of mud, beasts, sweat, and fried grain. Inside the Three Star Cave, the smell was green wood and sealed boxes. Counters grew naturally from the floor, their surfaces polished smooth. On them rested jade plates, bronze bowls, glass jars, bone cages, and wooden cases covered in faint Gu inscriptions.
A Rank three Gu Master sat behind the appraisal counter on the left side of the first floor.
He was thin, middle-aged, and clean-shaven. His robe was dark yellow, with a merchant badge shaped like a brass coin hanging from his belt. His eyes were half closed, as if he had seen enough young Gu Masters wasting his time.
Fang Ming walked to him.
"I want to sell Gu worms."
The appraiser opened his eyes fully.
"Show them."
Fang Ming placed the first sealed box on the counter.
The appraiser opened it.
A Liquor worm lay inside, white and soft, its body curled slightly. It had been fed well enough to remain lively but not enough to look newly acquired.
The appraiser's fingers paused.
"Liquor worm."
Fang Ming nodded.
"Young master, are you certain you want to sell this?"
"Yes."
The appraiser looked at him for half a breath longer, then took out a small jade tool and inspected the worm's body, mouth, spirit, and refinement marks. He wrote a number on a bamboo slip.
Fang Ming placed the second box down.
White Boar Gu.
The appraiser's expression did not move, but his hand slowed.
The third box was Bronze Skin Gu.
The fourth was Jade Skin Gu.
By the time Fang Ming took out the fifth container, the appraiser no longer looked bored.
He opened it carefully.
Inside rested a Red Steel Relic Gu.
The appraiser looked from the Gu to Fang Ming.
Fang Ming placed a sixth container beside it.
Another Red Steel Relic Gu.
The appraiser did not open it immediately.
He tapped the counter twice. A merchant guard standing near the wall turned his head. The appraiser gave him a look, and the guard looked away again.
Then he opened the sixth container.
The red glow inside reflected faintly on his face.
For several breaths, only the low noise of the treehouse could be heard. Footsteps upstairs. A woman bargaining near the medicine counter. The rustle of leaves above the windows.
The appraiser closed the container.
"Young master," he said, his tone more measured now, "these are not small goods."
Fang Ming replied, "That is why I came here."
"May I ask where they came from?"
"No."
The appraiser smiled slightly. It did not reach his eyes.
"Then I will not ask."
He inspected each Gu again, slower than before.
The Liquor worm was checked for hidden injury. The White Boar Gu was made to struggle against a thin silver needle. Bronze Skin Gu and Jade Skin Gu were tested with primeval essence to confirm their response. Both Red Steel Relic Gu were sealed in small circles of light, then weighed against two dull red stones that Fang Ming did not recognize.
A quarter hour passed.
The appraiser wrote six prices.
Fang Ming read them once.
"Too low."
The appraiser folded his hands. "Selling to a caravan is not selling to a desperate clan youth. We take risk, storage cost, travel danger, and resale delay."
"The Liquor worm alone can draw bids higher than that."
"It can. It can also sit unsold if every clan elder decides not to let a junior waste money."
Fang Ming pointed at the Red Steel Relic Gu price.
"This one is low."
The appraiser's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You understand relic Gu prices?"
"I understand cultivation."
The appraiser looked at him again.
Rank two. Young. Calm. Carrying rare Gu like a clan heir emptying a private treasury.
His first guess had probably been spoiled young master.
Now he was less certain.
Fang Ming did not try to explain.
Explanation invited more questions.
The appraiser took back the slip and changed two numbers. Not by much, but enough to show he was still interested in closing the deal.
Fang Ming stayed silent.
The appraiser changed the Red Steel Relic Gu price again.
"Final."
Fang Ming read it.
Not perfect.
Good enough.
He placed his palm on the counter. "Primeval stones and caravan credit. Half and half."
"That can be done."
"Credit usable inside this Gu house."
"Yes."
"Today."
The appraiser gave a short laugh. "You bargain like an old man."
Fang Ming did not answer.
The appraiser stopped laughing.
He took out a wooden token, pressed it against a green growth on the counter, and poured primeval essence into it. Lines appeared across the token like veins in a leaf. Then he removed several sealed money pouches from beneath the counter and placed them one by one before Fang Ming.
The weight was real.
Fang Ming did not open the pouches in a hurry. He checked the seals first, then the token, then the written slip.
Only after that did he collect them.
The appraiser watched him with a different expression now.
Not friendly.
Interested.
That was worse.
Fang Ming tied the money pouches beneath his outer robe, distributing the weight so his walk would not change too much. The wooden credit token went into an inner sleeve.
"I am looking for White Silver Relic Gu," he said.
The appraiser's brows rose.
"Rank three relic Gu?"
"Yes."
"We do not have it."
"Can you acquire it?"
"For the right price, many things can be acquired. Not on Qing Mao Mountain. Not during this stop. And not quickly."
Fang Ming looked at him.
The appraiser spread his hands. "White Silver Relic Gu is not Red Steel Relic Gu. Even if one passed through our hands, it would not be placed on the first floor for young Gu Masters to ask about."
"I see."
"If young master wishes, I can record interest."
"No."
This time, Fang Ming answered too quickly for the appraiser to hide his smile.
Fang Ming turned away from the appraisal counter.
The Gu he had sold were no longer his problem.
That did not make him lighter.
A pile of primeval stones could become Gu. Gu became strength. Strength became survival.
It could also become attention.
He walked deeper into the first floor.
The counters here held Rank one Gu and common Rank two materials. The good Rank two Gu were placed farther in, each under stronger restrictions. Some were sealed in glass jars. Some rested inside small wooden cages grown from the tree itself. One counter displayed a Liquor worm with a written price low enough to make nearby youths linger and whisper.
Fang Ming did not stop there.
A Liquor worm had already left his hands. Chasing another would be foolish.
He passed a Whirlwind Gu, a Scar Stone Gu, and several Moonlight-path fusion materials. He memorized prices without slowing down. Some were useful. Some were bait. Some were both.
At the defensive Gu counter, he stopped.
Three Rank two Gu were displayed.
The first was Stone Coat Gu.
It looked like a grey beetle with a flat shell. The merchant attendant explained that it formed a layer of stone over the body, strong against claws and blunt strikes, weak against speed and repeated movement.
Fang Ming looked at its legs.
Too slow.
The second was Water Film Gu.
It rested in a blue bowl, transparent and soft, almost like a bubble. It reduced impact and was good against fire, but feeding it required clean spring water mixed with crushed blue algae.
Too troublesome.
The third was Iron Skin Gu.
It was dark and compact, shaped like a small cicada with metallic wings folded tight. When activated, it strengthened the skin and flesh without forming an obvious outer shell. It did not have the raw hardness of Stone Coat Gu, but it allowed movement and could be used quickly.
Fang Ming asked, "Feeding?"
"Ironwood sap and powdered black beetle shell. Once every six days for normal use. More if used heavily."
Available in Qing Mao Mountain.
Not cheap, but not strange.
"Effect?"
"Better than Bronze Skin Gu. Weaker than a full armor-type Gu. Suitable for Gu Masters who still need to move."
"Show."
The attendant glanced at his red belt, then at the merchant token in his hand. His attitude improved.
He brought out a thin strip of dried beast hide and activated the Iron Skin Gu for a brief demonstration. The Gu landed on his wrist. A dark sheen spread across the skin, not bright, not flashy. The attendant took a small knife and cut across his own forearm.
The blade left a white line and no blood.
Fang Ming watched the recovery of the sheen after impact.
Fast.
Not perfect.
Enough.
"How much?"
The attendant gave a price.
Fang Ming said nothing.
The attendant lowered it by a little.
Fang Ming still did not speak.
"Young master, this is already fair."
Fang Ming placed the wooden credit token on the counter.
The attendant glanced at it, then called over an older merchant. The older merchant checked the token, checked Fang Ming, then checked the Iron Skin Gu.
"A clean Rank two defensive Gu," the older merchant said. "No hidden injuries. It came from a small clan east of the mountain. Former owner died, Gu was recovered, refinement mark erased. It will need refining again."
"That is why the price should be lower," Fang Ming said.
The older merchant smiled. "It is already lower."
"Former owner died using it?"
"He died after running out of primeval essence."
"That is not a recommendation."
The smile faded slightly.
The price lowered again.
Fang Ming bought it.
Not because it was ideal.
Because it fit.
A public Rank two defensive Gu was something he needed. Bronze Skin Gu had served its purpose. Jade Skin Gu was useful, but its value was better converted while buyers were present. Iron Skin Gu would not raise eyebrows. It could be fed. It could be explained. It did not force him into a strange path.
The attendant placed the Iron Skin Gu into a sealed container and handed it over with feeding instructions written on bamboo paper.
Fang Ming accepted both.
He did not refine it inside the Gu house.
Too many eyes.
He continued browsing for another quarter hour, buying small quantities of Gu food, two sets of ironwood sap, black beetle shell powder, and several cheap mission tools that would not draw attention. He paused at the Moonlight fusion materials, but did not buy.
Not today.
At the exit of the Three Star Cave, the afternoon light fell through the branches in broken strips.
Outside, the caravan was louder than before. A child cried near a candy stall. Two Gu Masters argued over the price of a healing pellet. A merchant cursed as a beetle beast shifted and nearly overturned a crate.
Fang Ming stepped back into the crowd.
Behind him, inside the tree, the appraiser had probably already sent the sold Gu into guarded storage. Liquor worm. White Boar Gu. Bronze Skin Gu. Jade Skin Gu. Two Red Steel Relic Gu.
All gone.
In exchange, Fang Ming carried wealth, supplies, and a Rank two defensive Gu that could appear openly in his hands without creating too many questions.
He still had the Moonlight Gu.
He still had Bookworm Gu.
He still had Wind Step Gu.
He still had Snake Tongue Gu.
And he still had one Red Steel Relic Gu hidden away.
Enough to move forward.
Fang Ming merged into the stream of people, his pace unchanged despite the weight beneath his robe.