A month passed quickly.
March arrived.
The cold snow came to an end, and the spring wind took its place.
Without realizing it, winter had already passed. The frozen mountain creek began to flow again, and the icicles hanging beneath the eaves of bamboo buildings slowly melted under the sunlight. Drops of water fell one after another, splashing softly against the ground.
With the warmth of spring, flowers bloomed and grass grew wildly.
Qing Mao Mountain became a scene of green as far as the eye could see. Wild flowers blossomed on the sunny sides of the hills, forming patches of bright colors among the fresh grass. The gurgling river flowed through the mountain, reflecting the spring sunlight as it moved.
At night, newborn dragonpill crickets came out from their eggs and formed new swarms, filling the quiet mountain with faint sounds. During the day, colorful peacock parrots flew through the air in groups, chirping noisily as they passed over the village.
The warmth of spring spread across the mountain.
All living things seemed to wake from winter.
In such scenery, a caravan slowly made its way toward Qing Mao Mountain.
Fat black beetles moved forward at a steady pace, their broad backs filled with people and goods. Proud ostriches with brightly colored feathers pulled handcarts behind them. Hairy mountain spiders ignored the uneven terrain, crawling over rocks and slopes with ease. Winged snakes twisted forward through the caravan, occasionally opening their wings and gliding for a short distance before landing again.
At the front of the caravan was a Treasure Brass Toad.
It was 2 and a half meters tall, its whole body orange-yellow in color. On its back sat Jia Fu, the Rank 4 Gu Master leading this caravan.
The caravan slowly entered the area outside Gu Yue Village.
Soon, the quiet mountain path became lively.
Merchants shouted instructions. Servants unloaded goods. Mortals led pack beasts to their resting areas. Gu Masters from the village gathered near the entrance, watching the caravan settle down.
Fang Ming stood among the crowd, calmly observing everything.
Compared with the caravan from the previous year, this one was clearly larger.
There were more beasts.
More merchants.
More goods.
And most importantly, more Gu houses.
The tents were set up quickly, spreading outside the village in a wide area. These tents mostly sold ordinary goods and support resources: refinement materials, slaves, Gu food, weapons, recipes, tools, gambling rocks, and all kinds of miscellaneous items.
Gu were different.
Living Gu worms were valuable and difficult to store safely. Ordinary tents were not suitable for selling them. Most Gu were kept inside Gu houses, where they could be guarded properly and displayed with greater security.
This caravan had several Gu houses.
Most of them were Rank 2 Gu houses.
Fang Ming even recognized a few familiar ones from the previous caravan. As his gaze swept across the market, he soon spotted the Gu house where he had sold the Liquor Worm last year.
At that time, the Gu house had been quiet and lacked any rare Gu to attract customers. That was why Fang Ming had chosen it. The Liquor Worm had given that shopkeeper a chance to draw attention, and Fang Ming had used that point to raise the price.
Now, that Gu house was here again.
But Fang Ming's gaze did not stay on it for long.
Among all the Gu houses in the caravan, the most eye-catching one was still the Three Star Cave Gu House.
It stood in the middle of the market like a tall tree.
The Gu house was 18 meters tall, and from a distance, it truly looked as if a huge tree had grown out of the ground overnight. Its roots and branches twisted together like dragons and snakes. The trunk was thick and brown, its base nearly 10 meters wide. As it rose upward, the trunk narrowed only slightly, giving the entire tree a heavy and stable feeling.
This was a Rank 3 plant Gu.
Three Star Cave.
Once primeval essence was poured into it, it could grow into a tree-like Gu house. Inside the trunk were 3 layers of space, each arranged into a room that could be used as a shop. Windows opened along the trunk, allowing sunlight and fresh air to enter.
Compared with ordinary tents, this Gu house was much safer.
The counters inside were part of the tree itself. If anyone tried to snatch a Gu, the Gu house could immediately close its doors, trapping the person inside. Branches and roots could grow rapidly to bind, attack, or block escape routes. At the same time, the security Gu Masters inside would also make their move.
A Rank 3 support Gu Master was responsible for monitoring the entire Gu house.
With this kind of protection, the Gu sold inside were naturally more precious than those placed elsewhere.
More importantly, this Three Star Cave Gu House belonged to Jia Fu's personal business.
The Gu inside were also Jia Fu's goods.
Compared with the previous year, Jia Fu had clearly invested much more into this caravan. The Three Star Cave Gu House alone had already shown this point. Its scale, stock, and atmosphere were all different from before.
Fang Ming followed the stream of people and walked inside.
The first layer was already filled with Gu Masters.
Rows of wooden counters were arranged neatly across the room. Each counter displayed different Gu worms, and groups of Gu Masters gathered around them, discussing quietly or clicking their tongues in admiration.
In the middle of the first layer, a lone counter attracted the most attention.
On it was a Liquor Worm.
Many Gu Masters surrounded it, their eyes full of interest.
Fang Ming only glanced at it before looking away.
Liquor Worm had once been extremely useful to him, but that time had already passed. For a Rank 2 Gu Master like him, an ordinary Liquor Worm was no longer important unless it could be advanced along a proper refinement route.
His gaze moved across the other counters.
Jade Skin Gu.
Whirlwind Gu.
Scar Stone Gu.
There were also several other Gu compatible with Moonlight Gu.
Fang Ming looked at them with interest.
Jia Fu might not know every exact refinement recipe of the Gu Yue clan, but after years of doing business, he clearly understood what the Gu Yue clan needed. Many of the Gu displayed here could fuse with Moonlight Gu or support common Gu Yue clan battle styles.
Compared with last year, the variety was much greater.
The stock was also much richer.
Fang Ming slowly walked past the counters, comparing the Gu displayed this year with those from the previous caravan.
Jia Fu had truly come prepared this time.
This Three Star Cave Gu House alone already showed how much pressure he was under.
And for Fang Ming, pressure on Jia Fu meant opportunity in the caravan.