novelraw Chapter 580 - 579 Beat Him Half to Death
Chapter 580 - 579 Beat Him Half to Death
[Do you want to use an Acceleration Card?]
Back at the small courtyard, Jiang Yuan turned around and entered the upper Cloud Field of the one-acre Spirit Field.
The planted Spirit Roots didn’t even show a hint of a sprout. Taking a glance around, he could only see square, slightly sunken pits with white clouds swirling above, all appearing exactly the same, as if digitized by a game.
He randomly chose a small pit and clicked to use the Acceleration Card.
The white cloud in the empty Cloud Field pit trembled, and a small sprout, shimmering with faint blue light, pushed through the clouds, expanding its leaves and growing larger.
Just like the last time he planted the Fire Spirit Root, he now could predict the quality based on the color, which was undoubtedly still of Lower Class quality.
Sure enough, a small, ice-like pale blue flower blossomed and then withered. The cloud pit emitted a faint ice blue light, with a label indicating that it had matured and was ready for harvest.
[Lower Class Quality, Ice Spirit Root]
He clicked to harvest, and the Spirit Root, about four or five centimeters in size and feeling cool to the touch, went into the Storage Bag.
Using the Acceleration Card and clicking to harvest, he repeated this process eight more times.
Jiang Yuan currently had thirteen Acceleration Cards in total; after growing one Fire Spirit Root last time, he still needed nine more to complete the task. When he had four Acceleration Cards left, he finally planted a Medium Quality Water Spirit Root.
[Side Quest: Human Support Plan]
[Quest 5: Successfully plant ten Spirit Roots (10/10) completed. Reward: A package of Mysterious Spirit Field Exclusive Seeds has been issued]
"Next step is to find nine suitable candidates and plant all the Spirit Roots!" Jiang Yuan took out the just-issued reward, replanted the freed-up ten pits, then exited the one-acre Spirit Field and took Sword Flight towards Anping Town.
Although Anping Town is not too far in a straight line from the Riverfront Village over the mountain, Jiang Yuan was stepping into Wilderness World for only the second time to visit one of the largest towns within a hundred-mile radius.
He landed in the woods a bit further away and walked to the town, storing his sword along the way.
The last time he visited, he came to buy a Mining Pickaxe to complete a bounty order. Later, he learned the order was posted by Yun Mo at the Cyan Fish Mountain market, which earned him quite a lot of Gold Coins.
Back then, his disciple Wan Mingchuan was still a skinny village boy; Jiang Yuan himself had just learned the Paperman and Paper Horse Skill.
In just a few months, seasons changed, yet Anping Town remained unchanged as always. His disciple had already ventured into the Otherworld for exploration, and Jiang Yuan himself had become a millionaire.
"Fine fox fur for sale cheap!"
"Magnolia, Ephedra!"
"Dry firewood!"
"Fresh bamboo shoots just dug up, tasty and affordable..."
......
Outside the city gates was still the main battlefield where refugees gathered to sell their goods. It was mid-afternoon, and fewer people came out from the city to buy. Poorly dressed refugees had to call out to attract buyers, eager to exchange goods for money to buy daily necessities.
Not far away, a few young men dressed as servants from wealthy families leaned against the city wall, eyes filled with laughter as they watched the refugees tirelessly hustling to sell their goods, occasionally whispering a few words.
"We came out a bit early today, gave them face, yet they’re unwilling to sell at lower prices. Just wait, as the sun sets, they’ll start to panic!"
Another servant eyed the refugees selling fox fur and chuckled, "That fur is top notch; if it were sold in a shop, the price would easily be five times higher. But for goods sold by refugees, unless we squeeze them hard, how else can we earn a bit in between?"
"Allowing them to sell here without stall fees is already the Immortal Elder’s generosity; if we don’t recoup the cost from prices, these refugees would have run amok ages ago! I will stay here and watch, as for the fresh bamboo shoots Master Ding wants, if anyone dares to spend money to buy them, they’d better not sell... Ha, if you can’t sell, buying one pound and getting one free, I’ll take them without hesitation."
"Xiao Si, you’re more heavy-handed now with the power borrowed from your master."
"Of course! When the master’s in power, we, the servants, also shine."
"This year the task of hosting a banquet to honor the South Pole Immortal Elder falls to the Ding Family. Be smart; if you can serve at the banquet, you might even witness the Immortal Elder manifesting..."
......
A group of servants sent out to procure goods laughed and chatted, all waiting for sunset, when the refugees were worried about not being able to sell their goods, to ruthlessly haggle and buy them.
Jiang Yuan witnessed the familiar scene, filled with sympathy towards the refugees who lead tough lives day after day. Casually accessing his account, he took out some Gold Coins and walked to the old woman at the far corner selling vegetables, slipped a Gold Coin into her hand, and silently said, "Don’t make a sound, I’ll take all these vegetables."
The thin little Gold Coin felt heavy in her hand, the old woman squinted her fading eyes wide open and confirmed that she hadn’t seen this type of currency before. It was brighter and heavier than a brand new copper coin, emitting a golden glow.
Gold Coins?
She paused for a moment, recalling that she’d heard true gold would leave an impression when bitten, and if it didn’t, it was fake. Hesitantly, she bit down on it, and sure enough, it was soft!
"When you go to spend it, you can cut it into small pieces. There’s a money shop in town that buys gold and silver, and they usually don’t cheat." Jiang Yuan advised in a low voice, "Be careful, don’t let anyone know."
The old woman looked up at the elegant young man in front of her. He was dressed in fine silk clothes, with an exquisite twin fish jade pendant at his waist. Even his hair was gleaming clean, his Cloud-Stepping Boots spotless, clearly marking him as a young master from a wealthy family.
"Thank you, living Bodhisattva! Thank you!" She realized she’d met a benefactor, and quickly clenched the gold coins, her body trembling slightly with excitement, her voice dry, as she whispered, "Thank you, young master! Thank you so much!"
Even if she hadn’t seen gold before and couldn’t tell if it was real or fake, she dared not voice doubts in front of the noble young man. After repeatedly expressing her thanks, she stood up, her back slightly hunched, and hurriedly made her way home. She had to let her old man and son take it to the money shop in town to test it. If they could really exchange it for silver coins to make ends meet, that would be the best outcome.
Jiang Yuan waved his hand to put away the pile of fresh vegetables and got up to head to the next small stall.
Thus, one moment the refugees were still hawking their goods, and the next, they were either surprised, excited, or puzzled. Although most hadn’t seen real gold, they were intimidated by the young master in splendid clothing and obediently exchanged goods for money, then hurried away.
Very few who had seen real gold and silver were all flushed with excitement, thanking profusely as they took the gold coins home.
"Hey? Look at what that kid is doing!" It wasn’t long before someone noticed something was off. The refugees who had been lively hawking their goods hurried away, leaving only a sparse few people outside the city gate in no time.
Jiang Yuan bought the fox fur and conveniently went to buy the bamboo shoots still with wet soil beside it.
"Damn, Master Ding still wants fresh bamboo shoots!" The one called Xiaosi, who intended to lower the price and earn a difference, was joking around, but when he turned his head, he saw the fresh bamboo shoots were sold, and his mind buzzed with anger.
He’d come out early to buy fresh bamboo shoots and would definitely get scolded by the steward if he went back empty-handed. He still wanted to bribe his way to an opportunity to serve at the feast, but that chance was totally gone!
He cursed and scrambled to find trouble, but was pulled back by a servant beside him, "Are you blind? Look at that person’s clothes. He’s definitely a wealthy man. Can you afford to provoke him?"
"Even if I can’t, I have to! I’m ordered to buy fresh bamboo shoots!" Xiaosi glanced and saw that the other person was a stranger, not surrounded by a group of servants like the rich young masters in town. He was alone, without horse or carriage. Though his clothes were silk, the color wasn’t very bright. He thought the young fellow might just be a passerby with some family wealth.
Master Ding, who now took care of the offerings for the Immortal Elder, was one of the top figures in the town. Would he be afraid of a kid who hadn’t even grown facial hair?
After an unreliable analysis, Xiaosi thought the most important thing was to accomplish the task his master gave him; he had to return with fresh bamboo shoots today, and everything else could go to hell!
"Stop!" He shook off the well-meaning servant who tried to restrain him, and pointed at the other person, yelling, "You little thing, don’t you know the rules? Who allowed you to buy things here? Put the bamboo shoots down nicely, and I’ll spare your life!"
Jiang Yuan was about to put a pile of bamboo shoots into his Storage Bag when he heard this and looked up, with the system details immediately popping up.
"Ha, turned out to be a lackey who bullies others with power." When his parents farmed at home, they sometimes planted vegetables to sell for some extra money, so he easily empathized with the hawking refugees.
Seeing the details that Xiaosi bullied others to snatch what he wanted, forced people to sell by sundown at lower prices to make a profit, Jiang Yuan squinted slightly and sneered, "You’re not worth dying for, but you must be beaten to teach you a lesson!"
It wouldn’t do to directly use skills on Xiaosi, as those with attack power in the thousands would crush him with a single blow.
Jiang Yuan flicked his fingers to store the bamboo shoots in his Storage Bag and summoned the Clear Wind Sword, "Qingfeng, teach this bully a lesson, don’t kill him, just beat him halfway to death."
Only then did the few bystanders at the city gate realize something was wrong - they saw that the person with so many purchases had them disappear into thin air!
Watching in shock as a pile of bamboo shoots vanished at a touch, the foul-mouthed Xiaosi was dumbfounded. Then he saw an even more shocking scene - a sword floated in mid-air, intelligently nodding before flying toward him.
"Ghost! Help, it’s a ghost..." He didn’t even finish yelling before Qingfeng Sword slapped him on the back, knocking him to the ground with a mouthful of dirt.
The other servants glanced at each other and turned to run back into the city.
The sentries at the city gate, hearing the commotion, looked over just in time to see a long sword whipping the young servant from Master Ding’s household responsible for purchases, making him cry and plead, swearing never to bully refugees again.
"Greetings, fellow Daoist. May I ask what offense this person committed that you used your Spirit Sword to punish him?" As the commotion continued, an old man with a white beard suddenly walked out from the city gate, bowing to Jiang Yuan and pleading, "Ordinary folks are not as wise and understanding as we cultivators. If there’s been an offense, a slight punishment should be enough."
[Bai Heqing: Bone Refining Realm (Intermediate Level Monster) Copper Thorn Beast Demon Cultivator, receiving Anping Town’s citizens’ offerings, providing Level Three protection for Anping Town during the Wilderness arrival, establishing an Invisible Barrier, ensuring houses and fields remain undamaged, capable of fending off attacks below the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining from cultivators or demon beasts]
Oh ho? By teaching a lesson to a bully, I’ve actually attracted Anping Town’s "Guardian God"?
Seeing this, Jiang Yuan was somewhat surprised and returned the salute, saying, "Xiaosi, tell this old gentleman all the bad things you’ve done, and whether this beating was unjust."
"I didn’t... I..." Xiaosi had been battered until his face was bruised and swollen, with Qingfeng Sword holding back its strength, yet still left him aching all over.
He intended to deny but saw the sword suddenly unsheathe, frightening him into confessing all his misdeeds of bullying refugees under the Ding Family’s influence and even molesting young women.
Bai Heqing’s face immediately turned grim, "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for rectifying. I was unaware such a scoundrel existed in Anping Town. Please leave his punishment to me."