Chapter 2: A Business Genius – What I Learned
"Let's take a walk and have a look around."
"Aquamarine worn by a Buddhist disciple at the Nascent Soul stage is absolutely guaranteed to be authentic!"
"Pah! Yours is obviously fake. This string of Tianshan Bodhi beads is the one that a Buddhist monk once wore. Fairy, take a look and share in his good fortune." The shopkeeper smiled obsequiously and held it up. "I only charge one top-grade spirit stone. It's absolutely worth it."
Fufeng City is the most bustling city under the jurisdiction of the Buddhist sect. It is bordered by Sunset City to the north and the Holy Capital Demon Realm to the south. As a result, it is filled with a wide variety of goods, including strange items that cannot be found in righteous immortal sects.
The newbies who have just come down from the mountain for training always choose this as their first stop.
Upon hearing this, the two pretty and adorable girls dressed in blue exchanged a surprised glance, and one of them asked, "Is what you're saying true? Is it really something a Buddhist monk wore?"
"Of course, the Buddha is compassionate and merciful, protecting this pure land of Fufeng City. This is what he gave us last month, it couldn't be more genuine."
"Okay, I'll take it!" The girl blushed slightly and handed over the spirit stone with a look of surprise and delight.
"Okay, okay."
"Fairies, don't go! I still have books that the Buddha has read!"
"This is the pillow that a Buddhist disciple slept on!"
"Chopsticks used by a Buddhist disciple..."
"Is the Buddha going too far? Why is he selling everything?" The system cat had never seen anything like this before, its pupils dilating in shock. "But didn't that waiter say the Buddha had already gone into seclusion?"
Karin looked at the girls surrounded by vendors with shining eyes: "The way of doing business is profound and extensive. I've learned something new."
Ao Bai: "Huh?"
Huali didn't intend to explain to it, and turned to walk into the "Xianbo" offline store.
"Welcome! Turn left at the Best Dealer store on the second floor. It's the second window before 'Post a Task,' and the third window is for 'Redeem Task.'" The half-demon with fox ears greeted them, flashing his standard eight teeth.
Huali thanked them and walked to the third window to hand over the Tata Beast.
The half-demon at the window swiftly reached out and swept his hand, instantly enveloping him in a transparent light. "Not bad, excellent quality. Here are twenty high-grade spirit stones. Come back in five days to collect the rest."
The empty wallet instantly bulged, and Hua Li smiled as she took it, gently placing the spirit stones into the small cloth pocket under Ao Bai's chin, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
When people have money, they feel happier.
Only then did she have the mind to look at the surrounding decorations. She wondered which business genius had come up with this idea, as it contained all the hot news, mission announcements, and current events in the cultivation world.
Moreover, its branches are spread across several major immortal sects, and even extend to the Holy Capital Demon Realm and the Sunset City of the Demon Clan.
He is truly a role model for us all.
Huali circled around a few times, then tapped the communication stone to prepare for the next task.
She only browsed the low-level tasks section, without looking at them carefully, and just randomly clicked to accept one.
Finding a cheap hotel is the most important thing now.
*
The spring dusk was exceptionally gentle, with large swaths of purple-pink clouds spreading across the sky, enveloping it in a hazy rose hue.
Adhering to the principle of splitting a precious stone into ten parts, they didn't even glance at those ornately decorated rosewood pieces.
After many twists and turns, we entered a residential area in the city and found a two-story house built by the owner himself to stay in.
The inn was small, but very quiet.
Moreover, by opening the wooden window, one can see the willow branches drooping low over the water along the riverbank, swaying in the wind, attracting a few fish to nibble at them.
I had only rested for a short while when I was woken up by a noisy commotion.
Schrödinger's silence can be so unexpected, catching you completely off guard.
"Help! Someone has fallen into the water!"
"It's Madam Xu! She drowned herself in the lake!"
Hearing the sound, Huali leaned out and found that a crowd had gathered by the river, and a woman, soaking wet, was sitting on a blue stone, crying and telling her story.
"Let's go take a look." Huali stood up and quickly walked downstairs.
As I approached, I heard heart-wrenching cries.
Huali peered through the crowd and saw Madam Xu weeping bitterly. It turned out that she had been selling steamed buns by the river early that morning, and in the short time she turned to get some, her daughter, Xiaobao, had disappeared.
"I've searched everyone I can in this area, but where could a five-year-old child be?"
Madam Xu cried out, "I don't want to live anymore if I can't find Xiao Bao."
"Let's report it to the Buddhist sect and ask the monks to help us look for it," everyone suggested, offering their advice.
“But I haven’t seen any Buddhist monks come down the mountain for a month or two. I heard from my wife’s uncle’s aunt’s son that something seems to have happened to the Buddhist sect, and a big shot has been seriously injured.”
"No wonder. What should we do then? Maybe we should try other immortal sects, but it's not a big deal like slaying demons and monsters. Do you think they'll take care of it?"
"What sect are you talking about!" A strong smell of alcohol wafted over.
"Isn't it embarrassing enough? Hurry up and come home with me." The burly man squeezed in front of Madam Xu, grabbed her arm, and lifted her up like a chicken.
When Madam Xu saw who it was, she was terrified. Just as she was about to struggle, she was slapped hard across the face. The man pointed at her and said in a vicious voice, "You stinking woman, I'll deal with you when we get home!"
Some people tried to speak up to stop him, but they were all intimidated by the man's murky and fierce appearance: "Get out of here, it's none of your business!"
This is clearly not the first time something like this has happened.
Although everyone looked reluctant, they ultimately did not want to anger this scoundrel, and could only watch helplessly as the two dragged each other away.
"Alas, what a tragedy," sighed the hunched-over old woman beside him, shaking her head.
"This Mrs. Xu is really pitiful. How could she have married that drunkard Xu Dalang? Now she has lost her child and there is no hope for her life."
Huali asked curiously, "Isn't this an area under the jurisdiction of the Buddhist sect? Don't they care about this kind of thing?"
When the old man saw that Huali was a little girl, he immediately understood. "Every family has its own troubles. The immortals are all busy ascending to the Great Dao and subduing demons. How can they possibly manage all these dirty affairs?"
"Little girl, are you a fairy too?"
Karin paused for a moment, a little embarrassed, but still nodded, "Yes."
Although she lacked spiritual power, she could at least use cards to capture a few minor demons.
Tilting your head, how can that not count?
Hua Li plucked a willow leaf and looked at Madam Xu, who was struggling, "Ao Bai, what do you think?"
Logically, turning around to grab the bun should only take about ten seconds. The child couldn't have gone far, and a kidnapper couldn't possibly be that fast.
Ao Bai: "Could it have fallen into the river?"
"Impossible." If it had fallen into the river that close, there would definitely have been the sound of water.
Just as he was deep in thought, he heard Xu Dalang scream. It turned out that Xu Niangzi had bitten him hard.
Xu Dalang threw the person to the ground, gasped a few times, turned around, picked up a wooden stick, and was about to hit Xu Niangzi with it.
"Stop!" Huali shouted, taking a few steps forward and grabbing the wooden stick. "Move again and don't blame me for being impolite!"
Xu Dalang was a bully even when he was alone. He could tell from Huali's attire that she was no ordinary person, and he was immediately intimidated by her aura.
"Fairy, fairy," Huali's skirt was tightly grabbed. Madam Xu was covered in mud and her hands were bleeding from being slapped. She knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing, "Fairy, please, please save Xiaobao."
"I'll give you anything if you can find her." Fearing Hua Li wouldn't agree, Madam Xu tore off the jade pendant from her neck and forcefully stuffed it into Hua Li's hand. "This is a family heirloom left to me by my mother, please, please..."
Ao Bai: "Just a heads-up, host. This was most likely the work of a demon. The level of the demon is unknown, so it's best not to act rashly."
Huali is unusually silent.
The light in Madam Xu's eyes went from urgent to extinguished, as if all her life force had been drained away.
She had no strength left and could only let the hem of her skirt slip from her hands.
Suddenly, a pair of warm hands gently rested on her shoulders.
Madam Xu looked up in a daze, and the tears in her eyes fell to the ground as she looked up, splashing out in a small vortex.
Huali squatted down in front of her, stared into her eyes and said seriously, "My spiritual power is not high. Strictly speaking, I'm just a half-baked one."
Madam Xu stared blankly, "Ah..."
"But I promise you, I will do everything in my power to find your child."
Ao Bai covered his face.
Sigh, it knew this would happen.
"Give me some time." Huali helped the person up. "Go home and wait."
Madam Xu finally came to her senses and was about to kneel down again, but Hua Li stopped her in a flash.
"Keep this with me for now, I need it." She put the jade pendant away, then glanced sideways at Xu Dalang, who dared not speak his anger, and sneered, "Although I'm only a half-baked amateur, dealing with an ordinary person is a piece of cake. If I come back tomorrow and see that Madam Xu is injured..."
"I will repay you many times over, and I mean it."
Xu Dalang was startled by Huali's gaze, dropped the wooden stick, and ran away.
Coward.
*
The place that Madam Xu mentioned wasn't far from here, but it was getting dark and there were hardly any pedestrians around.
Ao Bai jumped from Hua Li's shoulder to the ground, sniffed around, and said, "There's something wrong with this place."
Huali followed and picked up a piece of apricot-colored fabric from the grass. "Is this it?"
System: "That's right, I can smell the scent of monsters on this."
The material is soft and gentle on the skin; it's clearly something for a little girl. "The color is just as Madam Xu described; it must be for Xiao Bao."
Ao Bai: "It should be the Shadowless Beast. This kind of magical beast is best at concealing its form. It likes to hunt in the shadows during the day and only reveals itself to feed at night when there is no light. Fortunately, it is a low-level magical beast. We must find it before dark."
"The Shadowless Beast likes dark and damp environments. Let me smell Xiao Bao's clothes; the scent is still there. I should be able to find it."
Ao Bai closed his eyes and sensed carefully, "Found it, it's over there."
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