Chapter 39:
Information Repository
THE JOURNEY continued in silence.
Mo Tianliao knew he was in the wrong, so he didn’t dare to say a word. Qingtong leaned against the tiger and fell asleep. And the tiger, serving as a cushion, had no need to speak.
Nine thousand miles wasn’t a distance that could be covered in a single day. The wind was chilly at night, and there were always some evil beings on the prowl when it was dark, making it unsafe to travel. They had to find a cultivators’ town or city to take a break—but there were numerous such towns along the way. Mo Tianliao calculated the time and increased the flying ship’s speed, hoping to reach Yijin City before sunset.
Cultivators’ cities were mostly populated by independent cultivators, but there were also shops established by the various major sects. If Mo Tianliao remembered correctly, this small city, Yijin, had a powerful protective array that prohibited fighting and injuring others within its walls. Any violators would be expelled by the array. It was perfect for an overnight stay, and more importantly, he might find the information he needed there.
The flying ship landed outside the city. Mo Tianliao walked over to pick up the sleeping man, but his outstretched hand paused a short distance away from his master.
His master still hadn’t forgiven him for taking liberties with him. If he tried to carry him now, he’d surely get an even more brutal clawing. Mo Tianliao touched his now-healed face and looked at the peacefully sleeping beauty. His handsome face was half buried in the warm tiger’s fur, his cheeks tinted with a slight flush that made Mo Tianliao reluctant to disturb his slumber.
Mo Tianliao gritted his teeth. Oh well, he’d just have to resign himself to getting shredded again. As he wrapped his arms around his master’s back, those restful eyes opened slowly and looked quietly at him.
“You’re awake…” Mo Tianliao said softly. He didn’t have time to withdraw his hands before he got pushed away.
Qingtong stood up and looked around. “Where are we?” The tiger looked up groggily too. Seeing his master awake, he stood up and yawned.
“Yijin.” Mo Tianliao put away the flying ship and pointed to the inscriptions at the top of the city wall. “We’ve been here before. Do you remember?”
Yijin—a haven for respite and guidance—was a melting pot of people from all walks of life. It was also surprisingly safe, making it ideal as an information hub. News on the emergence of secret treasures, the trading of spiritual treasures, sects’ secrets, and plenty of other unknown and unheard-of information could be found here.
Qingtong snorted and led the tiger into the city, leaving the question unanswered.
Walking with a spirit beast was a symbol of strength and power. Passersby they came across cast envious glances at the strong, well-fed tiger that followed behind this stunningly attractive man. Looking at a spirit beast this ferocious, no one would suspect it hadn’t signed a blood pact, especially with the way the tiger constantly rubbed against its master’s leg like a tame cat.
Mo Tianliao stayed silent as he followed behind them and looked around. There were many stalls by the street. One stall had a taiji diagram with a banner that said Fortune-Telling. A foundation establishment cultivator sitting behind it started hollering his sales pitch the moment he met Mo Tianliao’s eyes. “Sir, come and have your fortune told! Find out when you can ascend to immortality.”
“How many spiritual stones for a reading?” Mo Tianliao stopped in front of the stall.
“That depends. The price varies on what you want to know,” the cultivator replied casually.
Mo Tianliao narrowed his eyes and turned to leave. These so-called “fortune-telling” stalls were actually information sellers. As long as you paid enough spiritual stones, you could find out practically anything you wanted. He looked up to see his master watching him from a distance, so he hurried over to catch up. But as soon as he drew closer, his master walked away again.
Rubbing his nose, Mo Tianliao quickened his pace and jumped in front of his master. “Shizun…”
Qingtong looked at him coldly.
“Shizun, you’ve walked past it.” Mo Tianliao pointed to the inn in the opposite direction. At the rate his master was going, they would soon be back outside the city.
“Hmph. Of course I knew that.” Qingtong huffed and walked back to the inn.
This was the largest inn in Yijin City, and prices were high. Qingtong asked for a deluxe room and an economy room and tossed the door token for the economy room to Mo Tianliao before heading up the stairs. The tiger followed after him, but Qingtong kicked him back down.
The two fellow disciples looked at each other and dejectedly made their way to the economy room.
The economy room was rather simple and basic, with a wooden bed and a table, but cultivators weren’t particular about this kind of thing as long as they had a place to meditate for a night. After settling the tiger in, Mo Tianliao went to leave again.
“Shidi, where are you going?” The tiger jumped off the bed and transformed into Menghu.
“I’m going to buy fried fish for Shizun,” Mo Tianliao answered smoothly, without batting an eyelid. “Is there something you want to eat?”
Menghu’s eyes lit up at the mention of food. “You decide, as long as there’s tasty meat.”
Mo Tianliao’s lips curved into a smile. He patted his senior on the head and walked out of the inn.
Menghu turned back into a tiger and sprang onto the bed, kneading it, his striped tail swishing back and forth—but suddenly he froze. His junior had patted him on the head again! Who exactly was the senior here?! No! I’ll need to teach him a lesson about respecting his elders!
Leaving the inn, Mo Tianliao took his time checking out several fortune-telling stalls, eventually stopping in front of a foundation establishment cultivator with a long beard. He put a medium-grade spiritual stone on the table. “I heard there’s an Information Repository in the city. Does it still exist?”
The cultivator kept the spiritual stone in his sleeve and stroked his beard. “Of course it does, but their prices are nothing like my humble stall’s.”
Some information couldn’t be obtained from these small stalls. The cultivator led Mo Tianliao to the alley behind and entered an unmarked shop. Mo Tianliao put on a black cloak and covered his face before stepping in.
“This way, sir.” The receptionist exchanged nods with the long-bearded cultivator and led Mo Tianliao into an inner room. A core formation cultivator with white hair and beard sat in the room with a tray neatly arranged with jade slips in front of him.
Mo Tianliao sat down across the table from the cultivator and glanced at the patterns on the jade slips. The original flame insignia had been erased and replaced with an odd eagle head. His eyes darkened. This Information Repository had once been his business, with branches in the cultivators’ cities of both orthodox and unorthodox paths, trading information between the two powers. Things seemed to have changed in his absence.
“I’d like to know the whereabouts of Lord Duantian’s divine artifact,” Mo Tianliao said in a hushed tone.
The core formation cultivator nudged the empty tray toward Mo Tianliao. “One hundred medium-grade spiritual stones for a direction, three hundred medium-grade spiritual stones for a location, and five hundred medium-grade spiritual stones for the full story.”
Surprisingly enough, there had been no change in rules or prices. Mo Tianliao took out fifty high-grade spiritual stones and placed them in the tray. Luckily for him, his cat didn’t like counting, and the bag of spiritual stones he’d thrown him had extra. Otherwise he wouldn’t have had enough money to seek information.
“Three hundred years ago, the divine artifact made its appearance in the world. All this time, it has been with Elder Ding of Liuyun Sect, but…”
Elder Ding was Ding Hu, a master artificer and the father of Ding Zijin, whom they had met on the way. Everyone knew the divine artifact wasn’t finished, and they’d hoped Master Ding could complete it, but even after a century of research, Ding Hu still hadn’t made any headway with it. Eventually, it had been stolen by the number one thief in Taixuan.
After that, the divine artifact had circulated among the various markets. One major sect had bought it, but without a suitable artificer, it had ended up being resold. The divine artifact was useless if it wasn’t finished, and sales stagnated among the orthodox markets, so it fell into the unorthodox markets.
“Seven days from now, it will be auctioned at Bahuang City of the demonic path. If you’re interested, you can check it out.”
Bahuang City… Mo Tianliao frowned. He was surprised to learn the market for Taishi had plateaued.
When he left the Information Repository, the moon was already high up in the sky. With nowhere to buy fried fish or roast lamb leg, Mo Tianliao returned to the inn. The tiger was sound asleep in the economy room, and he was snoring so loudly you could hear him from outside. Mo Tianliao looked up at the room upstairs. Still unable to set his mind at ease, he went up for a look.
With the city’s protective array in place, these rooms didn’t set up any other barriers or wards. Mo Tianliao quietly climbed through the window and stood by the bed, looking at the man who lay on it. His slender fingers, which could have been carved out of jade, glowed white under the moonlight. Mo Tianliao couldn’t help himself—he tucked that slightly cool arm back under the covers. Five sharp claws suddenly sprang out of those round fingertips, scaring Mo Tianliao so badly his hair stood on end.
“Insolent disciple, what are you doing?”
✦ ✦ ✦
MINI EXTRA
Shizun: What are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?
Woodworker: The night is long, and I can’t sleep.
Shizun: Then let’s do something interesting!
Woodworker: (≧◡≦) Sure!
Shizun: (*scratching sounds*) Hm… The back doesn’t scratch as well as the face.
Woodworker: QAQ