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023 - Brewing Conflict Within the Market
🕑 Added 2024-07-09 12:03:43 +0000 UTCNear the far side of the market was a row of peculiar shops that were more luxurious than the stalls Qin Yun had perused before. Standing before one of them was two groups of people facing against each other. While most only glared, two women were deep in conflict over what seemed to be who could buy one item on display.
From what Qin Yun could piece together from their insane ravings and screaming, one of them arrived first, looking at the store's wares, yet didn't find what she was looking for. Then came the second woman with all her entourage. She asked for an item not displayed on the shelves, which caught the first woman's attention. This also seemed to be what she was seeking.
After pointless bickering over who should own that item, a catfight ensued. They couldn't reach an agreement, and the situation only escalated from there. Fortunately, these women weren't foolish enough to resort to violence in the market, although they were close to their breaking point.
"Only this item is fit to belong to the young master, and as I was here first, I should obviously be the one to get it!" the first woman screamed, as if raising her voice would make her counterpart listen more closely.
“Bullshit! I’m the one who asked for it, so it’s mine! I must be the one to give it to the young master!”
Suddenly, Qin Yun's enthusiasm deflated. He had no interest in some love triangle involving some young master. Still, he glanced at the item in question simply for good measure.
It was then that his eyes narrowed slightly. The item was a monster core, radiating a slight orange glow. The core was spherical, no larger than some of the pills next to it, yet the energy contained within was astounding. This core had once belonged to a Bird of Paradise, an elusive species of demonic beasts rumoured to be able to lead the way to a treasured land known as Paradise.
It was recorded that within that land were countless cultivation resources that could make any mortal man an immortal. If a living Bird of Paradise was to be found, it would create such a stir that it might even catch the attention of the continent’s core.
Yet, for all intent and purposes, those birds were all but extinct as cultivators hunted them all to reach that promised land. After all, Birds of Paradise could only survive in a particular environment. They would perish as soon as they left, leaving nothing behind but their core if they were lucky.
To find such a rare core was a stroke of luck, yet Qin didn’t bother fighting for it. He had no need for this promised land as it would only bring forth too much attention and conflict. He much preferred to remain the spectator he was, watching as they tore each other's hair out over some man who probably wasn't even aware of their existence.
He strongly considered walking away as Yun Jingfei wasn't interested in the slightest until he heard a comment that caught his attention.
“Isn’t that a young lady from the Ma Clan fighting with Lady Sun’s maid? Isn’t the young master they are talking about the City Lord’s new son-in-law?”
“You mean the one they picked up in those ruins? That genius?”
“I heard he fought to a draw with one of the Sun Family’s Golden Core elders despite being severely injured, yet looks no older than thirty!”
“It's no wonder the City Lord would betroth his daughter to him, considering his strength. He must surely come from some exalted lineage to have such strength at such a young age!"
“Don't say this to anyone else, but there's a rumour that he comes from the Core Region!"
Qin Yun could hear the man gasp as this news was much too shocking. They were located at the edge of the Western Wastelands; the Core Region was much too far away, separated by too many forests and mountain ranges that any news originating from there was seen as magical and otherworldly. Simply the fact that immortals walked the earth over there, made people wonder what other miracles existed.
While Qin Yun was interested in exploring this world, he wasn’t in a hurry as cultivators could easily live for centuries. Why rush through it all? Still, the mention of this man found in a ruin reminded Qin Yun of the tribulations not so long ago. He couldn’t dismiss the thought that it was somehow related to this man.
Qin Yun put it out of his mind as he had no interest in getting involved unless there was cause to do so. He had much more important things to worry about, such as acquiring their new house. While he considered leaving Jin City after their exile, starting anew in a new town would be too much of a hassle. Besides, he had acquaintances here he could rely on.
People started to gather around Qin Yun and his wife, eagerly watching the situation about to meltdown. Neither woman wished to back down, and the situation quickly escalated. The poor shop owner was stuck in the middle, unwilling to oppose any of them and too afraid of retaliation.
One was a young miss of the Ma Clan in the prime of her youth, while the other was the personal maid of the City Lord’s only daughter. Neither could be dismissed that easily. While the Ma Clan was beneath the City Lord’s Mansion in status, they were actually equal in strength. Any conflict between the two would only end in mutual destruction.
While the older generation would obviously like to avoid such a thing, the same couldn’t be said for the younger ones. They were used to being arrogant and unbridled, thinking themselves high above others even while interacting with their peers. To simply let go and compromise was beneath them.
The same could be said for the maid. While most only knew her as Lady Sun's maid, she was actually her cousin and possessed her own backing in the City Lord's Mansion. She wasn't inferior in any way to the Ma Clan’s lady. As such, neither backed down, leading to an impasse.
It wasn’t until then that security was called in, yet nothing had changed as no one was willing to go against them. Still, one man made a reasonable compromise. If words weren’t enough, why not let money do the talking.
The person who proposed such an idea was someone Qin Yun was familiar with but never spoke to. He only heard a secondhand account of his as he conversed with one of his friends.
The man was part of the fourth and last great clan present within Jin City, the Lian Clan. Unlike the other three, the Lian Clan operated more like a business conglomerate. Most of the shops within Jin City were theirs, and they even owned many properties in other major cities. It would be difficult to find a family with more capital than them in the entirety of the Western Region.
Still, currency was always a coveted commodity, and, as such, many-eyed their assets, leading to many clans crossing them in the past, which they now remain in the past... permanently. With their capital, the Lian Clan employed many rogue cultivators belonging to no clan, ensuring no one would entertain any idea about crossing them anymore.
While rogue cultivators possessed lower strength than those belonging to proper clans, their numbers made up for it. Besides, they were dirt cheap to buy out compared to a proper security force. Rogue cultivators were so used to poverty that the scraps they were given seemed like heaven-sent gifts.
The young man who spoke up wore brocaded white garbs made of luxurious exotic material, fully intent on displaying his wealth. Even in the face of the two ladies from distinguished families, he remained calm and polite, explaining how to remedy this situation.
While most bystanders gasped in astonishment at how easily he had defused the situation, Qin Yun could only sigh in his heart at how simple and obvious the answer was. Yet no one had even considered it, too self-absorbed to take a moment to think.
The city's sole auction house complex was located in Jin City's most prestigious district. The young man's idea was to have the shopkeeper put the item up for auction and let the two ladies bid for it fairly.
While the two were obviously unsatisfied with this arrangement, they had to concede that they couldn’t continue the way things had been. A fallout between the Ma and Sun families would mark the end of Jin City as a whole. They had no choice but to relent. Besides, they both knew their elders would punish them if things were to escalate further.
With a contract signed by the shopkeeper explaining the terms of the auction and its timing, the young man left with the object alongside a convoy of guards surrounding him. The two ladies stared daggers at each other and then at the young man. While the young man thought himself clever in diffusing the situation, trying to show his good side to the two ladies, it had backfired splendidly.
Their goal in seeking this object was to gift it to another man, but now, they would have to wait another month for the next auction before being allowed to pay much more than what the item was first listed as. In short, all they had incurred was a loss.
It would be even worse for the maid as she acted on someone else's behalf, but now, her master would have to get involved. Things would turn out much messier than she first expected.
With the situation coming to a close, Qin Yun remained stationary, pondering how to proceed while his wife looked around for something to catch her attention. While this type of drama wasn't usually to her taste, ever since she met Qin Yun, she had learned to enjoy being the audience. It was much more amusing when these types of problems weren't happening to you. She wondered if her husband’s personality had rubbed off on her.
On the other hand, Qin Yun wondered whether or not to get involved in this auction. While the promise of reaching Paradise didn't mean much to him, he still had many uses for that item as the core for various projects he had in his mind. Still, he wasn't sure whether antagonizing these two ladies over it would be worth it.
Sometimes, staying out of it and living in peace was worth much more than anything. Yet, Qin Yun’s wild tendencies always seemed to rear their ugly heads. He just couldn’t stay out of drama. Entertainment was too much of an appealing drug to him.
With his mind made up, Qin Yun returned to the matter at hand, only to see his wife standing before a lone stall near a dark alley. The stall was so unlike the rest that littered each side of the road. It seemed mostly ready to crumble at any moment, yet the objects for sale caught his eye. Their value was over three times what the most upscale shops charged for their most expensive items.
He first thought it was a scam, wanting to scalp some poor sucker unaware of their actual value, yet Qin Yun stood corrected. On closer look, these items were worth much more than what the shopkeeper asked for.
Reaching his woman's side, Qin Yun noticed that Yun Jingfei held a small necklace in her hand. Compared to the rest of these items, the necklace, although beautiful, was a low-grade common artifact whose only effect was to act as an attraction device for surrounding Spiritual Qi—something completely useless to his wife.
Despite the exorbitant price, Qin Yun still bought it for her. He simply couldn’t resist the look with which she looked at the object. Yun Jingfei was surprised when she saw Qin Yun drop a bunch of spirit crystals onto the counter. She had no idea he was that rich. Still, she was grateful for the present but couldn’t accept something so expensive.
While she wished to protest, Qin Yun didn’t let her. He turned her around and put the necklace himself around her slender neck. Yun Jingfei couldn’t help but blush slightly at this show of intimacy. She wondered if the man was only acting according to their contract or was genuine in his intentions. She couldn’t tell.
Without lingering at the stalls, the couple resumed their march.
“Where to?” she asked.
"To our new house, of course," Qin Yun replied.
