Lin Mu was a bit surprised by the mannerisms of the man called Jingming Shang, but it seemed like the pair of grandfather and granddaughter, Jing Wei and Duan Ke were used to it. It was as if they had seen this many times before and were not bothered by it, even if the man did try to flirt with Duan Ke.
But from the previous interaction, Lin Mu could tell that this man Jingming Shang was not as strong as Duan Ke, who was at the peak stage of the Core condensation realm. But he did seem stronger than Hei Yingjie, or at least as strong as him.
'Hmm, so he's at least at the mid stage of the core condensation realm. I can't tell if that's good or not.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
"Alright, that's enough of your acts. We have a lot to do today. First of all, let us clear out the previous stock." Duan Ke suddenly said, not wanting to see more of Jingming Shang's dramatics.
"If lady Duan Ke says so…" Jingming Shang agreed and then took out a bracelet from his wrist.
The bracelet had been hidden under his sleeves, thus Lin Mu had not seen it. But now that he saw it, he could instantly tell that it was a spatial storage treasure. Duan Ke took the bracelet and went to the back room for a few minutes before returning with it.
She handed it back to Jingming Shang, who took it and closed his eyes for a minute before opening it. This time he had a new glint in his eyes, as if he had found something that he liked.
"Ahh, the goods this time are quite good. I even see a lot of spirit beast cores. Oh? And what's this… A core condensation realm beast core? That too one that awakened a bloodline ability, excellent!" Jingming Shang praised.
Lin Mu had not thought that the man was here to buy all the things that he had sold to Duan Ke before. He had thought that perhaps they were using it to make items of their own, but now it seemed to be unlikely.
"I have more, give me another spatial storage treasure. Or perhaps you can just carry them out yourself." Duan Ke spoke again.
"What is it? I hope it's as good as this." Jingming Shang asked.
"It is beast materials. Pelts, bones and components such as that." Duan Ke replied.
"Ah, that needs no spatial treasure. I'll get the servants to carry it out." Jingming Shang said.
"Alright, tell them to come in through the backyard's door. I'll put them there… there's a large quantity." Duan Ke said.
Jingming Shang had an intrigued look on his face, but he did not question Duan Ke. He simply went out for a few seconds and came back.
"They're entering the yard." He said.
"Good," Duan Ke said and secretly gestured with her hand. "The goods have already been put in the yard." She added.
Jingming Shang raised his brows in response and waited for his servants to report to him.
Lin Mu had seen what Duan Ke had done there. He had felt the formation array activate for a bit, and spatial fluctuations appeared. Another thing was that there was no entrance to a yard before and now that he observed with his spirit sense, there clearly was another door to the side of the building which was not there before.
"Seems like the work of the Myriad Armament Canopy Abode's formation array." Lin Mu inwardly muttered.
Five minutes later a knock was heard on the door of the shop and a middle aged man dressed in a steward's clothes walked in. The man cupped his hands in greetings to everyone in the room in a servile manner. Lin Mu could tell that the man was a servant and was a bit surprised as he could even feel spirit qi fluctuation from the man.
He curiously probed the man and discovered that the servant was an early stage qi refining realm cultivator.
"A cultivator as a servant?" Lin Mu muttered under his breath.
"This isn't unusual, you will see this a lot in the future. The weak will always be the servitude of the strong." Xukong stated.
Lin Mu nodded in understanding and looked back at the people.
"I have recorded all the goods, master." The servant said as he then handed a scroll to Jingming Shang.
Jingming Shang read through it and looked even more satisfied now.
"These are good." Jingming Shang said as he looked at Duan Ke, "you've outdone yourself."
Jingming Shang waved his hand, and the servant left the shop.
"Now then, what is it that you want to buy from me?" Jingming Shang questioned.
In response to his words, Duan Ke took out a jade slip and handed it to the man who read through it before nodding his head.
"Alright, I can get all of this." Jingming Shang replied.
Duan Ke then glanced briefly at Lin Mu before looking back at Jingming Shang.
"We need information on a few matters…" She uttered.
"Oh, what kind of information?" Jingming Shang asked, "and is it fine discussing it with someone else here?" He added.
"Yes, it is fine. He is partaking in the trade as well." Jing Wei was the one who spoke this time.
"If owner Jing Wei says so," Jingming Shang stated.
"We need the information of any nascent soul realm cultivators that have gotten heavily injured in the past year. And we also need the information of the Autumn valley sect." Duan Ke said in a calm tone.
Jingming Shang's expression straightened after hearing the question, and he fiddled with the fan in his hand.
"Surely lady Duan Ke knows that information like this cannot be revealed easily? The price will be high for sensitive matters such as those dealing with Nascent soul realm cultivators. As for the Autumn valley sect, Hmm… it shouldn't be a problem." Jingming Shang replied.
"The price is not a problem. All we need is the information." Duan Ke reiterated.
"The information I'm about to say is highly sensitive, I'm asking you again, are you sure it is fine with a fellow cultivator here?" Jingming Shang questioned again, this time with a serious face.
