After a long breakfast, Ming Yue and Yao Yao left the Sky Pavilion and walked into the sect's town. It was surprisingly busy today with several disciples and visitors moving from building to building.
"Where should we go first?" Ming Yue asked.
"To the weapon store!" Yao Yao exclaimed and strode off towards the weapon store. Ming Yue quickly followed.
Once inside, Ming Yue was surprised by how such a large store could feel so cramped. All over she saw glass displays that contained the more exclusive weapons while the walls were lined with rack after rack that held weapons of various kinds. There were swords, knives, spears, shields, axes, bows, crossbows and even a few whips and other weapons Ming Yue couldn't determine how they were used.
Yao Yao immediately ran up to a glass display and kneeled down as she put her palms against the glass and pushed her face so close she nearly squished her nose. Her eyes were sparkling as looked at the item inside.
Ming Yue walked over and saw what Yao Yao was looking at was a pair of silver bracers. They looked really beautiful and a bit exotic as all over their surface were inscriptions of beautiful calligraphy that swirled around making the words seem to grow together and also making it impossible to read what it said. "What are those?"
"These are the Heavenly Silver Bracers, rumored to have been worn by Lady Qi Tian Xi 4000 years ago." Yao Yao said.
That didn't tell Ming Yue much as she didn't know who that person was, but she assumed she was famous. Her eyes drifted to the price tag and suddenly exclaimed, "20,000 points!" Ming Yue gulped. She made 50 points from yesterday's mission and she made a quick calculation and realized she had to finish 400 missions before she could afford it. She looked at Yao Yao with a new depth of respect. Then she moved and browsed the other glass displays: "The Green Night Flower Sword" 100,000 points, "Blue Obsidian Battle-axe" 2,000,000 points, "Skycrier Sword" 10,000,000 points... The prices just got more and more exaggerated so that she couldn't imagine how anyone would ever be able to afford them. Then she wondered what the more normal weapons cost and walked over to the racks and soon found out that the cheapest weapon she could find was a small knife which cost 500 points.
Ming Yue sighed as she realized she couldn't afford anything in this shop, but then she wasn't particularly interested in weapons anyway.
"Shopkeeper! I want to buy these pair of bracers." Yao Yao called out.
A short, sturdy looking man walked out from behind the counter. When he saw who was calling for him, he bellowed happily. "Yao Yao, you've finally made enough points?" For every day the past ten years she had come to his store to look longingly at the bracers, sometimes for several hours. She had even chased out and beaten up a few disciples who showed interest in the bracers which caused everyone in the sect to know that these bracers were inofficially reserved for her as nobody dared to offend her.
Yao Yao quickly untied her sect badge and gave it to the shopkeeper, who put it against his own, and after a small glow he gave her badge back.
Then the shopkeeper took out a small key and unlocked the glass display and then pulled the bracers out and placed them on top of the glass display.
Yao Yao immediately grabbed them and caressed their surface lovingly. It had been 10 years and she could finally touch them! After a moment of reverie she quickly refined them and then put them over her forearms. They fit perfectly. She made a few martial arts moves and then nodded in satisfaction to herself.
Ming Yue looked at her friend who was basically glowing from happiness and didn't want to disturb her. She was truly happy for her.
A few moments later they left the weapon shop.
"Can we check out the market?" Ming Yue asked. She figured with her small amounts of sect points she wouldn't be able to afford anything anyways. Besides, she wasn't really that interested in cultivation stuff, such as weapons, pills, cultivation methods, and treasures. No, she was more interested to check out the small handmade jewelry and other knickknacks that the merchants were selling in their stalls. Plus you could pay with regular coins rather than sect points. Jun Xi had left a hundred silvers in her ring as pocket money and she was eager to spend them.
"Alright. Let's go." Yao Yao said and wrapped an arm around Ming Yue's shoulder as they wandered off toward the market.
Ming Yue ran between the stalls like a curious child and picked up and looked at everything. Then she found a stall which sold a few handmade bracelets, necklaces, and pouches and immediately bought a few which she thought were pretty. As she continued on to look at the other stalls something glimmered in the corner of her eye and caught her attention. She walked over and found it was a stall which sold various cast iron pots and pans, which seemed a little random to her.
"Ho ho ho! A customer!" An old man stood up from a stool that was hidden behind all the pots and pans and laughed with mirth. "Dear customer, every adventurer needs a cast iron pan when you're stuck out there in the dry desert, the top of a mountain, on an uninhabited island, in the snowy storms of the far north. Every adventurer has one thing in common and that is food! We all need to eat, no matter if you're human, demon, frog or cat. So I took it upon myself 40 years ago to start my business and have so far provided tens of thousands of happy customers with a pot or pan which has brought them endless joy on their journeys. Please check out my wares which all have a lifetime warranty, the prices ranges from as little as 200 copper to 500 copper depending on their size."
"Is this for sale?" Ming Yue asked as she picked up a small golden bracelet which was decorated with a crescent moon.
The old merchant was stunned for a moment then he smiled as he said, "Of course. I'll tell you a story. I was traveling through the Tian Ru Province in the north a couple of months ago when after a late night dinner I went down to the river to clean my cast iron pan. That's when I noticed something glimmering on the bottom of the river under the light of the full moon. And guess what, it was exactly this bracelet you're holding. Seeing how you're the first customer who has taken a liking to it and seems fated with it, I will give it to you for free if you buy one of my pots or pans. "
"Alright, I'll take this pan." Ming Yue said and pointed toward a random pan.
The old merchant laughed happily. "Good choice! This pan has been with me for over ten years and now it has finally found an owner!"
Ming Yue payed the old man and gave the pan to Yao Yao to hold while she put on the bracelet. She admired the cute bracelet around her wrist and glimmered beautifully under the sun's light. She thought the crescent moon fit her name perfectly.