Chereads / Bane Child / Chapter 14 - Chance Encounters

Chapter 14 - Chance Encounters

Seeing this wonderful gift that his master had given him, Qing Shan could not help but be touched. While this place would have the best use as a training location, for him, it could easily function as a second home. He had already spent years in this space, and had thus grown quite attached to it.

Unfortunately, this space could only help him with a few parts of his training. His master had not passed on any methods of cultivating yet, so the Primal Elements would only really help him to gather Lightning Qi. Of Course, he could use the area to further temper his body and practice his movement technique, but he would have to be careful around the Primal Fire. After all, his master had to drag his half-alive body out of the aura of the Primal Fire countless times. Without his master as a safety net, that kind of tempering would be countless times more dangerous.

Qing Shan shook his head.

'What am I thinking! Master gave me this whole world as a gift, and the first thing that I start doing is weighing its benefits and flaws! Disgraceful!'

As Qing Shan was no longer sure how he should continue with his cultivation at the moment, he decided to spend the next few hours working on his movement technique.

Sadly, Qing Shan now had to worry about one thing that he usually did not have to care about in this space.

Time!

Before, Qing Shan would spend days in the Primal Seed pocket dimension without even knowing how much time had passed. Now, he had to manage his time so that he would be able to continue his daily schedule. Fortunately, Qing Shan's day was now vastly expanded, as he could just take a dip into the Primal Water instead of sleeping!

After enjoying his reunion with the Primal Seed pocket dimension, Qing Shan forced himself to leave in time for his meet-up with Yuan Long and Su Yuesha. He had promised to drink with them nightly, after all.

The next day, Qing Shan found himself in quite the dilemma. For the first time in years, he did not have a real goal in mind when he started the day. He knew that he wanted to look into teachings on cultivation, but the Rising Sun Clan hoarded all that knowledge. In that case, he would be lucky to find a lead that pointed toward some formal education.

After pondering his options, Qing Shan decided that he would head back to the Market. He could browse stores and maybe find a back-up weapon, and he could also search for some information. Who knows, he may even find a new way to brighten up the days. Perhaps, if he enjoyed his time, and spent it productively, he could make going to the Market a habit!

Having decided what to do, Qing Shan quickly ate a small meal and headed to the Market. While he knew that he could bypass his need to eat with the Primal Water, Qing Shan felt that there was something satisfying about having a full stomach. However, it was good to know that he had a wait to maintain himself if something terrible happened, such as losing a large amount of money.

Qing Shan arrived at the gates to the Market and showed his Entrance Pass to the guards. As he walked through the gate, he heard something he could not really understand. In fact, he just ignored it.

"Holy cr*p! That was a Gold Card!"

"Shut up! Do you want to make trouble for the boy! I don't think he even knows that he has something special."

Walking through the Market, Qing Shan once again began to revel in its beauty. Even though he had seen it yesterday, he had not taken too much time to appreciate everything around him.

Qing Shan started his time in the Market by looking through stores. However, he quickly became shocked. He had thought that a Barren Qi Orb was a lot of money, but he saw more than one store where there was even one or two goods worth one Barren Qi Cube! He started to get a familiar itch. It was the same itch that he had felt when he had no money!

'Why does the world keep making me seem poor! It is almost like I am not supposed to have a grand amount of money!'

While Qing Shan's thoughts had become temporarily depressed, he was still unable to hold back his awe seeing some of the goods. Of the stores he visited, he figured that eight in ten of them were not overpricing their goods at all! For a money-loving person like Qing Shan, it he had this thought than it must be true!

After passing through the part of the Market District that was filled with cloth and clothing, he walked over the weapons area. As his Father had always been messing around with fixing objects and tinkering with things, he had grown up with a large interest toward things like smithing and other kinds of crafting occupations.

Walking on the street between many a weapons and armor shop and forge, Qing Shan suddenly heard a large commotion.

"Get out! I don't care who you are. Anyone who disrespects me and my shop will be chased out without exception! If you dare come back in the future prepare to roll right out of my shop!"

Qing Shan almost burst into laughter seeing the scene in front of him. Of course, if he had proper context he may not think it was funny. All he could see was an old, genial looking man with white hair spluttering while yelling at a group of well-dressed people. Well, the man would usually look genial. At the moment, he was red in face, clearly showing a large amount of anger. There was even a young girl, about Qing Shan's age, looking up at the old man with a pale complexion and shock all over her face. Just from her clothing and pampered appearance, Qing Shan could easily guess that she must come from a large background and had most likely never heard someone speak to her like that before.

Qing Shan thought that this scene was funny because ever since he came to Rising Sun City he had seen many haughty people who looked as though they lived in an entirely separate world. In reality, Qing Shan was jealous of these people, as they had not had a day of hardship in their lives, However, hardship had made him who he was today.

'Damn, I wish I had someone to bet with. This girl is definitely going to ignore this poor man and immediately pull out her name furiously. I give it five seconds. Five, four, three, two, one–'

Qing Shan was immediately pulled out of his thoughts by the immature voice of the rich girl.

"I am the Young Miss of the Rising Sun Clan. You will not get away with this you old Fatty!"

Qing Shan tried to hold himself in, but he had truly lost control.

Just as the Young Miss was walking away, most likely to tattle on the poor old man, she suddenly heard a strange sound.

"Pu-Hahahahaha! Haha haaa ahhh..."

The girl turned around immediately, fury resurfacing on her face. What she saw ticked her off even more. There was a boy, most likely her age, maybe a bit older, laughing his guts out. This was naturally Qing Shan.

'Does this person even know what trouble he's getting himself into? There is no way he knows who I am if he's laughing so bluntly in front of me. The only one who would dare to do that is that old geezer… Right?'

Seeing the girl turn toward him, Qing Shan immediately started to act polite; he changed his face in an instant.

"Ah, if it isn't the Young Miss of the Rising Sun Clan. I trust you are having a nice time?"

Seeing Qing Shan's face change from one filled with youthful laughter to one that boasted kindness and the pinnacle of manners, Everyone nearby was shocked. If they had come at this point instead of earlier they would be on the side of the boy!

However, Two things happened when Qing Shan suddenly changed his tune. The old man who was still red-faced from anger, regained his calm. He then started laughing, wondering how exactly someone could be se shameless! On the other hand, the Young Miss through her hands up in anger.

'This infuriating man! He thinks that he can make fun of me and immediately smooth it over! Hmph. I'll make sure that he regrets the decision he just made today!'

The Young Miss, stamped her foot one more time for extra effect and turned around. She trudged away with her group of followers, her fists clenched and her face red from anger.

Qing Shan was surprised seeing the temperamental girl in front of him decide to flee instead of taking out her anger on him. He started to feel as though he had made some kind of mistake.

Immediately, Qing Shook his head.

'No, I, Qing Shan do not make terrible mistakes. There is always fortune to be found in danger! Opening myself up to danger is just another way of bringing me close to fortune… And money!'

With this thought in mind, Qing Shan resolutely pulled his gaze away from the retreating group of 'high class' women.

Once Qing Shan fell out of stupor, he walked into the old man's weapon shop like nothing had happened.

Like Qing Shan, the old man had already gone back to his normal routine; he was behind the counter waiting for customers. However, his mouth opened in a quiet laugh when he saw Qing Shan walk into the shop as if nothing had happened.

Qing Shan looked to the side of the store, casually looking at the display pieces.

'Holy Cr*p!'

However, Qing Shan was astonished at the prices. The was more than one weapon on display that sold for over one Lesser Shard! Who would buy something so expensive? Looking closer at these overtly expensive pieces, Qing Shan found that they each had something in common. All of the weapons had weird symbol covering them. Swords' blades were covered in the symbols, and the head of blunt weapons were also covered. It appeared that any part of the weapon commonly used for attacking was covered in these symbols.

"Hey, old man. What are these symbols?"

The man, who had been quietly watching Qing Shan leisurely answered.

"Those are called runes. They are basically the effects of Qi techniques printed onto weapons. For instance,

The man pointed toward one of the steel clubs that was covered in runes of a muddy yellow color.

"this mace is imbued with one of the techniques that possessors of Earth Qi can learn: Fortification. When a practitioner uses it, the technique cases their body to become almost three times as heavy and makes their skin thicker. When applied to a weapon, the technique makes the weapon hit three tines harder and makes it sturdier."

Qing Shan nodded that he understood, however, he was also confused.

"How can symbols replicate a technique?"

The man had a tired look on his face, as if he knew all too well how difficult it was to inscribe a technique onto a weapon.

"Unfortunately, these symbols have to have been originally created by a master of a technique. I myself, am unsure as to how they made these symbols. However, if one is given a Rune Print, they can copy the print onto a weapon with the right materials. Not to mention, the materials needed for these runes are monstrously expensive…"

Seeing the man looking so nostalgic, Qing Shan wondered aloud if the man had created these weapons.

"Sigh. Yes, In my younger years I had created many of these weapons. Unfortunately, the materials cost more than I made by selling, as the place that I first sold these weapons had them as a commodity. Luckily, up here, everyone understands the values of these weapons."

Hearing about the old man's experiences, Qing Shan began to sympathize.

'Ah, yes. The struggle of money… Wait, there it is again! This old man spoke of a place where miraculous weapons like this were a mere commodity, and he also used the words 'up here' to describe Rising Sun City. Could it be…?'

"Wow, old man, I must say that your profession is truly interesting. Sigh, If I was not focusing on something else, I may even decide to take it up myself… By the way, you are the second person that I have heard speak in reference to height. Could there perhaps be places beneath this? And these places, if I guess correctly, are also more prosperous than this Rising Sun City?"

Hearing Qing Shan's questions, the man was surprised. Although many had a suspicion regarding places beneath this one, this was the first time that he had ever heard someone daring enough to ask about those places.

"Hoho! Sure, boy, I guess I can tell you what you want to know. However, It will cost–"

Clink!

Without even waiting for the old man to finish, Qing Shan clenched his teeth and sent ten Barren Shards flying at the man, who pocketed all of them in a flash.

"Ah, I do not think this will–

Clink!

Qing Shan sent ten more the old man's way, his fists now clenched to the point of almost drawing blood.

"Damn old man! I only have a little over one Barren orb! Are you trying to rob me blind?"

Seeing the look of agony in Qing Shan's eyes, the man chuckled to himself. He knew better than anyone the pain of being low on money.

"Ah fine. Come here tomorrow and I will tell you what you want to know. And by the way, while the Rising Sun Clan cannot do much to me, you should watch your back. That little brat is really good at annoying people. Even worse, she, well, her family, has the power to back up her threats."

Qing Shan acknowledged the man while looking outside. To his astonishment, it was already nightfall. Time had passed quicker than he had thought. He bid good bye to the old man and headed back toward the Dusty Heights. He had promised to drink with Yuan Long and Su Yuesha every night, after all.