The sun had already set.
The sunset glow was still burning in the sky. The mountains far away in the distance were covered in a thick layer of grey ash, gradually turning to black.
In the academy, a day's class was over. The students walked out from the academy in groups of twos and threes.
"I'm really happy today, I learned quite a few things. Especially learning how to use the Moonlight Gu."
"The way the moonblade flies in the air looks so cool. It's too bad that my talent isn't enough, so in the future, I can only be a logistics Gu Master, I won't be able to go onto the battlefield." The young teenagers happily chatted away.
A few of them called their friends over.
"Let's go and eat, we can drink some rice wine while we're at it. Chi Chen, Qin what do you think?"
"Sure, that's not a bad suggestion." Said Chi Chen happily. Despite knowing that it would cut into his studying and training time, he didn't mind taking it easy for a bit. Hanging out with his friends/underlings was one of the ways he coped with the impostor syndrome chewing on his psyche every day.
"You guys go on first, I need to go to the store beside the academy's Gu storage and buy some stuff" Qin spoke with Chi Chen with a smile on his face, as he was the only "true friend" Qin pretended to have. A small explanation was necessary to avoid seeding discontent.
Then, waving his hand towards Chi Chen and his bootlickers, Qin walked away.
.
.
The academy's Gu Storage Room kept quite a few Rank one Gu worms. There were many types and variations, and Qin's Moonlight Gu was taken freely from within.
Once in a while, the students would have a free chance to pick a Gu worm. If one wanted to get extra Gu, they would need to pay up accordingly.
Suffice to say, ordinary students of the Gu Yue Academy couldn't even dream of buying a new Gu yet, since the price for useful ones could be counted in hundreds of primeval stones.
While this wouldn't pose a problem for Qin, with the "salary" he received from Chi Lian, all transactions would be reported to the higher-ups eventually. A random C-grade peasant throwing around such wealth would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention.
Instead of lingering, Qin walked to the building beside the Gu Storage Room. It was a small store. It stood modestly near the storage building, its facade constructed from sturdy bamboo poles woven intricately together.
Walking in, Quin saw that eight other students were already there. 7 of them were negotiating over the counter with the store owner for buying grass puppets.
The 8th was a plain-looking youth with dark hair and dark eyes whose face seemed frozen in an expression of indifference. His eyes seemed to shift to Qin the moment he entered, before snapping back to the clerk.
This youth seemed to have caught the attention of the shopkeeper, enough for him to temporarily ignore the other 7.
Qin wasn't in a rush, so he remained close to the exit of the store, waiting for those in front of him to finish their business. As he appraised the products displayed on the bamboo shelves that lined the walls, he could also clearly hear the words spoken in the store.
"Did junior brother come here to buy a grass puppet as well? If you want me to leave one for you, you just need three pieces of primeval stones. These things sell like hotcakes, right now there's only seven left, if you wait any longer there won't be any stock left." The clerk shamelessly announced, speaking to the 8th youth yet clearly targeting the 7 who were still trying to bargain.
Qin glanced towards the grass puppets on display as he mentally evaluated their price. The grass puppets were made with the Scarecrow Gu. Even after including the primeval essence that was put in, the final cost should not have been more than two primeval stones, even with commercial excess taken into account.
The 7 youths could have maybe known this if they studied meticulously the book of Common Gu Worms provided for free by the academy, yet judging from their reactions, it wasn't the case.
"Senior, this isn't fair. It should be first come first serve, why leave any for him?"
"Yeah, we all came early. If you want to do business you should know the rules."
"Three pieces, humph...here's the primeval stones, give me a grass puppet."
The youngsters were all worried when they heard that the store only had seven puppets left. They stopped trying to negotiate and emptied their wallets.
Very quickly, seven satisfied teenagers walked out. Only the 8th youth and Qin remained in the store. The clerk didn't waste a second before turning his attention to them.
"Do my juniors want to buy a grass puppet as well?" Jiang Ya laughed as he asked, "It seems like they were sold out, but there's actually still an eighth puppet stowed away below the counter. If one of you juniors doesn't buy it now, I'm afraid you will miss the opportunity..."
The dark haired youth didn't seem to have any interest in the grass puppet though, despite the the clerk's best attempts at creating a sense of urgency. He shook his head and pulled out a piece of primeval stone, putting it on the counter. "I want to buy ten moon orchid petals. Brother Qin can buy the last remaining puppet if he wants to." Fang Yuan spoke with an expressionless tone, not even glancing toward Oin as he spoke.
Even so, Qin could feel that he had gotten the time traveler's attention as he felt himself being examined. It was as if his very breath was scrutinized, each facial expression observed in detail.
'And that's exactly what I want...'
"Thank you Brother Fang" Qin responded small incline of his head, before showing an embarrassed smile."Unfortunately, I only have three primeval stones on me and I also need to buy moon orchid petals..."