As the morning sun heralded the beginning of the day, Su Yan stifled a yawn, feeling sleepy. As he had yet to temper his body, he lacked the resistance to fatigue and soreness. Thankfully, that was all about to change. He sat up and gazed at his beautiful companion, who was still in the midst of soft snoring.
Today was going to be monumental moving forward. He was finally free of the immediate threat of the Yang Clan. Although it was only a matter of time before the news spread. 'Or not?' he reasoned. 'Why would they throw meat to wolves?'
Now that he was finally able to take a breather, Su Yan realized that the Yang clan didn't have any need to spread the news. They could very well keep it to themselves while searching for him covertly. After all, if others found out, why would they hand him over to them?
"That could work well for me." If he weren't being hunted like a prized prey, then he would have vastly more freedom of movement. He smiled as he recalled the face of the young master, who must be seething with anger by now.
As he pushed himself off the bed, he took another glance at his partner. Feeling hunger take hold, he moved to the burlap sack and opened it, only to be greeted by hard bread and water.
Sighing, he closed it back and left the room. Finding the kitchen was easy enough, and after requesting two servings of Blood Chicken, he climbed the stairs back to his room.
Su Yan opened the door and was greeted by the view of Xie Lian rubbing her messy bed hair and looking at him with puffy red eyes. He smiled and walked inside, holding a platter full of chicken soup.
"Good morning," he greeted. "I brought breakfast."
Xie Lian glanced at the bowl full of steaming soup and raised a brow.
"Don't worry." He assured her. "I brought this for a single piece of Qi stone."
She nodded, still coping with the after-sleep effects. Pulling out a loaf of bread, he handed a piece to her while holding one himself. The duo then proceeded to have a warm breakfast that roused their taste buds.
"I was thinking about our money problem last night, and I might have a solution to that." He spoke, drawing Xie Lian's attention.
"What is it?" She asked.
"You know Martial Union?" She nodded. "Well, they buy and sell a variety of things, from alchemical products to star-ranked items. I might have something that could fetch us some stopgap funds. It would be enough to last us for some time."
"Do I want to know what that is?" Xie Lian asked offhandedly.
Su Yan smiled. She had proven to be a smart woman once again by not explicitly asking him outright. He shook his head and said, "No, you don't."
The rest of the morning passed in silence. After leaving her to focus on cultivating, he descended down the stairs and out onto the road. Su Yan realized just how far from the center he was.
Meteorite City adhered to the level regulations, meaning the further from the center you were, the lower your status would be. If you lived really close, then you were an influential and powerful figure.
Martial Union was a world-renowned establishment that dealt with all things cultivator-related. They both sold and bought ranked items, those that have been touched by the Spirit of the world. And due to their amicable relationship with the Alchemist Association, they also partook in the trade of alchemy products like pills, potions, and poisons.
When Su Yan was ruminating over his financial problems, he puzzled over the issue for quite a long time. Ultimately he had to ask himself what he had that he could exchange for money. And the answer came to him in a moment of enlightenment.
What could a man with a simple iron sword and a meager cultivation base offer? Normally, not much. But what could a man sitting on a treasure trove of knowledge offer? So very much.
Su Yan smiled and found a hawker selling ink and brush. He squatted before what was essentially a cloth spread over the road with products spread atop. He picked an ink pot, brush, and a scroll. "How much for these?"
The man with messy hair and a scraggly beard squinted at him and answered, "2 Low Qi Stones."
Su Yan raised a brow and glanced down at the items he was holding. "2 for these? Isn't that a bit much?"
"2 or nothing." The man spoke in a matter-of-fact manner.
Su Yan sighed and pushed the items back. "Sure, then I don't want any."
The man frowned but didn't say anything. Su Yan stood up and turned to leave. Then paused and turned back around. "Aren't you going to call me back?"
"Why?" The man asked in confusion.
"Isn't this like the bargaining thing?" He asked apprehensively.
"What are you talking about?"
Su Yan sighed and rubbed his temple. "Clearly, I have no idea how this is supposed to work..." Shaking his head, he sat back down. "I want these, but I only have one Low Qi Stone, so how about this: You give me the scroll, I use your brush and ink, and then you keep it back. What do you think?"
The man put on a thoughtful expression for a brief moment and then nodded. "You can't take it with you. Have to write here."
Su Yan nodded and proceeded to unfurl the scroll. It was clean as expected and as he used the brush dipped into ink, he recalled the technique he had memorized earlier and started scribbling.
The technique was called Jade Dragon Fist and was a martial art like the one that burly woman had used. It was significantly better as it only required one to stimulate their vitality, instead of burning it.
After he finished writing the technique down, he gave the scroll a once over. Handing the brush and ink pot back to the hawker, he also gave him the last of his funds. Now he was well and truly broke. Unless he managed to sell this for something.