Chapter 36 – A Stroke of Serendipity

Chapter 36 – A Stroke of Serendipity

Yin Yuzhen’s premonition told her that as long as she followed through and helped Li Fan, boundless rewards would surely come in the future.

Though she had no idea what kind of achievements this uncle would attain in the days to come, Yin Yuzhen still chose to trust her intuition and help Li Fan with everything in her power.

And so, under Yin Yuzhen’s direction, Heavenly Treasure House began operating at full capacity.

While collecting meteorite iron, they also purchased large quantities of completely unrelated materials as a smokescreen.

Other factions on Glazed Glass Island noticed the unusual activity at Heavenly Treasure House and secretly sent people to investigate.

But with Yin Yuzhen having prepared well in advance, they naturally couldn’t discover anything of substance.

On the contrary, following Li Fan’s idea, Heavenly Treasure House released a flood of false information about Star Sea Flowing Sand. The other factions knew it might be a trap and initially chose to wait and observe.

But when one faction, operating on the logic of “buy first and ask questions later—even if it’s fake, we can resell it,” began purchasing anything related to the rumors in bulk, the rest could no longer sit still. They joined the buying frenzy.

For a time, prices on Glazed Glass Island skyrocketed, and chaos reigned.

…

Li Fan, the instigator of it all, simply stayed quietly inside Listening Serenity Tower, cultivating.

It wasn’t until three months later that Yin Yuzhen finally managed to contact a trade walker from the Thousand Splendors Merchant Association.

Early that morning, Yin Yuzhen and Li Fan boarded a small boat belonging to Heavenly Treasure House, left Glazed Glass Island, and sailed north for several dozen li to the sea area both parties had agreed upon.

The boat was loaded to the brim with goods for the transaction.

It was only after the sun had climbed to its zenith that the Thousand Splendors Merchant Association finally arrived.

A black dot appeared in the sky, rapidly growing larger. It wasn’t until it drew close that Li Fan realized it was actually a flying vessel!

A banner fluttered atop the vessel, bearing a single large character: “Myriad.”

The flying vessel appeared to be only half the size of the Taiyan Vessel’s second form—roughly fifty meters long.

The vessel quickly arrived above their heads, then slowly descended to rest on the water’s surface.

“Shopkeeper Yin, it’s been too long!” After it came to a stop, a burst of hearty laughter rang out from within the vessel.

Yin Yuzhen had been watching Li Fan, hoping to catch a look of surprise on his face.

To her disappointment, Li Fan showed not the slightest reaction upon seeing the Thousand Splendors Merchant Association’s flying vessel, as though he had long since grown accustomed to such things.

Yin Yuzhen felt a twinge of disappointment, but at the same time grew even more curious about Li Fan.

Hearing the trade walker’s voice, she finally turned her head.

“Trade Walker Wu, the last time we met was three years ago, wasn’t it?” Yin Yuzhen replied with a smile.

“Time truly flies,” Trade Walker Wu sighed, having already made his way onto the Heavenly Treasure House boat.

“And this is?” He looked at Li Fan, asking with a smile.

“An elder we’ve engaged at Heavenly Treasure House,” Yin Yuzhen answered simply.

Seeing that Yin Yuzhen was unwilling to say more, Trade Walker Wu tactfully refrained from pressing further.

“Let’s look at the goods then. I’m afraid after this time, it will be quite difficult for us to meet again.”

Yin Yuzhen froze at his words. “What do you mean by that? Has something happened?”

Trade Walker Wu shook his head. “I don’t know the specific reason myself. I just received a notice from headquarters a few days ago—all trade walkers operating within the Layered Cloud Sea are to cease all business activities and return as soon as possible.”

“If I hadn’t already arranged this trading date with you, I’d probably be on my way back already.”

“So this transaction can’t afford any delays. We need to be quick.”

Yin Yuzhen was thrown into a momentary panic. After all, the reason Heavenly Treasure House had been able to thrive on Glazed Glass Island was precisely because it had the Thousand Splendors Merchant Association backing it.

Now that the Thousand Splendors Merchant Association was suddenly withdrawing from the Layered Cloud Sea, what would become of Heavenly Treasure House’s business?

Would she even be able to hold onto Heavenly Treasure House?

And why had her premonition given her no warning at all this time?

Yin Yuzhen’s mind was in turmoil, and she stood there in a daze.

“Shopkeeper Yin?” Trade Walker Wu called out, seeing her frozen state.

Yin Yuzhen managed a strained smile and pulled herself together.

She walked into the cabin and began taking inventory of the trade goods.

“Sixteen pairs of jade discs, twenty-three pieces of coral, forty-six luminous pearls…” Li Fan led Trade Walker Wu past the various goods one by one.

Trade Walker Wu would occasionally pick up an item and examine its quality closely.

Then he would nod and carefully set it back down.

“Star Sea Flowing Sand—three pieces,” Li Fan announced evenly when they reached the middle section.

Trade Walker Wu’s face lit up with delight, and he strode quickly to the meteorite iron pieces.

He ran his hand gently over them, then flipped each piece over, inspecting them from every angle.

Watching from the side, Li Fan recognized that this Trade Walker Wu was no ordinary person.

Each of these meteorite iron pieces weighed at least fifty jin (25 kg), yet in the man’s hands they seemed light as toys.

After a moment, Trade Walker Wu reluctantly set the meteorite iron down.

“Shopkeeper Yin, what good fortune you’ve had this time! To have actually collected something as fine as Star Sea Flowing Sand.”

Li Fan and Yin Yuzhen exchanged a glance, silently relieved.

This confirmed that what Xiao Heng had said was true.

This time, Heavenly Treasure House had seized the initiative and acquired a substantial amount of Star Sea Flowing Sand ahead of everyone else.

Securing a spot for the Body-Purifying Spirit Pool should go smoothly.

After that, there was nothing else of particular value. Trade Walker Wu was quite satisfied with the goods Heavenly Treasure House had provided this time.

Moreover, since both parties would not be able to meet again for a long time, he specifically invited Li Fan and Yin Yuzhen aboard the Thousand Splendors Merchant Association’s flying vessel as guests.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Trade Walker Wu led the two of them to the vessel’s storeroom.

“These are all things I’ve collected from various islands across the Layered Cloud Sea. Some are priceless treasures, and some—well, even I’m not sure what they do. I just thought they looked unusual and bought them on a whim. If either of you is interested, feel free to pick a few items.” Trade Walker Wu gestured proudly at the dazzling array of treasures, clearly in high spirits from the wine.

Hearing this, Yin Yuzhen was quite excited. With her ability to sense fortune and avoid misfortune, coming here was like a mouse falling into a rice bin!

Li Fan initially had no interest, but seeing Yin Yuzhen so eager to try, he didn’t want to refuse. So he accompanied her, browsing idly through the collection.

“You only have the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn!” Trade Walker Wu called out to them, seeming to find this sort of game quite entertaining.

Yin Yuzhen paid no attention, her excitement carrying her as she darted back and forth through the storeroom.

There were no fewer than a thousand treasures in here. Even with her ability to sense fortune and avoid misfortune—even with her rough sense of each item’s value—she was momentarily dazzled by the sheer quantity.

Li Fan, meanwhile, wandered about aimlessly, picking things up at random, glancing at them, and quickly setting them back down.

He, Li Fan, had lived through nine reincarnations and drifted through three hundred years. What mundane treasure hadn’t he seen?

Unless it was something related to immortal cultivation, he couldn’t be bothered to care.

This Trade Walker Wu, while physically far beyond an ordinary person, was clearly not a cultivator. His trade dealt only in mortal goods.

How could there possibly be anything here that Li Fan would care about?

Li Fan was thinking precisely this when his hand touched a certain object, and his body went rigid.

Because a prompt from 【Return to Truth】 had suddenly appeared.

“Rechargeable item detected. Proceed with recharging?”