Chapter 62 – Exchanging Arrow Tokens

Zhan Changfeng walked into the pawnshop. The shop assistant was listlessly dusting a feather duster, counting its feathers. ‘Shouldn’t cultivators coming out of Ghost City be here to exchange Arrow Tokens by now? Why is it so quiet?’

‘What can I do for you, young friend?’

‘Exchange.’

The assistant immediately broke into a smile and said warmly, ‘Please, come to the back room, come right this way.’

‘I don’t know what’s going on — counting you, only two people have come in all morning. Looks like a lot of people died this time around.’ The assistant dusted off a seat and offered tea and refreshments. ‘Please sit for a moment while I fetch the shopkeeper.’

Zhan Changfeng gave a slight nod and watched the assistant hurry off.

A lot of people died, she thought. At the very least, there had still been dozens of people around before the Lotus Court opened. Perhaps something had happened inside the Lotus Platform that she had missed.

‘Sorry to keep you waiting, fellow Daoist.’ A portly cultivator walked in with a smile. When he got a clear look at the figure seated before him, a keen glimmer flashed through his eyes. He had only heard that a young friend had come, but he hadn’t expected someone quite this young.

The shopkeeper showed no sign of condescension. A cultivator’s outward appearance could not be taken at face value — judging by looks alone was the mark of an inferior mind. Moreover, the younger one was and the more they wandered about alone on the outside, the more dangerous they tended to be. You might take her for a helpless orphan with no one to rely on, and she could just as easily turn out to be a supremely Talented prodigy with tremendous power and a formidable background.

Zhan Changfeng responded with a word of acknowledgment, then asked directly, ‘How does the exchange work?’

‘We would need to appraise the value of the goods you bring,’ the shopkeeper said unhurriedly.

‘Comparable in value to things from Cangyun Ravine?’

The shopkeeper rubbed his fingers together. Seeing that Zhan Changfeng’s hands were empty — either the item was very small or she hadn’t brought it with her — he asked in return, ‘Young friend, are you looking to trade right now?’

‘If the terms are right, yes, right now.’

The shopkeeper smiled. ‘Our pawnshop operates on one principle: fair dealings for all, young or old.’

He fixed his gaze on Zhan Changfeng. With a single wave of her hand, a Ghostfire Dark Lotus the size of a washbasin appeared on the table. The temperature in the entire back room dropped sharply.

The shopkeeper’s heart tightened — not because of the Ghostfire Dark Lotus itself, but because of the method she had used to produce it.

A storage bag!

Ordinary cultivators in the mortal realm had no such thing. Even in Cangyun Ravine, not everyone could possess one. The shopkeeper grew considerably more careful with his pricing.

When he traded Ghost City goods with mortal-realm cultivators, he counted them by the piece — one Ghostfire Dark Lotus, regardless of its size or quality, in exchange for one Arrow Token.

Their pawnshop had connections in Cangyun Ravine and had no shortage of Arrow Tokens. It was essentially trading wood for treasure.

But if he tried that same calculation with someone from Cangyun Ravine, he’d get beaten to death.

The shopkeeper kept his composure and asked casually, ‘Have you lost your Arrow Token, young friend?’

‘Not at all.’ Zhan Changfeng opened her palm to reveal a single Arrow Token resting there. ‘However, this time I need to bring a few people back with me.’

‘I understand, I understand.’ The shopkeeper smiled knowingly, his words becoming noticeably more genuine. ‘For others, I give one Arrow Token per bloom. But for you, young friend, naturally I can’t use that same rate. How about this — for a bloom like that, I’ll give you six Arrow Tokens. Consider it the price of making a friend.’

‘Agreed.’ Zhan Changfeng touched the rim of her teacup. ‘I have another bloom I’d like to exchange for spirit stones. If you can handle that here, let’s do it all at once and save time.’

‘What kind of pawnshop would we be if we couldn’t handle that?’ The shopkeeper had been worrying about having too little stock to purchase. Though dealing with someone from Cangyun Ravine meant taking a bit of a loss, it was still better than nothing. ‘The Ghostfire Dark Lotus is undeniably a treasure, but it’s fairly useless to human cultivators. Most shops drive the price down extremely low. Fortunately, I have my own channels to sell it through, so I’ll offer you a friendly price — two thousand low-grade spirit stones.’

‘Too low. Four thousand.’

The shopkeeper shook his head repeatedly. ‘That’s too high. You see, the Ghostfire Dark Lotus has to be sealed in a special case, or it will dissipate and lose its effect. Keeping it in your hands serves no purpose.’

Zhan Changfeng moved her finger, and a long narrow box appeared on the table. ‘Is this what you mean?’

‘…’ The shopkeeper felt his heart bleeding. Fellow Daoist, are you toying with me?

‘Three thousand, three thousand, not a stone less. And that box of yours—’

‘Give me two more Arrow Tokens and the box is yours.’

‘Deal, done. You’re a decisive one, young friend.’ This transaction was a sure profit. The shopkeeper said cheerfully, ‘If you have anything else you’d like to trade, feel free to bring it out. My prices are fair.’

Zhan Changfeng asked offhandedly, ‘Do you happen to have anything with flesh-regenerating properties, fellow Daoist?’

The shopkeeper glanced at the scar on Zhan Changfeng’s face. ‘A small matter like that — I have a bottle of first-grade Complexion Restoration Pills in my storeroom. One pill is guaranteed to regenerate skin and remove scars.’

‘You’ve misunderstood,’ Zhan Changfeng said. ‘What I mean is something that can restore flesh and blood.’

‘That depends on the severity. Things like Reconnection Salve or Flesh Regeneration Pills — as long as the person isn’t dead, even severed hands and feet can be restored. But the price for those is steep, at least seven or eight hundred high-grade spirit stones. A small shop like mine wouldn’t carry them.’

Three thousand low-grade spirit stones amounted to over thirty thousand Spirit Pearls. While Zhan Changfeng didn’t place much importance on spirit stones, she knew that such a sum would make one among the wealthiest in the mortal world.

Yet those three thousand low-grade spirit stones were only worth three medium-grade spirit stones, or half a high-grade spirit stone.

But in Zhan Changfeng’s eyes, any problem that could be solved with spirit stones was no problem at all.

Zhan Changfeng left the pawnshop and strolled about, her mind occupied with her thoughts.

The storage bag belonged to Gongsun Long. The Ghostfire Dark Lotus blooms inside had also been picked by him. Apart from the dozen or so specially prepared cases and some items that appeared to be surveillance tools, there was nothing of particular value inside.

Gongsun Jing had also carried a storage bag, but she hadn’t recognized it for what it was at the time, and had kicked both him and his bag into the river.

From Gongsun Long’s memories, she gathered that he had not been particularly distinguished within his clan. His standing was far beneath Gongsun Jing’s. Even this storage bag had only been issued to him because Ghost City had opened, so he could carry things inside it.

Gongsun Long had not been someone specifically assigned to handle affairs related to the Yin Dynasty. He had come along with young disciples from six other families as part of a training exercise. It was only after Gongsun Jing’s incident that he had been entrusted with greater responsibilities — or as he put it, he had gained access to the clan’s core mission.

From his memories, Zhan Changfeng had now confirmed two things: the Jingyu Guard at Li Mao’s side was the Gongsun Clan’s remaining force, and when the Heavenward Path opened, the Gongsun Clan would send people to pursue and capture her.

For now, the Jingyu Guard was tied up with the Imperial Guard. The real threat was the reinforcements that would soon arrive.

If she wanted to avoid that force and slip into Cangyun Ravine, it wasn’t impossible — but that would put enormous pressure on Yi Shang, and that was not something she was willing to see.

In truth, Zhan Changfeng had already formed a plan long ago. She was only waiting for the right wind to carry it forward.

That wind came quickly.

The Coachman saw Zhan Changfeng return and handed her a calling card. ‘Sun Xingyi came again. He says that thanks to your help he successfully obtained an Arrow Token, and absolutely insists on treating you to a meal at the Heavenly Immortal Tower.’

After Zhan Changfeng had sent away the Yin Pearl, Sun Xingyi had come to visit once before, only to be turned away. ‘Accept it,’ she said.

The following day, Zhan Changfeng brought the Coachman to keep the appointment. Sun Xingyi was already waiting in the main hall of the restaurant, accompanied by a young girl. The girl wore a yellow robe with a leather whip coiled at her waist. Her tall, slender figure already carried the graceful bearing of a young woman, and she was quite lovely.

Sun Xingyi stepped forward and said, ‘Young friend, you’ve finally come. This old man has been waiting eagerly.’

‘You flatter me, Senior.’ Zhan Changfeng looked toward the young girl. ‘And this is?’

‘This is my granddaughter, Sun Miao. Young friend, your kindness is something this old man holds deeply in his heart. Come, come — it’s not convenient to speak here, let’s go upstairs.’ Sun Xingyi led the way toward a private room.

Sun Xingyi had mentioned Sun Miao’s name but had not introduced Zhan Changfeng to Sun Miao — it was clear he was treating Sun Miao as the lesser party.

Sun Miao showed no displeasure. She was simply curious about what this fellow Daoist looked like — the one her grandfather had spoken of, who had helped them and was apparently extraordinarily capable. So upon seeing Zhan Changfeng, she stood to the side in quiet puzzlement, wondering whether this child was some kind of age-reversing elder.

With such a youthful and tender appearance, yet so serious and solemn without the slightest trace of incongruity — as though that was simply how things ought to be.

(End of Chapter)