The twelfth lunar month—the bitter heart of winter.

A sudden, biting gust of wind swept through the market, cutting straight through collars and chilling everyone to the bone.

Qin Lu and Li Gui, sitting on the ground behind their respective stalls, instinctively tightened their robes against the cold.

“This damn weather keeps getting worse. In a few days, half the stalls in the market will be empty,” Li Gui muttered softly, rubbing his hands together and exhaling a cloud of white mist.

Qin Lu nodded in deep agreement.

The winters in this region were notoriously harsh; even cultivators couldn’t afford to underestimate them. Tragedies involving loose cultivators freezing to death by the roadside were not unheard of.

Some impoverished loose cultivators, lacking the Spirit Stones to purchase magical robes capable of warding off the cold, could only hole up in their homes, shivering through the long winter days. Relying on ordinary cotton clothing made it excruciatingly difficult to resist this strange, bone-piercing wind.

Qin Lu and Li Gui sat side by side, their stalls nearly touching. Yet, their fortunes were vastly different.

Qin Lu’s 【Water Qi Shield】 had already established a solid reputation. Since it had been over ten days since his last appearance, a crowd of cultivators gathered almost immediately after he laid out his black cloth. He was instantly swamped with business.

In stark contrast, Li Gui’s book stall saw little traffic. Occasionally, a cultivator would wander over, take a cursory glance, and turn away.

Every time Li Gui looked over at Qin Lu, he couldn’t hide the envy on his face.

“Your 【Water Qi Shield】 is sturdy, I’ll give you that. No wonder you sell them for three Spirit Stones apiece. It’s a good thing I had one of your talismans, or I might have died at East Head Ridge a couple of days ago!” a burly customer remarked loudly.

“Haha, Fellow Daoist is blessed with great fortune; you certainly won’t meet an untimely demise!” Qin Lu responded with a casual, practiced glibness.

“Exactly! I’m a man destined for Foundation Building; how could I die so easily? Alright, give me two more 【Water Qi Shield】s!”

“Coming right up!”

Payment was made, and goods were exchanged.

After seeing off the burly man, who was at the third level of Qi Refining, Qin Lu leaned back against the curbstone and let out a small sigh of relief. The initial wave of customers had been dealt with.

“Tsk, tsk…” Li Gui clicked his tongue, his face full of jealousy. “Fellow Daoist Qin, your talisman business is truly booming.”

“Hahaha, just making ends meet…” Qin Lu replied with a hint of pride. He glanced at Li Gui’s desolate book stall and said cheerfully, “Since I made some money today, I’ll support your business. What new books have you picked up lately?”

Upon hearing this, Li Gui was immediately overjoyed, the wrinkles on his face blooming like a chrysanthemum.

“Here, Fellow Daoist Qin, take a look at this Nine Realms Langya Ranking. It records many of the geniuses across the Nine Realms Domain. And this Immortal Sect Monthly—if you want to keep up with sect politics, this is a must-read…”

Li Gui unleashed his silver tongue, eloquently pitching his wares to Qin Lu.

Ordinary books in the cultivation world weren’t expensive; generally, they cost only one or two Spirit Stones. Some common items could even be purchased with mere gold.

Now that Qin Lu had paid off all his debts, the crushing pressure of poverty had vanished. Between the Spirit Stones he had scavenged and the profits from his talismans, his current assets exceeded three hundred Spirit Stones. He had successfully risen above the subsistence line.

So, he wasn’t stingy. In no time, he spent ten Spirit Stones on five or six books.

Stuffing the books into his bundle, Qin Lu had a sudden thought and asked, “By the way, do you have the middle volume of Simple Spell Cultivation Methods?”

“Fellow Daoist Qin wants that book?” Li Gui looked slightly taken aback.

“Yes,” Qin Lu nodded eagerly.

The lower volume of Simple Spell Cultivation Methods only recorded basic life skills, such as the 【Finger Flick Technique】 and the 【Ignition Technique】. Back when Qin Lu was at the early stage of Qi Refining, those were the only spells he could cultivate. Now that he had advanced to the mid-stage, it was only natural to seek out new spells.

“The middle volume…” Li Gui muttered the title while rummaging through his stall. After a while, he spread his hands with a helpless expression. “I’m really sorry; that one happens to be out of stock right now.”

“Alright…”

“But Fellow Daoist Qin can rest assured. I can find that book for you very quickly. Leave me your address, and I can deliver it to your door later.” Li Gui refused to let a potential transaction slip away.

Seeing his persistence, Qin Lu didn’t mind and gave Li Gui the address of his courtyard. Li Gui silently repeated it twice to memorize it.

“Then I’ll visit with the book in a few days! By the way, Fellow Daoist Qin, what do you think of this book? This is a premium item from my private stash…”

Li Gui suddenly lowered his voice and quickly slipped a book into Qin Lu’s hand.

“Hmm?”

Seeing Li Gui’s lecherous expression, Qin Lu instantly felt suspicious. He glanced down at the cover.

His eyes lit up.

Written clearly on the cover were four large characters: Immortal Mountain Romance Chronicles.

“This is… an erotic book…” Qin Lu whispered in surprise.

“Hehe!” Li Gui chuckled low in his throat, winking repeatedly with a conspiratorial grin.

“This is truly an insult to decency!”

Qin Lu’s face suddenly darkened as he sternly rebuked him. “My idol is Lord Guan! How could I read such filth? I only read the Spring and Autumn Annals!”

“Ah? Who is Lord Guan? And… Spring and Autumn Annals?”

Seeing Qin Lu’s abrupt change in demeanor, Li Gui was momentarily stunned and stammered nervously, “Then… then do you want it or not?”

“Hmph!”

Qin Lu snorted coldly. Then, he looked around furtively and whispered, “How much?”

…

The two men, having successfully completed their transaction, both wore satisfied smiles.

The sky gradually darkened.

More than half of the thirty-five talismans Qin Lu had brought today remained unsold. The market’s foot traffic was thinning out. After some thought, feeling it would be hard to get more business today, Qin Lu began packing up his stall.

Just as he was about to bid farewell to Li Gui, another customer suddenly arrived.

The man wore an exquisite black-and-white patterned robe with intricate designs. He appeared to be in his fifties, possessing an air of martial prowess and a spirited demeanor.

“Fellow Daoist, do you still have any 【Water Qi Shield】s?” he asked with a polite smile.

“Of course. How many would you like?” Qin Lu immediately stopped packing and looked up.

The middle-aged man smiled. “All of them.”

“All of them?”

Qin Lu looked slightly surprised. He paused before saying, “I still have about twenty talismans left. Are you sure?”

“Naturally.” The middle-aged man chuckled. “What are twenty-something talismans? I could buy even more.”

Qin Lu studied him for a moment. His clothing alone indicated he wasn’t a typical loose cultivator. Judging by the quality of his magical robe, he was undoubtedly either wealthy or of noble status.

Qin Lu thought for a moment, then cupped his hands in salute. “May I ask your esteemed name?”

“I am Yan Xiao, a manager at Sky Book Pavilion.”

“Sky Book Pavilion?”

Qin Lu’s heart gave a slight jump. As a loose cultivator making a living by crafting talismans, he naturally knew of this establishment. It was the largest talisman shop in Wuji Market.

“What does Manager Yan wish to discuss by coming here?” Qin Lu asked.

Yan Xiao squatted down, bringing himself eye-level with the seated Qin Lu, and smiled. “It’s nothing complicated. I simply think your talisman crafting is excellent and wanted to discuss some business with you.”