ALL NOVEL Chapter 8 - Ways to Earn Money
The market in the town was bustling early in the morning. This was the only town within a thousand miles. Besides the shops, local cultivators could set up stalls in a designated area as long as they paid a certain fee.
Gu Yao was quite energetic, comparing the items from both worlds, especially the spiritual herbs, noting the similarities and differences. The original body had been a diligent person, making full use of every resource available in the Gu family. As a result, the family’s library was a place he often visited. He had read almost all the books there, particularly those on identifying spiritual herbs. He could easily recognize herbs at a glance and knew their basic effects.
After walking down half the street, Gu Yao realized that he had already spent over a thousand taels of silver buying a pile of herbs. Some were spiritual herbs, while others hadn’t yet reached the level of being classified as such, though even the spiritual herbs he had purchased were of the lowest grade, just beginning to cross into that threshold. When he came to his senses, he noticed that Chi Changye had taken the load of herbs from him, both of his hands full. Gu Yao wasn’t sure when it had happened, and he felt a little awkward. As a pharmacist, Gu Yao loved to study plants and minerals with special properties. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from spending, and he had ended up using a lot of silver notes, despite having reminded himself to be cautious before leaving.
Gu Yao scratched his head and asked, “Ahem, do you need to buy anything?”
In addition to helping Gu Yao carry things, Chi Changye had been looking around for ways to earn spirit stones. He couldn’t hunt demon beasts, so the best way for him was alchemy, weapon forging, or talisman making. However, he lacked talent for the first two, and both would require countless materials before yielding results. On the other hand, talisman making required fewer materials, and he might be able to try it. Given his previous cultivation level, making some simple spiritual talismans shouldn’t be a problem.
“How about buying some talisman-making tools? I’ll see if I can make some,” Chi Changye suggested.
Gu Yao immediately understood. Chi Changye was trying to find a way to earn money. Thinking about Chi Changye’s potential background as a young master, Gu Yao gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, let’s buy them! There’s a shop up ahead; let’s go take a look.”
To earn money, one had to invest. Without investment, there could be no return. Gu Yao recalled how, when he first entered the field of alchemy, he had spent a lot of materials before his master introduced him to the craft.
Determined not to regret his decision, Gu Yao took the lead and charged ahead towards the nearest shop. Chi Changye, following behind, couldn’t help but let the corner of his mouth lift slightly. Unfortunately, no one could appreciate his face in its current state.
“Gentlemen, please come in. What would you like to buy? I can recommend some items for you,” the shop assistant greeted them warmly. Although he couldn’t appreciate Chi Changye’s face, he didn’t recoil or scream. Cultivators often got injured, and it wasn’t an uncommon sight.
“Where are the talisman-making tools? Can you show us?” Gu Yao asked.
“This way, please.”
The assistant led them to a corner, where various tools for making spiritual talismans were displayed on the counter, including talisman brushes, talisman blood, and blank talisman paper. The talisman brushes were categorized as magical instruments. A low-grade talisman brush would cost at least 100 spirit pearls, and the price of a high-grade talisman brush made Gu Yao avoid looking at it. The thought of it made him feel pained—if he could successfully make spiritual talismans, the money spent would be returned in time, but what if he couldn’t make any?
“Which one do you like?” Gu Yao turned to ask Chi Changye.
Chi Changye had never used such inferior magical tools, but given his current situation, he didn’t have the luxury to be picky. Thinking of Gu Yao’s background, he pointed to the least expensive talisman brush and said, “I’ll take this one. Also, give me a portion of talisman blood and 100 sheets of blank talisman paper.”
“Alright. The talisman brush is 100 spirit pearls. For the talisman blood and paper, I’ll round off the price. The total comes to 500 taels of silver.”
With a total of 1,000 spirit pearls, this was a significant amount. Gu Yao gritted his teeth and paid, feeling the pinch. He didn’t want to stay in the shop any longer. If he had known, he should have asked that old man from the Gu family for more silver. Money really didn’t last long. He hoped Chi Changye could succeed in making talismans and quickly recover the costs.
Just as they stepped out of the shop, they ran into some familiar faces—Gu Xing, the Gu family twins, and Lu Minzhu. As soon as Gu Xing saw the bundles of items in Gu Yao’s hands, she immediately jumped out and scolded, “Gu Yao, where did you get this silver? Did you steal it from the family? After doing something so shameless, you got kicked out of the Gu family, and now you’re still up to no good, stealing silver! Hand it over!”
Lu Minzhu, upon seeing Gu Yao and Chi Changye, immediately recalled the unpleasant scene from the day before. She didn’t want to speak to them and instinctively took a few steps back, wanting to distance herself. She couldn’t believe Gu Yao still had the face to be with this man. Truly, he was shameless to the extreme.