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Chapter 41: Evil-Faced Flying Eagle
That night.
The shopkeepers of various major stores in the market went to the Maple Leaf Manor at the top of Bamboo Leaf Mountain to attend the conference convened by the Huang Family.
An hour later.
Mu Xiuyun returned to the shop and immediately found Lan Chang'an to explain the situation.
"The person who attacked me is called Evil-Faced Flying Eagle. He wreaked havoc in other markets years ago. This person was hunted down by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and after being injured he went into hiding for several years. Now, he has resurfaced around Bamboo Leaf Mountain." fr𝚎𝗲𝐰ebnov𝐞𝐥.𝐜o𝗺
The first piece of news Mu Xiuyun shared was precisely what Lan Chang'an was concerned about.
"Evil-Faced Flying Eagle?"
Lan Chang'an memorized this name. To escape from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was no ordinary ninth layer Qi-Refining Level Nine. No wonder he could push Mu Xiuyun to the brink of death.
Then, Mu Xiuyun mentioned the second matter:
"For the two attacked merchants, the Huang Family will compensate by waiving the management fees for their shops for the next ten years."
Ten years of management fees was no small amount.
The Maple Leaf Huang Family more or less expressed themselves. After all, the attack did not happen within the market; it was a certain distance away.
Lan Chang'an mused, "Merchants get compensation, but those wandering cultivators who died tragically, it's all over for them."
This is the law of the jungle in the world of cultivation.
Most merchants in the market have powerful backgrounds, some even the Huang Family wouldn't dare offend lightly.
"Furthermore, the Huang Family plans to strengthen the market's formation and law enforcement cultivators, actively eradicating rogue cultivators. Due to increased expenses, from next year, they will raise the merchants' management fees by thirty percent." Mu Xiuyun's clear voice carried a hint of sarcasm.
Raising management fees?
Lan Chang'an couldn't help but admire that the Huang Family was really good at taking advantage of opportunities.
In the first two years of the market's opening, management fees were kept low to attract traffic.
Now that the market's traffic was increasing and most shops were beginning to profit, the Huang Family was using the threat to market security posed by rogue cultivators to raise the management fees.
The situation had indeed changed.
Previously, the market was newly opened, and they had to beg people to come to do business.
Now, as the market's popularity increased year by year, there were plenty of people scrambling to get in.
The Huang Family publicly stated: If anyone was dissatisfied with the increased management fees, they could sell their shops back to the Huang Family at current market prices with compensation.
This showed the Huang Family's confidence in the market's prospects.
...
Returning to his room, Lan Chang'an fell into deep thought.
He recalled a year ago when Shopkeeper Xu and Madam Zheng in the market had tried every means to get him out.
Lan Chang'an and Mu Xiuyun joined forces, making the business of the talisman shop increasingly better. The quality and variety of their talismans were quite competitive.
Besides the Feiyue Lake aquatic products and the purple copper mining area, the Mu Family had this talisman shop an additional money-making tree, and their development was getting smoother and smoother.
As long as one of them was eliminated, this momentum could be slightly curbed.
Lan Chang'an, impervious to pressure, simply wouldn't leave the market, giving them no opportunity.
Mu Xiuyun was different; she occasionally traveled between her family and the market.
With higher cultivation and possessing a flying boat magical weapon, she wasn't easy to target, but at least there was a chance.
...
At the top of Bamboo Leaf Mountain.
In a hall within the Maple Leaf Mansion.
"Yu'er, you went too far this time."
An elderly man with prominent cheekbones, sitting cross-legged on a mat at the head of the hall, looked displeased:
"The merchants doing business in the market are not easy to deal with. Attacking them was a wrong move. For a little girl, was it necessary for you to personally intervene, risking the market's reputation?"
"Uncle Ling is right."
Huang Yu respectfully replied, "I did not personally participate in this matter, merely provided information to the Evil-Faced Flying Eagle. That guy developed an interest in Mu Family’s eldest daughter, a wealthy and beautiful female cultivator, and acted on his own."
Mentioning this, a hint of gloom flashed in Huang Yu's eyes.
He originally planned to carefully plot, capture Mu Xiuyun, and leverage the rogue cultivator's name to control the Mu Family and Lan Chang'an.
However, the Evil-Faced Flying Eagle was overconfident and underestimated the quality of the talismans Mu Xiuyun held, suffering a minor loss at the beginning when his Flying Eagle was injured by a talisman.
Under his anger, he viciously destroyed even the flower.
If he had killed Mu Xiuyun, it would have been fine, but she survived and incited the merchants to pressure the Huang Family.
The elderly man snorted coldly and said indifferently, "You should be more cautious. The prosperity of this market is crucial to our Huang Family's plans for the next hundred years."
...
Since the attack on Mu Xiuyun, the Huang Family increased patrols and law enforcement around the market, even handling several cases of murder and robbery.
The security environment around Bamboo Leaf Mountain improved.
The market's traffic steadily increased.
Business in the shops became more prosperous, and the resistance to the management fee increase lessened.
Three years later.
Lan Chang'an advanced to the sixth layer of Qi-Refining, taking his cultivation to the next level.
As expected, it took a total of six years.
The spiritual energy of the plants in the market only improved his cultivation efficiency but it couldn't change the passage of time.
Lan Chang'an had plenty of free time every day, cultivating, drawing talismans, refining his body, practicing alchemy, feeding his spiritual pet...
In addition to personal interests, drinking tea, playing chess, strolling through the market stalls, and trying to pick up treasures.
Life was both fulfilling and leisurely.
In the four or five years at Bamboo Leaf Mountain, Lan Chang'an never left the market.
Someone even gave him the nickname Turtle Talisman Master, making him a topic of gossip among some cultivators in the market.
Lan Chang'an didn't mind; he believed that in the future, when he reached the Core Formation or Nascent Soul Realm, those who mocked him would likely be nothing but a pile of dust.
...
In the past two or three years, aside from cultivation and hobbies, Lan Chang'an's life has seen some changes.
One day, Lan Chang'an, full of energy, got up from bed and dressed.
Near the bed, a pile of female cultivator's clothing lay scattered.
A green gauze dress, a blue bellyband, white silk stockings, exquisite embroidered shoes...
A fragrant scent filled the bed.
A beautiful body with smooth jade-like skin, curves, and a long, snowy leg was exposed.
Oh, this was the young lady's boudoir.
Mu Xiuyun opened her starry eyes, showing a hint of fatigue. Seeing the energetic Lan Chang'an, her gaze held a bit of resentment.
There is a saying: Only the ox can be exhausted, but the fields cannot be ruined.
However, for Lan Chang'an, who cultivated the Evergreen Technique, this saying did not apply.
"Lan Lang, I have to get dressed, no peeking!"
The sound of the beauty dressing came from behind.
Lan Chang'an stood by the window, his thoughts drifting, feeling that these fulfilling two or three years had passed quickly.
Three years ago.
After that near-death healing, the young lady gradually put aside her pride, occasionally flirting and initiating discussions about talismans.
One time while drawing talismans together, she revealed her true feelings: her life belonged to Lan Chang'an, and even if he left in the future, she would accept it willingly.
With words spoken to this extent, If Lan Chang'an had still pushed back, he wouldn't be a normal man, he would not even be as good as a eunuch.
After years of close contact, a lonely man and woman, with mutual affection, naturally ended up sleeping together.
Every corner of the young lady's boudoir bore traces of their passion.
Of course, no matter how deep the love.
Lan Chang'an remained calm, using secret techniques from the Secrets of Locking the Dragon to preserve his essence, ensuring no offspring would be left behind.
...
Morning.
On the first floor of the shop, Mu Ershun and Mu Shan were arranging the goods on the counter.
Now, both apprentices could make some first-rank talismans, although their success rate was low, just breaking even.
Mu Xiuyun inspected the shop, checking for any issues.
Lan Chang'an didn't manage the shop's affairs and was preparing to visit the market's stall area.
He had heard in his previous life that some cultivators found hidden treasures or sealed magical items at unsuspecting stalls.
Thus, over the years in the market, he often visited the stall area, hoping to find something valuable.
With plenty of time, he enjoyed trying his luck.
Over the years, he indeed found a treasure, acquiring a piece of a magical item resembling a handkerchief.
It looked like a piece of cowhide, impervious to water and fire, with a flexible texture.
This magical treasure, it at least corresponds to the Core Formation Realm.
Even though it was a fragment, Lan Chang'an couldn't use it with his current cultivation, so he used it as a protective mirror, lining it in his outer robe.
After wandering around the stall area with no luck, he went to a teahouse to relax, overhearing many cultivators' discussions.
"Bamboo Leaf Mountain is holding an auction this time, and I heard they will auction a Foundation Establishment Pill?"
"A Foundation Establishment Pill? Really?"
"Not only the Foundation Establishment Pill, but also extremely high quality spiritual tools, the longevity pills..."
Early in the morning, the teahouse was more crowded than usual.
Lan Chang'an sipped his tea, unfazed by the auction and the Foundation Establishment Pill discussions.
The market merchants had known about the auction for a month in advance.
The Huang Family had invited the Mu Family's talisman shop, hoping they would provide a batch of superior-quality talismans for the auction.
The Maple Leaf Huang Family decided to hold a large-scale auction at Bamboo Leaf Mountain in three months.
There were indeed rumors of a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Additionally, the Beast Taming Zhou Family would sell a batch of high-quality spiritual beasts at that time.
Instantly, nearby cultivation families, and even more distant wandering cultivators and sect cultivators, got the wind of it.
"Foundation Establishment Pill ah..." Lan Chang'an sipped his tea, sighing inwardly.
After several rounds of preparations, the Bamboo Leaf Mountain market would become the center of attention. This was also the Huang Family's goal, to make the Bamboo Leaf Mountain market truly prosperous!
As the auction approached.
The market's traffic increased daily.
Recently, Lan Chang'an even received letters from Zhao Siyao and Lin Yi.
Learning about the grand auction at Bamboo Leaf Mountain, both friends planned to attend.