EBE Chapter 83 Fairy Spirit City Market
Chapter 83 Fairy Spirit City Market
Xu Xiaoxiao, along with her senior brother Mu Zhusheng, senior sister Yuan Mengyao, and others, bid farewell to the lively arena with excitement and reverence.
As the setting sun cast long shadows, they walked slowly along the path beside the square. A gentle breeze carried the hustle and bustle of the nearby market.
"Second Senior Brother, I've heard that there are many unusual things at the market near the competition venue. Let's go take a look." Xu Xiaoxiao's eyes were full of anticipation.
Mu Zhusheng smiled slightly and nodded in agreement: "Alright, maybe we can find something that will benefit our cultivation."
They entered the market and saw a dazzling array of stalls displaying all sorts of rare and exotic treasures.
Yuan Mengyao pointed to a stall and said, "Look, what's that?"
Following the direction she pointed, everyone saw an old man's stall displaying crystal balls that emitted a faint blue light. Inside the crystal balls, there seemed to be swirling clouds and mist, and faint runes flickering.
Xu Xiaoxiao walked forward curiously, picked up a crystal ball and examined it carefully, asking, "Grandpa, what's the use of this crystal ball?"
The old man raised his head, his eyes deep: "Young lady, this is no ordinary crystal ball. It is a spirit crystal that can help cultivators cultivate their spiritual power, allowing them to enter a state of spiritual clarity more quickly during meditation."
Mu Zhusheng also came over, gently touched the crystal ball, felt the spiritual energy fluctuations within, and said, "Such a treasure must be extremely precious."
The old man laughed and said, "Of course, I obtained this after going through countless hardships in the ancient Spirit Cave."
They continued walking and saw a woman dressed in strange clothes. In front of her were some colorful feathers, which seemed to have a spiritual light flowing on them.
Xu Xiaoxiao said in surprise, "These feathers look like they're alive."
The woman said softly, "These are the feathers of the Spirit Feather Sparrow. With them, you can integrate them into your clothes, making you more agile when using the Lightness Technique, as if you are one with the wind."
Yuan Mengyao's eyes lit up: "This might be of great help to our movement technique training."
After pondering for a moment, Mu Zhusheng said, "However, we still need to choose carefully and not be misled by appearances."
As they walked further on, they heard a melodious flute tune.
Following the sound, they saw a young man playing a flute that emitted an emerald green light, and the surrounding air seemed to ripple with the rhythm of the flute's music.
Xu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but ask, "Brother, what's so special about this flute?"
The man stopped playing and said, "This is the Spirit Melody Flute. It can use the power of sound waves to disturb the mind of enemies, and it can also have a calming effect when cultivating one's mental state."
Xu Xiaoxiao and her companions wandered through the market, constantly discovering new and interesting treasures, and exchanging their thoughts and feelings about these treasures.
The surrounding crowd was bustling, with various hawking cries and conversations mingling together, creating a lively and extraordinary scene.
"Today has been truly eye-opening. I never imagined there would be so many treasures in this market," Xu Xiaoxiao said excitedly.
Mu Zhusheng looked at her, his eyes filled with a hint of doting: "Although there are many treasures, we must act within our means and choose what is most suitable for us. The auction is in a couple of days, and there will definitely be many treasures there..."
Yuan Mengyao chimed in, "Senior brother is right. Let's take our time and see. Maybe we'll find something even more surprising later. If we don't like it, we can go to the auction house."
As they were discussing things in the market, they suddenly heard a commotion coming from ahead.
The crowd seemed to be propelled by an invisible force, surging towards that direction.
"What happened up ahead?" Xu Xiaoxiao asked curiously, standing on tiptoe to look around.
Mu Zhusheng frowned and said, "Let's go take a look, but be careful not to get involved in unnecessary conflicts."
They pushed through the crowd and saw a young monk angrily arguing with a stall owner.
The young cultivator blushed and shouted, "You stall owner, how dare you try to fool me with fake goods! I misjudged and bought your 'spirit amber,' only to find out when I got home that it had no spiritual energy fluctuations at all; it's clearly just an ordinary stone!"
The stall owner, however, crossed his arms and nonchalantly replied, "You little brat, if you can't judge a book by its cover, don't try to frame an innocent person. This amber of mine is genuine; once sold, there are no returns or exchanges!"
Xu Xiaoxiao carefully examined the so-called "spirit amber" on the stall and said to Mu Zhusheng, "Second Senior Brother, these spirit ambers do look a bit suspicious. They are dull in color and do not emit any spiritual energy."
Mu Zhusheng nodded: "Yes, there's probably something fishy going on here."
Yuan Mengyao couldn't help but step forward and say to the stall owner, "You're deceiving your customers like this, which violates the rules of the market."
The stall owner glanced at her dismissively: "Little girl, what do you know? I've been running this stall in this market for years, and I've always been honest and fair to everyone, young and old. I know perfectly well whether this amber is real or fake."
At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a brocade robe walked over; he was one of the market's administrators.
He looked at both sides and said, "What is the matter arguing about here? If there is a dispute, you can come with me to the management office for judgment."
The young cultivator quickly said, "Sir, this stall owner sold me counterfeit goods! You must help me!"
The stall owner continued to argue: "Sir, don't listen to his nonsense, I've been wronged."
Mu Zhusheng bowed to the administrator and said, "Sir, we were just passing by and also felt that there was something strange about this amber. Perhaps we could ask a professional appraiser to determine its authenticity, so as not to wrong an innocent person or let criminals succeed."
After a moment's thought, the administrator said, "Your suggestion is reasonable. Then let's have an appraiser take a look."
While waiting for the appraiser, the surrounding crowd was buzzing with discussion.
“This market really needs a good overhaul. I keep hearing about counterfeit goods lately,” an old man sighed, shaking his head. “Yes, we come here to buy things for peace of mind. If counterfeit goods are rampant, who will dare to come here in the future?” a young woman chimed in.
A short while later, the appraiser arrived. He picked up a piece of "spirit amber," examined it carefully, and then used his spiritual power to probe it. His expression darkened: "This is indeed a fake. It is made from ordinary stone that has been specially treated to create a counterfeit. It has none of the spiritual power and spirituality that spirit amber should have."
When the stall owner realized he had been caught, his face turned deathly pale, and he tried to sneak away.
But the administrator reacted quickly and grabbed him: "Trying to run away? Trying to cheat people in my market, you must be severely punished!"
The young cultivator said gratefully to Mu Zhusheng and the others, "Thank you all for your righteous help, otherwise I would have had nowhere to seek justice for my injustice."
Mu Zhusheng smiled and said, "Brother, you don't need to be so polite. This market should be a place for fair trade, and fraud should not be tolerated."
After the matter was dealt with, as dusk fell, the lights in the market lit up one by one, illuminating the entire market as if it were daytime.
Looking at the lights around her, Xu Xiaoxiao said, "Today's trip to the market has been quite an experience. I've seen many treasures and also encountered this fake goods incident."
Yuan Mengyao laughed and said, "Yes, it has broadened our horizons quite a bit. Let's go back to our lodgings first, and come back tomorrow to carefully select treasures that suit us, so that we can make some preparations for the auction in advance."
Mu Zhusheng nodded, and the three of them, amidst the dim lights, retraced their steps back to their lodgings, the clamor of the market gradually fading into the distance...