Chapter 109: Strange Deal

On his way to Juntian Prefecture City, Jiyuan pondered a question: why hadn't he been able to perceive the heaven and earth calamity when he first arrived in this world, and only later, just before the Derived Chess event?

When he couldn't figure it out, Jiyuan made a hypothesis. He realized that if this event had occurred when he first arrived in this world, he would have surely died.

However, at that critical juncture, Jiyuan felt his cultivation had reached a natural stage, a time when he sensed a phase of his practice was complete, with his mind and body in perfect harmony, and the Qingteng Sword by his side.

Perhaps he had just reached a point where he could bear the weight, and some profound mystical technique allowed Jiyuan to observe the calamity, revealing to him many previously unknown matters.

Facts proved it was a close call.

In fact, Jiyuan had long had a faint premonition about this. His two lifetimes as a chess piece had given him some psychological preparation. However, at that time, he thought the catalyst would likely be a chess piece fully solidifying and forming, not realizing it was tied to his own capacity to bear.

As for who the great power that set up the chess game was, why the chess game on Niutou Mountain was so desolate, whether they were alive or dead, and why he, Jiyuan, was needed to play the game, these were questions Jiyuan could not answer at present.

***

As autumn arrived, the goods sold on the main street of Juntian Prefecture became even more diverse.

Due to the season, fruits were plentiful in the prefectural city. Even before Jiyuan entered Juntian Prefecture, the lively shouts of vendors could already be heard.

Almost every few steps, one could smell fruit and hear hawking. Pomegranates, oranges, persimmons, and more were all available.

Having learned from his previous experience, Jiyuan naturally did not appear in tattered clothes this time. Instead, he cast an illusion to blur his appearance and headed straight for a fabric store in the city.

Jiyuan knew only a few magical techniques, which he had almost pushed to their limits. The improvement in his mental state and divine will from the Derived Chess had a qualitative impact on his use of these techniques.

Following the sounds in the city, Jiyuan found a moderately-sized fabric store and entered. Two women were already inside looking at clothes. Even before he entered, Jiyuan caught a faint scent of rouge and powder, suggesting they were not ordinary commoners, as women from typical families wouldn't usually wear such things.

"Welcome, sir! Are you looking for fabric, ready-made clothes, or would you like something tailor-made? You seem to have a well-proportioned figure, many of our ready-made clothes would suit you!"

The shop had only one assistant, the shopkeeper. He immediately greeted the plainly dressed Jiyuan. Although he couldn't see Jiyuan's tattered clothes, he noticed the strange "hairpin" on his head, which looked like a crooked branch, making his expression slightly peculiar.

The women nearby seemed to have just found something they liked and called out to the shopkeeper.

"Shopkeeper, shopkeeper, this peach-blossom red silk is lovely! How much is a bolt, and how much would it cost to have clothes made?"

As soon as they mentioned a bolt instead of a few feet, the shopkeeper's face lit up.

"Hehe, ladies, you have excellent taste! These bolts of pink silk were transported all the way from Wanzhou. They're woven from silkworm silk. Feel them, how smooth and soft! Clothes made from this would be both comfortable and beautiful!"

"Oh, just tell us the price!" one of the women impatiently interjected.

"Oh, hehe, as this is fine silk from Wanzhou, the price will naturally be a bit higher. This bolt... ten taels of silver!"

Ten taels?

Before the two women could speak, Jiyuan was slightly surprised. This silk was indeed as precious as gold. A bolt of cloth would only make a few sets of clothes, yet it was equivalent to a common family's expenses for one or two years. No wonder ordinary people couldn't afford it.

"Alright, we'll take this bolt. Please wrap it up. We'll find someone to make the clothes ourselves!"

"Yes, yes, coming right up!"

The shopkeeper beamed. The two girls didn't even haggle over the price; he was truly making a profit today. While he was fetching the silk, he saw Jiyuan, just like the two girls, reaching out to feel the various silks hanging up.

"Sir, ah, sir, uh-ha, this... this shop operates on a small margin. These here are all fine silks, damask, and gauze. That..."

The shopkeeper tried to express his concern as tactfully as possible.

Jiyuan withdrew his hand and smiled at him.

"Alright, I was just feeling to see what's different about today's silk. Shopkeeper, could you help me pick out two, no, three sets of clothes?"

To avoid trouble, Jiyuan had already pulled out a silver ingot from his robe as he spoke, which immediately brought an even wider smile to the shopkeeper's face.

"Excellent, excellent, please wait a moment, sir. I'll first wrap up the silk for these two ladies!"

The two women were also discreetly observing Jiyuan, as there were only four people in the shop.

The newcomer's gaze had never settled on them, or if it had, it was just a fleeting glance.

They weren't offended that their beauty was ignored. Instead, they found it strange that the man's vision seemed unclear, as if he couldn't see. When he touched the fabric earlier, he seemed to rely solely on touch, his eyes not even looking at the cloth.

And while his attire was fine, his loosely tied hair, though seemingly disheveled, didn't evoke any disgust. A tree branch as a hairpin should, in theory, be quite ridiculous, yet they couldn't bring themselves to laugh.

As Jiyuan entered the shop, he had glanced at the two women. Their aura wasn't exactly one of wealth, but their vitality was strong. Listening to their prolonged breathing, he guessed they were probably martial artists, but he didn't want to pay them much mind.

"Ladies, the peach silk is wrapped. The silver..."

"Here, you won't be short-changed!"

"Yes, yes, thank you!"

The shopkeeper quickly went to the counter, picked up a small scale, and weighed the silver. After confirming the amount, he handed the silk to the two women. Only after seeing them off did he immediately attend to Jiyuan.

"My apologies for the wait, sir. What style would you prefer? Scholar's robes, cross-collared long coats, martial attire, or everyday clothes? We have them all ready-made!"

"Hmm, I'd like one set of blue, one set of white, and one set of gray robes, all with wide sleeves. Oh, and include the inner garments, both tops and bottoms."

"Alright, so a full set from inside out. Understood, understood. I'll take your measurements first."

The shopkeeper took a wooden ruler from the counter and measured Jiyuan. He quickly took down the measurements, but he had a vague sense that the fabric of the customer's clothes felt strange, though he didn't think much of it.

As if to smooth over his earlier rude remarks, he chatted with Jiyuan while picking out clothes for him.

"Those two female customers were really strange. They weren't ugly, yet they dotted their faces with flowers so haphazardly. I wonder if they truly don't understand makeup or if it's intentional."

"Heh heh... Perhaps they really don't understand. But why didn't you remind them, shopkeeper?" Jiyuan said with a chuckle, knowing he couldn't see clearly anyway.

The shopkeeper glanced outside.

"How could I? Wealthy female customers are the most troublesome, especially when it comes to their appearance. If I were to say something, would they take it as good advice or an insult?"

"Hahahaha... You have a point, you have a point. Shopkeeper, you're a wise man!"

Jiyuan was amused, the previous sense of oppression lifting slightly. It was rare to hear something that felt like a joke from his previous life.

"Heh heh, right? Here, sir, try on these sets. They'll fit perfectly!"

As they talked, the shopkeeper had already selected outer garments for Jiyuan...

About a quarter of an hour later, Jiyuan emerged from the fabric store, dressed in a brand new white robe and carrying a cloth bag purchased from the store. Inside were the other two outfits, all costing a total of six hundred *wen* coins—a stark contrast to the bolt of peach-colored silk.

As for the bundle of ragged clothes he was still holding, Jiyuan clapped his hands together and rubbed them, transforming the old clothes into dust that drifted into the street's gutter beneath the planks.

The direction Jiyuan was heading was towards the street where he had snatched the chessboard earlier. Vendors generally don't like to change their selling spots unless necessary, so it was likely the peddler was still in the same place.

While chatting with the shopkeeper in the fabric store, Jiyuan had subtly learned that it was already the fifteenth year of Yuande, which was not far off from his rough estimation.

He also bought new shoes along the way. After walking for less than two quarters of an hour, Jiyuan, guided by his senses, found the familiar street and, sure enough, heard the peddler's voice again.

"Jade ornaments, newly arrived jade ornaments! Jade bracelets, jade pendants, jade rings, all fine jade!"

The peddler was energetically hawking his wares, but few people stopped at his stall to look. As he was thirsty and picked up a bamboo container to drink some water, he noticed a gentleman in a white robe standing in front of his stall.

The peddler's spirits lifted, and he quickly called out.

"Esteemed sir, judging by your appearance, you must be a scholar. Buy some jade! Don't scholars often say a gentleman cherishes jade, a gentleman is like jade? Look at these jade ornaments I have here, how green they are!"

Although Jiyuan couldn't clearly see the specific designs of these jade pieces, jade is very special. Good jade has its own aura. Unlike the jade Wei Wuwei gave him, these on the stall, let alone their aura, when he touched them and probed with his spiritual energy, he knew they were not only poorly crafted but also of inferior quality.

Jiyuan bypassed the green ones and picked up a grayish-black hairpin, asking the peddler.

"How much is this hairpin?"

The peddler looked at it. This crudely made jade hairpin was among the worst on his stall. He looked at Jiyuan's appearance, hesitated, and then quoted a price.

"Thirty *wen*!"

"Heh heh... Only thirty *wen* for a jade hairpin? I don't think that's enough, not enough. I think it's worth... one tael!"

Jiyuan said to himself, removed the tree branch from his hair, and directly inserted the jade hairpin into his topknot. Then he took out a handful of silver fragments from his robe, which would be more than a tael, not less.

"Here, this jade hairpin is worth this price! No need for change, hehehe... Excellent, excellent, this jade hairpin is truly excellent..."

The peddler dumbfoundedly held the silver fragments Jiyuan handed him, watching the white-robed gentleman talk to himself and walk away without looking back.

'This man... just left?'

By the time Jiyuan was nearly twenty steps away, the peddler seemed to have finally come to his senses, staring at the silver in his hand.

'This must be two or three months' worth of earnings...'

After much hesitation, the peddler finally gritted his teeth.

"Hey! Sir! Sir! That jade hairpin isn't worth that much! You really don't need to!"

Jiyuan stopped, a smile on his face, and looked back at the peddler with a knowing gaze.