42 Fairweather City

The pungent smell of iron and oil assaulted Cha Ming's senses as he waited at a table with Huxian for Gong Lan and the mercenaries to finish a pile of paperwork. They were seated at a small table in the corner of a larger hall, which was crowded with rowdy mercenaries. Many of them were waiting, carefully sharpening their swords. Others were oiling their armor, their knives, and various metal instruments susceptible to rust. After all, mortal-grade weapons were expensive, and not everyone could afford them.

The mercenary hall in Fairweather City doubled as a lounge. A few tables closer to the bar, six mercenaries were busy drinking their fill. It was noon, and it was clear that many people had revised their definition of "too early to start drinking." Drinking was an occupational hazard for most mercenaries.

The large hall was spacious enough to accommodate up to two hundred rowdy men. Certain missions had very large manpower requirements. The innkeepers, while relishing the mercenaries' business, were less than happy to have a few dozen of them scaring away their regular alcoholic customers. Therefore the large mess hall and bar was a necessity, even in this small city.

Located near the slums, the mercenary hall wasn't exactly built on prime real estate. Many places found mercenaries to be an unsavory bunch that should be kept away from the general population. The aged wooden bar tables reeked of ale. Cha Ming put up with the pungent smell, however. He was here on a mission. While they continued waiting for Gong Lan and her group to finish, a nearby mercenary began yelling loudly.

"Are you serious, Brother Hou? That sounds way too good to be true!"

This loud outburst was accompanied by the sound of a mug slamming down on a creaky wooden table. The burly man speaking was clearly drunk.

"Of course I'm serious. It's listed on the mission wall." The lanky mercenary pointed to the other side of the tavern, where various pieces of parchment and paper were nailed to a wall made of soft wood. "The two professionals in town are the ones funding this mission, after all. As such, they've decided to auction off a variety of premade goods in this restricted auction. This includes pills, spirit weapons, etc.

"In addition, everyone will be able to put any surplus goods up for auction prior to the main auction, so that everyone can liquidate their assets. Anything that isn't bought by others in the auction will be bought by the auction house for 70% of list price."

"This is great!" said another one of the mercenaries. "People rarely get the opportunity to buy Master Han's spirit weapons and Master Zhang's pills. They're very particular about picking their clients, and they usually refuse to mass produce lesser-grade goods. Why have they made an exception this time?"

He chuckled. "You might not know this, but it seems that Han Jinlong and Zhang Yifeng both have family in the surrounding towns. They have not received any news from these towns, and the county lord refuses to investigate. Therefore, they had a falling out and are currently recruiting us mercenaries. Better yet, aside from mass producing these lesser-grade spirit weapons, they're also auctioning out ten slots each. These slots are opportunities to have spirit weapons and medicinal pills custom-made prior to heading out. At cost!"

A fourth mercenary chimed in, scoffing. "At cost. It's not like they're actually supplying these services at cost. After all, they are auctioning out the slots! They're bound to make a killing, even if the auction is restricted to participants in this mercenary mission. I've also heard that they've sworn not to sell any weapons to anyone for the next year, with the exception of those who participate in the mission! This will surely drive up the price."

"Look, they're using both the carrot-and-stick approach. While they are going to make money at this auction, there's no way it will be enough to offset the bite of refusing business to non-participants for a full year. Besides which, auctioning these weapons out is a clever move on their part," the lanky man replied.

"Oh? How so?"

"Do I have to explain everything, you stupid fatty? Obviously, there are two types of people that can win in the auction. First, there are powerful and rich adventurers. Making these people even stronger before the outing is a perfect way to ensure better success for the mission.

"The only other people that can participate in such an auction are influential people. These people are most likely to bring followers along. In addition, to prevent people from participating just to buy things, they have restricted the auction for these custom slots to sixth level and higher cultivators. Any family who sends someone of that level will feel the bite if they lose him, therefore, they are more likely to send additional support."

"I see. That's very clever. But how will they control the qualifications for the auction?"

"Through a testing stone, of course. A qi testing stone will be used for qi condensation cultivators, and a strength testing pillar will be used to test body cultivators. Use your head."

The remainder of the conversation was no longer interesting, so Cha Ming and Huxian stopped listening. Gong Lan just happened to return from the mission desk at this point in time.

Most of the details were identical to what they had just heard. Apparently there had been many attacks on neighboring villages. The wealthy individuals in town, worried about the lack of news in the surrounding regions, posted an investigation and rescue mission.

The mission stated that they were disappointed with the support they received from the Fairweather County lord and had taken matters into their own hands. Over the next week, they would recruit a large force to investigate five nearby towns and escort the residents back to Fairweather City. If they found those responsible for the recent attacks on the neighboring villages, the mercenary force was to invade the attackers in the hopes of rescuing any prisoners taken.

The compensation was indeed very generous:

First Level Cultivators—100 spirit stones

Second Level Cultivators—500 spirit stones

Third Level Cultivators—1,000 spirit stones

Fourth Level Cultivators—5,000 spirit stones

Fifth Level Cultivators—10,000 spirit stones

Sixth Level Cultivators—50,000 spirit stones

Seventh Level Cultivators—100,000 spirit stones

… and so on.

The reward for foundation-establishment cultivators was a whopping 1,000 mid-grade spirit stones, in addition to a custom weapon forging slot with Han Jinlong. For every cultivator, a quarter of the reward was payable up front, and the remaining three quarters was payable upon completion of service.

The auction details were the same as explained previously, with one major difference: Instead of a large auction to liquidate assets, the auction house would allow cultivators to set up their own market stalls in a large hall the day before the auction. In addition, the auction house would purchase goods worth more than a certain amount at 75% of the list price. Cha Ming had had his doubts about the veracity of holding an auction for trinkets from various cultivators, but if the auction house truly decided to auction off these various trinkets, this auction alone would last weeks. By then, the mission would already be completed. Setting up an easy trade location was a pragmatic solution.

Yet a final piece of information shocked their small group thoroughly. The two leading craftsmen in the city, Han Jinlong and Zhang Yifeng, would be spearheading the search and rescue mission! Given this detail, Cha Ming concluded that the situation was very dire. He suspected that they had some sensitive information that indicated the need for immediate action. With or without the king's army.

Since the auction would take place on the next day, the three of them registered for the mission and found a nice inn to occupy. The ten mercenaries that had accompanied Gong Lan proceeded to a less savory establishment. Another "occupational hazard" in the mercenary world.

***

Later that evening, with nothing better to do, the group decided to wander around the merchant district. While Fairweather City was not a large city, it was still about the same size as Green Leaf City. Instead of being known to produce medicinal herbs, Fairweather City was known for its artisans.

Every street corner was graced with beautiful sculptures—a rare display of wealth in public areas. The various shops—at least, the ones lucky enough to own their own buildings—had hired master artisans to carve and paint the outside of their stores. The philosophy behind this was quite simple. Standing out from the crowd with a beautiful shop would undoubtedly lead to people heading inside out of sheer curiosity or appreciation. The competition in Fairweather was fierce, leading to a luxurious merchant quarter that overshadowed the entertainment district.

All sorts of craftsmen flourished in this city. Unlike in Green Leaf City, the craftsmen of Fairweather looked beyond function. For example, even the lowliest starting weapon on sale was a work of art. Anything less than beautiful was considered trash, something the weapon artisan wouldn't dare sign his name to.

Even something like medicinal pills were artistic creations, decorated with beautiful patterns or shaped like sparkling gems. Further, the bottles containing them were art products made of crystal. These decorations complemented the function of the medicinal pill. One that was meant to improve vitality, for example, would be decorated with patterns of vines or even be contained in a bottle shaped like a dragon. Some alchemists even housed their wares in stained-glass bottles, using color combinations to hint at their effect. In one shop, Cha Ming had seen a healing pill that was deep purple. It had been stored in an azure heart-shaped bottle.

These factors led to an amazing pricing phenomenon—huge price disparities could be seen for any and all goods. The same grade of spirit weapon, made of the same materials and supplying the same benefit in combat, could be worth anywhere between 80 and 150% of the usual list price.

Many thoughts went through Cha Ming's mind as he picked up an intricately carved soul-alloy dagger. The weapon was a third-grade spirit weapon, hardly worth any mention. Normally a weapon like it would be worth eight hundred spirit stones, more than double the amount of a dagger made with normal materials.

However, this weapon was worth fifteen hundred spirit stones. The abnormally inflated price was due to the high level of skill required to craft such unforgiving material. Each of the craftsmen qualified to forge such weapons were well known, and their prices were sky high. Even a blind man would be forced to admit that it was truly a beautiful dagger. It was clear as the purest ice, from tip to hilt. The handle had been engraved with a textured pattern. This decorative artwork, which featured beautiful leaves, vines, and flowers, rendered the handle non-slip.

On another shelf, Cha Ming spotted a beautiful spirit sword. The runes engraved on it were written in flowing script, much like an exercise in calligraphy. Strictly speaking, crafting weapon runes was akin to painting talismans. Runic characters had very specific shapes. Any deviations, while they could enhance the beauty of the resulting talisman or engraved weapon rune, ran the risk of ruining the character itself.

Cha Ming thanked his lucky stars that Elder Ling had been strict in this regard, forcing him to practice calligraphy while crafting his talismans. While the process of beautifying characters was initially risky, an artisan with sufficient skill would eventually learn that there were certain rules to beautifying a character, much like regular calligraphy. Only rules that didn't conflict with function could be used in runic calligraphy. Due to his various experiences, Cha Ming's talismans were much better looking than the average textbook talisman.

In the end, Cha Ming bought the dagger he had been admiring. He was currently lacking such a dagger, which was useful for things like gathering herbs and cutting ropes and bonds. Soul-alloy weapons were much sharper than their steel counterparts, albeit quite brittle. Such a dagger was useless in actual combat.

After purchasing the weapon, Cha Ming cheerfully walked over to the next stall, where Gong Lan was admiring a defensive brooch shaped like a blooming red lotus. The lotus was a full two inches in diameter and contained nine ruby-red petals. These petals were made from a glassy material. Each of the curved petals was engraved with a protective rune. It was the first time Cha Ming had ever seen such an item.

"Forty-five hundred spirit stones is way too much for such a trinket! Are you trying to rob me?" Gong Lan fumed, lashing out at the attendant with her incisive tongue.

"Miss," the attendant calmly replied, "this exquisite lotus brooch was crafted by Hong Lai, the nineteenth-ranked weapon artisan in this city. You would struggle to find something so beautiful given its form and function, and that's why it commands a fifty-percent premium above other lesser works.

"If you don't like this specific brooch, could I possibly interest you in this jade lily hairclip? It contains very similar enchanted properties compared to the lotus brooch. However, the price tag is only twenty percent higher than list price." The lady clearly had no intent to negotiate.

"May I take a look at that red lotus brooch?" Cha Ming said as he appeared behind Gong Lan. The attendant handed the brooch to him, and he observed it for a while before shaking his head. "I wouldn't buy this one, Gong Lan. While it seems very pretty, it's a flawed product. I would only pay 75% of the market price myself, but only because it truly is very beautiful."

The attendant seemed quite incensed, no doubt wondering how dare a country bumpkin besmirch her products. Cha Ming and Gong Lan moved to leave.

"Stop!" the attendant shouted, drawing the attention of nearby shoppers. This included some customers who had just looked over to the stall due to Cha Ming's comments about a flawed product. Reputation was everything in Fairweather.

"Young bumpkin, you can't besmirch Hong Lai's work at will. I demand either an explanation for your criticism of his work or an apology!"

The competition in Fairweather City was extremely fickle compared to that in other cities. Fashion was subjective, after all, and an unjust accusation might quickly lead to a ruined reputation and subsequent closure.

"Are you sure that you want to be having this conversation?" Cha Ming asked. "I really don't want to disparage such a beautiful work further. The reason that I haven't made a big deal about it is that, while it is a failed product, it still has much of its functionality intact."

Criticizing another's work was a very unprofessional practice and should only be conducted in extreme cases of negligence or willful misconduct. Judging by the artisan's current standing, it was likely a small, albeit noticeable, error.

"Hong Lai only crafts beautiful products of the highest quality," the attending lady insisted. "I'll have to ask you to either elaborate on your complaint or apologize." While it was a risky move, she might be fired if she didn't respond to the accusation.

"Very well." Cha Ming picked up the red lotus brooch, which glittered in his palm. "I am no expert on jewelry or weapon crafting, so I can't comment on the materials. Indeed, to my untrained eye, it seems like this decorative brooch was carefully shaped with soul alloy before being cut with glittering facets. Further, the vivid red color and sparkles make me think that this charming flower was infused with ruby dust during the molding process.

"Therefore, my complaint has nothing to do with the materials or forging of the brooch but rather the engravings. While this defensive spirit weapon is only a consumable, it is surely at least a fifth-grade spirit weapon. Therefore, it should be worth at least half as much as a non-consumable fifth-grade spirit weapon.

"The reason that I take issue with the engravings is that each engraving, while beautiful, does not follow convention for calligraphy when writing or engraving runic characters. This flaw diminishes the effectiveness of each runic character by one ninth. Unfortunately, this is only something that can be verified after the item is used, and it is difficult to spot. Only a sixth-grade or higher talisman artist could spot this mistake, and only if he was trained in proper runic calligraphy."

The attendant could not refute him, as she did not know that much about the occupations. Therefore, if he was qualified to make these comments, she had no choice but to accept the judgment.

"Might I ask if you are a sixth-grade talisman artist?" she asked begrudgingly.

"Yes, that is the case."

Everyone nearby was astonished that such a young man was such an accomplished talisman artist.