111 Catching Up

Cha Ming poured his qi into the single mark on the core-transmission jade. The green sphere glowed with a soft light, pulsing repeatedly as it sent a request into the void. After half an incense time, a jade-green hologram appeared inside Cha Ming's well-lit hotel room.

"My friend, it's been so long," the tiny transparent Wang Jun said.

"It certainly has, Brother Jun," Cha Ming replied. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I went to get my talisman-artist certification, and I only just returned."

"Not a problem, my friend," Wang Jun assured him. "What grade did you secure?"

"Only ninth grade," Cha Ming said. "I'm not far from master level, but I need some time to study."

"Not bad, not bad," Wang Jun said. "It's useful to have a profession, especially in major cities. From what I understand, you are allowed to fly in Quicksilver if you are a master in any profession. The savings on travel time alone are worth it. What have you been up to these past few years?"

Cha Ming proceeded to narrate his story, starting with overcoming the calamity, the interception by Protector Song, and the spatial transmission to Crystal Falls. He told him about his recovery, his enslavement, and the Serpentine Sword bandit group. And finally, he finished off with his journey to Quicksilver City.

Wang Jun listened intently, his face alternating between concern and anger. His face softened by the end of Cha Ming's tale. "I'll be sure to send someone to look over these villagers that took care of you. In addition, I'll look into these Serpentine Sword bandits to make sure they've been fully uprooted. We don't want them causing problems again."

"Much obliged," Cha Ming said. "Have you heard anything of Huxian's whereabouts? We were separated, and I can't sense him anywhere."

Wang Jun shook his head. "I haven't heard anything. Since I now know the range of the talisman, I'll dig more deeply into areas that fall inside its transmission circle. To be honest, it's amazing that both of you didn't die from the spatial storms."

Cha Ming nodded. "By the way, how is everyone else faring? How are things on your end?"

A complicated expression appeared on Wang Jun's face. "Feng Ming is doing better than ever. He keeps climbing up the ranks, and it won't be long before he becomes a general. Every operation he commands ends beautifully with minimal losses. He's quite favored in the capital.

"Gong Lan… I have not seen her since her brother took her away. She wasn't doing well, Cha Ming. Her bloodlust got a hold of her, and she ended up in jail. Her brother busted her out, though. Hopefully he found her help. I haven't seen them since.

"Hong Xin… I just don't know." Wang Jun's expression turned gloomy once he mentioned her name. "While you were gone, I broke up with her. She took it very hard, my friend. She ran away from home, and I haven't been able to find her. My divinations can't sense anything. I… I realized my mistake after we started dating. As you might have realized, the situation in my family is extremely complicated. I would hate myself if anything happened to her in the struggle for power. I was foolish to fall in love. I don't deserve such a thing."

Silence. Cha Ming wasn't sure how to console the man, and he also felt quite sad for Hong Xin. He was indebted to their whole family, but it seemed that he had brought them only pain. "Everything will be all right, my friend," he said, sighing. Hope was a luxury everyone could afford.

"As for myself, things are not going so well," Wang Jun continued. "As I said previously, I'm currently performing a task for the family, which is why I was in Green Leaf City to begin with. It's very important that I complete it, but it involves making an unfathomable amount of profit and gaining a large market share in key sectors. At this point, I'm basically counting on that bastard Zhou Li plunging the kingdom into a war to take advantage of the chaos.

"Fortunately, an opportunity has arrived in the form of a newly discovered immortal-jade mine. The profits would go a long way in meeting profit targets, and the capital obtained can be quickly reinvested. We're currently fighting over the mining rights. It could go either way, so Elder Bai and I are working night and day to make it happen."

Cha Ming finally noticed his friend's gaunt and fatigued expression. "You need to take care of yourself. Sleep is a key part of your foundation, even if you only need to sleep once a week. Even the strongest building will crumble with cracks in its foundation."

Wang Jun chuckled. "It seems you've grown a little wiser in the time we've been separated. But no need to worry. This brother is a late-foundation-establishment expert now. I do not tire so easily."

"I'll take your word for it," Cha Ming said. "By the way, you mentioned immortal jade. Does the deposit contain jade for each of the five elements and immortal jade core?"

"It will most definitely contain the first five," Wang Jun replied. "As for the jade core, it all depends on luck. There is a one in ten chance, given the information we've gathered. Why? Do you need some?"

"I need a jin of each of these for my body-transformation technique," Cha Ming said. Seeing the agitation on his friend's face, he added, "Relax, I'll pay for it. I won't let you suffer a loss."

Wang Jun's expression relaxed considerably. Cha Ming could only imagine the type of pressure his friend was facing, given his usual generosity. "Brother Jun, do you need me to return the core-transmission jade? It's a priceless treasure, and I'd hate to have reduced your working capital."

"It's not a problem," Wang Jun said. "It is not assigned a monetary value. Rather, it is counted as a key family asset. It is a core treasure. As such, its value is difficult to measure by normal financial means." Cha Ming nodded in thanks. "One last thing, Cha Ming. You need to be careful. Many people in my family hate me down to their bones. I've painted a target on your robes by sending you this jade."

Cha Ming shrugged. "They seemed to paint a target on me as soon as I said your name. It makes little difference."

Wang Jun shook his head. "You don't understand what I've gotten you into. Make sure you tell me if anything happens, especially with regards to purchasing magic weapons and magic pills. The branch in Quicksilver is strongest in these sectors, but I'll do my best to pull some strings and help you out."

"Noted," Cha Ming said, frowning.

A door opened in Wang Jun's hologram. "I need to go now, my friend. Do take care of yourself. I may also need you to do some things for me in Quicksilver if the most unlikely scenario occurs in the mining-rights negotiation."

The hologram disappeared.

***

After disconnecting from the call, Cha Ming stretched his limbs and willed his body to undergo a transformation. The bones in his face expanded, and his height shrunk. His arms widened, and his cultivator robes became mediocre clothes that fit him poorly. He quickly exited the inn under the suspicious stares of the staff and blended into the crowd. Little by little, he changed his features as he weaved through it. Sometimes, his nose would shrink. At other times, his chin would change.

He ducked in an alley some time later and walked out a completely different person. It wasn't a man he had seen before. Rather, it was an amalgamation of many different people. His clothes transformed to plain black cultivation robes, complete with a deep, hooded cloak that hid half his face. After this substantial change in appearance, Cha Ming walked out of the alley and calmly strolled through the large doors of the commodity exchange.

The exchange was noisy. People clustered together in groups around the well-dressed men who announced commodity lots and the asking prices. The asking price could either be the market price or some set minimum with a specific selling timeframe. Many things were traded. Rice was traded in tens of tons while herbs were sold in hundred-jin packages. Lower-grade spirit weapons and medicinal pills were sold by the hundreds, as were large quantities of iron ore or other crafting materials. Even liquified elemental essence was sold, but only in increments of 1,000 jin.

He absorbed this information as he walked up to a desk in the corner. "Greetings, esteemed guest," a young man said, bowing. He was at the peak of qi condensation, and his demeanor was impeccable. "What would you be putting up for sale today?"

Cha Ming looked around with an emotionless expression. "Is it possible to meet someone to have a private conversation?" he asked in a gravelly voice that was far removed from his own.

"Of course, sir," the young man replied. "Right this way."

He escorted Cha Ming through exquisitely crafted wooden doors. They traveled through a hallway built with seamlessly connected marble blocks. After a short walk, they arrived in a small room.

"Could the room be bigger?" Cha Ming asked.

The man's eyes widened, and he took Cha Ming to a room that could easily accommodate a thousand people. They were clearly ready for a transaction of any physical size.

"Please wait here one moment, and I will have my manager come in right away," the young man said.

Cha Ming sat calmly in meditation. His new face was gaunt and bald, but he kept it carefully hidden by his hood to maintain an air of secrecy. Before long, a graying man in a fine suit of silk clothes walked in.

"My apologies for the long wait," the man said. "My name is Xu Zhong, and I am the branch manager for this commodity exchange. Might I know your esteemed name?"

"You can call me Wen Ning," Cha Ming said. "It is not my real name, so don't bother looking into it. I am looking to make this transaction as anonymously as possible."

"Of course," Xu Zhong said. "Many clients opt for this, but please be aware that anything you present will count as newly produced and be subject to the kingdom's tax on whatever category of goods it belongs to. You will not be able to count these as imported goods, where you could pay duties instead of the tax with a proper certificate. Is this acceptable?"

Cha Ming, who didn't have such a certificate in the first place, nodded. Then he grasped his bag of holding under his cloak and poured pile after pile of spirit-stone ore onto the floor. Once the work was complete, he sat down in meditation, and Xu Zhong quickly gathered a few appraisers and began sifting through the goods.

A whole twelve hours passed, but to cultivators, this was nothing. Cha Ming's incandescent force strictly monitored the appraisers and their conversations.

"This lot is different than the rest," he heard a man say. "Is this a test?"

"It must be," another man said. "Sometimes our business partners do this to validate our appraisal services. Let's just make sure to note down this batch correctly and highlight it in our report."

"This is so much high-grade spirit-stone ore," the first man exclaimed. "It's worth far more than the rest of the ore in this room put together." His companion berated him for being a country bumpkin.

A light smile appeared on Cha Ming's lips. The year and a half of mining had yielded what he thought was 1.5 million unrefined mid-grade spirit stones. Now it seemed the amount was closer to 1.4 million mid-grade and over 100,000 high-grade spirit stones. One high-grade spirit stone was worth 10,000 mid-grade spirit stones. He thanked his lucky stars that he'd had the common sense to come to the building anonymously. Otherwise this fortune would have been far too large for him to swallow, as it exceeded the net worth of many core-formation cultivators.

Twelve more hours passed before the manager presented the final report. "As you might know, there are two things to consider when setting a selling price for these ores. First, the ore needs to be refined and cut into an optimal form. This leads to a loss of ten percent with mid-grade spirit stones, half of which is salvageable as spirit-stone dust. For high-grade spirit stones, this is reduced to five-percent loss, some of which is salvageable as spirit-stone dust. Overall, you can expect eighty to eighty-five-percent conversion on the mid-grade spirit stones and eighty-five to ninety-percent conversion on the high-grade spirit stones. This is naturally due to the need for buyers to turn a profit during the ore-refining process.

"Given that this is a cash-equivalent commodity, we recommend an asking price of 1,100,000 mid-grade spirit stones for the mid-grade ore, and 102,000 high-grade spirit stones for the high-grade ore. We would separate these into five batches to be auctioned over a week's time. The kingdom's tax will be five percent of the sale value, as this is a cash-equivalent commodity, while our transaction fee will be two percent. Is this convenient for you?"

Cha Ming nodded. "Yes, but I would like an advance."

Xu Zhong looked to be in an awkward position. "How much of an advance are you looking for?"

"Only twenty percent," Cha Ming said with a chuckle. The man's expression softened considerably.

Perhaps I should have asked for a little more, Cha Ming thought.

"Give me some time, and I will return with a contract and the advance," Xu Zhong said. Minutes later, he returned with a piece of paper, a jade stamp, two crystal cards, and a ring. "Here are two crystal cards worth 10,000 high-grade spirit stones and a complimentary low-grade storage ring filled with 22,000 mid-grade spirit stones. The cards can be exchange for the spirit-stone equivalents at charge with any currency exchange or bank on the continent.

"The contract is an anonymous sale contract. Given that you will not be signing with your name or blood, this stamp will be used to validate your identity after signing. It is a single-use item uniquely wrought with fate techniques beyond my understanding. You will need to present the stamp to receive your payment."

Cha Ming reviewed the contract. Upon seeing everything was in order, he pressed the jade stamp onto the contract paper, which left a jade mark on the document. The stamp in Cha Ming's possession immediately lost its luster, but he could detect a weak thread connecting it to the mark on the contract.

"I will return in one week," Cha Ming said in his gruff voice. He was escorted back to the exchange floor, which was just as rowdy as before. He didn't hurry to leave. Instead he sent his incandescent force out to listen to the various announcements by the auctioneers. After a few moments, he found what he was looking for.

"Bulk liquified elemental essence, 10,000 jin! Asking price is 160 high-grade spirit stones," someone announced in a corner of the room. He was surrounded by several other individuals that immediately began placing bids. Among them, he noticed someone with a silver talisman-artist badge.

"One sixty-three!" one shouted.

"One sixty-five!" another shouted.

The price eventually closed at 182 high-grade spirit stones, an eighteen-stone discount compared to the retail price. He continued to watch as several lots were sold for a similar price. After ten lots passed, a lot came up for 50,000 jin. This time, however, it auctioned for 880 high-grade spirit stones.

It seems that fewer people can bid for the larger lots, so the price is slightly lower, he thought. But not too low; it's a cash commodity, after all.

Using his incandescent force, he scanned the register until he found the largest lot to be auctioned: a 100,000-jin lot. The asking price was set for 1,600 high-grade spirit stones. He waited patiently for one hour until the lot finally came out.

"Bulk liquified elemental essence, 100,000 jin! Asking price is 1,600 high-grade spirit stones!"

"One thousand six hundred twenty!" one man shouted.

"One thousand six hundred forty!" another shouted.

"One thousand six hundred forty-five!"

The numbers continued to rise slowly until they reached 1,685. Given the previous bidding, Cha Ming guessed that a fifteen-percent bulk discount was the most they were willing to tolerate for such a large amount.

"Seventeen hundred!" Cha Ming shouted. No one added on to the total.

"Seventeen hundred going once! Seventeen hundred going twice! Sold! Please proceed to the desk with this jade slip to complete the transaction."

Cha Ming retrieved the slip from the man and proceeded to the exchange desk. He broke one of his crystal cards worth 10,000 high-grade spirit stones with the banker and received eight small crystal cards worth 1,000 each and 300 high-grade spirit stones in change.

After completing the transaction, Cha Ming walked out of the exchange. Sensing some cultivators tailing him, he shielded his presence using his incandescent force and disappeared into the crowd. He changed his appearance many times, causing people to look over their shoulders only to realize that they must have been imagining things. Eventually, he changed back to his original appearance, clothed in hooded blue robes. The hotel attendants looked at him in surprise as they wracked their brains to remember when he'd left his room.

Cha Ming collapsed on his bed with a smile on his face. The money problem had been resolved. All he needed now was status. The rest would take care of itself.