14: Chapter 14 Finding a Place to Stay in the City

The guards at the gate clearly recognized the Zhou Family's caravan, only lifting the carriage curtains to take a look and having people inspect the medicinal herbs on the carriages behind.

After the Zhou Family members paid the city entry fee, the caravan followed the crowd into Jiuzhou City.

Inside the city gate was a wide stone road, with shops lined up side by side on both sides—some selling grain, some selling fabric, along with blacksmith shops, restaurants, and various businesses whose names Mo Shoutian couldn't call to mind.

There were also many more people on the street than in Qingshi Town.

Sitting outside the carriage, Mo Shoutian felt a bit dazzled by the sight.

Even at its liveliest, Qingshi Town didn't have as many people as a single street in Jiuzhou City.

Most of the houses along the street had two stories, and a few restaurants had even built three stories, with waiters standing at the entrances specifically to welcome guests.

When the caravan passed an intersection, a few people wearing long robes walked out of the tea house opposite.

One of them carried a long sword on his back and hung a small cloth bag around his waist.

The people on the street merely stepped aside to make way when they saw them and did not kneel.

Watching the few people walk away, Mo Shoutian thought of those Baihe Sect Immortals on Baitou Mountain.

They were all Immortals alike, yet he wondered what kind of temper these few people had.

"Brother Mo, what are you looking at?"

Zhou Chengan's voice came from inside the carriage.

"Nothing, just saw a few Immortals."

"There are quite a few Immortals in Jiuzhou City; after living here for a period of time, you won't find it strange anymore."

Zhou Chengan added another sentence after finishing:

"However, if you can avoid provoking them, it's still best not to. If you encounter one with a bad temper, you'll suffer a loss with nowhere to reason."

Mo Shoutian acknowledged with a sound and did not look again in the direction those people had left.

The Zhou Family Pharmacy was in the east of the city.

After the caravan entered the city, it walked for more than half an hour before stopping in front of a two-story shop.

A somewhat aged wooden plaque hung at the entrance, with the four characters "Zhou Family Pharmacy" written on it.

Outside the shop were several bamboo baskets filled with some sun-dried medicinal herbs.

As soon as the driver shouted, the waiters inside the shop ran out.

"Manager Zhou is back."

"What happened to Manager Zhou?"

Seeing that Zhou Chengan was carried back, several people immediately gathered around the carriage.

A young waiter ran too eagerly and almost kicked over the medicine baskets at the entrance, but was pulled back by someone behind him.

"Don't all block up here."

Lying on the stretcher, Zhou Chengan pointed at the carriage behind.

"Send Old Ding back first, then go find a physician over."

Seeing the coffin on the carriage behind, the expressions on the faces of several waiters changed.

An older waiter asked:

"How did Uncle Ding pass away?"

"We encountered a mountain leopard on the way; to save me, he couldn't run out."

Zhou Chengan paused for a moment and then instructed:

"Fund the funeral from the shop, and draw twenty taels of silver from my account to send to his family. If his family can't get by in the future, have his son come to the shop to find me."

The older waiter nodded and called a few people to carry Old Ding's coffin away.

The remaining people no longer crowded around and hurriedly carried Zhou Chengan into the pharmacy.

Mo Shoutian stood beside the carriage, watching the Zhou Family people bustling about, and did not follow inside.

When Zhou Chengan was carried to the entrance, he turned his head and saw him.

"Brother Mo, why are you still standing there?"

"You have already arrived home, and I should be leaving too."

"Leave for what? You must at least have a meal before leaving."

Zhou Chengan originally wanted to have someone put him down, but as soon as his body moved slightly, the injury on his leg hurt so much that he drew a breath.

Mo Shoutian looked at him and said:

"You'd better take care of your own injury first. I didn't save you just to eat this meal of yours."

"Then where are you staying tonight?"

"Just finding an inn will do."

Seeing that he truly had no intention of staying, Zhou Chengan did not force him further.

"Aren't you looking for Qiu Wansheng? His Dasheng Cargo Firm is in the south of the city. Tomorrow, walk straight south along the street in front of the door, turn right after seeing a stone bridge, and you'll find it by asking people."

Mo Shoutian remembered the route he described.

"Alright, I'll come see you again after I finish my business."

"You said this yourself; don't just leave without a sound when the time comes."

"Got it."

Mo Shoutian said goodbye to him and left the Zhou Family Pharmacy with his bow and bundle on his back.

By this time, the sun was about to set.

Many shops along the street began hanging lanterns outside their doors, and the vegetable and meat stalls were also packing up their things.

The business of restaurants and inns, however, was just starting to get lively, with waiters at the entrances standing along the street and continuously greeting passing guests.

Mo Shoutian did not rush to stay at an inn; instead, he walked slowly forward along the street to check which inn was cheaper along the way.

After walking a distance, he saw a very large mountain goods shop.

Four or five carriages were parked at the shop's entrance, and a dozen or so waiters were moving things inside.

There were bundles of animal skins, dried mushrooms and medicinal herbs packed in baskets, and two people carrying a pair of long horns from some unknown beast.

Although the sun was already setting, quite a number of people coming to sell goods were still lined up beside it.

Some carried bamboo baskets, some drove ox-carts, and a few hunters dressed much like Mo Shoutian were arguing with the shop assistants over the price of furs.

Mo Shoutian stood outside and watched for a while.

Mo Family Village could hunt plenty of game every year, but everyone didn't have much in their hands, so most could only be sent to Qingshi Town to be sold.

Sometimes, to save a trip, they just had to accept lower prices.

If in the future they could gather all the village's furs and medicinal herbs together and send them to Jiuzhou City, they should be able to sell them for quite a bit more silver.

The only drawback was that Jiuzhou City was too far away.

Relying solely on people carrying them on foot would take more than half a month for a round trip.

Carriages, livestock, and food and lodging along the way were not things the current Mo Family Village could afford to produce.

Mo Shoutian didn't continue standing and watching.

Thinking about these matters any more right now was useless; first finding a Spirit Stone and letting the family truly have a Cultivator was the only way to consider future matters.

He asked about a few more inns along the street.

The first place cost one hundred and twenty wen for a night, and meals weren't even included.

Although the second place was a bit cheaper, only a large shared dormitory where multiple people lived together remained.

Carrying sixty taels of silver and Liu Chunmei's jade bracelet on him, Mo Shoutian naturally dared not squeeze into a room with a group of strangers.

Finally, he found a place named Fulai Inn on a small street.

This place was not far from the main street, and its storefront was not very large either.

An ordinary guest room cost seventy wen a night, but hot water and dinner still required extra money.

Although Mo Shoutian felt it was a bit expensive, he still paid the room rent for two nights.

The inn waiter led him up to the second floor.

Inside the room, there was only a bed, a table, and two long benches, with a wooden basin for washing faces placed in the corner.

"Guest, do you want hot water?"

"Bring a pot, and also send me two steamed buns and a bowl of meat soup."

The waiter agreed with a sound, closed the door, and went downstairs.

Mo Shoutian first inspected the doors and windows, then looked under the bed before placing his bow and hunting knife in an accessible position.

The silver in the bundle was not missing, and Liu Chunmei's jade bracelet was also safely placed inside.

He pressed the bundle under his pillow, sat before the table, and took out the book wild herb records.

From outside the window came the sound of carriages passing by from time to time, as well as the shouts of street vendors packing up their stalls.

Someone was drinking and talking in the next room, and downstairs guests were also calling the waiters to add dishes.

By night, Jiuzhou City was still livelier than Qingshi Town during the day.

Mo Shoutian flipped through a few pages of the herb records, but his mind kept thinking about the mountain goods shop he had seen earlier.

Guarding Baitou Mountain, what Mo Family Village lacked least were these things from the mountains.

The Zhou Family Pharmacy was indeed one way out. If the villagers really could harvest valuable medicinal herbs in the future, they could gather them first and figure out a way to send them to Jiuzhou City once the quantity was large enough.

However, these matters were not urgent right now.

He had been out for nearly half a month, and until now, he hadn't even seen a trace of a Spirit Stone.

Mo Shoutian sighed, closed wild herb records, and put it back into the bundle.

He could only wait until tomorrow to go to Dasheng Cargo Firm and see if Qiu Wansheng had any news about beast cores and Spirit Stones.