Chapter 71 - 69: Sister Miaoge, I’ve never been to this kind of place before!_2
Chapter 71: Chapter 69: Sister Miaoge, I’ve never been to this kind of place before!_2
Translator: 549690339
Lu Changsheng nodded as he listened.
It was the first time he had heard Lu Miaoge talk so much.
However, he also knew that Lu Miaoge was just a person of few words by nature, usually quiet and seemingly aloof from worldly matters, but actually quite amiable.
It was for this reason that she had brought him to Nine Dragons Marketplace, knowing that he was a stranger to this place, and thus she provided such detailed introductions.
As they walked along the road, Lu Changsheng constantly looked towards the pavilions and lofty buildings on both sides of the street.
‘Drunk Immortal Pavilion’, ‘Gathering of Immortals Pavilion’, ‘Myriad Treasures Pavilion’, ‘Elixir Cauldron Pavilion’, ‘Hundred Refinement Workshop’, ‘Jinxiu Workshop’…
Through the names on the signboards of these pavilions and halls, one could vaguely guess their purposes.
Seeing the Drunk Immortal Pavilion with red lanterns hung high and faint sounds of music drifting out, Lu Changsheng felt it didn’t seem like a proper tavern.
“Changsheng, you’re a married man now, better to avoid such places, not only do they waste money, but they can also affect your cultivation…”
Lu Miaoge said softly with a hint of shyness in her voice as she saw Lu Changsheng looking at the Drunk Immortal Pavilion.
Hearing this, the corner of Lu Changsheng’s mouth twitched.
He instantly understood what kind of place the Drunk Immortal Pavilion was.
No wonder he vaguely heard sounds of giggling women, he hadn’t misheard after all.
Indeed, fairies were not only in the mortal world but also in private rooms.
“Sister Miaoge, I was just wondering why that tavern looked odd, so I took a second glance. I never visit such places,” Lu Changsheng said, straightening up earnestly.
He genuinely had no interest in such places.
He was a man with five wives, six concubines, two favored courtesans, and a handmaid. Why would he need to frequent such spots?
Even though he constantly thought of taking concubines, specifically ‘fairies’ to have his children,
he would never go there to persuade a celestial maiden to lead an honest life. Wouldn’t that be insane?
But the young miss apparently knew about such places.
No surprise there, she might not seem of this world, but she is six years older than himself.
Having frequented the marketplace over the years and managed shops, she could hardly be a completely naive young girl.
“That’s good, then.”
Lu Miaoge slightly pursed her lips and responded indifferently, not elaborating on the subject.
Then she continued to introduce some information to Lu Changsheng.
Thus, as they talked and walked, almost a quarter of an hour passed, and Lu Miaoge stopped in front of a shop.
She said to Lu Changsheng, “This is our Lu Family’s Spiritual Talisman Shop.”
Lu Changsheng looked at the shop in front of him.
The shop was a three-story structure in line with the main street, about six Zhang high, with carved beams and painted rafters, resplendent yet not gaudy.
A signboard reading ‘Qing Zhu Lu’s Spiritual Talisman Shop’ hung above.
“Shopkeeper!”
At the entrance of the shop, a youthful girl around seventeen or eighteen, pretty and wearing a work outfit marked with ‘Qing Zhu Lu’s Spiritual Talisman Shop,’ greeted Lu Miaoge with a grace.
Then her gaze involuntarily shifted to Lu Changsheng by her side,
drawn by his handsome appearance and his gentle, jade-like demeanor.
“Hmm.”
Lu Miaoge gave a nod of acknowledgment, cold but polite.
She explained to Lu Changsheng through a message that this was a receptionist and salesperson for the shop.
Currently, the Spiritual Talisman Shop had one shopkeeper, two apprentices, and two receptionist salespersons.
The shopkeeper, named Zhang Shan, was a Sixth Level Energy Refinement cultivator who had been working at Lu’s Spiritual Talisman Shop for over ten years.
The two apprentices, named Li Shi and Wang Wu, had been at the shop for five or six years.
They were descendants of cultivators from Nine Dragons Marketplace with only Ninth Grade Spiritual Roots,
but had some talent in talisman making, which led their families to send them to the Spiritual Talisman Shop as apprentices.
Their daily work involved drawing talismans and making talisman paper and spiritual ink.
The Fourth Elder who mentioned guiding the apprentices was referring to these two.
Such apprentices were bound by a long-term contract, only requiring food and accommodation, and occasional guidance in talisman making sufficed, without even needing a monthly salary.
Learning skills was just like this.
Whether it was talisman making, alchemy, artifact refining, every high-threshold skill required perseverance.
Even if one didn’t succeed in the end, no one could be blamed.
As for the two receptionist salespeople, they were mortals.
Although Nine Dragons Marketplace was a cultivators’ marketplace, not everyone there was a cultivator, and many were mortals.
Some had come here following cultivators,
while others were descendants of cultivators, working and living here.
Living in the marketplace was not easy,
but as long as they could find a job, even mortals could survive.
They could even save up a Spirit Stone or two.
After all, if one made gold and silver in the common world, in Nine Dragons Marketplace, they earned Spirit Stones.
“He Liu, come inside for a moment.”
“I have something to talk to you about.”
Lu Miaoge glanced at the young woman,
then walked into the shop with Lu Changsheng in tow.
The shop was roughly two hundred square meters,
furnished very simply, with exquisite counters on both sides and in the center,
displaying various talismans, as well as talisman paper, spiritual ink, talisman brushes, and other talisman-related items.
“Shopkeeper!”
“Shopkeeper!”
In the hall, there was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, with a lean face, and a young girl in work attire,
Upon seeing Lu Miaoge and Lu Changsheng, they bowed and saluted.
“Uncle Zhang, call Li Shi and Wang Wu over, I have something to tell you all,” Lu Miaoge directed at the lean-faced middle-aged man.
“Yes,” Zhang Shan responded and went to the inner chamber.
In a moment, he returned with two women around twenty, pretty, and dressed in ‘Qing Zhu Lu’s Spiritual Talisman Shop’ work outfits.
Though they were cultivators, their cultivation levels were not high, just at the Second or Third Level of Qi Refinement.
“This is Lu Changsheng, a Middle Grade Talisman Master of our Lu Family.”
“From now on, as I won’t have time to manage the shop, Changsheng will oversee it. He is now the Second Master of the shop.”