How much?” Zuo Mo asked alertly. His eyes scanned around the surrounded. Receiving encouragement from his look, a few other men sitting at the side stood up.
Noticing that some of his own profession seemed to want to come over, the man’s heart tightened and he hurriedly stated: “Three first-grade.”
Three one-grade meant three pieces of first-grade jingshi.[13]
Zuo Mo exclaimed in shock: “Kill me!” And followed decisively: “Just two. If you’re willing, then do it. If not, never mind.” At this time, if he made out a shocked expression, he would have had both sound and look. But it was hopeless for Zuo Mo’s zombie face which didn’t move and the atmosphere instantly became weird.
“Too fake!” The strongman jerked his mouth. But seeing the other people that were restless in the surroundings, he gritted his teeth and crisply nodded: “Fine!”
Finishing, his hand that was as big as a fan reached for the cloth bag on the ground. Zuo Mo shouted: “Wait!”
“What?”
“Make a contract first.” Zuo Mo took out a jade strip.
“Just two, what contract does it need?” The strong man muttered disapprovingly.
“For safety. Otherwise, with my body, if you run, I can’t catch up with you.” Zuo Mo’s face was still expressionless, and his voice was still carrying a smile.
Helplessly, the strong man could only sign a contract with Zuo Mo. Seeing this, the other people finally left.
Finishing, the man picked up the bag on the ground. The three hundred catty back in his hand seemed weightless.
Halfway up the mountain, Zuo Mo struggled to crawl up the mountain, his entire body soaked in sweat. The brawny man said with a face full of disdain: “Your endurance really sucks.” Then he urged: “Can’t you be faster? I still want to do two more orders today! At this speed, it’ll be lucky if we get there before dark.”
Zuo Mo felt as though he was a fish that had been taken out of the water. He felt he was suffocating. He put his butt on the stone stairs and panted roughly, one breath disconnected from the next: “I ……I can’t……”
The man instantly panicked: “It can’t be like this. Are you trying to ruin my business?”
Zuo Mo’s eyes rolled and he stated expressionlessly: “You can see it. I really don’t have any more energy.”
The man furiously ranted: “Taking your business, I really lost a lot today.” Finishing, he grabbed Zuo Mo with one hand and put him under his arm, lengthening his stride and started to jog up the stone stairs.
“You guys who cultivate your body, it really is admirable.” Zuo Mo who was taking advantage said heartlessly.
“What’s admirable? Just eating based on strength. Right now, I’m at the fifth level of lianqi. [14] Once I get to zhuji [15], I can take more orders. These days, it’s hard to make a living!” The muscled man couldn’t help but sigh.
“Yeah! Living isn’t easy!” Zuo Mo felt sorrow in his heart. He suddenly remembered that Thousand Wing Boat he saw on the road and couldn’t help but ask: “Hey, what’s with that Thousand Wing Boat? Never seen it before.”
“That’s the moving palace of Chi Ye zhenren. You have to be careful and not provoke him.” The man gave a friendly reminder: “If you see women dress in white with a veil, you have to respectfully stay away. They are all concubines of Chi Ye zhenren and have terrible tempers. Many people offended them and they didn’t have good endings!”
The man’s strength was astonishing. One hand holding the three hundred catty bag, the other hand Zuo Mo as he spoke without showing any sign of exhaustion.
“That’s true. Us little people, to offend them is to seek death.” Zuo Mo agreed.
The strides of the man were very big and his speed much fast than Xiao Huang. It only took him an hour to finish climbing up the winding stone stairs.
Zuo Mo crisply paid him two one-grade jingshi. The man took the jingshi before turning to rush down the mountain.
“Living isn’t easy!” Zuo Mo looked at the back of the man and expressionlessly concluded.
Zuo Mo was very familiar with Dong Fu. He took up the bag, a few turns, and he found his destination.
This was a store that specialized in purchasing ling grains. It was a small storefront. Outside the door there hanged a small flag. On it were two words: Ling Grains. The seal arrangement on the flag guaranteed that the two words could be seen from far away even at night.
Three hundred catties of second-grade ling grain, to this kind of store, it was just a small piece of business. The storekeeper didn’t even bother to come out to give a greeting, only sending a shop assistant.
“Thirty pieces of second-grade jingzhi.”
The shop assistant had no intentions of bargaining. Zuo Mo also knew he didn’t have any room to bargain and very crisply nodded.