Chapter 7: The Secret Realm, The Second Medicinal Bath

“Seventy-five taels?!” Lin Chuan stood at the trading counter of the main hall of Fortune Tower, his voice suddenly rising eight octaves. “This is outright robbery!”

The appraiser behind the counter calmly pushed up his crystal glasses, which reflected a cold gleam. “Sir, star dust sand of insufficient purity is priced as such. Were it not for your status as a fifth-rank treasure appraiser, even seventy taels would be too much.”

Lin Chuan stomped in anger, mentally shouting at Fatty, “You said it was worth at least one hundred and fifty taels! And now it’s been halved!”

Fatty awkwardly cleared his throat twice. “Well… I didn’t expect the main hall of Fortune Tower to be such a rip-off either.”

“You’re ripping me off!” Lin Chuan roared inwardly, feeling his heart bleed. “My house fund!”

“Don’t be upset,” Fatty hurriedly changed the subject. “You still have to fulfill your duties as a treasure appraiser, right? Hurry up and ask where you’re supposed to work.”

Lin Chuan took a deep breath, suppressing the pain, and took out the silver-edged jade pendant. “May I ask where the workplace for a fifth-rank guest treasure appraiser is?”

The appraiser glanced at the pendant, then casually pointed westward. “At the various branch halls, find the branch manager. Remember to clock in on the four appraisal days each month. You must arrive at the branch hall by the hour of the dragon; late arrivals will have deductions.”

“Clock in too?!” Lin Chuan’s eyes widened. “Is this the cultivation world or a 996 factory?”

The appraiser gave a professional fake smile. “Fortune Tower has always been known for strict discipline; this rule was established thirty thousand years ago.”

Lin Chuan roared inside his mind, “Fatty! This is your doing again, isn’t it?!”

Fatty chuckled nervously. “Well… scientific management…”

Stepping out of the main hall, Lin Chuan sighed deeply toward the sky. “My money… my freedom…”

“All right, all right,” Fatty comforted, “Seventy-five taels isn’t bad; it’s enough for ten doses of improved medicinal baths.”

Lin Chuan counted on his fingers, “Seven and a half taels per dose, ten doses make seventy-five… Wait, why do I need ten?”

“Because you need to break through to the third level of Body Refinement, you fool! Cultivation isn’t child’s play!” Fatty scolded him.

Lin Chuan pouted and decided to report to the branch hall first.

Fortune Tower, as an asset of the city lord’s mansion in Fortune City, even had branches in other cultivation cities. Apart from the market outside the city, there were many branches inside the city.

A branch in the T-shaped district was much smaller than the main hall but retained the same dazzling golden and jade decoration style.

The branch manager was a round-faced middle-aged man. Upon seeing Lin Chuan’s jade pendant, he greeted him enthusiastically like a lucky cat.

“Master Lin! It’s an honor to meet you!”

Manager Liu shook Lin Chuan’s hand up and down, his plump face beaming with smiles. “Your workstation is ready. You must appraise at least five treasures daily; there are bonuses for exceeding the quota!”

Lin Chuan was taken to a small cubicle with only a table, a chair, and an oil lamp.

On the table sat a bell, and next to it thoughtfully placed an hourglass—for timing.

“What is this…” Lin Chuan pointed at the hourglass, feeling a bad omen.

Manager Liu explained with a smile, “Each appraisal must not exceed fifteen minutes; overtime will result in performance deductions.”

Lin Chuan nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. “You’re treating treasure appraisers like assembly line workers!”

Fatty weakly defended in Lin Chuan’s mind, “Well… efficiency first…”

The manager seemed to see through his thoughts, leaning in to whisper, “Master Lin, although the rule is strict, if you ‘accidentally’ appraise a high-grade treasure… the bonuses are quite generous~”

Lin Chuan’s eyes lit up. Just as he was about to speak, Fatty warned, “Don’t expect me to help you appraise high-grade treasures again! Your cultivation level is too low; attracting too much attention will get you killed!”

In the end, Lin Chuan obediently spent the whole afternoon at the branch hall, appraising seven ordinary items.

Among them were five so-called “ancient divine swords” which were actually fakes, a piece of “life-restoring” herb that was just ordinary mint, and a “phoenix descendant” that was merely a dyed chicken.

The base salary of five taels would only be paid on the fourth appraisal day of the month; today Lin Chuan only received his commission.

He earned five qian of silver today—just enough to rent a small courtyard in the T-shaped district for half a day.

“This job is a trap!” Lin Chuan kicked a stone angrily as he left the branch hall. “I’d be better off scavenging!”

“Don’t rush,” Fatty said nonchalantly. “Your cultivation is too low, and you’re an ordinary person. Occasionally appraising a high-grade item can be attributed to luck or rumors of a treasure. But if you keep appraising high-grade treasures, it’ll raise suspicion. When your cultivation improves, you’ll be able to appraise high-level treasures openly, and the money will naturally follow.”

Lin Chuan sighed and bought medicinal bath materials worth fifteen taels of gold from an herbal shop.

Watching his coin purse instantly shrink, his heart bled again.

Passing by a tavern called “Drunken Immortal Pavilion,” he rubbed his growling stomach and reluctantly spent five qian silver on a roast chicken.

He only earned enough today to buy four of these chickens. This was hardly the treatment a transmigrated person with a golden finger deserved. The thought made him ache with sorrow.

“Sir, would you like to try our new ‘Phoenix Nirvana’ set? Only three taels!” the waiter enthusiastically promoted.

Lin Chuan looked at the menu, where the “phoenix” looked exactly like the dyed mountain chicken appraised that afternoon. His mouth twitched. “No thanks, I’m afraid this phoenix will undergo nirvana in my stomach…”

By the time he returned to his small courtyard in the T-shaped district, night had fallen.

Just as Lin Chuan opened the courtyard gate, a strong fragrance of perfume hit him, making him sneeze.

“Achoo! Who spilled the perfume?”

“Master Lin, you’re back?” came a soft, coquettish voice from the west wing.

Lin Chuan turned and saw a young woman in a light green silk dress leaning against the door.

In the moonlight, her skin was like polished jade, her features exquisite, and especially her eyes—they sparkled as if they could shoot lightning.

“Are you…” Lin Chuan instinctively took a half step back.

“I am Pan Yu, living in the west wing,” she said, stepping lightly, her jade pendants tinkling. “Yesterday I heard a new neighbor had just moved in, but I hadn’t had time to visit.”

Lin Chuan nodded and was about to introduce himself when he noticed Pan Yu’s gaze fixed intently on the silver-edged jade pendant at his waist. Her beautiful eyes suddenly lit up like searchlights.

“Ah!” Pan Yu exclaimed, raising her voice at least eight octaves. “Master Lin, you’re a treasure appraiser of Fortune Tower? So young and promising!”

Lin Chuan instinctively covered the pendant. “Uh, just fifth rank…”

“Fifth rank is impressive too!” Pan Yu enthusiastically grabbed his arm. “I am the daughter of the magistrate of Linjiang County. Unhappy with the marriage arrangement my father made, I fled to Fortune City and now work as a courtesan at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion…”

Lin Chuan was startled by her sudden enthusiasm, nearly dropping his roast chicken.

He awkwardly withdrew his arm. “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Lin Chuan…”

Before he could finish, Pan Yu stepped closer, so near that Lin Chuan could count the layers of mascara on her lashes. “Master Lin, have you had your evening meal? I just made some pastries…”

“No, no!” Lin Chuan hurriedly backed away, holding up his roast chicken. “I bought food. I’m going back to my room!”

With that, he fled into his chamber, leaving Pan Yu stamping her foot in place.

“Tsk tsk tsk,” Fatty teased in Lin Chuan’s mind. “You can’t resist love when it comes knocking!”

Lin Chuan threw the roast chicken on the table and wiped cold sweat from his brow. “Come on, she’s interested in my pendant, not me.”

“That’s not bad,” Fatty chuckled mischievously, “At least it means you’re someone ‘of status’ now.”

Lin Chuan rolled his eyes and began gnawing on the chicken leg. “By the way, when will we enter the core secret realm of Fortune City? I feel like time’s running out…”

Fatty grew unusually serious. “Speaking of which, I need to tell you about the current state of Cangxuan Star.”

As Fatty recounted, Lin Chuan’s expression grew heavy.

Thirty thousand years ago, Fatty had used the “Chaos Heaven Soul Seizing Array” to forcibly drag Lin Chuan from Earth, damaging the source of Cangxuan Star and causing its spiritual energy to wither.

Now, aside from the various cultivation cities protected by arrays, the outside world was no longer suitable for cultivators.

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