Chapter 34 Precious Cinnabar

The cinnabar that Pan Yun had bought at the grocery store had long been used up, and the finished cinnabar was of very poor quality, so the talismans she drew were not very good.

Guangxin Prefecture is a big city. From what Tao Ji and the others said, the Sanqing Mountain is far away and the trade there is not well developed.

So she has to stock up on more good stuff.

She and Pan Xiaohei already had an idea and decided to buy some materials to build the Three Jade Spirit Realm Formation. While building the formation, they also had to practice and do good deeds to accumulate merit.

Even if there is no specific number, it will always fall on you if you do it.

She listed several things in order of importance in her mind, putting cultivation and finding out about her family as the first priority, doing good deeds to accumulate merit as the second, and building a formation as the third...

Whether she is practicing, building personal connections to inquire about family news, or doing good deeds to accumulate merit, she needs to use cinnabar.

When Tao Ji heard that she wanted to buy cinnabar, he took the initiative to lead the way, "The cinnabar bought in the grocery store can't be a good thing. There are many impurities, and if you are unlucky, you may buy fake ones. Follow me."

Guangxin Prefecture was his territory, so Pan Yun followed him obediently, but he refused to give in. "Can I buy a fake? It's okay for other things, but not for cinnabar."

"You're quite arrogant. Even my senior brother and I can have our differences sometimes."

Pan Jun hummed, still confident, and did not explain.

She has a mind with five senses, can understand everything, see through falsehoods, and all deceptions are exposed in her eyes.

Fake cinnabar?
snort!
Seeing how proud she was, Tao Ji shook his head, thinking that she would suffer a great loss in the future.

Tao Ji took her to the pharmacy to buy cinnabar.

Pan Yun suddenly realized, yes, she had forgotten that cinnabar was a medicine in ancient times and could naturally be bought in pharmacies.

Tao Ji glanced at her and said, "Don't you know everything? How come you don't even know that cinnabar is in the pharmacy?"

Pan Yun: "Now I know. Thank you, Taoist Master Tao."

Tao Ji was surprised, and then he heard Pan Yun ask: "Does Taoist Master Tao often come to this medicine shop? Then will it be cheaper for you to buy herbs from here?"

Tao Ji swallowed his surprise and took her straight to the counter.

When the shopkeeper at the counter saw him, he handed over the task of getting the medicine to the pharmacist, and he went to the backyard with Tao Ji, "Master Tao, you haven't been here for a long time. Are you coming down the mountain to buy or sell medicine this time?"

On the way back, Tao Ji often took them to visit the medicine street, which was a street full of medicine dealers, drug sellers and farmers. He had already bought a lot and didn't plan to buy more, so he asked directly: "Is there any good cinnabar recently?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "You came at the right time. I just picked out a box of excellent cinnabar a few days ago. Please take your pick."

He turned around to get it and brought it back in a short while.

The box was only the size of a palm. When it was opened, there was a pile of dark red cinnabar the size of a finger inside.

Pan Yun glanced at Tao Ji.

Tao Ji also looked at her. As soon as they looked at each other, he knew that she wanted something better, so he said, "Boss, are you still worried that I don't have money? This one is not good enough."

The shopkeeper was very surprised, "This is not enough? Master Tao has made a fortune?"

Tao Ji coughed lightly and said, "Don't worry about it. If you have anything better, bring it over for us to see."

The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment and then said, "There are better ones, but you also know that cinnabar is more valuable than gold, and the best cinnabar is even more valuable than gold."

Tao Ji: "Just get it."

The shopkeeper was sure that Tao Ji had made a fortune, so he smiled and went to get another box of cinnabar. Of course, he also took the box he was looking at.

Then he came back with a box in each hand. He put the previous box aside and opened the new one.

As soon as he opened it, even Tao Ji couldn't help but be moved.

The color is bright red, bright and calm, which makes people excited at the sight of it.

Such good cinnabar is top-grade whether used for drawing talismans or making elixirs.

Tao Ji was also tempted and asked, "How much do you want to sell it for?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "One coin of cinnabar is worth fifteen taels."

Pan Yun grabbed Tao Ji's arm.

Tao Ji also felt heartbroken and said quickly: "This is too expensive..."

"This is top-quality cinnabar. I spent a lot of money to buy it from a drug dealer in Guangxi. The shopkeeper of Huichuntang wanted to grab it but failed," the shopkeeper said, "so I spent a lot of money to buy it. If it weren't for Taoist Master Tao, I would not be willing to give it to you."

This is difficult to bargain, especially since cinnabar is not something else where you can just bargain directly. If you can’t reach an agreement, go to another store.

Because the best cinnabar is hard to come by. If you miss it, you don’t know when you will come across it next time.

Pan Jun had been observing Tao Ji's expression and understood instantly.

Even in the 26th century, fine cinnabar was hard to come by. To be honest, she had only seen such good cinnabar a few times, and she never had it in her hands.

This is also great.

Pan Jun practiced his skills and looked again, and found that it was really true.

She gritted her teeth and whispered, "Buy it."

Tao Ji smiled at the shopkeeper, pulled Pan Yun aside and whispered, "Are you sure it's true?"

Well, he also suspected it was fake.

Pan Yun nodded and whispered, "It's true." Upon hearing this, Tao Ji touched the inner pocket of his robe.

Because silver was hard to get, when he accompanied Pan Yun to the bank to exchange silver notes, he exchanged the 100 taels for silver notes. That was the reward he got for extending King Zhou's life. The 50 taels he shared with Xuan Miao were basically exchanged for the things on the car. If he spent the 100 taels, he would not have much money left...

Tao Ji took out a hundred taels and said, "I'll split it with you. I'll buy six taels."

Pan Yun lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "I also want to buy some cinnabar of another quality."

Tao Ji immediately said, "That's not expensive. According to my experience, one coin is about three taels."

Pan Jun had an idea in his mind and started to calculate how much he could buy with the money he had.

The shopkeeper waited by the side with a big smile on his face, and was even considerate enough not to look at them. Instead, he made and poured tea for them and waited patiently.

Tao Ji came back and asked, "How much is this box of cinnabar?"

The shopkeeper said, "Only six taels."

Tao Ji glanced at Pan Yun and said, "We want one tael and six cents, and another box of cinnabar."

The shopkeeper was delighted when he heard this, and was willing to give them a small discount on the other box of cinnabar, saying, "I will charge you three taels of silver and one penny for this box, and give you another box of cinnabar."

so generous?

Soon Pan Yun saw the cinnabar he had given her.

It was called a box, but in fact it was only the size of a fist. When it was opened, the cinnabar inside was similar to the one Pan Yun bought at the grocery store. It had a lot of impurities and the color was not good enough. It was obvious that it cost several hundred wen.

Pan Yun bought one tael of top-quality cinnabar and one tael of medium-high-quality cinnabar, spending a total of one hundred and eighty taels. As a bonus, Tao Ji said that the shopkeeper was too stingy and insisted on letting him buy some medicinal materials.

The shopkeeper was getting the herbs he had asked for while looking at Pan Yun. He had just seen that most of the money was paid by this girl.

Moreover, they divided the cinnabar into two portions, one portion of six cents and the other of one ounce, which obviously showed that they were bought separately.

The shopkeeper packed the herbs and handed them to Tao Ji, then looked at Pan Yun and said, "Master Tao, who is this distinguished guest?"

"My nephew."

"His junior sister."

The two looked at each other, and then looked at the shopkeeper together.

The shopkeeper smiled awkwardly, "So you are the Taoist priest from Sanqing Temple. Excuse me, Taoist priest, next time you come to our medicine shop to buy something, tell me my name and I will charge you less."

The sadness in her heart caused by giving too much was instantly soothed. Pan Jun felt that she could really come to him again if she needed anything next time.

After leaving the medicine shop, Tao Ji stuffed all the herbs to Pan Yun, "You can use these things in the mountains."

Pan Yun frowned, "Although I don't know much about medicine, I know that these herbs don't go together very well. How can I use them?"

"Just pick some more on the mountain and use them together." Tao Ji glanced at her and shook his head, "With your body, you should be practicing alchemy. Why are you learning the art like your junior sister?"

He said, "You listened to me, and it's right. When you get to Sanqing Mountain, you must first regulate your body, and then refine your body, practicing both internal and external cultivation. Otherwise, if you only focus on the art, your body will not be able to handle it in the future."

This time Pan Jun did not object, but took a curious look at the herbs in his arms, "Are these herbs for body refining?"

Tao Ji nodded, "Yes, we need to go to the mountains to collect some herbs to make it. The temple should have some. I'll show them to you later."

Pan Yun then became more friendly to him and smiled at him, "Thank you, Taoist Master Tao."

Tao Ji sighed and muttered in his heart, whoever gives you milk is your mother. Master Tao is my mother when there is something to do and Master Tao is my mother when there is nothing to do.

However, he knew that this was because their first meeting was not very pleasant, and there was no trust in their subsequent relationship. Considering that she was both filial and loyal, he did not argue with her for too long.

Tao Ji took her back to find the car.

Xuanmiao was already waiting beside the car, with a calm expression. Tao Ji immediately explained, "We went to buy cinnabar, Junior Sister, look."

No Taoist is immune to the best cinnabar, no matter if he practices alchemy or talismans.

Xuanmiao rarely saw such good cinnabar, so he twisted it and smelled it. After confirming that it was real, he asked, "How much did you buy it for?"

Tao Ji said with a sad face: "One coin is worth fifteen taels. I only have thirteen taels left."

Pan Yun on the side remained silent, she didn't have much left.

Xuanmiao closed the box and returned it to him, saying, "Go back and ask my senior brother to give you the money."

Tao Ji rolled his eyes and thought this was a good idea.

"Let's go, while it's still early, let's get out of the city."

Tao Ji reorganized the things in the car early this morning and left a seat for Pan Yun and Black Cat. She finally didn't have to squeeze with the two of them.

However, since she was sitting next to Xuanmiao, she was not arranged to sit in the back, so as to avoid her falling off the bus while driving, because it was said that the road from Yushan County to Sanqing Mountain was not easy to travel.

Pan Jun sat down next to Xuan Miao and handed her the cold buns that had not been finished. "Master Xuan Miao, what I entrusted to you..."

"It has been done," Xuanmiao said, "someone will go to your hometown in Changzhou Prefecture to check in the near future, and any news will be passed on to Sanqing Mountain."

Pan Jun breathed a sigh of relief and praised Xuan Miao highly, "Master Xuan Miao is indeed a beautiful and kind person, and has good relationships with people..."

Xuanmiao said: "When we enter Sanqing Mountain, you will be my nephew. As fellow disciples, it is my duty to help you. You don't have to call me Immortal Master."

　The lucky number for this chapter is the number ending in 1, as shown in the screenshot
　　
　
(End of this chapter)