# Chapter 67: The City That Never Sleeps
The Blind One had no idea how to explain things to Qin Mu. He gave a dry laugh and said, "This city is also called Xianglong City. It stays brightly lit even at night, and merchants from villages within thousands of li gather here for trade. Mu'er, Grandma Si, I won't be joining you. Grandma Si, do you have any pocket money?"
He leaned on his bamboo staff, grinning widely, and extended one hand.
Grandma Si pretended not to see him.
The Blind One reached for the beast hides on the cart, laughing, "Mu'er, lend me two beast hides. When I win at the gambling house, I'll pay you back double!"
Qin Mu smiled, "Grandpa Blind, just take them. There's no need to pay me back."
"Don't give them to him!" Grandma Si said angrily. "This old man always goes to the gambling house whenever we come here, and he loses everything every time! Two exotic beast hides could buy us plenty of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. It's better than throwing them into the water! At least you'd hear two splashes if you threw them in!"
The Blind One quickly draped the two beast hides over himself and ran off into the crowd, disappearing from sight.
Grandma Si stomped her foot in frustration. Qin Mu looked puzzled and asked, "Grandma Si, what's a gambling house?"
Grandma Si was furious. "First you wanted to play with girls of easy virtue, and now you want to go to a gambling house? Mu'er, you're not learning anything good!"
Qin Mu was confused. "Grandma Si, don't be angry. I won't play with them. Oh, Grandma Si, are there any brothels in this city? The Brothel Hall Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult, Fu Qingyun, said that where there are brothels, we can find her."
Grandma Si glared at him and sneered, "Now you want to visit a brothel? That vixen Fu Qingyun, you'd better stay away from her."
Qin Mu was puzzled. He was planning to go to the brothel to find someone, but how did that turn into visiting a brothel? And what exactly was a brothel anyway?
"Coming to the city, there are so many rules. You can't do this, you can't do that," the young man grumbled inwardly.
The old woman and the young man drove their ox cart to the market, which was even more bustling. All kinds of goods dazzled the eyes, and people of different races in strange attire made Qin Mu's head spin.
Soon, Grandma Si sold the ironware and beast hides from the cart, exchanging them for some oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. The merchant seemed to be from the outside world, speaking with a distinctive accent, claiming to be from the State of Yankang.
Although Grandma Si was a woman, she was accustomed to being generous and had no talent for haggling. She sold the ironware crafted by the Mute too cheaply, and the exotic beast hides didn't fetch much either. The merchant had some conscience and felt he had taken advantage of Grandma Si and Qin Mu, so he gifted them a small bag of dragon coins, about a hundred or so.
Dragon coins were the currency of Xianglong City, imprinted with dragon pillar designs identical to the dragon pillars at the city's four corners. Qin Mu sensed that the coins seemed to carry a unique formation blessing, likely forged with a special technique to prevent counterfeiting.
They then sold their cows and sheep. The animals seemed to know their fate, shedding tears and biting onto Qin Mu's clothes, unwilling to let go.
Qin Mu hesitated, but Grandma Si whispered, "They're all bad people."
Qin Mu was startled. These cows and sheep were actually humans, transformed by Grandma Si using the Demon Art of Creation!
"They were a band of robbers."
Grandma Si's voice was as fine as silk. "Do you remember when you were young, and I took you to a neighboring village to deliver a baby? When we arrived, the entire village was dead. All these years I've been searching for traces of these robbers, but never found them. However, a few days ago, I finally located them."
Qin Mu's heart shook violently. He tore his clothes free, allowing the merchant to lead the cows and sheep away. What awaited these animals would be either slaughter or plowing. Although he felt this was somewhat unjust, he couldn't say that Grandma Si had done wrong.
The Great Ruins was just that kind of place—the weak were prey to the strong. Grandma Si's methods of seeking justice might be extreme, but it was better than nothing.
He even felt a bit touched. That incident had left a deep impression on him. He never expected that after ten years or so, Grandma Si still remembered that matter and was still seeking vengeance for the people of that village who had died unjustly.
They bought some cloth and fine wine and delivered them to the inn where they were staying. Suddenly, Grandma Si stopped, unable to tear her eyes away from a shop selling rouge and face powder.
"What fine goods! Only such delicate powder is worthy of my unparalleled beauty," the old woman said, her eyes sparkling, her mouth full of laughter, making a group of young girls giggle nonstop.
Grandma Si ignored them completely, buying a pile of rouge and powder, nearly spending all the remaining money. Glancing at Qin Mu standing to the side holding boxes of all sizes, Grandma Si felt somewhat apologetic. She rummaged through her money pouch and after a while pulled out the last dragon coin, stuffing it into Qin Mu's pocket. "Mu'er, be good to yourself. Buy something you like. Don't leave yet—help me carry the rouge and powder back to the inn first."
Qin Mu delivered the cosmetics to the inn. The innkeeper was extremely respectful, saying that rooms had long been prepared for them.
Qin Mu eyed the innkeeper suspiciously, his heart trembling slightly. The innkeeper winked at him and whispered, "This subordinate greets the Junior Cult Master."
"The Heavenly Demon Cult has three hundred and sixty halls, covering all trades. To think they've even opened an inn in Xianglong City."
Qin Mu composed himself and walked into the guest room. Grandma Si immediately urged him to go out. "You rarely get a chance to go out, so make sure to have fun. Oh, and spend that dragon coin wisely."
Qin Mu pocketed the dragon coin and went out. Xianglong City at night was brilliantly lit and even more enchanting. Vendors and people from various villages had all come out, selling all kinds of strange things. The streets were packed with people, and a wave of sleeves could form clouds.
"My daughter and I are from Niujia Village, passing through your honorable territory. We seek neither fame nor fortune. Our daughter has come of age but has not yet found a husband, so we hold a martial arts tournament to find a valiant hero with superior martial skills..."
Hearing this voice, Qin Mu stopped in his tracks and looked at the stage with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. It was packed with people, impossibly crowded.
"Those two from Niujia Village are holding a martial arts tournament again. Come to think of it, last time they were at the Grandmother Temple three years ago. Has it been three years and they still haven't found a live-in son-in-law?"
"How much can one dragon coin buy?"
Qin Mu was pondering this when he heard someone shouting, "Priceless treasures, only three coins each!"
He followed the voice and saw a narrow alley filled with people, where all kinds of strange objects were displayed—mostly broken bricks and tiles.
"Could these broken bricks and tiles really be priceless treasures? Why are priceless treasures so cheap?"
Qin Mu was surprised and quietly activated the Shenxiao Heavenly Eye. Looking closely, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. These were indeed all broken bricks and tiles, many of which had been picked up from ruins in the Great Ruins. They didn't contain even a trace of spiritual energy, far inferior to treasures like spirit weapons. Forget about three coins—even if given away, no one would want them.
However, many martial artists were picking through the stalls, hoping to actually discover some treasures.
Qin Mu looked from stall to stall, and something caught his attention. He did find some good items—on some stalls, fragments of weapons were displayed. When they fell under his gaze, these weapon fragments emitted a faint glow. They should be fragments of spirit weapons, worth something.
He stepped forward to ask the price and was taken aback—spirit weapon fragments cost dozens of dragon coins.
"Is this a rip-off?"
Qin Mu continued his examination and saw a stall where a dozen clay pots were laid out on a sheepskin. Most of the pots were broken—either missing lids or with chipped corners.
However, when he looked at them with the Shenxiao Heavenly Eye, the faint glow emanating from these clay pots was actually extremely intense, far surpassing those spirit weapon fragments, and even much brighter than the spirit weapons he had sold!
"How much for the clay pots?" Qin Mu approached and asked.
"Three coins each," the stall owner replied.
Qin Mu took out the dragon coin from his pocket and said somewhat sheepishly, "I only have one dragon coin. Can you sell them all to me?"
The stall owner was both surprised and delighted. He snatched the dragon coin and quickly wrapped up the broken clay pots from the sheepskin, stuffing them into Qin Mu's hands. "They're all yours!"
"Fool..."
Several neighboring stall owners chuckled quietly. "One dragon coin is worth a thousand coins. He doesn't even know that."
The stall owner clutched the dragon coin tightly and quickly said, "Young man, you can't go back on our deal!"
Only then did Qin Mu realize the value of the dragon coin. He laughed readily, "Since we've struck a deal, I won't go back on it. These clay pots for one dragon coin—I think it's worth it."
The stall owner breathed a sigh of relief and was about to leave when suddenly a clear voice said, "Wait! Young man, how much for these clay pots?"
Qin Mu looked up and saw several elegantly dressed men escorting a more splendidly attired youth. The youth had delicate features, red lips and white teeth, and a slightly baby-faced appearance. Compared to Qin Mu, he seemed somewhat refined. He was staring intently at the sheepskin in Qin Mu's hand with great interest.
"A divine ability user?" one of the stall owners exclaimed in surprise.
Qin Mu blurted, "You're that plump Seventh Young Master from the towered boat of the State of Yankang!"
"Plump Seventh Young Master?"
The youth was stunned for a moment, then immediately recognized Qin Mu. He felt somewhat humiliated and gritted his teeth, "Who's a plump Seventh Young Master?"
Qin Mu had little interest in the plump Seventh Young Master and looked toward the several people behind him. These men had extraordinary bearing, with yuanqi flowing visibly outside their bodies. One of them had a green dragon coiled around him, its head rising above his own, its eyes sharp and vigilant, scanning the surroundings.
This person was clearly a Green Dragon spirit body, one who had opened the Sixfold Divine Treasury and could manifest yuanqi at all times—a divine ability user!
Although Qin Mu's yuanqi was abundant enough to be made manifest, it only happened during combat when his yuanqi was incredibly intense, mixed with his blood and vital energy, which allowed others to see it.
But divine ability users were different. They could manifest their yuanqi at any time. Their yuanqi could conceal a divine ability within it. If an enemy attacked, this ability could burst forth immediately to confront the foe!
Qin Mu had once heard Grandma Si say that the Spirit Womb realm only made one a martial artist. Cultivating to the Five Elements realm made one a grandmaster, one who understood the transformations of the Five Elements and could evolve martial techniques and spells into divine abilities.
Breaking through the Sixfold Divine Treasury made one a divine ability user, one who could wield divine abilities.
Although Xianglong City was not small and had many divine ability users, having one follow behind as an entourage was something extraordinary.
"Of course I'll sell these clay pots," Qin Mu said after some thought. "One hundred dragon coins each."
He was making an outrageous demand, but the "plump Seventh Young Master" smiled gently and nodded. "Cheap. Deal. There are thirty-six clay pots on your sheepskin, totaling three thousand six hundred dragon coins. Ding Qianhu, settle with him."
One of the men behind him bowed. "Yes." He then stepped forward to settle the account with Qin Mu.
The stall owners and passersby in the alley were stunned, their breathing quickening. The man who had sold the clay pots to Qin Mu earlier was especially agitated, his eyes twitching, his head spinning. He stared at the clay pots, wanting to snatch them back but not daring to.