Chapter 967: King Yan
As Daji’s cultivation rose, Zu An began to think about the things he needed to prepare for her breakthrough. After all, he couldn't suddenly start praying for a miracle when it really was time for her breakthrough already. Once Daji passed the sixth rank, she could no longer break through using just Ki Fruits. She would need all sorts of additional materials for each rank increase after that.
“The Valkyrie System really is freaking unscrupulous!” Zu An cursed the Valkyrie System. It was just like the gacha of his previous world; it was clearly a freaking scam.
But jokes were just jokes. He still had to try and gather those materials.
For Daji to break through from the sixth to seventh rank, she needed five pieces of Wuyang Jade, ten Gray Wolf King Fangs, thirty Blue Earthflowers, and twenty Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers.
None of the palace’s physicians had ever heard of the Wuyang Jade before. However, he had received some advice that Cloudcenter Commandery’s Yu clan managed the precious stones business. He could probably discover their whereabouts there. Together with the Milk of Purple Frost Mi Li needed, it now seemed as if he would have had to make a trip there even if the emperor hadn’t assigned him there.
As for the Gray Wolf King Fangs and other materials, even though they were precious, they weren’t too absurdly rare. He believed he would have the chance to collect them.
Zu An unknowingly drifted off into sleep while thinking about those things.
He had actually wanted Daji to sleep with him, because that way, his girl would get used to all of Golden Token Eleven’s behaviors. Her performance would then be even more realistic. He promised again and again that he wouldn’t do a single thing, that they were just going to lie down on the bed. He was even going to put a pillow in between them. After all, Daji was so beautiful, just a single look was already an incredible experience.
But he hadn’t expected Daji to refuse no matter what. Zu An was quite downcast because of that. Daji clearly didn’t have a soul, but why did she have such a strong rejection toward her master?
Honestly speaking, even the original Daji herself shouldn’t have defended her chastity so strongly. Isn’t she a master of seduction? Shouldn’t she be trying to tempt me with all of her different ways? Yet why am I now being refused no matter how decently I act?
…
Zu An trained Daji every day and night, trying to make her seem more like Golden Token Eleven. The results were getting better and better.
That day, Pei You and Gao Ying found Zu An. Pei You said, “Brother Zu, we’ll arrive at Yi City in a few days. Should we brothers experience the north’s women together then?”
Even the greatest homebodies would feel a bit suffocated after being on a ship for so long. They all wanted to climb ashore as soon as possible.
Zu An couldn't help but laugh, saying, “It looks to me as if you’ve only been thinking about those northern girls all this time.”
But of course, the other party was only acting like that because he treated Zu An as his close friend.
Gao Ying said seriously, “Yi City is King Yan’s domain. It’ll become troublesome if we end up getting into some conflict there and offend King Yan.”
“King Yan?” Zu An was puzzled. He hadn’t been in this world for that long after all, so he didn’t know about many things that were common knowledge.
Gao Ying kindly explained, “King Yan is his majesty’s uncle. His feudal fiefdom is Yi Commandery, and that commandery is ruled from Yi City. It frequently has trouble with bandits and the Devil Sect, so he’s allowed to train his own army to fend them off. This is a king who has rather great authority compared to others.”
Zu An had a strange expression. Because of Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, he already treated the Devil Sect as his own people. As such, he was interested in any information about them.
“Does that King Yan always gain achievements through wiping out large numbers of Devil Sect people?” Zu An asked to test the waters.
Gao Ying shook his head. “King Yan has improved the bandit situation a lot over these years, and he’s also captured many people from the Devil Sect. Unfortunately, the Devil Sect’s people are like weeds, growing all over the place. There are many people in the court who are saying that King Yan is too brutal, that he only knows how to fight and doesn’t know how to conciliate at all. That’s why the Devil Sect and the bandits continue to haunt this land.”
Zu An couldn't help but feel relieved when he heard that King Yan and the Devil Sect were roughly even in their battles.
Pei You remarked, “We’re only going for some drinks, so why would we offend King Yan? Brother Gao, you’re worrying about too many things.”
Gao Ying figured that made sense as well, so he didn’t try to dissuade them further. Furthermore, they had been stuck on the ship for so long that he wanted to go out and relax a bit too.
Zu An remembered the materials Daji needed. As such, he asked, “By the way, have you guys heard of Wuyang Jade, Gray Wolf King Fangs, Blue Earthflower, Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers, and the like before?”
He wanted to ask Xiao Jianren about those things, but it would be too fishy if he showed up as Golden Token Eleven again so soon. Who knew if Xiao Jianren would turn around and report to Zhuxie Chixin and the emperor?
Furthermore, Xiao Jianren only knew about the Embroidery House’s archives; he didn’t specialize in medicine. He might remember something about some special treasures, but he might not know much about some ordinary medicines.
Gao Ying and Pei You were different. They had grown up in great clans, so they had access to many resources. He might actually obtain some clues from the two of them.
Sure enough, Pei You replied, “I haven’t heard of Wuyang Jade before, but I’ve heard of the Gray Wolf King Fangs, Blue Earthflower, and Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers. Gray Wolf King Fang and Nine-Headed Pheasant Feathers aren’t too rare; you can buy those from many black markets. The Blue Earthflowers are a bit trickier; I heard that they grow in the fiend races’ territory. But you should be able to find them in cities closer to the fiend races’ capital.”
“Black market?” Zu An asked, surprised.
Gao Ying explained with a smile, “Because of the war against the fiend races in the past, the court has restricted normal business with the fiend races and the other organizations around them. But despite that being the case, there’s still a need for a market to exist. That’s why black markets sprung up to meet the demand. You can find some specialties from various clans. The closer you get to the fiend races, the more common black markets become. Eventually, the black markets began to carry things you would never find on the human side. That’s why they became more and more developed. There were many that formed even back in our empire.”
Zu An asked with a frown, “Why haven’t I seen them in the capital?”
Gao Ying replied, “The capital is a place of virtue. Furthermore, the Embroidered Envoy’s base is there, so who dares to do these kinds of things right under their eyes? That’s why there are naturally no black markets in the capital. However, this Yi City is quite a sizable city too, and furthermore a traffic hub. It isn’t too far from the northern frontier. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a good chance that there will be black markets.”
Zu An’s eyes lit up. He said, “Then we really do have to make a trip around Yi City.”
Pei You laughed and said, “Brother Zu is one of us as expected. Once we reach the brothels there, it’s every man for himself this time! It’ll depend on your own skill to see if you can get the prettiest girl.”
Zu An was speechless. I was saying that I wanted to go to the black market; when did I say that I wanted to go to the pleasure quarters?
Gao Ying sighed and asked, “Brother Pei, do you know what part of you I admire the most?”
Pei You was momentarily stunned. He replied, “My cultivation talent? Or my handsome face?”
Gao Ying shook his head with a strange expression as he said, “No, I admire your confidence.”
Pei You wasn’t stupid. He sensed the mockery in Gao Ying’s tone and replied, “Hmph, Yi Commandery is close to the north, so these girls admire warriors. It’s not like the capital where they care so much about literary talent! With my looks, I definitely have a good chance.”
What he said wasn’t entirely false. He was a young master from an influential clan, and he was even handsome. He would be quite eye-catching in such a place.
Gao Ying replied with a smile, “Yi Commandery’s girls might admire warriors, but do you think you can win against brother Zu?”
Pei You still didn’t fizzle out at all when he heard that. He said, “It doesn’t matter if I can’t beat brother Zu; I just need to beat you.”
Gao Ying was speechless.
…
A few days later, the ship stopped at Yi City’s port. Gao Ying and the others requested some time off to tour the city.
The ship needed some time to resupply, as they had traveled on water for so long. Everyone on the ship had already been stifled for too long as well, so Sang Hong was open-minded in that respect. He gladly agreed.
Zu An wanted to invite him to the city for some rest too, but Sang Hong refused. Sang Hong’s status was special, so he didn’t want to interact too much with King Yan and the other officials of Yi Commandery. That was why he remained on the ship.
“Sir Sang truly is self-disciplined,” Gao Ying said in admiration after they left the ship.
“He wouldn’t have made such a name for himself a few years ago if that weren’t the case. So many officials in the court feared him and secretly called him ‘Tiger Sang’,” Pei You added.
Zu An thought, As expected. He had experienced Sang Hong’s methods firsthand back in Brightmoon City. This man either held back or struck decisively. If not for the fact that the Chu clan had its own army, they would have long since been wiped out.
He suddenly noticed that their group was walking farther and farther away from the city. He was confused and asked, “Aren’t we going into the city?”
“What kind of fun is there in the city? I’ll bring you guys to a place that’s actually interesting,” Gao Ying said with a mysterious smile.