The next morning, Chen Wentian led Long Yifei and their forces north. The target was Three Clouds City but that was still some distance away. There was no need to rush since there were a few towns and outposts to take out along the way.
Their pace was leisurely, without the haste and excitement of the previous day. There was a good reason for this, one which he did not share with anyone except his disciple. The reason was that he had planned to cause trouble at the Temple of the Clouds.
---
Chen Wentian roused his disciples bright and early aboard the Skyward General. The Seven Rivers Union had extended an invitation to observe the opening of that special cloud temple. But that was a few more days away. In the meantime, they had not come to bother him and he would not bother them either. Instead, he would focus on other more important matters.
After going over the plan with his disciples, they set out together, heading to a less developed section of Cloud Edge City. With an immortal leading the party, nobody cared enough to bother them in the streets.
Their target was a small herbal medicine shop. Named the Ancient House, it was an unassuming shop that catered to mortals. Of course, its owner was a Spirit Lord bandit but he was not present at the moment.
Chen Wentian and his disciples didn't enter the Ancient House but a tea pavilion on the other side of the street. It had three stories and balconies where people could enjoy their tea while taking in the sights of the city. It was a nice place.
After squeezing his rotund body into a seat by the balcony, he let out a laugh and waved his hand, "Jinjin, Yimin, let's get this started."
Lin Qingcheng and Zhou Ziyun bowed, "Yes, master."
They descended the stairs, crossed the street, and entered the herb shop.
"Welcome to the Ancient House, can I help you, young misses?"
The interior of the shop was what one would usually see in a medicine shop. Common herbs were on display, one pile after another. More expensive herbs were listed on the wall but hidden in special boxes or otherwise away from view. Three clerks were working at the moment.
"I would like some medicinal herbs. Here is the list," Lin Qingcheng said and sent over a folded piece of paper.
One of the clerks caught it, unfolded it, and read it with raised eyebrows, "Ruby aster, hundred-year-old motherwort, black ginseng, three-eyed ginko seeds… This will be quite expensive, especially in these quantities."
"Money won't be a problem, how much?" Lin Qingcheng asked.
Another clerk tabulated the total on an abacus, "At least one hundred thousand taels of gold. And we'll have to make sure we have everything in stock."
Lin Qingcheng glanced at Zhou Ziyun who flashed a few sizable red spiritual crystals.
The clerks' eyes widened. They showed their enthusiasm and quickly got to work. This was a huge sale and they would be able to earn a decent amount in contribution with their bandit lord.
After a while, the clerks came out from the back, carrying an array of wooden chests. They started weighing each medicinal ingredient before putting them in smaller wooden boxes for the customers.
"Hold on." Lin Qingcheng said and pointed to the herb currently being weighed.
It was one known as bitter ice apricot; a kind of fruit that had been dried in a very cold environment.
"Is it supposed to look like that?" She asked.
"Like what?" The clerk asked.
"I thought bitter ice apricot is supposed to have a light blue skin," She said.
"Miss, bitter ice apricot has been dried. When it is fresh, it is light blue. Now, it looks like this." He waved at the small dried fruits which had wrinkled skin that was almost pitch-black.
"Are you sure?"
"Miss, the Ancient House is a small shop but we have a good reputation. We won't cheat you, even if you are a one-time customer. You can ask around."
Lin Qingcheng leaned into Zhou Ziyun and whispered loudly, "Are they trying to cheat us?"
"I don't know." Zhou Ziyun replied, equally loudly.
"Young miss, little nun, why would we cheat you? This is Cloud Edge City!"
Ignoring the clerk's arguments, Lin Qingcheng and Zhou Ziyun blatantly discussed the matter amongst themselves, making all kinds of accusations such as the herbs being counterfeit, the scale not being accurate, and the clerks thinking they were pushovers just because they were young women.
"Let's ask Sister Zhi Ruo."
Right then, another figure walked into the shop, clad in a set of dark purple armor from head to toe.
"Sister Zhi Ruo!" Lin Qingcheng cried out happily, "Just in time! Help us deal with these cheaters!"
Behind her mask, Wu Qianyu's face was blushing with shame. Chen Wentian had sent her down as soon as the argument started inside the shop. She didn't know if there was actually any issue with the sale. But that didn't matter. Her master's instructions were clear. They were here to bully people and cause trouble.
Wordlessly, Wu Qianyu brought out her Purple Jade Sword and slashed it in the air. A purple arc of sword intent flew out and smashed into the scale and the pile of dried apricots, sending pieces of metal and sliced fruit flying everywhere.
"Are you crazy?" One of the clerks shouted.
"Who are you people?" Another shouted.
All three clerks were no pushovers, they were all cultivators at the upper levels of the Spirit Initiate Realm.
"This place is obviously a black shop!" Lin Qingcheng retorted, her voice full of excitement, "Give us back our money!"
"You didn't give us any money!" Someone bellowed.
Crash!
Lin Qingcheng's fist smashed against a nearby counter, destroying a pile of common herbs, "You dare talk back?"
She was in her element. Bullying people was her pastime, especially bad people, gangsters, and bandits. Since this was a shop run by a bandit lord, she felt no qualms about her actions.
"Little girl, I will give you until three breaths to get out of here and never come back. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Yeah, get out!"
Crash!
Lin Qingcheng smashed another display of herbs, "Try me."
"Brothers!"
"Let's go!"
A cacophony of shouts filled the herb shop as the three clerks leaped over the counter. Lin Qingcheng met the first one with her palms. Zhou Ziyun did the same with the second. Wu Qianyu stowed her sword and did the same, not wanting to kill unnecessarily.
After trading a few blows, the trio of Lin Qingcheng, Zhou Ziyun, and Wu Qianyu retreated out of the shop. The clerks chased after them, only to stop suddenly and stare in shock. Their opponents had reinforcements.
Standing in the street were not just the glamourous young lady, the funny little nun, and the armored female warrior. There were six more, six mysterious beauties dressed in dark red, their faces covered with veils.
The clerks sensed the danger but it was too late. They could only cry out miserably as they were surrounded and beaten like dogs.
"You won't get away with this!" One of them shouted through the rain of kicks and punches.
He gritted his teeth and crushed a message talisman. It flew out like an arrow and disappeared into the clouds.
A split second later, Chen Wentian flew out of the tea pavilion's third floor and chased after the streaking message talisman.
Seeing this, Lin Qingcheng waved to the others, "Alright, that's enough."
The beating stopped and the three clerks were once again confused. They weren't even hurt that badly. They had been slapped around and were covered in dirt and bruises. But there were no serious internal injuries.
She threw the red spiritual crystals at their feet with a grin, "Use these for your medical expenses and for the damage we caused."
"Wha…"
"Let's go!"
She led the other disciples and quickly left the scene.
---
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