It was quite lively here.
Those two got a good beating.
Finally, Huang Jinye arrived with his men to resolve the situation.
Li Ping'an, of course, wasn't idle; after a few simple words, Huang Jinye had the two men tied up and paraded through the streets.
Weren't they exhibitionists?
Let them exhibit to their heart's content, expose themselves to their fill.
In just a short while, both of them felt like dying, and they couldn't understand for the life of them how their perfectly good clothes had disappeared.
"Boss, wasn't this dog fast?" Heihei was a little proud.
"Not bad." Li Ping'an patted the dog's head and walked into the distance.
The trade market was bustling with people.
Li Ping'an inquired about the price of corn; it was too cheap, so cheap that a family's year of hard work was only enough for basic sustenance.
Fengyun Trading Company.
This was the largest trading company in Tiankui City, with its main office in the imperial capital and branches spread throughout the Holy Martial Empire.
Seeing Li Ping'an walk in, a beautiful young woman greeted him with a radiant smile, "Young Master Li, welcome, welcome!"
The woman's name was Qin Ying; she was very beautiful, charming, and alluring, and she was also the person in charge here.
She had done business with Li Ping'an before; don't get the wrong idea, it was just normal shop transactions.
That's right, the shops An Lan had given Li Ping'an for his livelihood, he had sold all of them to Qin Ying.
"Heh, this dog is so black." Qin Ying glanced at Heihei and said casually.
Li Ping'an chuckled, "Do you want to hug him? He's very well-behaved, very obedient, and doesn't bite people."
Heihei was very good at showing off, squatting on the ground, wagging his tail, grinning with his dog mouth, and flattening his dog ears.
He looked like he was waiting to be petted.
"No, I won't hug him." Qin Ying smiled, "Young Master Li, are you here to sell something today?"
Li Ping'an chuckled, "Everything I could sell, I've sold to you. I can't possibly sell this stinking hide to you, can I?"
Qin Ying smoothed her hair, "Then you're buying something?"
"Something like that." Li Ping'an nodded, "Spirit Stones, do you have any for sale?"
Qin Ying frowned, "Why does Young Master Li want Spirit Stones? Are you going to Cultivate?"
Li Ping'an said, "Just accumulating resources in advance. What if I awaken a Spiritual Root tomorrow, then I won't have to worry about Spirit Stones."
Qin Ying murmured softly, "Young Master Li also knows that Spirit Stones are never sold externally, and we don't have any here either."
She paused slightly,
She continued, "Your father-in-law, as the City Lord, should have a stock of Spirit Stones."
An Lan did have a stock of Spirit Stones, but they were not easy to obtain.
Moreover, Li Ping'an had no Spiritual Root, so he couldn't find a suitable reason to ask for them.
Li Ping'an said, "What if I exchange something for them?"
Qin Ying smiled faintly, curious, "Spirit Stones are very valuable. What could Young Master Li possibly have to exchange for them?"
Li Ping'an spoke, "Half of a first-grade Corn Essence, containing pure Spiritual Qi. Not only is it a great tonic, but it's also a Cultivation resource, and it has miraculous healing effects."
As he spoke, Li Ping'an took out half of a first-grade Corn Essence for Qin Ying to examine closely.
Her red lips moved slightly, and she said, "How does Young Master Li wish to exchange them?"
Li Ping'an said, "One Corn Essence for one Spirit Stone."
"Pfft~" Qin Ying burst out laughing, "Young Master Li, this Corn Essence is indeed a good thing, but I can't afford to exchange it here."
Li Ping'an was a bit embarrassed; it seemed the conditions he had offered were a bit outrageous.
Qin Ying glanced at Li Ping'an and said, "Perhaps Young Master Li doesn't know the value of these things."
"I'll give you a price: this half of a first-grade Corn Essence, a total of fifty Spirit Stones. That's the most I can offer."
Fifty Spirit Stones, that's not a small amount.
Refining a Puppet scarecrow requires 20 Spirit Stones, so this is enough to refine two, with 10 left over.
Later, I'll ask my father-in-law for ten more, and refine three at once; the probability of getting an Advanced scarecrow is higher.
Ten Spirit Stones isn't much; my father-in-law should give them, right?
Li Ping'an agreed, "Alright, fifty it is."
A moment later, the transaction was complete.
As he was leaving, Qin Ying smiled, "Young Master Li, if you have more of these things in the future, remember to come to me for exchange."
"No problem." Li Ping'an casually replied, then led Heihei and Niuniu away into the distance.
Qin Ying's gaze did not retract; she beckoned someone over, "This kid has been farming for a while now. Go and investigate where he's been farming."
The person was a bit puzzled, "What's there to investigate?"
Qin Ying said faintly, "Places suitable for spiritual plants to grow, apart from areas imbued with Spiritual Qi, there's another possibility."
The person raised an eyebrow, "Young Miss means a Spirit Stone mine?"
Qin Ying nodded lightly, "Go, and remember not to disturb him. He's already pathetic enough, a descendant of a general reduced to a live-in son-in-law…"
City Lord's Mansion.
Li Ping'an returned.
An Lan treated him as before, not only as a son-in-law but completely like a son.
Even though Li Ping'an brought a dog and a cow, An Lan didn't blame him for anything.
"Father-in-law, do you have Spirit Stones?"
After a few pleasantries, Li Ping'an finally asked.
An Lan frowned, "Why do you want Spirit Stones?"
His eyes were somewhat excited, thinking Li Ping'an might have awakened his Spiritual Root.
Li Ping'an had already thought of a reason, "Didn't I accidentally pick up a Corn Essence before? I ate some of it then, and I found my strength increased quite a bit."
"So I was thinking, perhaps Spirit Stones can also boost my strength."
Upon hearing this,
An Lan's excited eyes immediately dimmed, "Corn Essence is a type of spiritual plant. When ordinary people eat it, it can indeed change their Physique and increase their strength."
"But Spirit Stones cannot. This thing cannot be eaten; it needs to be refined with a Spiritual Root and a Cultivation Technique."
Li Ping'an said, "I'll boil them in water to drink, or stew them into soup. It might be useful. My strength is very great; it has increased a lot."
How great could his strength be, really?
An Lan didn't ask further, saying, "Wait here."
He got up and left, presumably to get the Spirit Stones.
Inside the clean room, An Lan moved a box out from a corner. Opening it, he saw it was full of Spirit Stones.
The box wasn't big, and there weren't many Spirit Stones.
At most, there were about three to five hundred of them.
An Lan took out two, put them into a small bag, then thought it wasn't right, "Ping'an is a grown man now; giving him two is too stingy."
Helpless, he added eight more.
An Lan came to Li Ping'an, handed him the small bag, and said earnestly, "Spirit Stones are very rare in our area. For now, I'll give you ten. If you truly make progress, come back to me."
"Thank you, Father-in-law. I will return even more to you in the future." Li Ping'an thanked him, then motioned for Heihei and walked away.
As for Niuniu, he had been in the courtyard all along.
It wasn't that Li Ping'an wouldn't let him in, but rather An Lan wouldn't. Keeping a dog as a pet was common, but bringing a cow was a bit excessive.
Scanning Li Ping'an's retreating figure, An Lan reminded him, "Use them sparingly. If they don't work, remember to bring them back. Don't go selling them."
As for the talk of boiling them in water or stewing them, An Lan didn't believe it at all, but to avoid making Li Ping'an feel inferior, he naturally couldn't inquire further.
Anyway, things were quite good now. Ever since he sold those shops and lost all his money, he had learned his lesson and was diligently farming.
Leaving the City Lord's Mansion.
Li Ping'an bought some clothes and six knives.
Heihei asked, "Boss, why are you buying knives instead of meat? Are you going to butcher the cow?"
Niuniu was displeased, and with one hoof, he kicked Heihei far away, "Clearly, it's to kill the dog, eat dog meat, drink dog blood…"