“Shopkeeper, what is the price of this yuxintang paper?”
He Xiuyuan’s gaze fell upon the yuxintang paper.
This paper truly lived up to its fame; its texture was exceptionally clean, appearing like jade when viewed.
He Xiuyuan had not expected that the artisans here could produce such beautiful paper.
This paper could even be considered a work of art.
“Customer, you must have already heard of the fame of this yuxintang paper, so I won’t introduce it further. One sheet of this yuxintang paper costs one hundred and eighty taels of silver.”
He Xiuyuan was still admiring the paper before him when his heart suddenly skipped a beat upon hearing the shopkeeper’s words.
He knew this paper would definitely be very expensive, but he never imagined it would be this expensive.
A single sheet of paper actually cost one hundred and eighty taels of silver?
“One sheet of this paper costs one hundred and eighty taels of silver? If I really bought this paper, I’d probably be reluctant to even put a brush to it, wouldn’t I?”
He Xiuyuan composed himself and couldn’t help but utter a remark.
Before, seeing things like cloud brocade already felt incredibly expensive.
Now, seeing this yuxintang paper, with one sheet selling for one hundred and eighty taels of silver, further broadened He Xiuyuan’s horizons.
Who could have imagined that a single sheet of paper could sell for one hundred and eighty taels of silver?
“Customer, you are quite right. In earlier times, there were indeed great literary masters who, upon receiving yuxintang paper as a gift, were reluctant to write on it.”
“In the end, they simply kept the paper for admiration.”
The shopkeeper on the side smiled and replied.
This was a true story.
From this, it could also be seen that this yuxintang paper was indeed very beautiful.
Moreover, this paper’s color was like frost and snow, and its longevity was like that of a pine tree.
If properly preserved, it could be passed down for thousands of years.
“If the customer likes it, he can look at it more.”
Seeing He Xiuyuan’s surprise, the shopkeeper knew He Xiuyuan probably couldn’t afford it, but he had no intention of driving him away. Instead, he motioned for He Xiuyuan to look more.
There were quite a few literati and scholars who often came here to admire this yuxintang paper.
He Xiuyuan’s gaze lingered on the paper for a moment before he got up to leave, “When I have money another day, I will come back to buy this paper.”
The shopkeeper smiled upon hearing this and saw He Xiuyuan to the door, “I trust the customer will not make me wait long.”
The shopkeeper’s words were quite pleasant.
He Xiuyuan smiled, walking forward while thinking about the matter of money.
If only he had known, he would have asked the Dragon Lord for some gold and silver treasures back then.
That way, he wouldn’t be empty-handed now.
“That’s not good either. Who just asks others for money for no reason?”
“Otherwise, setting up this peach blossom wine should be able to fetch some money.”
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan couldn’t help but shake the gourd in his hand.
This time, he had filled the gourd to the brim.
Given the taste of this peach blossom wine, asking for a higher price should not be a problem.
“Never mind, I’ll go to Yunchuan Marsh first. Even if I buy this yuxintang paper now, it’s not convenient to carry it with me.”
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan first bought some dry rations to carry with him, then walked towards Yunchuan Marsh.
“I wonder what the Dragon Lord meant by ‘sky and water as one color’ earlier?”
He Xiuyuan walked on the official road, recalling what the Dragon Lord had said about only being able to see Biluo Temple when the sky and water were one color.
But what did this 'sky and water as one color' mean?
Did it mean the Great Marsh was full, merging with the sky into a single color?
He Xiuyuan pondered these words, not noticing that the people around him had suddenly increased.
When He Xiuyuan came back to his senses, he turned his head and saw several porters beside him, as well as a few people who appeared to be ginseng gatherers.
“Young man, what are you thinking about, rushing along so intently? Aren’t you afraid of missing a step?”
A woodcutter carrying timber beside him, seeing He Xiuyuan come to his senses, immediately spoke.
“I was lost in thought just now and didn’t notice. Thank you all for the reminder.”
He Xiuyuan replied, looking at the timber on these woodcutters with some surprise, “May I ask where this timber on you all comes from?”
Looking at these woodcutters, it seemed as if they had carried this timber out from deep within the mountains, which naturally astonished He Xiuyuan.
“Naturally, it’s cut from deep within the mountains. The mountains nearby are all claimed, so we wouldn’t dare to cut firewood in this vicinity.”
The woodcutter smiled helplessly upon hearing this.
He Xiuyuan nodded. Here, the resources of a mountain were vast, so they would naturally be occupied by someone.
Things like firewood, building tables, chairs, benches, houses, and so on—all required timber.
In that case, trees became valuable.
Seeing these woodcutters who seemed to constantly roam the deep mountains, He Xiuyuan’s heart stirred slightly.
“You all must have traveled all over this area. Have you ever seen a Daoist temple called Biluo Temple?”
“Biluo Temple?”
The woodcutter heard the name, thought carefully, then shook his head, “I haven’t heard of Biluo Temple in this vicinity. Did the young man perhaps remember the name incorrectly?”
“Is that so?”
Seeing that even this woodcutter had not seen Biluo Temple, He Xiuyuan frowned.
Woodcutters should have been to places like deep mountains and old forests. If it were easy to find, they should know about it.
Since they didn’t know, perhaps this Daoist temple was not something ordinary people could find.
However, this also seemed reasonable.
“Then, may I ask you all, do you know of any particularly mysterious places around Yunchuan Marsh?”
He Xiuyuan thought for a moment and continued to press his questions.
Searching aimlessly by himself was not as good as asking more people.
“Mysterious places?”
The woodcutter and ginseng gatherers exchanged glances upon hearing this, then saw the same expression in each other’s eyes.
“If you’re talking about a mysterious place, it would have to be that one.”
“That place?”
He Xiuyuan’s spirits immediately lifted upon hearing this, “Please tell me!”
“Oh, no need to be so polite.”
Seeing He Xiuyuan being so polite, the few of them were also in a good mood and waved their hands, saying, “That place is on the cliffside south of Yunchuan Marsh, where there is a waterfall.”
“That waterfall is like the Milky Way pouring down from the heavens, extraordinarily mysterious.”
“If you’re talking about a mysterious place, it must be this one.”
The other people nearby nodded repeatedly, greatly agreeing with this statement.
He Xiuyuan, however, was somewhat disappointed, “It’s just a waterfall, nothing particularly mysterious, right?”
“Ah, this waterfall is different from other places. You’ll know when you see it.”
Seeing He Xiuyuan say this, the woodcutter on the side immediately became displeased and interjected.
“This waterfall, it’s rumored that an Immortal once pressed a finger down, and only then did this wonder appear. If you’re lucky, you might even see Immortal Qi rising.”
Immortal?
He Xiuyuan was stunned upon hearing this. This place had such a legend?
If that were the case, he would definitely have to go see it.