Time Travel: The Survival of Li Zhi

Chapter 25 Shopping

Following Zhang Dongze into Gaoling City, Li Zhi looked around like a countryman entering the city for the first time. In fact, this was indeed his first time entering the city.

This was obviously not the first time that Zhang Dongze came to Gaoling City. He led the horse with ease and brought Li Zhi to an inn. He handed the horse to the waiter, ordered a few side dishes, and started eating with Li Zhi.

"Damn it, I just ate a few bites of rough bread along the way, and it would be great if I had some oil and water now." Zhang Dongze grabbed a chicken leg and started to bite into it.

Li Zhi also started eating in big mouthfuls like Zhang Dongze, but while he was eating, he was also looking around. To him, this world was still very unfamiliar.

"Brother Li, is this your first time in Gaoling City?" Li Zhi's inexperienced look naturally did not escape Zhang Dongze's attention. He took a big gulp of wine and then asked Li Zhi.

Li Zhi did not deny it and nodded and replied: "Yes, it is indeed my first time here."

"Then don't stay in this inn tonight. Brother will take you to Zui Xiang Lou. Let's stay there tonight." Zhang Dongze touched his chin and said with a grin.

"Zuixianglou?"

Li Zhi didn't react at first, but when he saw Zhang Dongze's expression of "you know what I mean", he immediately understood.

Li Zhi waved his hands hastily and said, "No, no, Brother Zhang, you go ahead. I'll go around after dinner. It's a rare trip, I'll see if there's anything weird or interesting."

Zhang Dongze looked regretful when he heard this, but he did not force Li Zhi. Instead, he took out two silver ingots from his pocket, handed them to Li Zhi, and said, "Take it. If you see anything you like, just buy it."

Li Zhi quickly pushed it back, saying, "No, no. How can I take your money?"

"Hey, this is for you, just take it. Your family is going on a business trip, and all the expenses are paid by your family. Take it. Besides, you need to have money with you to stay in a hotel tonight, right? Or do you want to go to Zui Xiang Lou with me?" Zhang Dongze ignored Li Zhi's refusal and stuffed the silver into Li Zhi's arms.

Seeing that Zhang Dongze said so, Li Zhi did not refuse anymore and directly took the silver. After all, he was really penniless now. Although he had food and drink in the He Mansion and had no need for money, Master Liu had never given him money.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they agreed on a time and place to meet up tomorrow and then went their separate ways.

Li Zhi walked along the route he had inquired about with Zhang Dongze in advance, and soon arrived at a market, where street vendors gathered.

According to Zhang Dongze, there is a mix of good and bad people here, but there are indeed many strange things. As for buying and selling, whether you make a profit or a loss depends on your eyesight and luck.

Li Zhiben was just here for a stroll. He didn't have anything in particular he wanted to buy. He just recalled the plot of novels he had read before, where the protagonist usually found treasures in places like this. Although he didn't know if he had the protagonist's halo, he thought that maybe he could find something good by strolling around.

I walked from stall to stall along the way. Although I saw a few seemingly extraordinary things, the prices were ridiculously high when I asked.

Passing by a stall with a bunch of jewelry and other things on it, Li Zhi picked up a jade pendant engraved with pine and cypress and asked the stall owner: "How much is this thing?"

The stall owner was yawning at first, but when he saw Li Zhi's question, his eyes lit up and he said, "Fifty taels!"

Li Zhi rolled his eyes, put down the jade pendant, and left.

But he understood in his heart that his rookie look might have been seen through by others, so no matter what he asked, these people would quote higher prices.

"If I close the store for three years, I will be able to make enough money for three years after I open it?" Li Zhi said to himself.

An old man nearby seemed to have heard Li Zhi's mumbling. He glanced at Li Zhi and said, "This young man hit the point."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi looked at the old man and saw that he was well-dressed and had a noble look on his face. It was obvious that he was a wealthy and powerful person.

Li Zhi nodded to him to show his goodwill.

The old man pointed to the other side and said, "Young man, if you want to find something, you have to go over there. That's where the good stuff is. The ones here are just trying to trick those who have just come here and don't know anything."

Li Zhi looked in the direction the old man pointed. It was the inside of the street. Although there were stalls of various sizes, it was not as crowded and lively as this side, and seemed a bit depressed.

"Why does it seem like there are no people over there?" Li Zhi looked at the old man in confusion.

The old man knew what Li Zhi meant, so he said, "Don't look at the crowds here, take a closer look."

Li Zhi was somewhat curious and puzzled, so he followed the old man's advice and observed the people coming and going here. Then he discovered that, although it seemed that many people were asking prices and buying things at these stalls, in fact only a few of them were really buying. The others were agents of these vendors. They asked prices here and walked around there, but actually didn't buy anything. Moreover, they seemed to be walking back and forth, but in fact they were only walking between their respective stalls.

Li Zhi suddenly realized what was going on. After thanking the old man, he walked in the direction he said.

The old man looked at Li Zhi's leaving back, and a hint of success flashed in his eyes.

Then he grabbed another stranger and said, "Brother, is this your first time here? If you want to find good things, you can't go here. This place is a scam for those of you who come here for the first time. You have to go over there..."

Li Zhi came to the place the old man had directed him to, and asked about the prices of some items at random at a few stalls. They were indeed much cheaper than what he had just seen over there, which made Li Zhi believe 80% of what the old man had just said.

So he started a new round of shopping.

When passing by a stall, Li Zhi originally had no intention of stopping, because the stall owner was a little boy and there were not many things on the stall. But just as he passed by, Li Zhi's eyebrows suddenly jumped, and an extremely strong feeling of need burst out from his heart.

Li Zhi frowned slightly. He was abnormally disgusted with this sudden and uncontrollable emotion. This feeling was not the first time he appeared. The first time was when he almost killed Fang Cheng. It appeared once more in the following month when he was practicing the Five Ghosts Moving Technique. Because he was attacked by the five ghosts, it was an extremely dangerous moment. The feeling that almost took over his mind appeared again.

Although the feeling only lasted for a moment and then disappeared because Master Liu promptly drove away the out-of-control ghost, Li Zhi could still feel it clearly.

He had long suspected something was affecting his sanity, but at the moment, he had no way of investigating it, let alone solving it.

He did not seek help from Master Liu, because the two of them were now in a master-disciple relationship. However, Li Zhi had never reduced his vigilance against Master Liu, and he was afraid that Master Liu had the same concerns about him.

At this moment, this feeling that was out of his control appeared again. Although it made him feel disgusted, he believed that this feeling would not appear for no reason, so he pretended to stop casually and glanced at the stall.

The little boy at the stall saw Li Zhi stop and said with a happy face: "Hey! Come and have a look, big brother. These are all good stuffs."

Li Zhi ignored the little boy and squatted down. When his eyes swept across an exquisite box, the uncontrollable emotions in his heart became stronger, as if there was something in the box that attracted him extremely.

Li Zhi suppressed his anxiety and picked up a black branch that looked like a fire stick. He asked the little boy, "What is this? A fire stick?"

The little boy said, "This is not a firewood stick. This is lightning-struck wood. It can drive away ghosts and evil spirits. The Taoist priests in Longhu Mountain love this thing the most. If I were not tied up, I would sell it for at least this much at Longhu Mountain."

The little boy gestured with his fingers spread out.

"Oh? Where did you get such a good thing?" Li Zhi asked.

The little boy immediately replied, "I came across this by chance when I was chopping wood in the mountains. If you like it, I'll give you twenty taels and you can take it."

Li Zhi didn't show it on his face, but he sneered in his heart. It was obvious that someone had taught the little boy to say these words. Otherwise, how could a child's thinking logic be so logical?

Li Zhi didn't say much. He put the so-called lightning-struck wood aside and picked up a small ball wrapped with a red rope.