“Take care.”
“What if I sell it to you at a thirty percent discount?”
“Take care, sir.”
Yin Yang sighed. These large establishments were truly something else. If they lacked the sincerity to negotiate, couldn't they at least offer him a coupon?
A Luck Jade Pendant?
Was this thing bought in bulk? He remembered being gifted one the last time he bought items in Wanwu City. Why did Wanwu City seem so fond of these luck-boosting ornaments?
Yin Yang shook his head and visited several other major material shops in Wanwu City, but the results disappointed him. None of them had what he needed.
Fortunately, Little White Rabbit had given him a clue earlier. Once he collected more grain, he could go check it out.
After wandering around a bit more without finding what he wanted, Yin Yang simply headed to Zhongyan. This was an organization that specialized in selling information, and they had a branch in Wanwu City. Back then, Yin Yang had sold the information about the "masked man" through them.
“Sir, how can I help you?”
Zhongyan's staff was equally friendly.
“I would like to purchase information regarding the Eight-Sided Gong.”
“Of course, sir.”
The employee led Yin Yang into a quiet room and smiled. “There are currently three pieces of information regarding the Eight-Sided Gong. Their values are one hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, and four hundred thousand respectively.”
“Is there any overlap?”
“None.”
“I'll take them all.”
Yin Yang took out gold notes and handed them over without the slightest hesitation.
The employee was slightly surprised but quickly recovered.
“Thank you for your trust.”
He handed the documents to Yin Yang and said, “Here is the detailed information. In light of your generosity, we would like to offer you a piece of free news as well.”
As he spoke, he handed a small card to Yin Yang. In Yin Yang's grasp, the employee did not let go immediately. Instead, he said solemnly, “Sir, I must warn you that this free piece of information has already been given to six other guests today, and its authenticity cannot be one hundred percent guaranteed.”
“I understand.”
Hearing Yin Yang's acknowledgement, the employee finally released his grip.
Yin Yang flipped the card over. He thought to himself that Zhongyan ran a much better business than those material merchants; at least this was something he could use. He opened it to find only a single sentence written inside: ‘The Shadowless Moon will descend upon Linmian Port in three months.’
Yin Yang casually set the card down.
The Shadowless Moon was a natural phenomenon and one of the required conditions for certain promotion rituals. It usually occurred only once every ten years.
For the old Yin Yang, this information might have been of some use, but he was already a Sequence 6 now. His next promotion would make him a Demigod. And the requirements to promote to a Demigod were rather unique.
Yin Yang packed away the information on the Eight-Sided Gong and left Zhongyan.
Since it wasn't easy to make a trip to Wannian Platform, Yin Yang naturally wasn't going to leave just like that. Instead, he began browsing the stalls, hoping he might find a hidden gem.
Before he had walked very far, he came across a unique stall. It was selling secondhand books.
Yin Yang squatted down without hesitation. With a quick sweep of his gaze, he took a liking to over a dozen books.
Every person had their own passions in life. And books were undoubtedly Yin Yang's greatest favorite.
He casually pointed at a few volumes and asked, “Boss, how much for these?”
The owner glanced at them briefly and said, “A bundle price of seven thousand.”
Yin Yang nodded, scanned the rest, and pointed at a few more. “And these?”
The owner looked again, then raised his head. “Including the previous ones, ten thousand for the whole bundle.”
Yin Yang took out a gold note and handed it over directly. After putting the gold note away, the owner skillfully packaged the books Yin Yang had selected.
His memory was exceptionally sharp; he didn't miss a single volume. As he packed them, he remarked, “You have quite the eye. The ones you chose are all out-of-print books, handwritten manuscripts, and a few are even banned by the officials. You must read a lot in your spare time, don't you?”
Yin Yang gave a brief grunt of agreement and was about to leave with his books when the stall owner spoke up again. “If you like these kinds of books, I have a few more. For example, this.”
As he spoke, he dragged a wooden box out from beside his stool. The box had an ancient, rustic appearance, its paint peeling and looking rather worn.
He opened the wooden box right in front of Yin Yang, revealing a neat stack of books inside. The old man casually pulled out two volumes and handed them to Yin Yang, saying, “You can take a look at these first.”
Yin Yang didn't stand on ceremony either, reaching out to accept them. The number '3' was written on the cover, likely indicating its place in a sequence.
He opened the book and flipped through it, his eyes narrowing slightly. The contents inside were actually written in divine script—the language used by the gods.
Yin Yang flipped through the other book, only to find that it was written in yet another script. This script had no specific name, but Yin Yang happened to recognize it, which he had the True Knowledge Society to thank for.
He handed the two books back to the owner and asked, “Are they all written in these kinds of scripts?”
The owner made a gesturing motion, indicating that he could browse them himself.
Yin Yang casually picked up two more, only to see that the writing had changed again. He attempted to translate a passage of the text.
Something's not right, something's not right. I think our research direction has gone wrong.
Some damn thing seems to be affecting my brain. Dammit, I need to change my way of recording things.
Yin Yang raised an eyebrow. This seemed to be a diary.
He casually flipped open another volume, which had changed to yet another script. Drank too much. I knew there was something wrong with that kid's liquor. I'm never drinking any alcohol brewed from meat again.
Yin Yang closed the 'book' and handed it back to the owner. “Is this a diary?”
The stall owner nodded. “Yes, it's a diary. But I only recognize divine script and the writing of Great Qi and Great Wei. I can't read any of the others. Well? Interested?”
Yin Yang rubbed his chin. “How much?”
“Five thousand.”
“Hiss—”
Yin Yang scratched his head. The stall owner's price hit right at his threshold—a classic case of something being tasteless to eat but a pity to discard.
The owner probably noticed this as well, so he turned around and pulled out a small book. “I'll throw this one in for free.”
Yin Yang looked at the cover. It had a line of small characters written on it, clearly another handwritten manuscript. “Deal.”
Yin Yang didn't plan on asking for change either. Instead, he selected a few more books from the stall before pulling out a gold note and handing it to the owner.
Seeing this, the owner looked at Yin Yang with a rather strange expression, because Yin Yang had similarly hit his exact threshold. It made the transaction feel tasteless to eat but a pity to discard for him as well.
Ultimately, the owner accepted the gold note, and the deal was finalized.
Yin Yang walked out of Wanwu City carrying a pile of books. The moment he was out of sight, he sent all of them into the lantern-carrying ghost's box.
...
After a night had passed.
Yin Yang lay on the lounge chair by the entrance, reading a book while collecting grain. And the book he was reading was precisely the diary he had bought in Wanwu City.
I suspect that humans are manufactured vessels!
Upon reading the very first sentence, Yin Yang couldn't help but sit up straight.
He had to admit that the author of this diary possessed some skill, instantly capturing his curiosity as a reader with a single sentence.
He narrowed his eyes and continued reading.
I have studied many species, and only humans are the most...
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