Ship Charges

Just then, there weren’t many customers on this street, and even fewer lingered by this stall. The stall owner was a warm-hearted sort and, hearing Lin Xiao’s question, he promptly explained:

“Little brother, you might not know this, but it’s said that in the months leading up to the Talisman Grand Convention—which happens once every hundred years—a massive spirit ship arrives each month at various cities to pick up passengers. If you want to go, you just pay the fare and you can sail to where the convention is held.

“They also say the fare isn’t too steep. Quite a few people with lower cultivation who want to see the sights or take part in the convention take this spirit ship.”

Beside him, Jiang Youfu blinked his round eyes with curiosity and asked the stall owner:

“Boss, how much is the fare?”

The stall owner paused for a moment, then gave a slightly embarrassed chuckle:

“Ah, that I wouldn’t know. Last time the Talisman Grand Convention was held, my father hadn’t even been born yet.”

Hearing this, Lin Xiao picked out a few small trinkets from the stall that Jiang Youfu had been eyeing earlier. After asking the price and paying two spirit stones, he led Jiang Youfu away from the street.

“Brother Xiao, where are we going?”

Jiang Youfu followed behind Lin Xiao, his head constantly swiveling as he took in everything around him.

Two steps into the walk, there was a shop with a massive stone floating at its entrance; another two steps, and there was a shop where someone was demonstrating talisman techniques. A few steps further, another store was selling all kinds of demon beasts he had never seen before.

For a moment, he almost wished he had three heads to take it all in.

Lin Xiao didn’t even need to turn around to picture his look and said with a smile:

“We’re heading to Seven Stars Street—that’s the best place to gather information.”

Having been to Yuanling City before, Lin Xiao already knew where to go if he wanted to learn about matters related to cultivators.

Oh, there was also Wan Wantong now. But Lin Xiao always felt that place wasn’t quite safe, so he had never gone there.

Seven Stars Street was much better. The information there came from all sorts of sources, and no one would be suspicious of what you were trying to find out.

Most importantly, it was free.

Something like the price of the boat fare shouldn’t be too hard to track down. The stall owner seemed to set up there every day, and since he didn’t look like he was going to the convention himself, he probably never had the time to inquire specifically—he might only hear about things from passing customers or gossip.

So it made sense he didn’t know.

And sure enough.

All Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu had to do was wander around Seven Stars Street for a while, and they quickly got the answers they were after. Not just the fare, but also where to buy tickets, the monthly departure times, and so on—everything was gathered in full detail.

The stall owner had been mistaken.

The fare for the spirit ship to the Talisman Grand Convention was actually a bit steep.

It cost two hundred spirit stones per person.

After collecting the information, Lin Xiao took Jiang Youfu to find an inn to check in.

By then, half the day had passed since they had left. He couldn’t keep Senior Liao cooped up in the Soul-Nurturing Pendant all the time—he needed to let him out for some fresh air.

After Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu closed the door tight and set up various soundproofing and defensive barriers and formations around them, Liao Pantu emerged from the pendant.

The moment he came out, he saw Lin Xiao looking somewhat pained and let out a scoff:

“You’re so stingy you’d pinch a penny until it screamed. Two hundred spirit stones for a fare, and you still think it’s expensive.”

Lin Xiao shot him a resentful glance and sighed:

“Senior, you’re loaded. You don’t understand the struggle of us poor folk.”

Jiang Youfu looked back and forth between them, then tentatively asked:

“Brother Xiao, how about we just skip it?”

But Lin Xiao slammed a hand on the table and declared:

“No way! We’re definitely going! I promised to take you guys out to have fun—if there’s something you want to do, just say it. So what if it’s two hundred spirit stones? I’ll cover it out of my own pocket!

“Besides, this time our sect’s Elder Liu is at the Talisman Grand Convention. Your idea is perfect—we’ll go cheer him on!”

Hearing this, Jiang Youfu grinned:

“Alright, then I’ll follow Brother Xiao’s lead.”

Having known him for years, he understood that when Lin Xiao complained about spending spirit stones, it was all talk. When it came to sharing things with his brothers, Lin Xiao had never held back.

And, Jiang Youfu reasoned, hadn’t the seniors said before that his cooking skills could fetch a good price in the cultivation world?

If they spent too much, he could just make some dishes to sell.

That afternoon, Lin Xiao and his companion didn’t go out to wander or shop. Instead, they left the city.

Nearly a year had passed since his last visit to Yuanling City, and now that he had some free time, Lin Xiao wanted to visit the graves he had dug back then.

Jiang Youfu had heard Lin Xiao talk about what happened there before—about the matters in the Ice Plain Secret Realm and how he had brought the remains back to bury. When Lin Xiao said he wanted to pay a visit, Jiang Youfu agreed to go along.

Before heading out, Lin Xiao even stopped at a wine shop to buy a small flask of liquor.

Enough to show the gesture—any more would be wasteful.

As the sun set, the two arrived at the place where Lin Xiao had once erected the stone tablet.

Perhaps because no one had tended to it, and since this was the cultivation world—where spiritual energy, though not particularly abundant, was still far richer than in the mortal realm—less than a year had passed, and weeds had already grown three feet high.

Fortunately, Lin Xiao was quite skilled in the art of clearing. In no time, he had cut down all the weeds.

Looking at how desolate and remote the place was, Lin Xiao let out a sigh, his thoughts unreadable.

Jiang Youfu walked up to the stone tablet, bowed respectfully, and said:

“Greetings, unknown seniors. I hope you may rest in peace below.”

Seeing him so earnest, Lin Xiao gave a silent smile. He uncorked the flask, took a small sip for himself, then poured the rest over the stone tablet.

“From now on, I don’t know if I’ll have the time or remember to come visit you all again. Let this wine be my last offering. May your future lives on the path of cultivation be smooth.”

After speaking, Lin Xiao fell silent for a moment and then said to Jiang Youfu:

“Let’s go.”

As they turned and walked away, neither of them noticed that behind them, a faint white mist—like smoke or clouds—rose quietly from the stone tablet. It hovered above their heads for a moment before dissolving into tiny, invisible fragments that fell softly and silently upon them.

After they had gone, the words carved on the stone tablet— ‘Anonymous Grave’ —began to fade away slowly, grain by grain, until they were blown away by the wind.

The Anonymous Grave had become truly nameless.

Not far from where they had left the burial ground, Lin Xiao suddenly sensed someone nearby.

He immediately locked his spiritual perception onto the direction of that presence.

To his surprise, it was a person collapsed in a thicket of weeds and bushes.

The person lay face-down, covered in wounds of all sizes, his clothes torn and ragged, his aura so faint it was barely there. If no one took care of him and he was left alone in this wilderness, he would likely find an eternal resting place there in a day or two.