William Anderson
Stories
6
Chapters
2,147
Words
340.2 K
Comments
0
Reading
1 d, 4 h
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The next morning, Muchen arrived at the government hall with a guest in tow. Liling had once more donned the outfit of a proper young lady. Muchen certainly would have been fooled if he'd been seeing her for the first time. It wasn't just that her dress cost more than anything he'd ever owned, but that she wore it with impressive poise considering how hard she must have fought against taking etiquette lessons. She certainly caught the eye of all the bystanders in the government hall. Muchen ignored the…-
55 •
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Once again, Muchen would have to put off his tea sales for another day. That left him with some free time in his schedule. He could have just arrived early to the Thousand Treasure Hall. Master Huang would certainly be happy enough to take the extra silver. Muchen didn't think that an extra hour or two digging through dusty tomes was a good way to dissipate the stifled feeling in his chest, though. Instead, he made a stop at the Orchid Blossom Emporium. As expected of the premier source for makeup and…
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55 •
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To be fair, Uncle Haoyu probably wouldn't turn his face immediately should Muchen reject his offer. Any seasoned businessman should understand that negotiation was a process of give and take, and not every product was sought after by every buyer. Still, Muchen knew he needed to be tactful when declining his daughter's hand in marriage. Probably the biggest obstacle in Uncle Haoyu's mind was that he wanted Muchen to marry into the Wang family. At least, Muchen figured that was the case, considering the…
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55 •
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Muchen was feeling pleased with himself as the day drew to a close. He had set in motion his plans to do business while he was in the capital. He had settled on the cargo he would take with him when he left the capital. He had even secured a source of information to aid in Xinyi's quest to restore her cultivation base. All that was left was to handle some social niceties before settling into bed for a well-deserved rest. He took a bath and changed into a clean set of clothing before dinner. Fortunately,…
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55 •
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The Thousand Treasures Hall was an auction house. It wasn’t the largest in the capital, but the auctions it carried out were the richest. It had carefully cultivated its reputation for pulling in record prices for exotic and valuable items. That attracted sellers in droves, which in turn had led to a reputation for carrying out the most interesting auctions in the capital, attracting wealthy customers by the carriage-ful. Muchen could only tip his hat in admiration of their business model. The locals…
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55 •
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Muchen woke with the sun the next morning. His first day in the capital was destined to be a busy one. He needed to start digging up the information Xinyi needed, but before that he needed to manage his own affairs. His cultivation the evening before had been plagued with the empty feeling that came from neglecting his business affairs. It was a frustrating experience that only amplified the existing irritation that came from wasting a day without earning any money. Muchen had no intention of allowing the…
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55 •
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He sat in front of the tablet and thought back to his memories of the old man. It felt strange, digging into another person's childhood, not to mention the fact that he was seeing everything as though peering through a layer of gauze, but he could tell well enough to know that the old man had truly treated Muchen as his son. He only knew bits and pieces of the old man's personal life. He had a distant familial connection to the Wang family, one of the capital's prosperous merchant clans. Muchen had always…
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55 •
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Muchen had more or less put the confrontation in the village out of his mind by the time they left the cultivated fields around them behind and began the trek up the mountain. Huichen continued along at a steady pace, not bothered by the climb or the rough terrain. Every village had its share of ne'er do wells and freeloaders. It was unfortunate that the bad apple of Li Village was so closely related to the village patriarch, but as long as the patriarch himself was a reasonable man then it wouldn't be…
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While it had taken some persuasion to get Yize to take the silver, he did seem more relaxed once he'd made the decision. At least, Muchen surmised as much from the relaxed set of his shoulders. Yize had an impressive poker face for somebody so young. It was only when he turned and asked his sister if she wanted anything from the village that Muchen spotted the ghost of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Muchen waited for Chuhua to shake her head before clearing his throat and jumping back…
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Muchen woke up facing an unfamiliar ceiling. He stared blankly upwards while he dug up the memory of what had happened before he fell asleep, then braced himself against the incoming agony. For some reason, it never arrived. He blinked. Had he escaped unscathed? Was it all a dream? No. There it was. As though summoned by his good mood, Muchen felt a throbbing ache in his shoulder, a reminder of the wolf's attempt to tear his arm off. At the same time, he began to itch all over his body, as though ants…
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