"Alas, what of it? Such rare things are not for people like us to obtain. Even if you went, you wouldn't be able to bid on it."
"I heard that crystal is sold in a remote small city, but I don't know which one. Otherwise, I'll go and get one. If I put it up for auction at the Lingbao Pavilion, I probably won't have to work hard for the whole year," a man with a thin face said after taking a sip of tea.
"Tsk, how could such good things fall into our laps? If everyone knew about it, the item probably wouldn't fetch such a high price."
"That's not necessarily true. That thing called a crystal is too heaven-defying. I heard that if a person who cannot cultivate takes one, they can embark on the path of a cultivator from then on."
"So, it's reasonable for the crystal to be expensive."
"Yes, the price of that crystal is almost catching up to that of a Level Seven Magic Crystal."
"Wealthy families always have a few useless members who can't cultivate. They don't lack resources. If they obtain that crystal, they can become cultivators overnight, which is ascending to another level."
"That's true..."
Glancing at the few tables nearby, Lu Heng noticed that all their teapots were of the same style. He also carefully smelled the aroma of the tea in the vicinity and guessed that everyone had chosen the same type of tea, which was why they were all seated in this area.
"However, the Lingbao Pavilion seems to have a mysterious item up for auction today. We can't know what it is specifically, but the Lingbao Pavilion seems to have informed several major families in the capital and some stewards of royal mansions stationed in the capital about this item."
"I heard that too. Early this morning, people were entering the city from all directions riding flying mounts. In our capital, besides the royal family, who else can ride flying mounts into the city?"
So, it wasn't as the Eaglebeak Beast said, that flying mounts couldn't enter the city. These royals were exceptions; they were not subject to these restrictions.
Since the Lingbao Pavilion was holding an auction in the evening, Lu Heng didn't mind going to take a look.
He stayed leisurely in the teahouse until it was close to dinner time. By then, several groups of guests had come and gone at the nearby tables, and Lu Heng had continuously overheard many things about recent events in the capital.
The waiter in the teahouse had a dejected look on his face. He watched the two people who had only ordered a pot of tea since entering the teahouse and had not left yet.
The shopkeeper had already called him over and berated him for a long time. These customers were brought into the establishment by him, but in the capital, one never knew which one might be a distant relative of some noble family, so they couldn't just drive them away.
The shopkeeper took out his anger on the waiter, but the waiter could do nothing but keep walking back and forth in front of Lu Heng's table.
"Guest, do you want more water?" After wandering for a while longer, and seeing the shopkeeper's even more gloomy face, the waiter finally mustered the courage to walk up to Lu Heng and ask.
Lu Heng's pot of tea had actually been replaced with his own tea from the apocalypse after he had drunk one cup. Brewed with ancient well water, it was then that Lu Bai, who was craving it, was able to drink it.
"No, thank you. Is there a curfew in the capital? This is our first time in the capital, so we are not very familiar with it."
"There is a curfew, but it's much later than in other cities. After all, this is the capital, and its prosperity is incomparable to other places. The establishments along the Qin Xiao River that cater to nighttime business operate all night long," the waiter said, glancing at Lu Bai.
This person was dressed like a young master. With such talent, he might have been brought out from somewhere. He claimed to be visiting the capital for the first time, but I suspect he's been to the Qin Xiao River many times.
Lu Heng heard the waiter's inner thoughts and couldn't help but frown. "How much are the crystal stones for this pot of tea?"
"Fifteen crystal stones." The waiter's smile vanished, but his expression was still passable.
Taking out fifteen crystal stones and placing them on the tea table, Lu Heng walked over to Lu Bai and helped him readjust his veil, then said, "Let's go. We'll stroll around outside again."
Taking Lu Bai with him, Lu Heng and Lu Bai circled around to the back of the teahouse. After looking left and right and seeing that there was no one around, Lu Heng carefully sensed the surrounding situation. Finally, confirming it was safe, he controlled the vines to burrow into the ground beneath the teahouse.
In a short while, Lu Heng and Lu Bai emerged from the back of the teahouse. After walking about two blocks, Lu Heng pressed a button in his hand.
Immediately, a loud noise came from where Lu Heng and Lu Bai had been drinking tea, followed by a burst of bright red flames. In the setting sun's afterglow, the nearby houses were illuminated.
"It's on fire! The street to the east is on fire!"
"What's the big deal? Just find someone with water abilities to put it out."
"I heard they went, but the fire is really strange. Several yamen runners with water abilities on patrol have been there for a long time but couldn't extinguish it."
"Is that so? Water and fire are opposing elements, how can it not be extinguished?"
"..."
The passersby talked about what had just happened, but Lu Heng's lips curled into a slight arc.
The fire was created by him. He controlled vines to spread some gasoline inside the teahouse, and then he set off a small amount of explosives to detonate it. These were all things from the apocalypse, and even if someone investigated later, they probably wouldn't find anything.
Lu Heng stopped at a stall selling masks by the roadside. He planned to visit the Lingbao Pavilion later, mainly to bid on some high-level magic crystals to take back to Jinyang City for further upgrades.
Wearing a mask would prevent him from being recognized. He figured that auction venues like Lingbao Pavilion wouldn't be too concerned about the true identities of their clients.
After all, in that place, money is king. Whoever pays more can buy what they desire.
"I like this one," Lu Bai said, pointing to a mask that looked like a fox or a wolf.
Lu Heng looked at the somewhat crudely painted mask and shook his head helplessly. It looked like his original form when worn. It seemed he liked his own appearance the most. What was that called? Narcissism?
Lu Heng also carefully examined the masks at the stall and finally picked up one that looked like a tiger.
"One mask, one crystal stone," the old man selling masks said, looking at the mask in Lu Heng's hand.
It seemed that the cost of living in the capital was quite high.
After paying the crystal stones, Lu Heng lifted the light veil from Lu Bai's hat and carefully tied the fox mask onto him. Then, he put on the tiger mask himself.
After inquiring about the location of the Lingbao Pavilion from the stall owner, Lu Heng left with Lu Bai.
Watching their retreating figures, the old stall owner murmured, "No wonder they came to buy masks. That young man is truly a remarkable person. It's just a shame."
Lu Heng, who hadn't gone far, paused upon hearing this. What was wrong with these people?
Was this kind of thing common on the Shenyuan Continent? Everyone seemed to be accustomed to it.
No, he and Lu Bai were just brothers, not what they thought.