Upon a brief thank you, the two men found themselves at the fat man’s stall perusing the goods laid out.

”Come take a look, see if there’s anything you fancy!” The fat cultivator’s eyes curved into crescents whenever he smiled.

It was easy to take a liking to him.

“Fair prices guaranteed!”

Caspian did not cast his sights onto the hemlock at first.

He pretended to look around, scanning the merchandise of the stalls next to that one.

There were antlers with stripes that glistened golden.

No one knew what creature they came from.

There were dry, shriveled fingers with pointy nails.

Potted plants bore colorful flowers but with leaves that were completely withered.

Caspian looked at all of them, reaching out to feel them from time to time if he wanted.

The fat man seemed equally uncaring of Caspian’s wandering.

None of these things were of any value, after all.

Caspian hardly gave them a second glance.

Upon putting down a shiv, Caspian moved to pick up the hemlock.

It sank with weight the second he picked it up.

Caspian’s eyes froze slightly.

‘It’s heavier than I expected it to be,’ Caspian thought to himself as he cast the stall owner a glance.

Instantly, Caspian was able to see the flash of panic that briefly overtook the fat man’s features when he picked the hemlock up.

Suspicion arose in Caspian immediately.

Instead of hurrying to inquire about the price, he began to analyze it.

The hemlock looked real and fine at first glance.

The chasm was struck by thunder.

Caspian, having absorbed the Bone of Thunder, knew more about lighting than the average cultivator.

The part of the hemlock that was charred black was caught in a forest fire caused by a lightning strike.

was exactly the kind of hemlock Caspian

Or so it seemed.

in the hemlock, the fat man put

me tell you the truth… I

would come in

to be thinking on

never mentioned the

someone that did business for a long

take another look…” Caspian nodded, bringing the hemlock closer to his

wanted and needed the hemlock, he would have

after all, was something he

the shop again after passing

hands when he picked the hemlock up, on top

hands yet again, fingertips running over the calloused

actions, even calling out to other

was able to see that the man’s gaze would flicker to him

obvious that

the hemlock, Caspian

were not working well enough,

was much stronger than that of cultivators of the

the fat man looked visibly relieved when he

brief spiritual sweep, it was not long before Caspian realized that his hunch

was, indeed, something wrong with the

problem itself laid in the section that was charred

opening so thin it was hardly

the hemlock was stuffed with

was a lot heavier than

was why the hemlock was heavier than

discovering the loophole, Caspian knew

the hemlock up to the stall owner and asked,

fat man realized Caspian had it in his mind to purchase and smiled so brightly

young man!

Five hundred spirit stones.

How’s that?”

Caspian shook

man smiled, “Hemlock grows deep in the forest, it’s

seem like a

sure you’d know it takes at least two hundred years of growth for hemlock to

two hundred years, it has to keep from pests and absorb enough

a devastating fire must follow for lightning

you’d also know, young man, that lightning and thunder

of the time the fires are put out with rain barely after they have

coincidences to yield a piece of hemlock that has

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