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.

the kind of

Or so it seemed.

Caspian seemed interested in the hemlock, the fat man put on an

hemlock, eh? Let me tell you the truth… I came

would come in handy with

to be

mentioned the price even

did business for

Caspian nodded, bringing

much Caspian wanted and needed the hemlock, he would have asked for the price immediately and

Insight, after all,

upon the shop again after passing

the abnormal weight that came into Caspian’s hands when he picked the hemlock up, on top of the brief flash of panic he

over in his hands yet again, fingertips

Caspian’s actions, even calling out to

gaze would flicker to him every once

was obvious that something

down the hemlock, Caspian

working well enough, he would

much stronger than that of cultivators of

the fat man looked visibly relieved when he put

not long before Caspian realized that his hunch was

something wrong with the

the

was an opening so thin it was

even discovered that the hemlock was stuffed with a piece of

a lot heavier

why the hemlock

loophole, Caspian knew what

held the hemlock up to the stall owner and asked, “How

to purchase and smiled so brightly his

young

Five hundred spirit stones.

How’s that?”

Caspian shook his

“Hemlock grows deep in the forest, it’s hard enough to source as it

a well-read young

two hundred years

keep from pests and absorb enough nutrition among

importantly, once it’s been struck, a devastating fire must follow for lightning to pass

know, young man, that lightning and

lot of the time the fires are put out with rain barely after

coincidences to yield a piece of

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