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 hemlock Caspian

Or so it seemed.

the hemlock, the fat

me tell you the truth… I came across it in a forest that was

come

seemed to

never mentioned the price

someone that did business

another look…” Caspian nodded, bringing

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

after all, was something he

chance upon the shop

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

the hemlock over in his hands yet again, fingertips running over the calloused wood, Caspian observed the

actions, even calling out to other cultivators that passed by

Caspian was able to see that the man’s gaze

that something was

the hemlock, Caspian

eyes were not working well enough, he would have

than that of cultivators

as he noticed the fat man looked

it was not long

was, indeed, something wrong

problem itself laid in the section that was charred

was an opening so thin it was

sense, Caspian even discovered that the hemlock

was a lot heavier

the hemlock

the loophole, Caspian knew what

up to the stall owner and

man realized Caspian had it in his mind to

young man! I won’t bamboozle

Five hundred spirit stones.

How’s that?”

Caspian

the fat man smiled, “Hemlock grows deep in the forest,

a

know it takes at least two hundred years of growth for hemlock to summon

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

been struck, a devastating fire must follow for lightning to

also know, young man, that lightning and thunder usually come

the fires are put out with rain barely after they have started

a piece of hemlock that has passed

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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