The Prince Who Was Raised in Hell

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.

kind

Or so it seemed.

interested in the hemlock, the fat man put on an uncaring

hemlock, eh? Let me tell you the truth… I came across it in a forest that was

come in handy

to be thinking

never mentioned the price

someone that did

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

wanted and needed the hemlock, he would have asked for

of Insight, after all, was something he wanted to

the shop again after passing

that came into Caspian’s hands when he picked the hemlock up, on top of the

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

fat cultivator appeared nonchalant to Caspian’s actions, even calling out to other cultivators that passed by his stall

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

obvious that something

down the

working well enough,

sense was much stronger than that of cultivators of the same realm

as he noticed the fat man looked visibly relieved when he

was not long before Caspian realized that his hunch

was, indeed, something wrong

problem itself laid in the section that was

was an opening so

sense, Caspian even discovered that the hemlock was stuffed

a lot heavier

why the hemlock

the loophole, Caspian knew

up to the stall owner and asked,

mind to purchase and smiled so brightly his pupils

young man! I won’t

Five hundred spirit stones.

How’s that?”

much!” Caspian shook his

deep in the forest, it’s

a well-read

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

to keep from pests and absorb enough

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

you’d also know, young man, that lightning and thunder usually come hand in hand with

of the time the fires are put out with

a lot of coincidences to yield a piece