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.

Caspian seemed interested in the hemlock,

Let me tell you the truth… I

that would come

to be thinking on

mentioned the price

was someone that did business

take another look…” Caspian nodded,

context of how much Caspian wanted and needed the hemlock, he

of Insight, after all, was

not chance upon the shop again after

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

the hemlock over in his hands yet again, fingertips running

even calling out to other cultivators that passed

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

obvious that

down the

eyes were not working well enough,

sense was much stronger than that

he noticed the fat man looked visibly relieved when he put

was not long before Caspian realized

something

in the section that

so thin it

sense, Caspian even discovered that the

a

was why the hemlock was heavier than

the loophole, Caspian knew what to

the stall owner and asked,

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

me, young man! I won’t

Five hundred spirit stones.

How’s that?”

much!” Caspian

not!” the fat man smiled, “Hemlock grows deep in

seem like a

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

years, it has to keep from pests and absorb enough nutrition among other competing

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

sure you’d also know, young man, that lightning

out with rain barely after

a piece of hemlock that has passed through

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