“These prices are more than I expected,” Ishin confessed as he examined the booklet in his hands.

  A young woman dressed in red robes and a black obi stood patiently behind the front counter of the Market Hall, wearing a patient smile. “Do you have any questions that I can assist you with, Disciple?”

  Ishin pursed his lips and flipped back to the previous page. “No.”

  Fifty contribution points for their cheapest spear. Says it just has a basic yew-wood shaft and an iron spear tip. The next best one costs seventy-five contribution points. At least that has a dark-iron shaft and a steel spear tip, but still.

  He quickly compared the price to the offered swords. The cheapest sword is seventy contribution points.

  Glancing more carefully at the descriptions, he saw that most of the weapons were listed as Mortal Grade. I’ve never heard of that before. His eyes moved over to the more expensive weapons. One spear, described as having a star-iron shaft and a thrice-folded spear tip, cost three hundred and fifty contribution points and was listed as Refined Grade.

  Is it an internal system to categorize the quality of the weapons? These aren’t spirit tools, so perhaps it only pertains to regular weapons. Still, there is quite a wide range amongst those labeled with the same grade.

  On the high end he saw a Refined Grade spear that cost seven hundred contribution points. Its description stated that its shaft was constructed from star iron and the spear tip was forged from Deep Sea Scar Crystal.

  Ishin let out a sigh. I can’t even afford the cheapest spear right now, let alone one of those. Ugh, I’m going to need to complete some missions fast.

  Closing the catalog, Ishin turned to Rhee, who was still studying her own copy of the Market Hall catalog. “Find anything interesting?”

  “Hmm? These tokens seem quite useful.” She stepped closer to Ishin and pointed at the section of the page that listed the available tokens for purchase.

  Foundation Token. Let’s see. “This token grants the bearer two hours of personal training from an Inner Sect Disciple or Sect Elder.” Well that sounds useful. Two hundred and fifty contribution points. Same cost as reserving a room in the Cultivation Chamber.

  This next one is called the Martial Token. “This token grants the bearer the right to challenge a disciple of their choosing to a formal duel.” Seventy-five contribution points.

  If Ishin recalled the Eight Laws of the Outer Sect correctly, fighting between disciples was forbidden. This must be a way to bypass the law. I’m surprised that the sect would take such measures in the first place, though.

  “Do you see these?” Rhee asked, pointing at a set of three tokens.

  Outer Sect Library Lesser Token: “Grants the bearer access to the Lower Floor of the Outer Sect Library for one hour.”

  Outer Sect Library Greater Token: “Grants the bearer access to the Upper Floor of the Outer Sect Library for one hour.”

  Outer Sect Library Superior Token: “Grants the bearer access to both the Lower and Upper Floors of the Outer Sect Library and the personal guidance of the Outer Sect Library Elder for one hour.”

  The corresponding costs for the tokens were fifty, one hundred, and one hundred fifty contribution points each.

  “There are more tokens for the library than I expected,” Ishin admitted.

  “Me too. The contents on the Upper Floor must be superior to what’s on the Lower Floor. I wonder what the differences are.”

  “Maybe better techniques?” Ishin theorized.

  “Cultivation and qi techniques are located on the Upper Floor of the Outer Sect Library,” the female attendant answered helpfully. “Non-cultivation materials are located on the Lower Floor. The library contains scrolls and books on a variety of contents.”

  Both of the new disciples turned to look at the attendant with wide eyes. “You know what’s on the Upper Floor?” Ishin asked.

  The attendant shook her head. “Not precisely what’s there. Only how the library divides the contents.”

  “That’s still very helpful,” Rhee offered. To Ishin she said, “Mei will probably know more later. We should check with her then.”

  “Good idea. We can inform Long about it too.”

  “Whenever that is,” Rhee scoffed.

  They still hadn’t seen Long since the four departed to bathe the previous night. When he and Rhee had met in the morning, they’d waited fifteen minutes to see if Long would exit his room. When he hadn’t come out, Ishin had knocked on the door and, getting no response, had entered. Long had been gone. His bed had been neatly made and there was no trace of his bow, quiver, or arrows. Unsure of where their friend had disappeared to, they decided that Long must have had his own business and that they’d eventually see him later.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  The door of the Market Hall creaked open and a young man with long dark hair and a sharp nose entered. He was dressed as a sect disciple, and his eyes possessed a cunningness that Ishin didn’t trust.

  “Well, who might you be?” the Outer Sect disciple asked, his eyes fixed on Rhee.

  “Disciple Zhu Rhee,” she replied neutrally. “This is Disciple Ro Ishin.”

  “You must be the new arrivals,” the man deduced. His lips curved up into a grin. “My name is Disciple Haoran Yong. If there is anything you have questions about, I am more than happy to offer my assistance.”

  Ishin eyed Haoran Yong cautiously. Despite the kindness of his words, Ishin didn’t trust the man.

  “Thank you, Senior,” Rhee replied smoothly. “Perhaps you could offer us some guidance on which items we should pursue first.” She held up the catalog. “I’m afraid there are so many offerings that it’s a little overwhelming.”

  “Of course,” Haoran Yong laughed. He approached and took the catalog from Rhee. “Allow me to offer you my wisdom.” He quickly flipped through the catalog before settling on a page. “You should only spend your contribution points on resources that will further your cultivation. The best two ways to do that are through the Cultivation Chamber and the Alchemic Hall.”

  Haoran Yong took a step closer to Rhee, practically touching her shoulder as he showed her the catalog page. Ishin was completely ignored. Stabbing a finger at the page, he explained, “The Meditation Token here will earn you access to the Cultivation Chamber, but this token will allow you to participate in the monthly auction at the Alchemic Hall.”

  Rhee was apparently unbothered by Haoran Yong’s proximity, but Ishin felt anger stirring within him.

  “There’s a monthly auction?” Rhee inquired.

  “There is,” Haoran Yong nodded. “That’s where the Alchemic Hall sells their best pills and elixirs.” Waving a dismissive hand, he explained, “You can buy their basic pills and elixirs outside of it, of course, but if you want their truly great resources, save up your contribution points for the auction.”

  “Fifty contribution points just to participate in the auction seems expensive, though,” Rhee said. “I don’t have many, and if I need to buy the Alchemic Auction Token just to participate and also save more points to bid, I don’t know how I’ll manage.”

  What is she doing? Ishin thought. His arms were now crossed and a scowl had formed across his lips. She doesn’t normally sound this meek. Is this an act?

  Haoran Yong plastered a charismatic smile over his face. “Not to worry, Junior Sister. The sect doesn’t forbid the exchanging of points between disciples. If you find yourself in need, I’d be more than happy to sell you some of my own for a fair exchange.”

  The man didn’t even bother trying to conceal his lecherous gaze as he scanned Rhee’s body up and down.

  “I’ll remember your kind offer,” Rhee replied politely as she took a step away from Haoran Yong. She returned the catalog to the attendant. “Thank you for letting me review this.” Turning back toward Haoran Yong, Rhee spoke, “I appreciate your guidance, Senior. I’ll heed it as I try to navigate through the sect, but for now Brother Ishin and I have to visit the Administrative Hall.”

  Haoran Yong’s eyes landed on Ishin. “Brother Ishin. You two are close then?”

  “We are,” Rhee answered quickly, moving to stand beside Ishin. “We were recruited to the sect together and reside in the same house.”

  When Haoran Yong smiled next, his eyes lacked any warmth. “Of course, of course. Well, if either of you juniors require anything, make sure to seek me out. I reside in House 46.”

  “We’ll remember that,” Rhee replied pleasantly. “Have a good day, Senior Disciple Haoran Yong.”

  Rhee then took the catalog Ishin had been holding and placed it back on the counter before proceeding to nearly drag him outside, under the guise of holding his arm.

  Once the two were nearly a hundred feet away from the Market Hall, Rhee finally spoke her mind. “What a vile man.” Ishin could hear the disgust in her voice. “The way he looked over me made my skin crawl.” She removed her arm from around Ishin’s.

  “Yet you acted so friendly. Why?”

  “To learn information, of course. A snake like that, trying to impress an attractive new disciple, is far more likely to share information than he would otherwise.”

  “I thought that was your goal,” Ishin said with a huff. “Though I must admit, I was tempted to punch him.”

  “It’s good that you didn’t,” Rhee said seriously. “You’d have violated one of the Eight Laws.”

  “Still,” Ishin grumbled. “Had he started touching, I don’t think I could have stopped myself.”

  “Had he touched me I would have struck him myself,” Rhee stated. “It’s not your job to defend me.” More playfully, she added, “Besides, I’m stronger than you anyway. Until you can actually defeat me, you have no place in defending my honor.”

  Ishin let out a hearty laugh. “Fair enough. So are you going to follow his advice and save points for the Cultivation Chamber and auction?”

  Rhee shook her head. “The auction sounds like a risky option. I’d have to spend fifty points just to participate, and if I don’t manage to win anything then I’m out those points for nothing. At least with the Cultivation Chamber we know that there are benefits.”

  “Good point.” Ishin glanced behind at the Market Hall. “So his advice was bad.”

  “Yes, but perhaps intentionally so.”

  That surprised Ishin. “Intentionally so?”

  “On the surface, the advice has some merit. I could see new disciples following it only to realize the risks of participating in the auction too soon, after they lose points attending the first one. It’s possible he was trying to make us lose points intentionally.”

  Ishin was about to ask her why he would do that, but then he understood. “And that way you’d be desperate to gain points and ask him for help.”

  “In exchange for disgusting services, I’m sure,” Rhee finished. Shaking her head, she said, “Truly despicable.”

  The two continued their journey northwest towards the Administrative Hall, following the path that Elder Su had taken them down the previous day. It was still morning, and they passed several other disciples going about their business. Thankfully, the other disciples were occupied with their own tasks, ignoring Rhee and Ishin for the most part. That changed when the Western Watchtower came into view.

  “Good morning, new disciples!” a very animated, cute young woman with large dimples and flowing purple hair said. She had been walking towards them from the direction of the Administrative Hall, only speaking once she was a few feet away.

  “My name is Disciple Ma Lin, and I’d love to offer you my services!”