Chapter 4384 — A Straying Step onto the Third Floor

Wei Zhaotong trailed behind him with a helpless look on his face. A fine expert of the mid Gold Core stage, and here on Yunjie Island he was actually strolling through a secular-world department store with someone—the very thought of it was enough to make one dizzy with speechless wonder.

What was even more baffling was that these ordinary goods, available everywhere in the secular world, still commanded astronomical prices, and so many people were scrambling to buy them that the business was booming to a degree that simply defied reason.

Wei Zhao made a rough estimate: in the short time he had spent trailing Qi Wenmo around, the turnover had already reached the scale of tens of thousands of spirit jade—almost catching up with a full day's income at his own Tiandan Pavilion!

And to think that at the Tiandan Pavilion he sold only top-grade pills, yet even that fell short of the Zhongshu Merchant Guild's secular wares. Such an outcome was enough to make one laugh and cry at the same time.

If one truly reckoned by actual value, any single top-grade pill from the Tiandan Pavilion would be enough to buy up an entire street of secular department stores. All one could say was that things are precious for being rare—that old saying really was not the least bit false.

Wei Zhao and Qi Wenmo chatted as they wandered. Though the latter showed enormous interest in these secular wares, it was mostly out of curiosity; the things that actually caught his eye were few and far between.

As the young heir of the Qingtian Escort Agency, Qi Wenmo had received elite training since childhood, and he was a model product of it. People like him lacked neither the boldness to spend a thousand gold at a throw, nor—at the same time—self-restraint far beyond the ordinary.

If he were to go soft at the sight of any little novelty and squander his wealth like dirt, then no matter how deep the family fortune, there would come a day when it was all frittered away. And then Qi Wenmo would be no elite at all, but a plain wastrel—and Qi Mingyuan would never have dared entrust the great Qingtian Escort Agency to his hands.

Novelty was novelty, but for these things that were plainly meant only for amusement and had little practical value, Qi Wenmo merely looked for the fun of it. If he actually did reach for his purse and buy them, that could mean only one thing: his head had gone bad.

Toys sap the will. Anyone with even a shred of ambition could not possibly spend great handfuls of spirit jade on mere playthings. Rather than squander it on things with no practical worth at all, one might as well buy more treasures for cultivation—pills or weapons, any of them were far more practical than these secular wares.

The two made a circuit of the first floor, clicking their tongues in admiration, then turned and went up to the second. But compared with the seething first floor, the second was noticeably quieter. Wei Zhao swept his eyes around and found that what was sold here was not the Zhongshu Merchant Guild's signature secular goods, but all manner of heaven-and-earth treasures and rare spirit herbs.

"Ha. The stuff meant to catch the eye sells like wildfire, while the truly good things sit unwanted." Wei Zhao could not help but laugh.

"Indeed. It seems this Zhongshu Merchant Guild has no small ambitions." Qi Wenmo was a man who understood, and he nodded in agreement.

The Zhongshu Merchant Guild's strategy was clear: use these novel, curious secular goods to whip up a huge gimmick and a storm of public talk, drawing everyone in. But it was not content to stop there.

Heaven-and-earth treasures were the stock-in-trade of every great merchant guild, and the things with the most market and vitality on Yunjie Island. Novel gadgets could make one blaze brightly for a time, but they could not burn so fiercely forever.

Any sharp-eyed person could see this, and the Zhongshu Merchant Guild naturally knew it as well. So while the secular goods could still command attention, it had to transform itself swiftly into a mainstream top-tier guild—and even into a true colossus.

Though few were buying these heaven-and-earth treasures for the moment, the Zhongshu Merchant Guild still had to fill out its stocks—not merely fill them out, but outdo the other guilds in both quantity and quality. Only so could it truly plant its feet firmly and flourish for the long run.

What surprised Wei Zhao was that here on the second floor he actually saw several rare heaven-and-earth treasures that were seldom seen even in the Hong Merchant Guild. Clearly, though the Zhongshu Merchant Guild had risen overnight, its foundations were unquestionably deep—no ordinary guild could compare.

However matters developed from here, at this rate it was bound to claim a place for itself on Yunjie Island. It might not sit firmly at the top, but to rank among the top three was absolutely beyond doubt.

"This Zhongshu Merchant Guild really does come on strong—brimming with ambition." Wei Zhao smiled noncommittally, his gaze traveling back and forth over those few exceedingly rare heaven-and-earth treasures, though he showed no intent to buy.

Rare as these things were, they were not like supreme treasures such as Star Ink Milk or the Wandu Golden Core Fruit, which were useful to anyone. Their uses were rather narrow; barring certain special circumstances, they were of no use for the moment, and might never be of use in the future either.

Wei Zhao was only mildly interested, but beside him Qi Wenmo's eyes lit up at once at the sight of these things. As the young heir of the Qingtian Escort Agency, his breadth of experience was beyond the common run, and he could of course tell what was truly good.

"Attendant, bring that Heavenly Snow Vine down and let me have a look." Qi Wenmo at once beckoned an attendant over and pointed eagerly at one of the items. The secular wares on the first floor he would not buy, but for genuine good things like these, he would not stint however much spirit jade it took.

Wei Zhao smiled and wandered about on his own. He had meant to wait a little for Qi Wenmo, but seeing him deep in lively conversation with the attendant, he decided not to disturb him and turned to head up to the third floor.

Compared with the seething first floor, the second was already sparsely populated, but the third floor was almost utterly empty!

Wei Zhao looked around with some surprise and found that there were no display racks here at all, but rather one luxurious, elegantly appointed private room after another. It seemed to be a place set aside for people to talk and rest, where clients doing large-scale business would presumably negotiate with the Zhongshu Merchant Guild's managers. But why was there not a single person here, when business below was booming?

Wei Zhao could hardly be blamed for such conjecture—any normal person would think the same, since everything a merchant guild did was for the sake of trading with people. What Wei Zhao had not expected was that this Zhongshu Merchant Guild was somewhat different from the other great guilds he had seen.

Quiet as the second floor was, it at least had some customers. Yet the third floor had not a single guest, for one reason only: this place was not open to the public—entry by invitation alone!

Ordinarily, the stairway was always guarded, and those who frequented the Zhongshu Merchant Guild all knew the rule, so they generally did not come near, much less go up to the third floor on their own.

But these past few days, with the grand gathering of the Nanzhou Escort Agencies about to convene here, a great many outsiders had been drawn in, making the already bustling Zhongshu Merchant Guild's business all the more feverish. (To be continued..) R752