Chapter 177 - 176: The Flower Shop Proprietress

Chapter 177: Chapter 176: The Flower Shop Proprietress

Huo Xingchen was still obsessing over the Thunder Bamboo long after they had walked away.

Gu Qingyin couldn’t take it anymore and slapped him on the head. "If it were that easy to improve your constitution and enhance your talent, the Mortal World would be teeming with geniuses. Do you really think you’d be the one to stumble upon such a shortcut?"

Huo Xingchen wasn’t an idiot. Of course, he knew it wasn’t that simple.

"That’s why I bought five of them! One of them has to work out!"

The look Gu Qingyin gave him grew even stranger. "You think the hard part is growing the bamboo?"

Huo Xingchen stared with his big, clear, yet foolish eyes, as if to ask, ’Isn’t it?’

Even Huo Yunjing couldn’t watch any longer. With a complicated expression, he said, "The bamboo is easy to grow, and the shoots are easy to harvest. But you have to eat a lot of them to get the effect you want."

Not giving up, Huo Xingchen pressed on, "How much do I have to eat?"

Huo Yunjing pondered. "If you eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day... you might see some results in about eighty to a hundred years."

Huo Xingchen was dumbfounded. He wasn’t even sure he’d live that long.

Huo Xingye chuckled. "With such a healthy diet, you might even live a few extra years. If you’re lucky, you’ll achieve your wish right before you die."

Huo Xingchen shot his older brother a resentful look and sighed heavily.

"Come on, let’s go sell those talismans you’re holding onto."

At the mention of this, Huo Xingchen perked up again, though a faint worry crept into his heart. "Selling talismans used by Heavenly Masters in the Ghost Market... isn’t that a little too brazen?"

Gu Qingyin nodded in agreement. "That’s why we need to find a more secluded spot."

What Huo Xingchen imagined as a "secluded spot" was a small stall tucked away in some forgotten corner. Only later did he realize they were going to be mobile vendors with no fixed location.

After finding a relatively hidden spot, Gu Qingyin drew a few talismans on the spot to enhance a ghost body’s Yin Qi. Then she swaggered out onto the street, pulling people aside to ask if they wanted to buy talismans.

If they wanted to buy, she would pull them into a corner to complete the transaction. If not, she would move on to the next person.

Once a person or ghost stood before Gu Qingyin, she would present two completely different types of talismans and ask them which kind they wanted.

This was a highly effective way to find customers; anyone who followed her was genuinely interested in buying. Moreover, since Gu Qingyin was selling them for slightly less than the market price, nearly every person and ghost who came over bought a few.

In less than two hours, most of Huo Xingchen’s recent stock was sold off, earning him a huge wad of Yin Department Paper.

Huo Xingchen was grinning from ear to ear. ’See? I don’t need to play esports or rely on my family. I can support myself just fine!’

With their business concluded for the moment, the family continued to stroll. The Ghost Market was just getting started, after all.

With money in his hands, Huo Xingchen wanted to buy some local specialties for his second brother, Gugu, and Mao Mao.

Mao Mao was easy to shop for. Since it was a Spiritual Body, the Ghost Market was filled with food that could replenish it. The flavors varied depending on the different mixtures of energy.

Yin Qi, Evil Qi, ghost energy, Blood Qi... and all sorts of mixed flavors. They had everything imaginable.

With a grand wave of his hand, Huo Xingchen spent one hundred thousand Yin Department Paper on them.

Huo Xinghai and Gugu were more difficult to shop for; he had to pick things that wouldn’t harm their physical bodies.

"Mom, do you have any good recommendations?"

Gu Qingyin mused, "Actually, the Soul-devouring Flower is a good choice. If you raise one from a seedling, it can protect your home, and its fragrance can subtly nourish the soul over time."

Huo Xingchen blinked. "You can’t raise a big one?"

Gu Qingyin shook her head. "It’s too dangerous. It might just devour your three hun and seven po one day."

"Where can we buy a Soul-devouring Flower seedling?" Huo Xingye couldn’t help but ask.

As someone who was afraid of ghosts, he was deeply tempted. With one pot at home and another at the office, he would never have to worry about being pestered by wandering spirits again.

Gu Qingyin drew in a sharp breath. "They’re not easy to find." Usually, anyone who gets their hands on a Soul-devouring Flower seedling keeps it for themselves. It’s rare for someone to sell one.

The large Soul-devouring Flowers are also specially cultivated, ownerless specimens, mostly used for environmental cleanup.

"I... think I remember something," Huo Yunjing said hesitantly, his expression unreadable. "Follow me."

Gu Qingyin’s brow furrowed.

Huo Xingye and Huo Xingchen exchanged a glance, also sensing that something was off.

’Isn’t this Dad’s first time here? How does he seem even more familiar with the place than Mom?’

Huo Yunjing led the way without a word, twisting and turning through the alleys. Before long, he stopped, but in front of him was just a dusty gray wall.

Seeing this, the two brothers simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

"Forget it, Dad. If we can’t find it, let’s just not buy one. It’s not like we absolutely have to have it."

Huo Yunjing didn’t move. Gu Qingyin glanced at the wall, then back at Huo Yunjing, and also remained still.

Huo Xingchen rubbed his nose, a growing unease settling in his heart. He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by Huo Xingye.

’Dad didn’t take a wrong turn. On the contrary, he’s certain this is the right way. He’s waiting for the wall in front of us to disappear.’

Sure enough, two minutes later, the wall vanished, revealing a flagstone path.

Huo Yunjing glanced over his shoulder at them. "Keep up. We’re almost there."

Gu Qingyin’s brow furrowed even deeper, but she asked no questions and followed in silence.

Less than five minutes later, Huo Yunjing stopped in front of a shop.

Unlike the other bizarrely shaped shops, this one had potted greenery arranged outside. Inside, all sorts of blooming flowers and plants were visible. At first glance, it looked remarkably like a flower shop from the mortal world.

Huo Yunjing studied the shop with a profound gaze for a few seconds, then was the first to step inside.

"Welcome. Feel free to look around, but don’t touch. This shop takes no responsibility for injury or death."

A female voice that was simultaneously gentle and cold drifted from the depths of the shop—gentle in tone, but cold in content.

The family looked toward the source of the voice. A female ghost in an ancient-style white dress was rocking back and forth in a rocking chair, her eyes closed as if she were about to fall asleep.

Huo Yunjing paused for a moment, then said, "We’re looking for a Soul-devouring Flower seedling."

With a CREAK, the rocking chair stopped. The female ghost sat bolt upright, her large, strikingly clear eyes fixed on Huo Yunjing.

Gu Qingyin’s heart skipped a beat. She had a bad feeling about this.

Just as she’d suspected! Sadness and resentment slowly colored the female ghost’s eyes, and she looked at Huo Yunjing as if he were a heartless lover who had abandoned her.

Huo Yunjing subconsciously took a step back to stand beside Gu Qingyin and repeated, "We’d like to buy a Soul-devouring Flower seedling. Do you have any?"

Only then did the female ghost tear her gaze away and turn to Gu Qingyin, brazenly looking her up and down.

Gu Qingyin scoffed internally. With a slight raise of her eyebrow, she gave the ghost an even more audacious once-over in return.

Then, she came to a conclusion. ’This female ghost’s cultivation is decent, and she’s probably been dead a long time. She’s passably attractive, like one of those delicate, innocent-looking flowers.’

’Too bad she rubs me the wrong way. Just looking at her is irritating.’

The female ghost faltered for a moment, her gaze returning to Huo Yunjing’s face. "Yes, we do. I’ll go get one."

From beginning to end, she didn’t spare Huo Xingye or Huo Xingchen a single glance, treating them as if they were air.

Huo Xingye pressed his lips together, while Huo Xingchen muttered, "How rude."

A moment later, the female ghost emerged carrying a small, palm-sized flowerpot. Inside was a single, unremarkable green seedling.

She stopped in front of Huo Yunjing, with eyes for him alone. "This one was just recently cultivated. It’s of the highest quality. Take it."

Gu Qingyin’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Huo Yunjing.

Huo Yunjing immediately tensed up. He subconsciously took another step back, looked at Gu Qingyin, and said in an instinctively placating tone, "Honey, one pot isn’t enough, is it?"