Chapter 83 Soul Hunter Town
Tang Hao tied the carriage to the entrance of a restaurant at the edge of town that looked fairly clean.
The waiter hurried forward, rubbing his hands together and smiling, "Please come in, sir!"
Tang Hao nodded, tossed over a gold soul coin, and then led Tang Chuan into the town, while Tang San stayed behind to handle trivial matters.
"Boss, how much are these fruits?"
Tang Chuan squatted down; a pile of fruits he had never seen before were displayed on the stall.
The fruit is as big as a fist, red like burning charcoal, with a shimmering golden sheen on its skin.
There are pale purple fruits, about the size of a fingernail, wrapped in emerald green leaves.
There were also long strings of orange-yellow fruits hanging from the vines, their shells as thin as paper, which were quite beautiful.
"A Crimson Flame Fruit costs five copper soul coins."
"A small basket of Green Leaf Berries costs ten Copper Soul Coins."
"Lantern fruits are a bit pricey, one gold soul coin per string. They were harvested deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, so they weren't easy to come by."
The vendor, an old man with a goatee, pointed out and introduced each item.
"One of each, please."
Tang Chuan took out two gold soul coins from his pocket and handed them over.
The old man deftly packed the bags: "The lantern fruits can be eaten directly, the green-leaf berries can be used to remove the fishy smell when cooked in meat soup, and the red flame berries taste even better when soaked in wine. Here you go!"
After paying, Tang Chuan pulled Tang Hao along and continued walking.
The two walked around, stopping frequently, passing by stalls and shops, searching for ingredients not included in the "Ingredients Compendium".
A sizzling sound came from the roadside shops.
Tang Chuan turned his head and saw a stall selling roasted soul beast meat.
The meat grilling on the iron rack glistened with oil, its skin roasted to a golden brown, sprinkled with an unknown red seasoning, and its aroma wafted straight into my nose.
"Boss, what kind of meat is this?"
"Hhind leg meat from a 300-year-old forest pig."
The stall owner, a burly man, flipped the meat with an iron skewer: "The meat from Youlin pigs is especially fragrant, particularly the hind leg meat, which is the most chewy. Young man, would you like some?"
Tang Hao walked over at this moment, glanced at the barbecue, and said, "It's really good."
"Cut three pounds and wrap them up."
After buying three catties of Youlin pork, Tang Hao carried the oil paper bag, while Tang Chuan's gaze was drawn to the mushroom stall diagonally in front of him.
The stall was covered with a piece of coarse linen.
On top were colorful mushrooms and round tubers, covered in mud, and behind them squatted an old woman.
"Boss, how much is this?"
Tang Chuan walked over and pointed to a bunch of dark purple mushrooms, asking a question.
The mushroom caps are dotted with white spots, and the stems are as thick as small radishes, making them look poisonous.
"Young master has a good eye!"
The old woman smiled and replied, her wrinkles crinkling with laughter, "These are Purple Cloud Mushrooms, found only deep within the Star Dou Great Forest. The soup they make is so delicious it'll make your eyebrows fall off! Five gold soul coins a handful!"
"Five gold soul coins?"
Tang Chuan picked up a purple cloud mushroom in surprise; its price was exceptionally high!
"Not expensive at all!"
"These purple cloud mushrooms aren't something you can just pick anytime!"
The old woman slapped her thigh and introduced, "This thing grows in the lair of a 40,000-year-old bone-rotting python. It is surrounded by a circle of miasma and is full of the bones of thousand-year-old soul beasts... My old man led three mercenaries, and after being poisoned for half a month, he finally managed to collect this bit."
"Please don't think it's expensive."
"Drinking this soup will increase the speed at which a Soul Master cultivates Soul Power. It's much more effective than those expensive tonics. Five gold Soul Coins is definitely not a rip-off!"
The old woman picked up a purple cloud mushroom, pointed to the cap about the size of an eye socket, and explained how to prepare it.
"No!"
"I'll have one of every kind of mushroom on the stall."
Before Tang Chuan could ask any more questions, Tang Hao took out ten gold soul coins from his pocket and threw them on the stall, making it a straightforward statement.
"Okay!"
The old woman's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously: "You have a good eye for quality!"
As she spoke, she deftly picked up a bag, carefully wrapped the purple cloud mushrooms, and then packed up the green-veined mushrooms, snow velvet mushrooms, black-skinned mushrooms, and other mushrooms from the stall.
Tang Chuan looked at Tang Hao and asked softly, "Dad, are these mushrooms really that valuable?"
"The purple cloud mushroom is worth it."
"The other types, while not as good as it, are still rare fungi, usually found near the nests of ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts, and are not easy to find."
Tang Hao glanced at the packaged mushrooms and explained a few words to Tang Chuan.
He knew the value of Purple Cloud Mushrooms when he was venturing into the world of Soul Masters; a handful of them for five gold soul coins wasn't really that expensive.
Not only is picking dangerous, but the most crucial problem is that they are hard to find!
Among a thousand ten-thousand-year-old soul beast lairs, there might not be even one where you can find a Purple Cloud Mushroom.
The old woman quickly divided all the mushrooms into six paper bags.
"Young master, please take this!"
"They're all fresh. If you can't eat them all, you can dry them and keep them."
Tang Chuan, carrying the heavy mushroom bags, nodded and followed Tang Hao to continue buying more ingredients. Soon, they returned with a full load.
In the restaurant.
Tang San methodically put away the hidden weapons.
The crossbow with its tight-fitting floral design is attached to the back and secured with a wide cloth strap. Poisoned crossbow bolts are inserted into the bolt slot. Then, the person bends down and puts on a pair of specially made concealed weapon shoes.
Six poisoned daggers are embedded in a hidden compartment on the inside of the shoe upper; they can be ejected with a forceful kick.
Finally, let's clean up the "Moonlit Night at Twenty-Four Bridges" scene.
He carefully placed the bone-piercing needles, willow-leaf daggers, flying locust stones, and coin darts into compartments, repeatedly taking out each hidden weapon until he was familiar with and comfortable using it, before straightening up and patting the corner of his clothes.
"Mistress, are you all ready?"
Tang Hao's voice came from the doorway.
Tang San turned his head and saw Tang Hao carrying more than a dozen bulging cloth bags. He quickly stepped forward to take them and replied as he walked, "Okay, Dad, everything's packed."
"Um."
Tang Hao nodded, gesturing for Tang San to place the ingredients on the table: "Xiao Chuan, you should eat these first, then we'll eat something before we set off."
"Okay, Dad."
Blue Silver Grass sprouted from Tang Chuan's palm, wrapping and enveloping the ingredients on the table, devouring them one by one.
The cloth bag shrank visibly as the ingredients inside were consumed and recorded by the Blue Silver Grass, and its characteristics appeared in the "Ingredient Encyclopedia".
Tang San stood at the door, watching vigilantly to prevent anyone from suddenly barging in.
Tang Hao leaned back in his chair, picked up the tea that Tang San had prepared in advance, and slowly sipped it, keeping an eye on Tang Chuan's condition out of the corner of his eye.
Tang Chuan closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his sea of consciousness.
The newly updated pages of "Ingredients Illustrated Guide" appeared with a pale golden glow, clearly listing the information about the ingredients that had just been absorbed.
[Crimson Flame Fruit]
[Origin: Sunny slope on the outskirts of Star Dou Great Forest]
[Duration: 73 years]
[Characteristics: The flesh is reddish-brown and contains mild fire-attribute soul power]
[Effects: It can be eaten directly to warm the body and dispel cold; it can be soaked in alcohol to make Crimson Flame Wine; the dried and ground kernels can be used as a medicinal ingredient to enhance the nourishing effects of fire-attribute soul beast meat.]
[Green Leaf Berry]
[...]
[Lycoris radiata]
[...]
[Forest Pork]
[...]
Purple Cloud Mushroom
[Origin: Nest of a 40,000-year-old bone-rotting python deep in the Star Dou Great Forest]
[Characteristics: Deep purple cap with white spots, containing pure soul power]
[Effects: When stewed in soup, it can accelerate soul power cultivation; when ground into powder, it can be used as a core ingredient in high-level medicinal cuisine to further enhance the speed of soul power cultivation.]
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[end of the chapter]