Chapter 113: Opening shop

Chapter 113: Opening shop

Leng Yuexi’s glare lingered for a moment longer before she huffed and sipped her tea, clearly trying to calm herself.

Feng Yun only chuckled, leaning back with that same infuriatingly confident smirk.

Zhao Mingxi finally spoke, her tone lighter. "Enough teasing, Yun. What’s your plan now?"

"My plan?" Feng Yun swirled the tea in his cup lazily, as if the answer didn’t matter. "I think it is time to open the business."

"Oh!" Leng Yuexi looked a little surprised. "What kind of shop are you going to open? You should know that there are already long-established chambers of commerce in this city; if you don’t sell something unique, you won’t be able to grow your business in this city."

"I know it. My product won’t be ordinary items." Feng Yun chuckled.

The truth was, his shop wouldn’t just sell herbs, talismans, and artefacts from local suppliers. That was the bait, the camouflage. The real lure would be select items sourced from his system’s store — products so rare in this world that even major sects might kill to possess them.

A bottle of Spirit Condensation Pills, capable of pushing a cultivator at the peak of the Core Formation to the Soul Sea Realm. A strip of Heavenly Tempering Silk, stronger than steel yet light as a feather. An obscure detoxifying powder that could cure poisons no alchemist in the region had remedies for.

The products in the system store are unlimited, rare and far cheaper; he would make a bumper profit.

But there was a rule to his plan: he would never sell them openly. Not all at once, and never in full display. Some would appear casually in his stock, mixed with mundane items so they seemed like lucky finds. Others would only be "special orders", available to those who earned his trust... or someone he could control.

And then there were the truly precious products — things he would gift under carefully chosen circumstances, to plant seeds of loyalty or obligation in powerful figures.

Mingxi noticed the smirk tugging at his lips as he wrote. "You’re hiding something. Those numbers don’t add up for a normal shop."

"That’s because it’s not going to be a normal shop," Feng Yun said, finally meeting her gaze. "Tell me — if a customer comes in for a jar of common spirit tea and finds instead a rare spirit-grade brew that even sect elders struggle to get, what happens?"

"They buy it instantly," Mingxi said without hesitation.

"Exactly. And they wonder how you got it. They tell their friends. Word spreads. Soon, even people who don’t need tea will come, just to see what other ’accidents’ might appear on the shelves."

Yuexi’s voice was calm, but there was a sharpness in her eyes. "You’re going to make them dependent on you."

Feng Yun smiled. "Scarcity creates demand. Unpredictability creates obsession. And control over both..." — He tapped his temple — "...creates power."

The trick, he knew, was to never let the source of these goods be discovered. If anyone suspected they all came from one place, from him, the wrong kind of attention would come crashing down. Rival sects, greedy clans, and perhaps even the imperial court might try to take him apart piece by piece.

No — his customers would think he had a web of secret suppliers, scattered across dangerous lands and deep connections. The more mysterious he made it, the less they would dare to pry.

And while they were too busy guessing, he would be learning — who had wealth, who had influence, who was desperate... and who might be dangerous.

After living in this world so far, Feng Yun realised one thing: having a strong background was very important in this world. Although he didn’t have a strong background, he would create some mystery around himself. As long as he gets time to improve, it doesn’t matter that his bluff was exposed. By that time, he would be strong enough to face them head-on.

"So when are you going to open your shop?" Leng Yuexi asked curiously.

"Tomorrow," Feng Yun replied.

"What? It is too sudden." Zhao Mingxi and Leng Yuexi both looked a little surprised.

"I would have done it already if I hadn’t made the Black Wolf Guild my enemy, but now that I have the old sword saint, I can freely start the business." Feng Yun said.

"Okay, let’s take a rest." Feng Yun said as he stood up, they were chatting for hours. He looked at Leng Yuexi and asked, "Yuexi, are you staying or going back?"

"I can’t stay; my mother will get angry. I will come tomorrow morning." Leng Yuexi said soon she said goodbye and left.

"Ouch..."

Feng Yun screamed faintly. It turned out Zhao Mingxi had twisted his ear; she looked a little angry. "Why did you tell her about the dual cultivation?"

"Hmph, you are not thinking of inviting her to your bed, are you?"

"What? What are you saying? Why would I do that? Do you think I chase after every beautiful girl I meet?" Feng Yun looked a little aggrieved and said.

"Aren’t you?"

"Heheh..." Wang Ruo giggled as she watched them fighting and bickering.

...

The next morning, Black Plain City was already alive with noise. Merchants shouted their prices from open stalls, children darted between carts, and the air smelt of fried dough and medicinal herbs. It was the kind of chaotic energy Feng Yun had come to appreciate — too busy for anyone to pay too much attention to a new face but always hungry for novelty.

He led Wang Ruo, Zhao Mingxi and Leng Yuexi down a narrow street toward the trade district. The buildings here were a mix of new construction and weathered old shops. Some had bright banners fluttering outside; others were faded and cracked with age.

"This is the place," Feng Yun said, stopping in front of a two-storey building wedged between a tanner’s shop and a weapons dealer.

The structure wasn’t impressive at first glance — peeling paint, a crooked sign that had lost all lettering, and windows so grimy they barely let light through. But Feng Yun’s eyes gleamed. The location was excellent — close to the main road where caravans entered the city and near the taverns where mercenaries and rogue cultivators liked to drink away their coin.

Leng Yuexi crossed her arms. "You call this a shop? Looks more like a rat’s nest."

"Rat’s nests can be cleaned," Feng Yun replied. "Prime locations can’t be moved. And this is the only empty shop available for sale."

He pushed the door open. It let out a long, protesting creak, and a gust of stale air rolled out to greet them. Inside, the space was small but workable — a single main room with empty shelves, a worn wooden counter, and a narrow staircase leading to a loft above. Dust lay thick over everything, and the faint smell of mildew clung to the walls.

Zhao Mingxi stepped inside, wrinkling her nose. "It smells like the inside of an old scroll that’s been left in the rain."

"Perfect", Feng Yun said simply. "Means no one’s been using it. No one will ask too many questions when we start selling unusual things."

By midday, he had hired five labourers from the nearby tavern. They were quick to agree once he paid them extra money. The work began immediately — sweeping out years of dust, scrubbing the floors, and scraping the walls clean for a fresh coat of paint.

Leng Yuexi took charge of supervising the repairs. She was relentless — pointing out loose nails, uneven planks, and any sign of shoddy work. She ran a restaurant, so he was a little familiar with the shop’s layout.