2: Time and Space Merchant

Qingyou Empire.

Inside the imperial palace, upon hearing the news that the Prince of Zhenbei, Nangong Aochen, had died in battle, Nangong Aotian could not help but slump onto the dragon throne.

"Imperial younger brother!"

He cried out in sorrow, feeling an unbearable, stabbing pain in his heart, and leaned weakly against the dragon throne.

His own blood brother, born of the same mother, had died tragically; how could he not be heartbroken?

Nangong Aotian's expression was filled with grief; he found it difficult to accept this cruel reality.

The officials in the great hall remained silent, not daring to make a sound.

After a long while, Nangong Aotian looked up, his voice echoing out, cold and deep as an abyss.

"Someone, come here! Mobilize the Empire's capable soldiers and prepare military supplies. I will launch a full-scale northern expedition against the Beichuan Empire and make that Beichuan Empire pay for my imperial younger brother's funeral with their lives!"

Upon hearing these words, the officials were all shocked.

Many court officials had already sensed Nangong Aotian's fury and did not dare to step forward.

However, some upright officials knelt down one after another, speaking up to dissuade him.

"Your Majesty, this must not be done!"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider the matter of the northern expedition!"

"Indeed, Your Majesty, the matter of the northern expedition is of great importance; please reconsider, Your Majesty!"

Hearing these remonstrations, the anger on Nangong Aotian's stern face could no longer be contained, and his cold, icy voice rang out.

"My own brother has died, and I want to avenge him, yet you tell me it cannot be done? You tell me to reconsider? Do you believe I would execute you right here and now?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the court fell silent, and all the officials bowed, not daring to raise their heads.

Yet, someone still advised in a low voice: "Your Majesty, our Clear Serenity is currently in an awkward position. To the east, the Eastern Flame Empire is eyeing us covetously, and to the south, the Silver Moon Empire has been watching for a long time; both want to swallow our Clear Serenity Empire."

"Although the Western Mist Empire to the west is on good terms with us, no one can guarantee that if Clear Serenity encounters trouble, they won't come up to take a bite and kick us while we're down!"

"The current situation is complex, and the northern expedition is of great importance; please reconsider, Your Majesty!"

But Nangong Aotian, who was in a fit of rage, could not listen to his advice, and he coldly said to himself: "Shut up. Are you the Emperor, or am I?"

Once these words were spoken, the court fell silent again, and no one dared to speak.

But Nangong Aotian did not intend to let it go at that, and he continued: "Someone, take those who just tried to dissuade me away, confine them for a month, and dock their salaries for half a year!"

"Understood!"

As Nangong Aotian's voice fell, a crisp and loud sound rang out, and twelve imperial guards ran in to drag those people away.

Seeing this, no one spoke up, and even fewer dared to resist!

As officials who had followed Nangong Aotian for so many years, they naturally knew that the decisions made by Nangong Aotian were not easily changed.

They knew even better that if Nangong Aotian hadn't still possessed some reason, the punishment for those who just tried to dissuade him would definitely not have been so simple!

Seeing those people being dragged away, Nangong Aotian spoke again: "Grand General Protecting the Nation, Ming Tianan, I command you to mobilize the army and lead the northern expedition in one month. Everyone else must cooperate fully!"

"Understood!"

The elderly man at the head of the military officials bowed and accepted the order, while the others bowed as well, exchanging bitter smiles.

"That is all, you may leave!"

Nangong Aotian waved his hand, his expression filled with grief, and he walked towards the inner palace with a staggering gait.

...

The news that the Prince of Zhenbei had died in battle and the Emperor wanted to launch a northern expedition quickly spread across the length and breadth of the Clear Serenity Empire.

The whole country was shaken!

Countless people wept uncontrollably, unable to accept the fact that the Prince of Zhenbei had died in battle.

Their Prince of Zhenbei, the one who protected the northern border and kept it peaceful and worry-free, had actually died in battle?

Of course, there were also those who gloated, but they dared not show it and could only snicker to themselves.

Not long after, a rumor spread without cause, and it soon traveled throughout the entire Clear Serenity Empire.

"Have you heard? The son of the Prince of Zhenbei is a jinx; he caused the death of the Prince of Zhenbei as soon as he was born!"

"Who's to say it isn't? This news seems to have come from the Tianji Pavilion; it shouldn't be wrong!"

"Sigh, a jinx has descended into the world, and the Prince of Zhenbei has died on the battlefield. If he is not eliminated, I fear it will bring disaster to Clear Serenity!"

"Nonsense! The Prince of Zhenbei protected the Empire for decades. Now that he has died in battle, how dare you spread rumors about his only surviving heir?"

"Are we wrong? This came from the Tianji Pavilion; could it be wrong?"

"Even so, you shouldn't say that. Everything is for His Majesty to decide; how dare you spread such rumors?"

"Unreasonable!"

The crowd glared at the nonconformist young man and then dispersed in a swarm.

Such scenes were everywhere in the cities and alleys of the Clear Serenity Empire, with little difference between them.

The only place that might be different was perhaps the northern border of the Clear Serenity Empire!

An atmosphere of sorrow pervaded the entire northern border; the military and civilians of the northern border all bowed their heads in silence, bidding farewell to their guardian deity in a special ritual!

...

Fuguang City, Prince of Zhenbeis Residence.

When various news arrived, the Princess Consort of Zhenbei, Shangguan Yuexi, who had finally regained consciousness, could not withstand the blow and fainted once more.

Aunt Shen stepped forward with a heavy heart to check on her, and seeing that Shangguan Yuexi was not in any serious condition, she felt a little relieved.

But looking at the unconscious Princess Consort of Zhenbei and then at the baby in her arms, thinking of those rumors, she couldn't help but feel filled with fury.

"These damned guys! The Prince of Zhenbei protected the northern border for decades and countless times shattered the Beichuan Empire's ambition to invade the south. Yet now, they slander the Young Heir like this; they truly deserve to die!"

As she spoke, her voice could not help but carry a trace of icy killing intent.

Fortunately, she quickly realized that her own state was not right, so she hurriedly restrained her killing intent, placed the baby in her arms beside Shangguan Yuexi, and went outside the door to keep watch.

Nangong Yu watched her leave, a flash of adult-like helplessness crossing his eyes.

He had naturally heard what Aunt Shen and the others had just said. Although he couldn't understand their language, for some reason, he understood the meaning, as if someone were translating for him.

"I've just Transmigrated here, and I've already encountered my cheap father dying on the battlefield, and I'm being treated as a jinx?"

"I don't know if these people around me will be detrimental to me because of this; it seems I must be careful."

But just as Nangong Yu thought of this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart; as a newborn baby, how could he be careful?

Nangong Yu shook his head slightly, calmed his mind, and his consciousness arrived in a special space.

This space was like a starry sky, with splendid starlight and twinkling stars, as if brilliant gems were embedded in a black canopy.

Under this starry sky, everything seemed so small and insignificant, and Nangong Yu felt as if he were in a dreamlike world, far away from the noise and chaos of the mortal world.

But looking at his young consciousness body, he couldn't help but frown slightly; logically speaking, he was an adult in his previous life, so his consciousness body should also be an adult's.

But the result was that his current consciousness body was just a baby, a baby that looked like it had just been born.

Nangong Yu shook his head, didn't think too much about it, and turned to look at the situation in the space.

In front of him were rows of glass shelves, as well as a golden shelf, all of which were filled with various items.

Weapons, classics, clothes, fruits...

The items on these shelves were strange and varied, containing everything, which dazzled Nangong Yu.

And beside him was an empty round table with mysterious and profound patterns on it.

Next to the round table was a chair that looked very mysterious and simple, but had no other special features.

He turned around and looked at a special shelf not far away.

That was a white jade shelf with a nine-by-nine grid, containing eighty-one compartments.

And in the first six compartments, there was one item in each: a classic, two Jade Slips, a mysterious piece of gold stone, a halo of alternating light and darkness, and a leafless little tree that seemed both virtual and real.

Nangong Yu looked at this scene, feeling a bit confused, as this was his first time entering this special space!

Before, he had called for the System, but the System didn't come; instead, a message came into his mind, which was the method to enter this special space.

At that time, he had intended to come in and take a look, but for some reason, he felt drowsy and fell asleep involuntarily.

After waking up again, thinking of this space, Nangong Yu came in.

But what this space was for, and whether those things could be taken away, he knew nothing about.

Just as Nangong Yu was wondering, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be words on the round table, and he couldn't help but be curious.

But with a thought, he arrived at the round table, which surprised him a little.

You know, he had intended to walk over, or even crawl over, but he didn't expect it to be so convenient!

There were only four words engraved on the round table!

Nangong Yu didn't recognize them, but he could understand the meaning of these four words at a glance!

Time-Space Merchant Guild!

And while he was staring at these four words, a piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind.

A moment later, when he understood the meaning of this information, Nangong Yu couldn't help but look pleasantly surprised.

It was certain; this Time-Space Merchant Guild must be the Golden Finger for his Transmigration!

The Time-Space Merchant Guild sold treasures from various time and space; there was nothing he, Nangong Yu, couldn't think of that the Time-Space Merchant Guild couldn't sell.

Of course, there was a prerequisite: it had to be a world he had been to, and it had to be the current time and space or the past time and space; the future didn't seem to work!

For example, in the world he originally came from, items that could exist in the current time and space, or items that could exist in the past time and space, were all available in the Time-Space Merchant Guild.

Or for example, in the world he was currently in, items that would appear in the past time and space, or would appear in the current time and space, could also be purchased from the Time-Space Merchant Guild.

In addition, he could exchange Spirit Stones for points; as long as he had enough points, he could unlock deeper shelves and purchase any items on them with points!

Of course, he could also sit on the trading chair and place the items he needed to sell on the round table, and the round table would set the price.

If he felt the price was appropriate, he could choose to sell the items and obtain points.

In addition, the Time-Space Merchant Guild had been bound to him, and he had also obtained four benefits.

First, within the Time-Space Merchant Guild, he could identify all things; as long as he placed an item on the white jade shelf and focused his attention, he could obtain information about the item.

Of course, he could also obtain information about the goods on the other shelves in this way.

This benefit was average, but it could be considered a decent ability. To someone like him who knew nothing about this world, it could even be considered an alternative low-level Golden Finger.

Secondly, on his birthday every year, a golden shelf would appear in the Time-Space Merchant Guild, with eighty-one mysterious gift boxes on it.

He could choose one gift box for free; the gift box might contain top-tier treasures that only existed at higher levels of the Time-Space Merchant Guild, or it might be completely empty.

What he could get from the gift box depended entirely on his luck!

Then there was a privilege!

Things obtained by Nangong Yu in the Time-Space Merchant Guild, such as Cultivation Techniques and Spirit Techniques, could be learned with a single thought and fully mastered; items that needed to be refined and acknowledged as master could also be refined and acknowledged with a single thought; things that needed to be fused, such as Spiritual Roots, Physiques, etc., could also be easily fused...

Simply put, things produced by the Time-Space Merchant Guild were guaranteed to be directly usable by him.

Of course, this privilege was limited to Nangong Yu; if Nangong Yu purchased them and gave them to others, they would not have this treatment!

Finally, there was the binding gift pack!

The binding gift pack was issued based on the background of the world where Nangong Yu was currently located, and there were a total of seven items.

They were the Cultivation Technique Grand Void Origin Returning Art, the Spirit Technique Hidden Abyss, the Grand Void Spiritual Root, the Divine Shadow Dao Body, the Taixu Divine Gold, the Xuanling Continent Cultivator Common Knowledge Encyclopedia (Part 1), and one thousand points.

The six items placed on the white jade shelf were exactly the first six items in the binding gift pack.

And the white jade shelf could also be said to be prepared specifically for Nangong Yu, similar to a storage space.

He could place things bought from the Time-Space Merchant Guild there, and he could also place things from the outside world there.

But there was one point: each shelf compartment could only hold one type of item, and the quantity could not exceed 999.

For example, if Nangong Yu placed a certain Medicinal Pill, he could place 999 of the same Medicinal Pill.

Moreover, there was another point that seemed very pitfall-like!