CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36: FLEECING FOR PROFITS, UNDER SURVEILLANCE!

In the afternoon, after having lunch on the street, Gu Yuan, with nothing to do, decided to take a stroll, intending to gather some Dao Rhyme Points.

After asking around a bit on the street, he came to a bookstore, which primarily sold books, but also had some calligraphy and paintings for sale.

As Gu Yuan entered, the shop assistant hurriedly came up to him with a broad smile:

"What can I do for you, young master? How about I introduce our offerings to you?"

Gu Yuan shook his head: "I’ll just have a look myself, you don’t need to bother with me."

"Very well, then please feel free, young master."

The shop assistant seemed puzzled but complied, stepping back, though his eyes frequently darted towards Gu Yuan, as if curious about what he was up to.

Many of the books in the shop were newly printed, but there were also some older books and even some framed calligraphy and paintings.

Gu Yuan wasn’t interested in the new books at all and went straight to a bookshelf, running his hands over the old books on it.

[Dao Rhyme Points +3!]

[Dao Rhyme Points +5!]

[Dao Rhyme Points +1!]

[Dao Rhyme Points +9!]

...

After raking in a batch of points, Gu Yuan then went over to the calligraphy and paintings and continued gathering points.

A cup of tea’s time later, under the shop assistant’s slightly wary and odd gaze, Gu Yuan left the bookstore with a roll of old book.

If it wasn’t for fear of arousing suspicion, he wouldn’t have even bought this book.

"Well, I’ve gathered over 120 Dao Rhyme Points in total, that’s pretty good."

Gu Yuan patted the dust off the old book’s cover, feeling very content.

He has now tamed three spirit pets: Ah Huang, Ah Wu, and Big-mouth. In the future, once they upgrade and evolve, the Dao Rhyme Points required by these three spirit pets will be a massive number.

With the gains just now, plus previous accumulations, Gu Yuan now has 450 Dao Rhyme Points, not too far from the 800 needed to upgrade Ah Huang.

As for Big-mouth, that was the name he gave to the newly tamed Big-mouthed Snake, simple, straightforward, and easy to understand.

"Even a small bookstore has so much to rake in. It’s just a pity I was busy cultivating before and didn’t visit many shops in Beiliang County. Looks like I’ll have to do some rounds later."

Then Gu Yuan looked towards a pawnshop across the street corner.

"Hmm, pawnshops often have a lot of old items, even more than bookstores. I wonder how much I can rake in from this pawnshop’s stuff..."

Thinking this, Gu Yuan casually shoved the old book into his coat and walked towards the pawnshop.

After about half an hour, Gu Yuan came out of the pawnshop with a jade ring in his hand. It was of average quality, and he hung it on his waist as an accessory.

The look on Gu Yuan’s face was one of joy, a harvest’s delight.

From this pawnshop, he had gathered over 130 Dao Rhyme Points.

Getting closer to the 800 needed to upgrade Ah Huang.

Once he gathers 800 Dao Rhyme Points, and once Ah Huang matures, it can upgrade to a little Treasure Hunting Mouse!

He was wondering what talents this little Treasure Hunting Mouse might possess; chances are it would have a treasure-hunting talent... Gu Yuan thought to himself.

The Yunmeng Mountain Range is home to many rare spirit medicines. If he could have a little Treasure Hunting Mouse to search for treasures, it would be a piece of cake!

"Hmm? Someone’s watching me!"

As he considered taking another stroll to see if there were any other bookstores or pawnshops, Gu Yuan suddenly felt a subtle sensation of being watched.

This feeling was subtle...

Previously, he couldn’t have detected it, but now his cultivation had neared the Great Success in Marrow Refining, comparable to Zhou Zhong.

With the added advantage of Iron Teeth and Snake Coiling Talent, his physique even surpassed Zhou Zhong!

Even his spiritual perception had improved!

Even an ordinary person with keen spiritual sense can often feel when someone is staring at them while walking, let alone the current Gu Yuan?

Gu Yuan calmly found an opportunity to glance back and saw that the person watching him was a lean and sinister-looking man. Just a glance at his face gave the impression that this was no good person!

"Who is this guy, and why is he watching me? Could it be related to the thief from this morning?"

With this thought, Gu Yuan casually wandered the streets in circles twice, while discreetly flaring his nostrils to pick up the lingering scent of the watcher. The result left his face slightly green:

"Ugh..."

"Sweaty stench, urine stench, foot odor, and a hint of cosmetic powder, damn, this guy is a prime specimen! But the most overwhelming is a stench of blood, both heavy and foul!"

His face twisted into a grimace, feeling a bit bitter: "With such a strong stench of blood, how many people has this guy killed?"

What would normally be a faint scent to others was noticeably intense under Gu Yuan’s nose.

Upon smelling that thick, pungent blood stench on this person, Gu Yuan felt nauseous and instantly determined that this guy had nothing to do with the morning thief.

Only someone insane would resort to thievery when capable of such killings.

"Since it’s unrelated to this morning’s thief, could it be... trouble stirred by Jade Cauldron Tower?"

Gu Yuan pondered and formed a hypothesis.

By now, he was sure that the transport task for Jade Cauldron Tower carried anomalies, so this guy’s tracking was probably not aimed at him personally but at Jade Cauldron Tower!

Upon this thought, Gu Yuan lost interest in wandering aimlessly.

Might as well return to his inn.

As expected, once he returned to the inn, the feeling of being watched quickly dissipated.

Gu Yuan didn’t pay it any mind and went about his business.

However, when he was having dinner that night, he noticed that the convoy leader, guards, cooks, drivers, and others were still at the inn, but Yang Han, Xia Xiuxue, and Yang Jianfei were nowhere to be seen.

Even the one among the guards suspected of being an Innate Martial Master had also vanished.

Clearly, these guys had other motives for coming to Cyan Willow Town!

But Gu Yuan was not too worried.

He now has three spirit pets for protection; his swordsmanship has improved considerably, and his cultivation has significantly increased, so he has gained some self-defense capability.

Though he was cautious about the potential troubles ahead, he was also curious to see how sharp his sword had become.

Returning to his room and closing the door, Gu Yuan started practicing the fist techniques recorded in the Golden Snake Swallowing Yuan Technique to build his physique.

With the talent of Snake Coiling, practicing this fist technique now felt noticeably easier and more graceful.

The technique flowed smoothly, naturally, with a distinct charm. It evidently captured the essence of the technique, greatly surpassing his prior performance!

After practicing a few times, Gu Yuan’s body was steaming hot, and his blood circulated rapidly, but then his stomach started growling.

Clearly, his dinner was just a regular meal, not medicinal cuisine, and after a few sets of punches, it was digested completely.

So now, he was hungry.