Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion-Chapter 69: Renting a Shop

Two months later, Fang Qingyuan stood on the pier of the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace. Gazing at the familiar scenery, he was struck by a sense of how much had changed.

Of course, it was just a fleeting sentiment. But recalling the sandstorms and arduous travel of recent days, he was reminded of the saying: there’s no place like home.

Even Yinbao was so uncontrollably excited to be back that if Fang Qingyuan hadn’t been watching, it probably would have started frolicking on the spot.

After bidding farewell to the other Cultivators in the caravan, Fang Qingyuan headed straight for his small courtyard. He wasn’t in a hurry to sell his goods; he wanted to rest for a few days first.

This trade run had lasted nearly four months, from the spring equinox to the height of summer. Left untended, the seasonal vegetables in Fang Qingyuan’s courtyard had grown completely wild.

Once home, Fang Qingyuan first unloaded the goods from Yinbao’s back, then tidied up the courtyard inside and out. Only then did he lie down in his room.

He stared at the rafters above for a moment before an irrepressible look of joy finally spread across his face.

Goods worth over six thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones saw their value double upon reaching the Desert of Death. After Fang Qingyuan exchanged all the Spirit Stones he earned for local goods and hauled them back to Celestial Gate Mountain, this new cargo would double in value again.

In one round trip, six thousand had turned into thirty thousand. Earning this kind of money felt exhilarating.

However, only Fang Qingyuan could achieve such high profits, as he had saved on the most critical cost: the cargo taxes levied for traveling on a Flying Boat.

They took a cut on the way there and another on the way back. After those two fees, thirty percent of the profit was gone.

Fang Qingyuan had secretly loaded nine-tenths of his goods into his Immortal Mansion, leaving only one-tenth out in the open. As a result, almost everything he earned was pure profit.

However, a cargo worth thirty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones was not something he could sell off easily. The Cultivators of the Southern Border were not wealthy, and Fang Qingyuan estimated it would take him until the end of the year to sell everything.

Fang Qingyuan had considered dumping the goods on the large shops in the Marketplace, but he’d abandoned the idea.

Rashly selling off such a large amount of cargo would attract curiosity from the people in those shops, and perhaps even greed.

Fang Qingyuan was only a Fifth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivator. For someone of his status, possessing over thirty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones was tantamount to courting death.

Even though Fang Qingyuan was an Inner Sect Disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, that status was not enough to ward off the temptation of thirty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

This was a fortune that would make even Foundation Establishment Cultivators covetous. If just one Foundation Establishment Cultivator grew greedy and made a move, then fled far away after succeeding, the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect would be powerless to stop them.

The Cultivators in the caravan Fang Qingyuan had traveled with previously carried, on average, goods worth a mere four to five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. Even so, they were extremely cautious, terrified of being robbed.

With a fortune more than ten times theirs, how could Fang Qingyuan possibly act recklessly just because he was a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect?

Fang Qingyuan had a very clear self-awareness about this. The status of a Beast Taming Sect disciple was not a panacea—at least, not that of an Inner Sect Disciple.

’Keep your wealth hidden’ was one of Fang Qingyuan’s fundamental principles. He had to be even more cautious, especially in this rather unstable Land Realm.

With this in mind, Fang Qingyuan started planning how to sell his goods. Setting up a street stall was an option, but it would be too slow.

The scale of a street stall was limited; it couldn’t compete with a proper shop. Moreover, the quality of goods at stalls was generally lower, and the Cultivators who shopped there were usually not very wealthy.

For an item worth three Low-grade Spirit Stones, they would try to haggle you down to one and a half. At that rate, when would Fang Qingyuan ever finish selling thirty thousand Spirit Stones’ worth of cargo?

’The best solution is to rent a shop, specialize in goods with a Desert of Death theme, and sell them off slowly. That’s the safest approach.’

With these thoughts in his mind, Fang Qingyuan drifted into a deep sleep. At this moment, in the place he knew best and felt most at ease, the tension that had gripped his mind and body for four months finally melted away.

...

「Three days later.」

Fang Qingyuan went into the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace and found the local steward to inquire about renting a shop.

It was somewhat embarrassing, but while Celestial Gate Mountain belonged to the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, the Marketplace at its foot did not entirely belong to them.

This was because back when the Wei Family was in power, Wei Tong had sold off a significant portion of the shares in the Marketplace.

The Vast Collection Pavilion, Treasure Pavilion, and Spirit Medicine Pavilion all held stakes. After Lechuan took over, he didn’t dare try to forcibly reclaim the shares, so he had no choice but to hold his nose and accept the situation.

Now, the four powers took turns managing the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace. Unfortunately for Fang Qingyuan, it was currently the Vast Collection Pavilion’s turn. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Since the Beast Taming Sect’s turn had just ended, if Fang Qingyuan wanted to negotiate with his own sect, he would have to wait three more months.

Fang Qingyuan didn’t want to wait any longer. Any discount his sect might offer him wasn’t worth a three-month delay.

The steward of the Vast Collection Pavilion was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. After Fang Qingyuan presented a formal request for a meeting, a servant led him inside.

Seeing that Fang Qingyuan was a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, the steward from the Vast Collection Pavilion didn’t put on any airs. He amicably explained to Fang Qingyuan how many Spirit Stones it would cost to rent a shop in the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace.

The shops in the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace were divided into three classes. The lowest class consisted of small shops, ten to twenty square meters in size, functioning much like Grocery Stores. These shops sold a little of everything, were located in more remote areas, and focused on affordability and convenience.

The second class was comprised of storefronts of about a hundred square meters, which were generally properties owned by the various surrounding sects.

The highest class belonged to the properties of the Vast Collection Pavilion, Treasure Pavilion, Spirit Medicine Pavilion, and Beast Taming Mountain. These were standalone, three-story buildings that demarcated the four quarters of the Marketplace.

Fang Qingyuan only needed a shop of the lowest class, but when he heard the price, he frowned slightly.

The rent for a lowest-class shop was one hundred and fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones per month, which was not cheap at all.

As an Inner Sect Disciple, the monthly stipend Fang Qingyuan received from the sect was only equivalent to fifty or sixty Spirit Stones—not even half the rent for a single shop.

’Fine, so it’s expensive,’ he thought. ’If I want to take advantage of the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace’s prime location, I have to endure this kind of exploitation.’

’If I think it’s too expensive, I can just set up a stall and make a few dozen Spirit Stones a day.’

’But at that rate, how long would it take me to sell this batch of goods? With that much time, I might as well just make another trade run.’

Having made up his mind, Fang Qingyuan said,

"Thank you for the explanation, Steward Zhang. I’ve decided to rent a shop and do some business."

Steward Zhang stroked his beard and said regretfully,

"I would very much like to rent a shop to you, and your status is certainly sufficient. However, for the past year, all the shops in the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace have been rented out. If you want to wait for the next available ones, you’ll have to wait until early next year."

Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan blurted out,

"What? How can that be? Weren’t there always vacant shops in previous years?"

Steward Zhang chuckled and agreed,

"You can say that again. But ever since the incident at Black River Square, the shops in the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace have been in short supply. The price of one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones is what we set back then, so we can’t easily change it. Who knows how high the price has been driven up in private deals."

Fang Qingyuan was deeply disappointed. His grand plan to make a fortune had hit a snag before it even started. He never expected that the Black River Square incident from last year would still be causing him trouble a year later.

Seeing Fang Qingyuan’s dejection, Steward Zhang said,

"There is, however, one second-class storefront available. It was recently vacated by a sect from the White Mountain Territory and will be auctioned off soon. If you’re interested, I can save you a spot at the auction."

Fang Qingyuan mustered his courage and asked,

"How many Spirit Stones would that storefront cost, roughly?"

"The minimum lease is thirty years, at two thousand Spirit Stones a year."

"I’ll take my leave!"