Chapter 9: Escape (Part 2)

Qin Yun frowned, thought for a moment, and said with a wry smile, “Elder, I’m afraid I don’t know him. I’ve never heard of him.”
Luo Jie wasn’t surprised. The Qin family had hundreds of thousands of members, with tens of thousands being direct descendants—so it was normal not to know them. He said, “Qin Yun, we need to go to the best inn here. Can you recommend one?”
Qin Yun replied, “Elder, as a distinguished guest, how could you stay in an inn? I’ve already sent someone back. Someone will come to greet us shortly. Please wait a moment.”
After about ten minutes, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from afar. A group of cavalry rushed to the city gate. A burly man jumped off his horse and asked loudly, “Who is the distinguished guest from the North Talisman Gate?”
Guo Shier asked, “Uncle, who are you?”
The burly man was stunned and said, “Huh? Are you a talisman master? How is that possible?”
Guo Shier grew annoyed and said, “Why not? The more you see, the stranger it seems!”
Luo Jie patted Guo Shier’s shoulder, signaling him to step back, then stepped forward and said, “I’m Luo Jie from the North Talisman Gate. Who are you?”
The burly man saw the symbol on Luo Jie’s chest and immediately became serious. He bowed and said, “I’m an attendant of the Qin family, responsible for receiving distinguished guests. My name is Qin Mu. You can just call me Xiao Mu.”
Qin Mu waved his hand, ordering his subordinates to bring warhorses, and said, “Please mount your horses!”
Guo Shier’s eyes lit up as he praised, “These horses are really good…” He chose a black horse. In his past life, he already had a large black horse. Although it wasn’t as magnificent as this one, it was still a fine horse back then.
Everyone mounted their horses, with Qin Mu leading the way along the main road.
The Qin family attached great importance to the arrival of Luo Jie and the others. As two master-level figures, they had to be treated well. The best courtyards, the finest accommodations, and the best servants were arranged for them.
Guo Shier was too lazy to socialize with his master and the others. After settling in, he stayed in his room reading books or training Huo Bao and the others. With the Blood Talisman training method, there was no need to painstakingly craft ordinary talismans. He always paid close attention to training his four companions, not relaxing even during their escape through the secret realm.
Winters in the grasslands were extremely cold. The Qin family sent them various new leather clothes, as well as luxurious fur coats and hats. Qin Guang City was a trading center for precious furs, with many merchants doing business here, so everything the Qin family provided was of high quality.

In addition to various fursuits, there were plenty of supplies and different kinds of food. Each person was given three warhorses from the grasslands, all of which were rare and excellent horses. Guo Shier especially loved those three beautiful grassland warhorses. After they were delivered, he fed and cleaned them himself, becoming very close to them. One of them was the dark horse he had ridden before, which he had specifically requested. Huo Bao and the others also received grassland warhorses, but they didn’t share Guo Shier’s passion for horses; they left them to their servants to take care of and focused on learning various combat skills from martial artists like Xiao Feng. That day, just as Guo Shier finished organizing his talisman bag, Huo Bao, Hong Shi, Chen Bing, and Chen Hong came in. Huo Bao said, “Shier, let’s go shopping!” Guo Shier waved his hand and said, “You go ahead. I’m busy… I don’t have time. There’s still a book I need to read.” Chen Bing said, “Go! Let’s go together! It’s been so hard for us to come to Qin Guang City. It would be a shame not to go shopping. Who knows when we’ll get another chance?” Chen Hong also said, “Shier, we still need to buy some things.” After being persuaded repeatedly, Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “Okay, okay, I’ll go… By the way, ask the Qin family to send a guide so we can save time wandering around.” Luo Zhan had always followed Guo Shier; he had almost become his full-time bodyguard. But he was happy about it. After spending so much time together, he liked Guo Shier even more. This kid was not only sensible but also worth protecting. Guo Shier’s performance in the secret realm had won the admiration of these martial artists. Besides Luo Zhan, Xiao Feng was also willing to follow Guo Shier. He had specifically asked the old master for permission to train Huo Bao and the other three, so like Luo Zhan, he stayed by Guo Shier’s side. The Qin family sent a person, who wasn’t a professional but an ordinary person. Since he was very familiar with Qin Guang City, it was suitable for him to lead the way. His name was Qin Zilu, a neat and tidy middle-aged man. He bowed respectfully to Guo Shier, realizing that this child was extraordinary—not only a disciple of a great talisman master but also a nine-year-old talismanist, a powerful professional. Qin Guang City was bustling. There were countless shops on both sides of the streets, with crowds of pedestrians and many livestock and carts. Especially when large caravans entered the city, the entire street would be overcrowded. Qin Zilu led the way ahead, explaining things from time to time. Huo Bao and the other kids listened with great interest, but Guo Shier wasn’t very interested. He and Luo Zhan and Xiao Feng fell a few steps behind, whispering to each other.

Guo Shier asked, “Uncle Xiaofeng, what has the master been busy with these past few days?”
Xiaofeng replied, “He’s talking to people every day; I don’t know what he’s up to. But it seems we won’t be able to stay here for long. I heard we’ll leave soon and head to the grasslands… Everyone says it’s not suitable to go to the grasslands this season—it’s better for hunting, not for traveling, as the weather is getting cold.”
Luo Zhan said, “The winters in the grasslands can really be deadly.”
Guo Shier was very afraid of cold. Hearing this, he said, “Uh, it’s that cold… Then I need to buy more good fur coats.” He looked up and asked, “Uncle Zilu, where can I find fur goods?”
Qin Zilu hesitated and said, “Young master, there are the most fur shops in Qin Guang City. I’ll take you there. There’s a fur street not far ahead, full of shops selling fur.”
Chen Hong cheered happily. As a young girl, she naturally loved shopping. But she had been practicing hard since childhood and never had the chance to go out. Even when she did, she had to go with adults and couldn’t make decisions on her own—she could only follow passively. Today, with no such restrictions, and since Guo Shier wouldn’t interfere much, she was thrilled.
Qin Zilu said, “Young master, let’s go to this shop.”
Guo Shier looked up at the sign, which read three big characters—Zhenpi Fang. He couldn’t help but smile and said, “Is this your Qin family’s shop?”
Qin Zilu said proudly, “In Qin Guang City, our Qin family’s shops are the best!”
Guo Shier nodded. It wasn’t surprising that the Qin family, as a local power, had the best resources and the finest shops. He said with a smile, “Good, let’s go in and take a look.”
The shop was quite large. When Guo Shier entered, he saw many wooden racks with various furs hanging on them, colorful and quite beautiful.
Qin Zilu said, “The outer area has furs from ordinary wild animals, while the inner area has better furs. Hehe, the best furs are usually not displayed unless important guests come.”
Guo Shier was curious, “The best furs? Are they from magic beasts?”
Qin Zilu was stunned. He said with a wry smile, “Young master, furs from magic beasts… Who would sell those? The best are just furs from mutated wild animals, which can’t compare to those from magic beasts…” He also knew how rare and precious magic beast furs were.
Guo Shier had some magic beast furs with him. He said, “Let’s go to the inner area and take a look.”
Qin Zilu called over a clerk and whispered something to him. The clerk glanced at Guo Shier and the others before rushing inside.

After a while, an old man stepped out. Qin Zilu hurried over and whispered a few words to him. The old man’s face lit up with a smile as he approached Guo Shier and said, “Young master, I’m the owner of Zhenpi Fang. Hehe, welcome! Please, come inside and have a seat!”
Guo Shier replied, “You’re too kind, please!” He could tell at a glance that the old man was an ordinary person.
The interior of Zhenpi Fang was even larger than the exterior shop. The difference was that there were no wooden shelves here; instead, there were large wooden tables covered with many furs. Most of the customers inside were professionals.
Guo Shier casually touched the furs on the table and nodded in approval, saying, “These furs are well-made, very soft, and don’t have any strange odors.”
It was quiet in the room. There were a dozen or so customers selecting furs, each accompanied by a clerk. Suddenly, Chen Hong exclaimed in surprise, “Oh my, this… it’s so beautiful!”
It was a snow-white fox fur scarf. Chen Hong grabbed it and wouldn’t let go. She caressed it lovingly before looking at Guo Shier with a pitiful expression. Since she had no money—although she was in charge of the team’s funds—she couldn’t use them unless Guo Shier agreed.
Guo Shier said, “Everyone, pick what you like. If you like it, buy it. Xiao Hong will handle the payment.”
Among them, only Chen Hong was the most enthusiastic about choosing. The others didn’t care much. The Qin family had sent a large amount of finished furs. As for Luo Zhan and Xiao Feng, they didn’t even look at those animal skins. They had captured countless animal skins themselves, so why would they be interested in these?
Guo Shier took out a talisman bag and pulled out a complete piece of animal skin—a fur from a talisman bear hunted in a secret realm, with brownish-black fur. The skin was huge, as that talisman bear was five meters tall. When he laid it on the table, the owner was stunned. He touched the needle-like brown fur with trembling hands and asked in a shaky voice, “This… is this… the skin of a talisman beast?”
The mention of “talisman beast” immediately caught the attention of the customers shopping in the room, who all showed surprised expressions.
Luo Zhan asked in confusion, “Shier, why did you bring out the skin of a talisman beast?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “I want to use this skin to make some robes. It’s too cold on the grasslands. Robes made from talisman beast skin should be able to keep us warm.”
Luo Zhan laughed and said, “That’s too extravagant!”
Guo Shier didn’t care about extravagance. As long as it kept him warm, he was willing to spend whatever it took. He asked, “Owner, can you process this skin?”
Before the owner could answer, a voice came from behind.

“Huh? Isn’t this a Symbol Beast skin? The Rare Skin Shop is selling such a fine item? Haha, I want this skin!”