Toad Caravan
**May is the transition between spring and summer.**
The air is filled with the fragrance of flowers, and the mountains are lush and green. The sun begins to gradually reveal its intense side.
Under the clear blue sky, white clouds float like cotton.
On Qingmao Mountain, the bamboo forest stands straight like spears, pointing towards the sky. Wild grasses grow rampantly everywhere, adorned with unknown wildflowers. When the breeze blows, the grass sways, and the rich scent of pollen and fresh grass hits you in the face.
Halfway up the mountain, there are large terraced fields. Layer upon layer, step upon step, tender green wheat seedlings are planted, making it look like a sea of verdant green from a distance.
In the terraced fields, many farmers are busy. Some are clearing the ditches and channels to direct water, while others roll up their pants and stand in the fields planting seedlings.
These people are naturally commoners with different surnames, as the Gu Yue clan members do not engage in such menial labor.
**Ting-a-ling-ling...**
The sound of camel bells faintly drifts on the spring breeze.
The farmers straighten up and turn to look down the mountain.
They see a caravan, like a colorful long worm, slowly emerging from the mountain path.
"It's a caravan!"
"Yes, it's May now; the caravan should be arriving."
The adults understand. The children abandon their play in the water and mud and hop and skip towards the caravan.
In the southern border, there are 100,000 great mountains, and Qingmao Mountain is just one of them. On each mountain, there are villages, where people are connected by blood ties.
Between the mountains, the forests are deep, and the cliffs are steep. The environment is complex, inhabited by many fierce beasts or strange and peculiar Gu insects.
Common people can hardly pass through. A lone individual, to navigate these obstacles, would need at least a third-rank Gu Master's cultivation.
Thus, the economy is in decline, and trade is difficult. The main form of trade is through caravans.
Only by forming large-scale caravans, with groups of Gu Masters, can they help each other and overcome the difficulties along the way, traveling from one mountain to another.
The arrival of the caravan is like a pot of boiling water suddenly poured into the peaceful and serene Qingmao Mountain.
"Usually, they come in April; this year, it's May when the caravan arrives. But it's here at last," the innkeeper breathes a sigh of relief upon hearing the news. The inn's business is extremely slow in other months, and they rely on the caravan to bring in enough income to support the year.
He also has some green bamboo wine in stock that he can sell to the caravan.
Not only the inn but also the taverns will see booming business.
The caravan gradually enters the Gu Yue village, led by a treasure copper toad. This toad stands 2.5 meters tall, its body orange-yellow, with a broad back covered in warty bumps like the huge copper rivets on ancient city gates.
On the back of the treasure copper toad, a large pile of goods is tied with thick hemp ropes. At first glance, it looks like the toad is carrying a huge bundle.
A middle-aged man with a round pockmarked face and a big belly sits cross-legged on the toad's head. His eyes squint into slits as he smiles and greets the surrounding Gu Yue villagers with clasped hands.
This man, named Jia Fu, has a fourth-rank cultivation and is the leader of this caravan.
The treasure copper toad hops forward, Jia Fu sitting steadily on its head. When it hops, its height is level with the second-floor windows, and even when it lands, it's taller than the first floor of the bamboo houses.
The previously spacious street now suddenly seems narrow. The treasure copper toad moves through the rows of bamboo houses like a monster.
Behind the toad is a giant fat worm with eyes like colorful glass windows, vibrant and colorful. It is 15 meters long and resembles a silkworm but covered in a thick layer of black-glazed armor. The armor is piled with goods tied with hemp ropes, and among the goods sit Gu Masters, both old and young.
There are also strong mortal warriors on the ground, following the black-glazed armored worm slowly forward.
After the fat worm, there are colorful feathered camels, furry mountain spiders, winged snakes, and more. But these are few; most are toads similar to the treasure copper toad, just smaller, the size of cattle and horses. They carry goods and people, hopping along with their bulging bellies.
The caravan winds its way deeper into the village.
Along the way, children widen their eyes in curiosity, exclaiming and marveling.
Windows on the second floor open one after another, with villagers observing closely. Some have cautious eyes, while others wave warmly.
"Brother Gu Yue, you arrived a bit late this year; it must have been a tough journey," Gu Yue Bo, the village chief, personally welcomes the caravan leader.
Jia Fu, a fourth-rank Gu Master, would be slighted if received by a third-rank elder.
Jia Fu clasps his hands and sighs, "The journey was not smooth this year. We encountered a group of ghost blood bats and lost many good men. Then at the Cliff Mountain, we faced mountain fog and dared not proceed. So we were delayed. Sorry to keep you waiting."
His words are polite.
The Gu Yue village needs the caravan for trade each year, and the caravan needs harmony for business.
"Haha, it's good that you're here. Please, the clan has prepared food and wine to welcome you," Gu Yue Bo invites with a gesture.
"Chief, you are too kind," Jia Fu responds, feigning being flattered.
The caravan arrived in the Qingmao Mountain area in the morning and camped in Gu Yue village by noon. By evening, a large temporary market had formed around the village. Tall tents of red, blue, yellow, and green were set up, with countless small stalls crammed in between.
**Night fell, but this place was brightly lit.**
An endless stream of people flowed into the area from the village. There were mortals and Gu Masters. Children hopped and skipped with joy, and even the adults' faces showed a festive happiness.
Fang Yuan followed the crowd, walking in alone.
The crowd bustled, gathering around stalls or continuously entering and exiting tents.
The surrounding area was filled with the sound of vendors shouting their wares.
"Come and see! Premium Blue Sea Cloud Tea Bricks, one sip and you'll feel like a god! Even if you don't drink it, it's a cost-effective choice to feed your tea Gu. Just five primeval stones for one brick!"
"Brute Force Sky Bull Gu, activate it, and you'll gain the strength of a bull. Don't miss it!"
"Heartfelt Grass, premium Heartfelt Grass, look at the quality, fresh as if just picked. Two primeval stones per pound, what a bargain..."
Hearing this, Fang Yuan's steps slowed slightly, and he looked in the direction of the voice.
He saw an ostrich pulling a two-wheeled cart. The cart was piled with light green grass. Each blade was about a meter long, very thin, with an average width of only a fingernail. Some blades had heart-shaped flower buds at the tips.
Heartfelt Grass is an auxiliary feed for Gu insects, valued for its ability to be mixed with other foods to nourish Gu insects.
For instance, when feeding his Moonlight Gu, Fang Yuan needs to feed it two petals each meal. If mixed with a blade of Heartfelt Grass, one Moon Orchid petal would suffice.
A pound of Heartfelt Grass costs only two primeval stones, while ten Moon Orchid petals cost one primeval stone. Doing the math, it's more economical to mix Heartfelt Grass to feed the Gu insect.
"Half a month ago, I killed Gao Wan, and for using the Moonlight Gu in the academy, I was fined thirty primeval stones. But later, the Mo family compensated me with thirty stones, so it wasn't a loss. In these days, I've robbed twice, totaling one hundred and eighteen primeval stones. But recently, I've been consuming a lot of mid-tier primeval essence to nourish the walls of my aperture, using up three stones a day. Adding the cost of feeding the Gu insects, living expenses, and the primeval stones spent on buying Green Bamboo Wine, I have ninety-eight stones left."
Since Fang Yuan killed someone, his ruthless and cold-blooded image deeply ingrained in the minds of the students, no one dared to challenge him for a while, making his robberies much easier. Each time, only a few dared to resist him.
After calculating his resources, Fang Yuan shifted his gaze and continued walking deeper into the temporary market.
At the Heartfelt Grass stall, a crowd of people, mostly Gu Masters or students, were frantically buying with primeval stones in hand.
Fang Yuan wasn't without the money to buy the Heartfelt Grass but rather lacked the time.
"If I remember correctly, that Earth Leper Toad should be in that shop. In my previous life, a Gu Master struck it rich by betting on it on the first night. I must hurry and not miss the big opportunity for a small gain."