Learning To Live As A Cultivator 34 Chapter Thirty Four - I Discover New Julip Town

Leon and Jin Li had negotiated a price for one of the apprentices to fix the door for 2 silver, parts and labour. It was not cheap, but it was quite the trip to the hut up on the mountain. Leon had also purchased some nails and a hammer, in order to fix his shed, but the hammer was unwieldy, not sure how great a job he could do with it. Mr Mars had also agreed not to spread word of who exactly created the special pill, not that anyone would believe him, he reckoned. The kid was just a student!

"Ye wantin' t' go back now?" Mino asked them once they had completed their business. The apprentice would meet them at Mino's place first thing in the morning.

"actually," Leon had thought about this for a while, "I-I was w-wondering where I c-can b-buy seeds."

"Seeds?" Mino echoed. "Like 'erb or vege-tables?"

"Erb..I-I m-mean herbs," Leon blushed at his mistaken p.r.o.nounciation, while Jin Li smirked into his fist. "B-but I sh-should get v-v-vegetables to."

"Well 'erbs and the like are usually sold in tha' there new town," Mino told them. Herbs could be bought in their neighbourhood as well, but they were mostly for cooking and he didn't think that was what Leon was looking for. "Come on, I'll be 'avin' you there in a jiffy."

The 'new' town section of Julip town was located across a wide, fast flowing river, effectively separating it from the ramshackled townhouses where Mino lived. They had to cross an arched stone bridge to enter that half of the town and from the moment that they crossed it, looks of disdain came their way. Mino nervously guided the wagon over the brick paved streets, the people were clearly unimpressed with the Ox beast moving down their roads. Several arrogant youths even blocked their way, making their journey more difficult than it need be. They only moved along when Jin Li stood up and released that potent aura of his. Leon had forgotten how effective it could be and was soon quaking in his boots along with Mino and the foolish young men.

Jin Li slumped back down in the wagon and Mino muttered to him; "Oi, oi! What sor'a level you be a'? Seriously!"

This made the man insufferably smug.

The buildings in this part of town were at first, simply larger versions of those in the old town, just cleaner and the streets twice the width. As they trailed to the heart of this area, the shops and houses became less cl.u.s.tered, less detached and more individual of build. The shops had large gla.s.s windows in which to display their wares, reminding him of his previous world.

Leon nudged his gla.s.ses upon his nose, removed a diary from his inters.p.a.cial bag and flicked through it, trying to memorise some of the seeds that he required. He didn't want to purchase too much, especially of seeds that he was unlikely to use anytime soon, but he also did not want to grab seeds of very common, quick growing herbs that he could get from the Herb Hall easily.

By the time that they arrived at the shop, he had a rough list in his mind and hoped they had what he required. The seeds that he had picked were not overly expensive, with the exception of the red lantern seeds; he wanted to plant these to obtain fresh red lantern flowers and make his blood pills better and the Marsh Devil Ivy, which was a difficult plant to grow, but extremely hardy once it took root and it was used in a number of pills. He spent a little more than a silver and 800 bra.s.s on these seeds. He also bought a few clay pots as the ones he had had all been broken. They cost just a couple hundred bra.s.s.

As they left the shop, they noticed a crowd gathering further up the street, where the large shops parted to reveal a large open s.p.a.ce, much bigger than the old town's pavilion. "Wh-what's g-going on?" Leon asked.

"Ah be the skool," Mino said dismissively. "Tis recruitin' time agin."

"Oh," he said aloud, but then a thought popped into his mind and he tugged at Jin Li's sleeve.

"Do you want to go and look?" Jin Li asked him, his eyes narrowed slightly when Leon nodded. "Alright." Mino declared that he would wait with the wagon as the pair approached the crowd. People parted for Jin Li. They did not for small Leon. With a 'tsk', Jin Li grabbed Leon by the hand and pulled him through the ma.s.s of gathering people, causing Leon to blush over the physical contact between them.