"Lila, do you have any suggestions?" Ian asked, looking at Lila Li, who had remained silent until now.
"I'll just follow my husband." Lila Li replied with a gentle smile.
"Alright, let's head out now!"
"Yay, we're going to buy a house!" Stone Ling cheered.
After going downstairs, Ian went to the innkeeper to ask where to buy a house in the capital.
Since Ian's reputation had already spread overnight, the innkeeper was especially enthusiastic and explained everything in detail.
To buy a house in the capital, you can either ask around—which takes time and effort—or go to a brokerage, since many owners consign their mansions there, though they charge a fee.
The third option is to go to the authorities.
But the authorities usually only have large estates, which are expensive, and their attitude and efficiency are worse than the brokerages.
After figuring things out, Ian immediately ruled out the first method and decided to check the brokerage first. If there's a suitable house, he'll buy from them; if not, he'll go to the authorities.
The High Zhou Capital is huge—its area is at least comparable to a large province in the main world.
According to the innkeeper, the nearest brokerage is still two hundred li away.
"Should we take a spirit-beast carriage or walk?"
Ian asked for everyone's opinion.
"Let's walk. It'll be nice to see the capital's scenery," Lila Li said.
"Alright, let's go!"
Everyone was a cultivator, so two hundred li wasn't much distance at all.
The entire capital was protected by great formations, and its spiritual energy was extremely dense. Even ordinary people could easily live for a century or two in such an environment.
Still, since the capital was the heart of the High Zhou Empire, even ordinary people who didn't join a sect could receive a manual from the authorities at age six that let them cultivate up to the Golden Core stage.
So, even seven- or eight-year-old children on the street had cultivation.
"Lila, do you have any suggestions?" Ian looked at Lila Li, who hadn't spoken yet.
"I'll just follow my husband." Lila Li smiled softly.
"Alright, let's head out!"
"Yay, we're going to buy a house!" Stone Ling cheered.
After going downstairs, Ian found the innkeeper and asked where to buy a house in the capital.
Ian's name had spread overnight, so the innkeeper was especially enthusiastic, explaining everything in detail.
To buy a house in the capital, you can either ask around, which takes time and effort, or go to a brokerage, since many owners list their homes there, though they charge a fee.
The third way is to go to the authorities.
But the authorities usually only have large estates, which are expensive, and their attitude and efficiency aren't as good as the brokerages.
After figuring it out, Ian immediately ruled out the first method and decided to check the brokerage first. If there's a suitable house, he'll buy from them; if not, he'll go to the authorities.
The High Zhou Capital is huge, its area at least comparable to a large province in the main world.
According to the innkeeper, the nearest brokerage is still two hundred li away.
"Should we take a spirit-beast carriage or walk?"
Ian asked for everyone's opinion.
"Let's walk. It'll be nice to see the capital's scenery," Lila Li said.
"Alright, let's go!"
Everyone was a cultivator, so two hundred li wasn't much distance at all.
The entire capital was protected by great formations, and its spiritual energy was extremely dense. Even ordinary people could live for a century or two in such an environment.
Still, since the capital was the heart of the High Zhou Empire, even ordinary people who didn't join a sect could get a manual from the authorities at age six that let them cultivate up to the Golden Core stage.
So, even seven- or eight-year-old kids on the street had cultivation.
Among ordinary adults, most had Foundation Establishment cultivation. In the real world, that would be enough to rule, but here, it was just the baseline for regular folks.
Thanks to the abundant spiritual energy, the streets were lined with lush trees, and even low-grade spirit trees bearing spirit fruit.
Lila Li had lived in the Tang Dynasty's capital, but compared to this place, it was worlds apart. Even she found the scenery here fascinating.
So, after an hour, Ian's group had only covered seventy or eighty li.
Just as Ian and the others turned onto another street, they suddenly saw a grandfather and granddaughter walking toward them.
That battered banner reading 'Heaven-Secrets Diviner' was all too familiar.
"Well, well, little ones, we meet again! Fate really brings us together!"
The old man raised his head, looking proud and aloof.
"Yeah, sir, I didn't expect to run into you in the capital," Raina Quinn smiled, hinting at something.
"Hello, Ian, Lila, Wendy, Raina, and Stone Hao and Stone Ling!" Hannah Murong greeted everyone happily as she walked up.
After some small talk, the old man turned his gaze to Ian. "So, little ones, where are you headed?"
"Sir, my master is going to buy a house," Stone Ling said innocently.
"Buying a house?" The old man's eyes lit up. "What a coincidence! I'm quite skilled in geomancy and feng-shui. Whether a mansion is comfortable depends a lot on its feng-shui."
"Really? Why don't you come with us and give us some pointers?" Wendy Lin invited.
"Well, I'm actually quite busy," the old man said, stroking his beard and looking troubled.
Hannah Murong just rolled her eyes—her grandpa's lies came so easily. That 'busy' excuse was just a cover; what he really wanted was spirit crystals.
"How about this, sir? I'll invite you along and give you ten top-grade spirit crystals as a consulting fee," Ian said, reading between the lines. Of course, he was a formation grandmaster himself and could fix any feng-shui problem, but he was curious about the old man's mysterious power, so he went with the flow.
He still couldn't see through the obscure force around the old man, so he decided to just play along.
When the old man heard he could get ten top-grade spirit crystals, his cloudy eyes suddenly brightened, but he pretended to be reluctant and waved his hand. "Fine, since we're all friends, I'll go with you—just this once."
As they walked, Wendy, Stone Ling, and Hannah Murong huddled together, chatting happily about private things.
The old man strode ahead, waving his battered banner. Ian and Lila Li followed a bit behind, with Raina Quinn after them, and Stone Hu—the loyal retainer—bringing up the rear.
After another half hour, Ian's group finally arrived at the brokerage.
A dark-skinned young clerk in a green jacket came over, his eyes landing directly on Ian. "Sir, what can I help you with today?"
"I'm looking to buy a mansion," Ian said plainly.
"Do you have any requirements for the mansion, sir?" The clerk invited Ian and the others to sit, and ordered tea and snacks to be brought out.
Ian listed his requirements. Hearing them, the clerk was secretly delighted—high-priced mansions meant a bigger commission, and the kind Ian wanted would cost at least ten thousand top-grade spirit crystals.
Even if he only got a thousandth of the sale price, that was still ten top-grade spirit crystals for him.
So, the clerk became even more enthusiastic.
"Mr. Song, based on your requirements, we have three mansions that fit. Please wait a moment—I'll bring out the projections for you to look over."
"Go ahead," Ian nodded.
The clerk hurried off and soon returned with three jade slips.
He made a hand sign, and the jade slip glowed, projecting a three-dimensional image of the mansion.
"Mr. Song, this first mansion used to belong to a wealthy merchant. It covers over fifty mu, with more than three hundred rooms, including... plus rock gardens, pavilions, bridges, lakes, and so on."
The clerk was a smooth talker, and after fifteen minutes he gave a thorough introduction to the mansion.
"Are you satisfied with this one, Mr. Song?" the clerk asked nervously.
"Let's see the other two first," Ian said calmly.
So the clerk put away the first mansion's projection and brought up the second.
The second mansion's previous owner was a government official who'd been transferred elsewhere, so he was selling. Aside from location, it was smaller and less well-built than the first.
But the third mansion was larger and better-equipped than the first two. Its previous owner was a sect elder.
That elder was killed while treasure-hunting, and since he had no children or disciples, his sect put the property up for sale.
"Let's go check out this mansion first!"
Ian said to the clerk.
Hearing this, the clerk was overjoyed—the mansion's price was over twenty-three thousand top-grade spirit crystals, so if the sale went through, he'd get a commission of twenty-three.
Fifteen minutes later.
Led by the clerk, Ian and his group arrived at the mansion.
The mansion covered more than eighty mu and was well-equipped. Most importantly, it had a large spirit-gathering array, a training ground, alchemy room, Artifact Forge, practice rooms, and more—pretty much everything they could need.
There was also a spirit field behind the residence. The high-grade spirit medicines had already been harvested, leaving only some low-grade ones.
"So, what do you think?"
After touring the whole mansion, Ian asked everyone's opinion.
"Master, I really like it here!" Stone Ling was the first to nod.
"I love it too, Ian!" Wendy Lin chimed in next.
The others shared their opinions one after another, all saying they were satisfied.
Ian nodded and said to the clerk, "Alright, let's talk price!"
The clerk was thrilled—he hadn't expected the deal to go so smoothly.
But just then, the old man, who hadn't spoken this whole time, suddenly interrupted: "Wait, this mansion has a problem."
As soon as he said this, the clerk's face instantly changed.