West District. He Hollow Emporium.

  Blissfully unaware about the investigators hot on his tracks, the culprit was wandering in the familiar, cozy furniture shop...

  Strolling through the cramped aisles to the shopkeeper’s counter, Bubai eyed the various furnishing packed in the shop.

  The rich scent of freshly cut wood tickled his nose. The polished sandstone and gss caught the searchlight coming from his eyes.

  What was his goal?

  Well, it’s mentally jotting down all the building blocks that could py a role in his architectural pns to optimize the usage of his storage space.

  The stuff inside his cubic space were indeed organized to efficiently make use of the ground space, but his current spatial storage was undoubtedly still a cluttered mess due to the limited boundaries.

  How to make more room?

  It was like building a city. Since the ground level didn’t have space, look upwards!

  Almost six meters of vertical space full of just empty air.

  If Bubai didn’t find some use for this space, it’ll be a waste of space!

  Hence this much-needed shopping trip.

  Of course, utilizing vertical space wasn’t a simple feat. A lot of factors have to be taken into account.

  Storage yers and load-bearing capacity. Structural integrity and stability. Flexibility against quakes. Shape conformity with other containers…

  Yeah. It wasn’t just about buying whatever looks good and just stuffing it in, hoping for the best.

  Architecture takes a whole lot more pnning than what’s seen on the surface.

  Of course, Bubai wasn’t some doctoral engineer who can draw up blueprints for a living, but modern education and the internet had its benefits.

  Thus, his agile machine mind only needed to put the principles in his memories to good use.

  Organizing the final design pn in his mind, Bubai went over to the store’s counter, where the person-in-charge was leisurely waiting.

  “Hey, hey! Young Master Mo! What an honor to have your presence gracing this little shop again!”

  Bubai gave the friendly stout man a nod, "Morning, Lao An. This time, I’ve got a list longer than your ledger. You up for the challenge?"

  “Haha, longer than my ledger? I’ve run this shop long enough to hug my grandson! Ain’t nothing scaring good ol’ An from taking another order!”

  He An dipped a brush in ink, ready to pen down everything, “Go on, let’s hear it!”

  Bubai smiled and pointed over to the five-shelf barrister bookcase affixed against the walls at the other side of the shop.

  "First on the list. I need a couple of those tall hardwood shelves over there. Preferably the same height and width."

  "Good choice! Those shelves are as solid as they come and the gss design is perfect for dispying antiques or other treasures. Aight, how many does Young Master Mo need? One? Two?"

  Bubai chuckled. "I need more than just one or two. Probably… let’s say eleven."

  He An blinked, skeptically looking up at Bubai, but he still penned down the order.

  "Not a clue what you want so many for. But lucky you, we happen to have some in stock out back. They’ve been holding stuff, but still good as new. Young Master Mo doesn’t mind? Or… would my lord prefer to wait…"

  “I’ll take them. Thanks.”

  “Good le. Anything else?”

  "I need ten solid square stone sbs. Ft, but thick. I’m talking thick enough to form a table or wall."

  "Oh, and preferably rge. Five measured out to about six chi on each side. The other five… make it a little less than eight chi."

  A chi was equivalent to a third of a meter, so six was around two meters. Eight chi was about two and a half meters.

  "Huh?" He An threw him a queer look, "You pnning on building a fortress in that tower of yours? Haha..."

  "Something like that. Oh, right, add these mortises and grooves on the edges..."

  Two blueprints drawn on paper were id out on the counter.

  "For the five eight chi ones, do three pieces according to this top design, two pieces bottom. For the rest, alternate between these two bottom-most designs. Make sure these joints are exact enough to fit together. You understand?"

  "Interesting… very simple yet interesting way of construction... Nothing I can’t do."

  After He An neatly tucked away the two sheets of paper into a storage pouch...

  "Next item on the list. Two thick bamboo sticks. Cut to double my height. And don’t give me any of that flimsy stuff. I need these to hold up... at least not bending and snapping over human weight."

  He An’s eyes briskly gauged his height and noted it down.

  “Got just the heavy bamboo young master is looking for. Right from the Feng Cn. The quality won’t disappoint! I’ll have the rice bucket get it from out back."

  Nice! This old timer really has his way to find all sorts of building materials.

  Happy that his goal was easily met, Bubai added some more. “Have him get some strong, but smaller bamboos, too. Preferably cut ft down the middle. And ropes, too. Lots of ropes."

  He An whistled. "Huh. Guessing you’re going for a dder?”

  Bubai smiled. The wise craftsman was right on point.

  "Huh. Not sure why a cultivator like us would need one, but alright. Since it’s simple enough, I’ll put it together for you. No charge.”

  “Much appreciated.”

  "Aight. Anything else, or should I start tallying up the accounts for good measure?"

  "Oh, I’m not done yet. This time it’s a custom metalworker order." Bubai cheekily grinned.

  “Now we’re talking!” He An returned the grin, interest sparking like a wildfire in his eyes.

  From his storage pouch, Bubai brought out a modified design drawing of cubbies in his previous life. "I need a dozen or two of sturdy boxes based on this design, preferably made from metal."

  Picking up the sheet of paper, He An squinted.

  "Huh… The design is simir to drawers, but the storage size fits right into the entire outer shell of the box. These strangely designed grooves are for… ah, so the boxes can stably stack without falling over. Yes, you’ll probably want some heavier metal-"

  "Oh!" He An jolted himself back right on time.

  "Almost lost myself in another one of your unique ideas. Young Master Mo really never fails to surprise good ol’ An. Aight. Consider it done. But I hope Young Master Mo understands metalwork will take some time..."

  “How long?”

  “This size... one month at the test.”

  “Good. While you’re at it, craft me an iron door frame and door, the same size as the earlier sandstone sbs. The inside can be hollow."

  Keeping away the design, He An nodded along, "Got it. Anything else on that endless list?"

  Bubai went over the list in his mind once more. "Oh right. One st thing. My tower's gss doors need repcing. Can you send someone to fix that?"

  "That I can do..." He An quickly ccked on an abacus to add up the accounts before cpping his hands together, a broad grin on his face.

  "Hey, Young Master Mo, this special order will need at least six spirit stones. And this haul's not gonna be cheap in taels either…"

  Yeah, it’s a big order, possibly even needing the bor of craftsmen from the South District.

  Outside in the mortal world, there are mortal bcksmiths to cover most tasks, but here in a cultivator sect?

  Most metalwork touches upon the monopoly of those craftsmen. For good reason.

  After all, chains and colrs were a popur business in this sect.

  Of course, it wasn’t just these sketchy types of metalwork.

  Simple crafts from all walks of life were held in their palms, from bronze or gss wares to more complicated works reted to the tower’s architecture.

  So, his order being pricey wasn’t surprising.

  If it hadn’t been for the sponsor from Long Batian, Bubai definitely can’t afford to be this vish. Fortunately, he was a little rich man now.

  Still, money is money. It will hurt to spend so much.

  Honestly, Bubai was really tempted to put the recently acquired He Cn discount token to good use here, but…

  Let’s not say that his divine sense discovered the tracking mark on it, but even if it didn’t, Bubai wasn’t so stupid to leave such an obvious trace that could mix up his identities in the light and the dark.

  Uh, did this mean that this gift was a waste? Well no.

  Though the furniture emporium was the only He Cn store within the sect, it wasn’t their sole domain.

  The He cn still had a big family business beyond this cage.

  Currently, Bubai temporarily had no access to these branches, but it doesn’t mean he won’t in the future.

  It’s not like the token will expire.

  With this in mind, Bubai chose to save the token for ter and simply tossed it into his untrackable storage space.

  Be careful to sail the boat for ten thousand years. This time, just pay out from his deep pockets.

  Bubai dug into his storage pouch, pulling out two hefty bags.

  One rge sack that ccked with the sound of silver taels. The other a pouch of five spirit stones.

  "Good thing I’ve come prepared. Is this enough?"

  He An took a peek into the rag-tag bags, a happy smile blooming on his face.

  "Certainly! Young Master Mo, you’ve got enough to buy this pce twice over! You must have a silver mine somewhere!"

  Bubai waved his hand dismissively, "Not that exaggerated. Just some side businesses."

  He An gave him a knowing look, but didn’t ask further.

  "Aight. You've got yourself a deal, Young Master Mo. Before the Blue Moon rises, anything ready will be delivered to your tower without a scratch. Tower 44 right?"

  “Correct. Well, I’ll leave it to you.” Bubai waved and turned to leave.

  “Welcome to come again~”

  Stepping out from the furniture shop, Bubai checked his mental list.

  "Architectural matters… check. Order two coffins… already done. Then, time to get some robes for Xiao Lan…"

  Turning his attention down the street, Bubai easily spotted a familiar shop window glimmering in the soft morning light.

  Destination - Jade Lotus Accessories and Attires.

  "Just pick up some clothes and go. Simple as that."

  As… mortals are sometimes just blissfully unaware of what fate has in store for them.