Whisper of the Eternal Dao

Lin Yi and the others entered the town and then dispersed, temporarily parting from the little fat boy as well. They all agreed to return together at that time.

Lin Yi's father brought Lin Yi to the trading area, where various cries of sale could be heard from afar.

“Everyone come and have a look, take a look, this is the most affordable, this is the cheapest, you can buy with confidence, and use with comfort.”

When Lin Yi and his father passed by, the hawker came up to them, “Sir, come and have a look, you will be satisfied.”

Lin Yi's father ignored him and continued walking, but the shopkeeper was still not giving up. He didn't go looking for his next target until they had walked far away.

Lin Yi's father said to him, “Xiao Yi, these are all their sales pitches. Don't believe them, or they'll trick you ten times out of ten. In the future, I'll take you out more often, so that when you grow up, you won't make so many wrong turns and avoid bringing disaster to the family.”

Lin Yi listened and watched attentively, taking it all in.

After turning many corners, Lin's father arrived at his destination. A few people were waiting to make a deal, and Lin's father also began to wait. Lin Yi saw that some of the other stalls were empty and asked, “Dad, why don't we go to those stalls to make a deal?”

Lin's father smiled and said, ”I'm familiar with the owner of this stall, and I've always traded here.”

Lin Yi let out a sound, looked around, and took a look. Lin's father saw Lin Yi right in his line of sight, so he didn't bother.

Suddenly, he heard a noise in the distance. Lin Yi followed the sound and soon a crowd gathered around him.

Lin Yi saw a monkey lying motionless on the ground. A middle-aged man pointed at the stall owner and said excitedly, “The monkey was clearly jumping around a moment ago. How did it just fall unconscious in your hands?”

The stall owner's face was calm. He felt that he often encountered this kind of situation. “You can eat more rice, but don't say things recklessly. I'm just running a small business with integrity. If your monkey has a problem, you can't blame it on me.”

The middle-aged man became even more agitated when he heard this.

“No way. This monkey has been fine since I brought it to the market. I've kept it in good condition so that I can get a good price for it. But after you touched it, it went wrong. If it wasn't you, then who was it?”

The stall owner remained calm and said, “If you're going to frame me, you need to produce evidence and point it out one by one. If it's proved to be my problem, I'll buy it back ten times over. Otherwise, if you frame me again, I'll tell you, I've got people here.”

The middle-aged man was stunned. He kept saying “you you you” and was unable to say the next words. He came from a poor village. Today, he went to the market in the hope of selling the monkey for a good price and improving the lives of his family.

Now it seems like the sky is falling. Suddenly, he knelt down and said, “Vendor, this monkey is the hope of my whole family. Please be kind.”

The stall owner, expressionless, said, “I understand your hardship, but as you can see, I'm struggling to maintain this small stall, and I really can't do much more.”

After a pause, as if having made a very difficult decision, the stall owner said, ”Seeing that you are having an even more difficult time than I am, I will pay a higher price for your dead monkey. Is that okay?”

The middle-aged man found this hard to accept and kept saying, “But the monkey was obviously fine just now.”

More and more people gathered around, discussing the matter. The stall owner, who was looking a little anxious, said, ‘I'll say this for the last time. If you want to sell, I'll raise the price a little more. I've done my best.”

The middle-aged man still looked at the stall owner and said, ’The monkey was obviously fine just now.”

The stall owner gestured to a few people to come over. “Look, you're all getting in the way of my business. If you don't decide soon, I'll just tell them to take you away from my stall. I've already offered you a very good price.”

The middle-aged man looked at the few people. He had no choice. He could either sell the dead monkey at a lower price at another stall, or agree to the stall owner's price. He nodded in resignation.

The stall owner smiled and handed the middle-aged man the coins. “You definitely won't get this price at another stall. Come again next time.”

The middle-aged man left with the coins in his hand, his spirit broken. Lin Yi looked at the middle-aged man's back and was deeply moved. They were both born poor, and all the hopes of their families had instantly turned into a few coins.

Thinking about the expectations of his family, and the precarious living conditions of the whole family in the future, he felt so helpless.

Lin Yi walked back, and the two people in front of him were talking about what had just happened.

“Hey, that stall owner's little trick has cheated countless poor families.”

“Yeah, but who are they to blame for being inexperienced? They can't just go sell anywhere, they can't go to his place.”

“That's right, I guess he didn't know.”

“A few silver taels suddenly turned into a few coppers, but he never imagined that the monkey wasn't dead at all, just temporarily asleep. No one dared to say anything.”

“Heh, who dares to say it? I remember that once someone exposed him on the spot, but then that person disappeared for no reason.”

“I heard that one of his relatives seems to be a disciple of a martial art school, so he has nothing to fear.”

“Who knows, I wouldn't dare say it anyway. Let's hurry up and leave before he hears us.”

“Yes, let's go!”

Lin Yi then learned the whole story. At the time, he couldn't understand why a perfectly healthy monkey would suddenly collapse and not get up.

So that's how it is. Thinking about this, Lin Yi clenched his little fist tightly. The stall owner was so hateful. He could have ruined a family, but Lin Yi could do nothing about it. Unconsciously, Lin Yi had already come up to his father.

By now, Lin's father had finished selling his goods. Seeing Lin Yi's expression, he asked, “Xiao Yi, what's wrong?”

Lin Yi recounted what had happened.

Lin Fu said, “This place is a mixed bag, with all kinds of people and things. You have to be careful.”

Lin Yi silently took this to heart and asked, ”Dad, where are we going next?”

“To the herb shop. They buy herbs there.”

Along the way, Lin Yi kept looking around in curiosity, while Lin Fu gave him an introduction. When they came to a magnificent loft,

Lin's father said, “This is the best restaurant in town. The prices inside are extremely expensive. A meal for our family here would cost more than our annual food budget. This is a place where only the rich and powerful can afford to come.”

Lin Yi looked at the people coming and going, all dressed in fine clothes, their faces beaming with radiance. It was obvious that they came from very wealthy families. It was truly two different worlds.

After a while, the two arrived in front of the Qingyao Hall.