“Different regions use similar ingredients for making incense, with only slight variations in the process and scent. However, due to different regional outputs, there are often subtle differences, with some local materials added. If you know where it’s produced, I might be able to make a close guess,” the old man slowly explained.

Yuan Ming first nodded, but then shook his head.

“Then I’m afraid I can’t help,” the old man said regretfully, shaking his head.

“If I were to break off a small piece, scrape it into powder, or light it, could you help me identify the materials inside?” Yuan Ming suddenly had an idea and asked.

“You’re overestimating me. To achieve that level, one would probably need to be a master incense maker with decades of experience. I don’t have that ability,” the old man shook his head and said with a bitter smile.

“Do you know any such incense makers, since you often deal in this incense and candle business?” Yuan Ming asked, intrigued.

The old man furrowed his brows in thought, but not long after, a strange expression appeared on his face.

He seemed hesitant and unsure.

“Take your time, shopkeeper. I’ll take a bunch of each of these incenses on the table,” Yuan Ming said, seeing this.

“Right!” The old man exclaimed, a glimmer of joy flashing in his eyes.

“Now that you mention it, I do remember someone. His family has been making incense for generations, and their ancestral incense workshop has been open for over a hundred years. If anyone has the ability, it would be him.”

“May I ask where this person is now?” Yuan Ming asked, his spirits lifted.

“His incense workshop is in Iron Tiger Town, a few dozen miles from here. If you go there and ask around, you’re sure to find it. However, I haven’t been there to pick up goods for more than half a year, and I haven’t seen him for a long time,” the old man said, packing up the incense on the table efficiently.

By the time he finished speaking, the bundled incense was already placed in front of Yuan Ming.

After paying, Yuan Ming asked the old man about the situation of the incense workshop in Iron Tiger Town, then turned and left.

Yuan Ming didn’t rush to leave the town, but found an inn to stay in.

The inn was actually a row of simple wooden houses with simple furnishings. Fortunately, there were not many guests on ordinary days, so it was quiet.

Yuan Ming chose the room furthest inside and began the tedious task of testing the incense.

Over the past half a month, he had lit incense hundreds of times, buying every type of incense he could find in each place he visited, and testing them one by one.

But without exception, all had failed. The incense burner remained unresponsive.

Late at night, the moon was setting in the west.

Yuan Ming watched as the incense stick with cloud patterns burned out in the incense burner, but he didn’t remove it, letting the smoke fill the room.

After so many failures, he was numb to it.

On the contrary, if he were to suddenly succeed now, he might feel a sense of unreality.

“It seems I can only try my luck in Iron Tiger Town. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to return to the sect,” Yuan Ming had begun to consider retreating.

He felt that he might have made a directional error. This black incense was not a mundane object, but a consumable magical tool produced by some special sect?

Although there was nothing like this in Qingfotang, and he had never seen it in various historical records, this did not mean that the black incense was definitely not a magical tool. At most, it could only indicate that it was not produced by the sects in the Southern Border.

Or perhaps, during the refining process of this incense, some unknown spiritual material was mixed in, which resulted in this peculiar effect of possession?

“I wonder if that silver cat followed me. I haven’t seen it for a long time. It said that this incense burner is not a mundane object, maybe it knows something? Speaking of which, this silver cat is quite special,” Yuan Ming collected his chaotic thoughts, got up and opened the window, letting the moonlight pour into the room.

He himself sat in the bright moonlight, closing his eyes and began to practice the Death Moon method.

However, not long after he closed his eyes, Yuan Ming suddenly opened them, belatedly realizing that the Iron Tiger Town mentioned by the old man today sounded strangely familiar.

But when he tried to recall, he couldn’t remember where he had heard it.

Yuan Ming’s thoughts were stirred, and he couldn’t calm down. He had to give up practicing the Death Moon method and sat in meditation for a while, practicing the Nine Yuan method.

Early the next morning, Yuan Ming rode out of the town, following the directions given by the old man in the incense shop, heading straight for Iron Tiger Town.

…

The two towns were only a few dozen miles apart, but there were significant differences in both scale and terrain.

Iron Tiger Town was surrounded by flat and open terrain, with a large river to the north. The town was well-built, with fortifications even constructed on the river side, which were impassable.

Yuan Ming took a detour to a wooden bridge upstream to cross the river. By evening, he had circled to the south side of the town and finally saw an open city gate.

Compared to the villages and towns he had encountered before, this place was much more bustling.

There were quite a few people coming in and out of the city gate, and there were even Southern Border soldiers in heavy armor guarding the entrance.

Yuan Ming dismounted and walked his horse, quickly reaching the city gate.

The Southern Border soldiers merely glanced at him before shifting their gaze, not bothering to interrogate him.

Once inside the city, Yuan Ming immediately noticed a notice board nearby, covered with various notices.

The latest one clearly stated that a curfew was in effect in the town. After the beginning of the night watch, anyone wandering outside without a lord’s hand order or a commander’s token would be arrested and given thirty military beatings.

Yuan Ming looked up at the sky, realizing that the night watch was not far off.Just as he was about to leave, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a weathered and faded missing person notice hidden under two layers of other notices. The vague details suggested that it was about the disappearance of a member of a certain group from the Great Jin, but the words and the portrait were already blurred beyond recognition.

“Great Jin… a missing person?” Yuan Ming was puzzled as he looked at the damaged notice.

However, he was only intrigued by the words “Great Jin” and didn’t pay much attention to it. He led his horse and walked into the town.

Not long after he entered the town, the sky began to darken.

The pedestrians on the street were hurrying along, clearly afraid of violating the curfew. They were all rushing home.

As a cultivator, Yuan Ming naturally didn’t fear these mundane rules, but he didn’t want to cause any trouble either. He planned to find an inn to stay for the night and then look for the incense workshop the next day.

Coincidentally, he didn’t have to go far before he saw a shop on the street with a string of big red lanterns hanging outside. A green cloth sign hung outside, with the word “Inn” written in white paint.

Under the sign, leaning against the door, sat an old man dressed in a satin robe and a square feathered hat. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be a wealthy man.

However, his skin was rough and dark, his face was full of wrinkles, and he was puffing on an old pipe. Under the white smoke, his old face showed a hint of bitterness.

“Judging by his appearance, he must be a nouveau riche…” Yuan Ming concluded in his heart.

As Yuan Ming noticed the old man, the old man also noticed him.

The old man, who had a worried and bitter expression just a moment ago, immediately put on a smile and greeted Yuan Ming warmly.

“Noble guest, you must have come from afar. You must be tired from your journey,” the old man asked.

“Are you the owner of this inn?” Yuan Ming asked suspiciously.

“Yes, yes. You look like a young man who has been traveling. You just arrived in our Iron Tiger Town, you probably don’t know about the curfew here, do you? Do you have a place to stay? If you don’t mind, why not rest in my humble inn?” The old man asked with concern and enthusiasm.

Yuan Ming glanced into the inn’s lobby. The lights were already on, and it looked clean and bright. Most importantly, it looked quiet and empty, with no sign of many people.

“Do you have any rooms that are not facing the street and are a bit quieter?” Yuan Ming asked.

“Yes, yes, we have rooms in the backyard. They don’t face the street, and there’s a bamboo grove outside. I can guarantee that they are the quietest rooms in town,” the old man quickly recommended.

Yuan Ming glanced at the street behind him. There was no other inn in sight, so he nodded, “Then please arrange a room for me.”

“Don’t worry, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

The old man replied with a smile, then turned and shouted into the inn, “Tule, come out and take the guest’s horse.”

Soon, a young man with similarly dark skin, who looked somewhat like the old man, came out at a trot. He took the reins from Yuan Ming and led the horse down a small path next to the inn towards the backyard.

“Remember to wash the guest’s horse and feed it the best fodder,” the old man reminded loudly.

The young man didn’t respond, and it was unclear whether he had heard the old man’s instructions.

“Hehe, my son, he’s been like a block of wood since he was a child. Please don’t mind him,” the old man said with a smile.

“No problem,” Yuan Ming waved his hand.

“Please come in,” the old man invited Yuan Ming into the inn.

As Yuan Ming stepped over the threshold, he casually asked, “How long have you been running this inn?”

“Noble guest, don’t call me ‘innkeeper’, it’s too formal. Just call me Old Pipe…” The old man was still speaking in a friendly manner, but when he entered the room and saw Yuan Ming’s face clearly in the light, he suddenly froze.

Yuan Ming noticed the old man’s sudden silence and found it strange. He looked at the old man and saw that he was staring at him in surprise.

“Innkeeper, what’s wrong?” He subconsciously touched his cheek and then asked.

The old man seemed to snap out of his daze, an awkward smile appeared on his face, and he said, “Oh, I didn’t see clearly outside. It wasn’t until I came in that I realized… it’s been so many years, I haven’t seen such a fair-skinned young man in Iron Tiger Town.”

(End of Chapter)