The situation seemed to be going smoother than Du Chengfeng had anticipated.
Originally, according to Du Chengfeng's estimation, he and Li Carpenter would at least have to go to the marketplace and then spend some time searching before they'd have a chance to encounter people selling Evil Energy Weapons. After all, Li Carpenter had only heard about it and had never personally sought them out. Certainly, finding a vendor in the market shouldn't be as difficult as searching for a needle in a haystack, but without any connections, they would need to make a few more rounds.
But now, before they even arrived at the marketplace, the weapon seller had come to them on their own accord.
"What are you…"
"Brother Du! Don't buy!"
Before Du Chengfeng could inquire about the price, Li Carpenter quickly pulled him aside, lowering his voice.
"The knife sellers in town are all swindlers. Don't buy their stuff, or there will be trouble."
"Swindlers?"
Du Chengfeng was taken aback, not expecting such twists and turns involved.
Fortunately, Li Carpenter saw Du Chengfeng's confusion and continued his story.
It was two years ago, when Li Carpenter's axe broke. Coincidentally, his children at home were clamoring for meat, so he drove his cart to the town's market, intending to sell some of his usual wares like small boxes and stools to supplement the household expenses and see if he could find a suitable axe. He also planned to buy a few pounds of pork to take home.
Just as Li Carpenter had sold out his wooden wares and finished his purchases, ready to go home, a person in a thick cloak called out to him, offering to sell knives.
Facing someone who was concealing themselves, Li Carpenter naturally didn't want to engage. But he couldn't resist the incredibly cheap price the seller offered, so after some thought, he decided to spend a little money to add a new kitchen knife to his home.
Of course, Li Carpenter wasn't a fool; he noticed the faint, dried blood stains on the knife. When he asked about them, the knife seller just smiled.
"A bit of blood is normal. These are pig slaughtering knives exchanged from the meat shops. Otherwise, how could it be sold to you so cheaply?"
Li Carpenter thought it made sense, so he nonchalantly threw the knife onto the cart and took it home.
The new kitchen knife was indeed sharp, much faster than the old one they had at home. Cutting meat was as easy as slicing tofu, and even the slippery pork skin could be sliced through in one go. According to Li Carpenter's wife, they had never used such an efficient kitchen knife before. It seemed Li Carpenter had made a good purchase.
With his wife happy and the kids fed with meat, Li Carpenter was in a good mood and enjoyed a nice sleep after a few rounds of drinks.
But who would have thought that trouble would arise that very night?
The first to get scared were the children. The two half-grown boys were awakened in the middle of the night, crying hysterically, insisting that someone had entered the house to kill them. Then it was Li Carpenter's wife, shrinking into a corner of the bed, trembling and unable to speak.
As the pillar of the family, Li Carpenter, despite his fright, had to muster up some courage. But when he ran to the kitchen to grab the kitchen knife for some confidence, he was terrified.
There on the stove, the new kitchen knife he had bought earlier was dripping blood.
Li Carpenter, who fainted at the sight of blood, couldn't handle it and fainted on the spot, oblivious to everything.
The village itself wasn't large, and Li Carpenter's family's cries echoed throughout the night, even causing the dogs in the village to bark. The Yang family at Dock Fortress couldn't sleep either. But when everyone rushed over with torches, they found it was only an incident at Li Carpenter's home, not some invaders coming under the cover of darkness.
"You shouldn't have bought that kitchen knife."
Li Carpenter still remembers when Yang Xuan, the manager of the Yang family, told him this.
"That kitchen knife is a murder weapon, used to kill people. It probably carries some unresolved grievances. Buying such things cheaply as you did is like asking for trouble."
It was only then that Li Carpenter realized that the fresh blood he saw was all fake. His family had also seen nothing but illusions. In short, they were a family of cowards, scared by the evil energy of the cursed knife, almost scaring themselves to death on the spot.
It goes without saying that Li Carpenter wouldn't keep such an unlucky object. Under Yang Xuan's guidance, Li Carpenter took the knife and buried it under a crooked tree outside the village.
As for the money he lost, Li Carpenter could only grit his teeth and accept it as a lesson learned.
"Indeed..."
Du Chengfeng couldn't help but nod. Li Carpenter was indeed unlucky. An ordinary person, especially one who faints at the sight of blood, couldn't possibly handle something like the evil energy of cursed weapons.
However, this wasn't the end of the story.
"Some time later, I returned to Jizhen for another market trip."
Li Carpenter continued, his face looking particularly grim.
"I ran into the knife seller again. Maybe he forgot me since I hadn't been around for a while. He stopped me, pulled open his cloak, and asked if I wanted to buy a knife again... And guess what?"
At this point, Li Carpenter paused.
"The kitchen knife I had thrown away was hanging inside his cloak."
"Ah?"
Only then did Du Chengfeng understand why Li Carpenter said he had been duped.
Apparently, this evil energy weapon business worked that way—selling a knife that had killed people to an unsuspecting person who would then surely throw it away. Later, the seller would retrieve and resell it, creating a perpetual cycle. Who knows what kind of person could come up with such a sinister business idea? Truly an eye-opener.
"Hey, don't worry, my old friend. Evil energy weapons, as you know, don't scare me."
Patting Li Carpenter's hand to assure him, Du Chengfeng turned back to the knife seller.
Since Li Carpenter had helped him a lot in recent days, it was only fair that he helped Li Carpenter regain his dignity from being conned.
As for whether the knife seller before him was the same one Li Carpenter had encountered, it didn't matter to him. After all, they were all engaging in unscrupulous business, making little difference either way.
"You're the one selling knives, right?"
Not waiting for the person to speak, Du Chengfeng waved his hand flamboyantly.
"I'll take whatever you've got. All of it."
"... Huh?"
The cloaked person was taken aback, clearly having never encountered such a big-spending customer.
"Um... sir, are you saying you'll take all my knives?"
"Yes, I'll take them all, no need to give me change."
Without saying another word, Du Chengfeng tossed a chunk of silver coins over, scaring the knife seller into quickly tucking it into his clothing.
As the saying goes, wealth should not be flaunted. Seeing such a substantial piece of silver coins, who wouldn't be envious? Naturally, one must guard it carefully.
At that moment, Du Chengfeng placed his large hands on the knife seller's shoulders.
"Since you don't need to give me change, at least provide some packaging."
With those words, the knife seller went flying.
The sudden spinning of the world almost made the seller think he was going to be beaten to death on the spot. Who knew what kind of ferocious individual he had encountered, daring to act so brazenly in the streets of Jizhen under Governor Liu's rule?
But just when the seller thought his life would end, he realized that his feet had landed firmly on the ground.
Only his robe, filled with knives, was now in the hands of the intimidating man standing before him.
"Don't look at me. One piece of silver for that pile of junk, even with a set of clothes thrown in, you're still making a profit."
With that, Du Chengfeng put on the large robe himself.
Despite having many knives hanging inside, the robe was quite roomy, fitting well on him.
"Wishing you prosperous business, I'm off now!"
"Take care, sir!"
Although still confused, the knife seller instinctively responded to the departing figure.
Indeed, it was a good trade—an entire piece of silver. Moreover, the robe and knives could soon be retrieved. There was no way he could lose.
Today was truly a lucky day, deserving of a drink or two to celebrate properly.
Thinking of this, the knife seller reached inside his clothing.
"Wait, where's my piece of silver?"
Feeling the cool breeze on his body, the knife seller realized he was left wearing only his inner garments.
The robe containing the silver had long been taken.
"Hey! Just you wait!"
With both goods and money lost, the knife seller stomped in anger.
"I've marked you! Just you wait! I won't let this go!"