Chapter 23: Selling and Buying.
Xue Ling sensed the faint gloom that settled over Fang Bie the moment he spoke. She was about to offer some words of comfort, but Fang Bie grabbed her hand again and took two steps forward.
All along the way, Fang Bie had been holding Xue Ling's hand. In this unfamiliar place, Xue Ling truly felt like a rootless duckweed. If it weren't for Fang Bie's constant reminders, Xue Ling wouldn't have been able to withstand even the initial toxic effects of the ambergris.
But Xue Ling glanced at Fang Bie's monkey mask: "Fang, Brother Monkey, what exactly are we doing here?"
Fang Bie tilted his head and smiled: "You don't need to know, just watch and learn."
With that, Fang Bie continued to pull Xue Ling through this place teeming with black-clad men, demons, and monsters. The thick incense was so thick that even everyone's body odor was masked by it.
Xue Ling suddenly remembered something—if that was the case, then everyone here would also be scented with incense when they left. So, were these black smocks also designed for this purpose?
Even so, if you don't quickly find a place to shower and change clothes after you get out, you might be caught in a trap. After all, if you use a special scent tracking method, this incense will make you as conspicuous as a firefly in the dark.
Xue Ling whispered his opinion, and Fang Bie chuckled, "Looks like you've made some progress."
The young man didn't comment further on Xue Ling's opinion. Instead, he squatted down and asked a vendor wearing a Thunder God mask, "How much are these pieces of iron?"
Xue Ling looked forward and saw several black iron blocks in front of the Thunder God. They looked quite heavy, but he couldn't tell whether they were ordinary black iron or meteorite-derived black iron.
The Thunder God looked up at Fang Bie's mask, but without saying anything, he stretched out five stubby fingers and turned them over.
"One thousand taels?" Fang Bie asked.
The Thunder God nodded.
"One piece?" Fang Bie continued to ask.
The Thunder God nodded again.
Xue Ling, listening nearby, was stunned.
If just a piece of iron like this was worth one thousand taels of silver?
This must be the biggest robbery in the world.
"Can it be cheaper?" Fang Bie looked at these iron lumps carefully this time, but did not touch them with his hands, and continued to ask.
Lei Gong shook his head woodenly.
Fang Bie sighed and pulled Xue Ling away. The Lei Gong man continued to stand there, motionless, and seemed not surprised at Fang Bie's reaction at all.
Xue Ling really couldn't understand it this time. She followed Fang Bie for a few steps before asking: "It should be true this time? But why don't you buy it if you are interested?"
Fang Bie looked at Xue Ling seriously: "I want to buy it, but do you have money?"
Xue Ling was really stunned this time.
"Money? Don't you have any?"
Fang Bie smiled bitterly: "That's one thousand and two taels of silver."
Isn't it very casual to casually bid one thousand and two taels of silver when walking around the world?
Xue Ling thought seriously, aren't the so-called heroes of the world all rich and welcomed wherever they go?
Is Fang Bie really that poor?
The girl pondered this earnestly, but Fang Bie continued to pull her forward, as if afraid she would get lost if he didn't catch her.
Or perhaps she had overestimated Fang Bie's wealth and strength?
By then, Fang Bie had already dragged Xue Ling to a corner of the hall, where a young man wearing a Shancai Tongzi mask and a pure white Taoist robe stood.
Seeing the monkey and the green fox three steps away, Shancai Tongzi spoke, "What can I do for you?"
"I have some items I need an appraisal for," Fang Bie said, looking at Shancai Tongzi.
Shancai Tongzi knocked on the table in front of him, his voice still clear and crisp: "Take them out."
Fang Bie nodded and pulled out two bottles of elixirs from his arms, one celadon and one white porcelain, barely three inches tall, and placed them on the table.
"What are they?" Shancai Tongzi didn't examine the elixirs, but instead asked.
"I'll know at a glance," Fang Bie said.
Shancai looked up at Fang Bie, then reached out his little hand to pick up the white porcelain bottle, uncapped it, and sniffed it gently. His expression changed, and he pulled a small, green jade dish from under the table. He tilted the porcelain bottle, and poured out a jet-black pill, no bigger than a broad bean. He then took out a small silver carving knife and gently scraped some of the powder off. He dipped his finger in the powder and put it into his mouth.
"Eight Treasures Autumn Dew Pills,"
Shancai slowly uttered the five words.
"One pill costs twelve taels of fine silver. There are nine pills in the bottle, which translates to one hundred and eighty taels of fine silver."
Fang Bie nodded, saying nothing. Instead, he pointed to another bottle and said, "Please, boy, look at the other one."
Right in front of the Shancai boy, Fang Bie presented a series of items for exchange. Most of them were artifacts he had taken from Ning Huaiyuan. Among them were two bottles of elixirs. The Eight Treasures Autumn Dew Pills were a magical elixir for treating internal and external injuries, while the other, Snake Gallbladder Clear Dew Pills, were a much more valuable elixir used to enhance internal strength. Each pill was worth fifty taels of silver. There were six pills in the bottle, which translated to three hundred taels of silver.
Besides these two pills, whose value far exceeded Xue Ling's imagination, the remaining items included the manual of the Wind and Swift Sword, which Fang Bie had memorized by heart. Because sword manuals were less universal than internal strength techniques, and martial arts manuals were inherently at risk of being copied and reproduced, even if the entire manual was authentic, he would only offer eighty taels for it because the Dragon King's Palace already had a corresponding manual.
Because the Cold Soul Silver Needle was a demon sect heir, Fang Bie didn't dare offer it. The Rolex was on Xue Ling's wrist, and since Fang Bie had already given it to her, there was no reason to give it back.
So, the three items were exchanged for silver notes from Shancai Tongzi. Perhaps because Fang Bie didn't bargain, Shancai Tongzi added a little extra, ultimately giving Fang Bie a silver note for 500 taels instead of the original 498 taels.
These ten silver notes, each worth 50 taels, were of excellent quality. Fang Bie only accepted them after inspecting the anti-counterfeiting stamp.
Once they had the notes, Fang Bie took Xue Ling back to the black iron blocks being sold by Lei Gong and said, "I've collected enough money."
"Are all these iron blocks for 1,000 taels?"
Lei Gong nodded.
Fang Bie smiled again. "Then I'll pick one at random, okay?"
Lei Gong stared at Fang Bie's Monkey King mask for a long moment before nodding.
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(End of this chapter)