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2.82% Plundering the Heavens / Chapter 12: Black Market

章節 12: Black Market

編輯: celllll, Nou

A month had passed, and just as Fang Xing began to feel the Qi he’d accumulated from his lone Spirit Stone start to dissipate, Yu Sanliang sent him good news about the Black Market: the time and date of the next market had been set by a dozen interested outer court disciples. Excited for the upcoming event, Fang Xing yelled for Yu Sanliang to bring a meal that was particularly lavish.

All of the money still came from Yu Sanliang’s pocket, of course.

On the day of the market, Fang Xing prepared a few things to take along with him before using his Mask of Wanluo. As soon as he activated the mask with Qi and placed it on his face, his body and facial features shifted so rapidly it was even visible to the naked eye. His bones cracked as he grew a few inches taller into the size of a grown adult, although his slight frame—even with this more mature appearance—was still paper-thin.

His appearance as a twenty-something-year-old man was so ordinary he could easily be forgotten after being seen, and clearing his throat revealed a deeper, huskier voice like that of a grown man as well. Fang Xing put on the robes he’d borrowed from Yu Sanliang before swaggering towards where the Black Market was to be held.

No one paid any attention to such an ordinary disciple.

The Black Market was located in a valley a few miles away from the outer court, and by the time Fang Xing—or, rather, an ordinary young man—arrived, the moon had already appeared in the sky.

Two masked men stood at the valley’s entrance and looked towards Fang Xing. "What brings Shixiong here today?"

Although slightly surprised by the men’s caution, Fang Xing snickered, "What brings me here? Why would I be here if I didn’t have something? You know what I’m talking about; it better not disappoint me today!"

"Of course. But please, Shixiong, we can’t let the sect know about this. After all, it is…" one of the men replied nearly in a whisper while exchanging looks.

"Hah! You really think the sect doesn’t know about this? If they truly didn’t allow for it, do you really think it would be possible? They’re just pretending not to know," Fang Xing laughed. "Why so serious?"

In fact, Fang Xing had made sure to get every bit of information Yu Sanliang had on these markets. Although the sect had its rules, they weren’t going to stop low-level disciples from exchanging goods as long as it wasn’t turned into a spectacle. Even then, the sect would only need to send an elder to address the issue for it to stop for a few years.

The market today was really only for the new disciples who’d joined four or so months ago. Most of their cultivation levels were between tiers one and two, and it really served no interest to anybody that had been in the sect longer than that. No one recognized anyone else in a market like this, and identities couldn’t be checked in advance, either; Fang Xing didn’t even have to break a sweat to smuggle himself in as an ordinary-looking man masked just like everyone else.

The initial estimate had said only a dozen or so interested disciples would be at the market, yet it seemed over twenty had arrived. Everyone who arrived earlier had already chosen a quiet and concealing corner to cautiously observe everyone else around them.

One man wearing a black mask couldn’t contain himself any longer and decided to break the silence. "Esteemed shixiongs and shidis, I don’t want to waste any more of your time. If anyone wants to exchange anything, please speak now so we can get this done and over with."

"That’s right. Let me start first, then." A scrawny man placed six shiny red stones on the large limestone in front of him. "We’re all new in the sect, so these Spirit Stones are what we need the most right now. The sect asks for one hundred gold taels for each Spirit Stone, but today I’ll trade for eighty gold taels each."

It was a full twenty gold taels cheaper than exchanging with the sect, and a few were visibly moved by this offer. One chubby man—also masked—soon stepped up and spoke, "I… I need t’ examine them stones first."

"Go ahead! Why would I sell fake ones, anyway!" The scrawny man laughed at the idea and waved the man to check as much as he pleased.

Fang Xing felt a sense of familiarity when he heard the scrawny man’s voice, as though he’d heard it somewhere once before. After activating his Book of Revelation, Fang Xing began to smirk; it was none other than the mustached man from the Pavilion of Spirit Tools. But of course, who else would have so many Spirit Stones to exchange?

Since he already had his Book of Revelation activated, Fang Xing decided to check on the rest of the people here. Most had only reached tier one, there were a few in tier two, and only this mustached man was at tier three.

"Them Spirit Stones! I’ll take two of ‘em!" The chubby man excitedly threw a small bag of gold leaves. "Check ‘em an’ make sure it’s correct, ay!"

"No need; I believe you." The mustached man grabbed the bag and smiled, knowing the amount was exact just by weighing it with his hands. "Only four left…."

"I’ll take three!"

"Leave two for me!"

Soon enough, all six Spirit Stones were completely sold out.

Seeing how smooth the transaction was, a few others also took out their Spirit Stones to sell. Most of these people had probably been in the sect for a few years by now and had saved up a few Spirit Stones to try exchanging for something more useful from the new disciples.

"It’s my turn now! I’ve got something here that I’d also like to exchange for some Spirit Stones, but let me be honest, not everyone is able to handle it." It was another masked young man, and—with a flourish of his hand—a red sword appeared in his grasp. There was a hint of gold within its red luster, but what caught most of the people’s attention wasn’t the sword, but how he’d taken the sword out. The sword had just instantly appeared, and if someone were to look carefully, they’d see this man was wearing an antique-styled ring from where the sword had come from.

"Isn’t that… a storage ring? A new outer court disciple with a storage ring…."

"That sword isn’t an ordinary sword, either! By the looks of it, it must be mid-tiered…" the small crowd whispered among themselves, all of them surprised by how wealthy this man was.

As though already used to such a reaction, the man scanned across everyone before saying, "Before coming here, I used up all of my savings on this mid-tier spirit weapon, the Nine Snakes’ Sword, but who would have imagined that I bought it way too early? With my current level of cultivation, I can’t use it to its full potential just yet. I need a lot of Spirit Stones to improve my cultivation, but my clan is quite far away, and the extra silvers and golds they’ve prepared for me won’t arrive here for another two months’ time…. It will be too long for me to wait, so I’m here now to sell this sword."

Everyone stood still in shock. It was a mid-tier spirit weapon as expected, but no one spoke up since it obviously wouldn’t come without a heavy price.

The man noticed the silence of the crowd and continued, "I bought this sword with ten thousand gold taels, and if I were to do the exchange today, it would be a minimum of a hundred Spirit Stones. But is there anyone who just so happens to have this much today?" After a slight pause, he nodded in an expectant manner. "Of course, it’s not a problem even if no one has this much on them right now, as I will be bringing this along with me to the next Black Market for anyone who might be interested. If you know any shixiongs who are not here today who might also be interested, please do let them know as well."

It seemed the man had been expecting this. He knew it wouldn’t be sold in one go and was only here to see if there were any potential buyers. The sword, though, was definitely quite something, and it was guaranteed that people in the third tier would be interested. Perhaps it’d draw in even those in the fourth tier.

"Very interesting, but you needn’t be concerned. I wasn’t expecting something so fascinating to appear at the Black Market and so didn’t prepare enough for something like this, but I am quite fond of this sword. As soon as I get back, I’ll have the stones prepared for you, so just hold on to it for me until then!" It was none other than the mustached man, his eyes sparkling with greed. After working at the Pavilion of Spirit Tools, he knew quite a bit about spirit tools and weapons!


章節 13: Ransacked!

編輯: celllll, Nou

After a few twists and turns, everyone returned to their own trades. Despite how cautious everyone was being, the exchanges were still carried out in an orderly fashion, and it wasn’t long before the Black Market reached its climax. Even those who’d initially wanted to wait and see couldn’t hold themselves back any longer and joined in as well.

As people were finishing up their trades, Fang Xing walked to the front of the crowd and declared in a clear voice, "I’ve got something I’d like to trade as well, but the price is fixed at one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones—nothing less. See… the truth is, even with a hundred fifty stones, it will still settle at a loss for me; before I joined the sect, it cost my father over thirty thousand gold taels…."

As soon as he started to speak about his trade’s value, everyone around him quieted down.

The young man from before had amazed everyone with his mid-tier Flying Sword worth a hundred Spirit Stones, and now there was something worth even more? And he was even claiming he’d still end up at a loss for this amount? Such a rare treasure had everyone rushing to crowd around Fang Xing, especially the mustached man from earlier—his eyes in particular were squinting with excitement.

"What spirit tool could be worth thirty thousand gold taels? Come on and show it to us!"

Walking over to where the mustached man was, Fang Xing gave a polite request, "Esteemed Shixiong, you look like you might know your spirit tools well. Would you like to have a look for me? To see whether it is indeed worth one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones, or if I should demand even more?" As soon as his words had finished, Fang Xing opened up his palm to reveal a strange yet wonderful snuff bottle glistening with reflections of the moon above.

"Huh?" The mustached man took a quick look. It was indeed a spirit tool, but something didn’t seem quite right. He was certain it couldn’t be worth as much as Fang Xing declared it was, but after seeing how confident Fang Xing was, he needed a closer look to confirm his thoughts.

The mustached man wasn’t the only one to have such thoughts at first glance—all of the people soon came closer for a second look.

"It is a spirit tool alright, but it’s definitely not worth thirty thousand gold taels. Are you sure your father wasn’t cheated by the merchant?"

"You’re not doing this on purpose, are you? You don’t really think you can scam us, right?"

"But we don’t know, do we? Perhaps there’s something special about this. Would you mind showing us why it’s worth this much?"

As everyone was debating over its actual value, someone finally asked to see how the snuff bottle worked.

"Of course I can show it to you all! And for those who think it’s worth less than what I said… I don’t even want to say this, but your eye for value is absolutely rotten! Just for you guys, today I’m going to redefine your knowledge on what a real spirit tool is like!" Fang Xing placed his other palm above the snuff bottle before continuing, "Now, come closer everyone; you need to make sure you look very closely…."

Hearing Fang Xing’s explanation, nobody could help but to huddle up even closer towards the snuff bottle, unwilling to miss a single thing.

"Abracadabra! Show us your worthiness of this thirty thousand gold taels!"

Swoosh….

Within seconds, a bluish-green smog leaked out of the snuff bottle, sending a soporific fume into the nostrils of everyone nearby.

Everyone in tier one fell straight into sleep.

Those in tier two were also heavily shaken. They felt lightheaded at first, then they felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness in their knees and lost consciousness.

The mustached man was the only person present in tier three. He was the fastest to react to the fumes and nearly escaped to the entrance, but it was of no use; he’d also been the person standing closest to Fang Xing, and Fang Xing had made certain when the fumes were released that the mustached man inhaled the highest concentration.

"Why… you little…." The man pointed his finger at Fang Xing while trying hard to keep his eyes open. He released an angry growl before finally falling down to the floor alongside everyone else.

Although the mustached man was the cautious type, he’d never imagined a brand new disciple would have the nerve to do such a thing. Even as he traded, he would always have an extra eye on the few older-looking disciples just in case they were up to no good; the only reason he ended up falling for Fang Xing’s trap was a single moment of misjudgment.

"Argh! You almost cost me my entire plan!" Fang Xing started to kick and abuse the mustached man to release his frustration and stopped only after confirming the man had completely lost consciousness. Fang Xing knew a person with a higher cultivation was less likely to be affected by the fumes, but the snuff bottle’s strength had certainly lived up to expectations this time.

Fang Xing’s fourth uncle had owned an even larger one before his death. He’d used it against Xiao Jianming, but there had unfortunately been no effect and it was shattered with a simple wave of a sword, making it likely the fumes were ineffective against someone in tiers seven and above.

Fang Xing had only decided to use this method after testing the fumes on himself a few days earlier. It had taken only a small amount to send him sleeping for an entire day and night since he was only in tier one, and such results had convinced him it was worth a try.

"Is everything okay?" someone shouted from the entrance, and Fang Xing soon realized the guards must have noticed something was amiss. ‘Ah sh*t, I forgot about those two.’

"Hey, don’t push me! I won’t trade it anymore! Get out of my way, I am out of here!" Fang Xing yelled out in mock anger while pretending to leave the market.

The guards exchanged glances before running inside, only to nearly bump into the thin man and cause a snuff bottle to fly out of his hands towards the two. When one of the guards tried to reflexively catch the snuff bottle, the thin man jumped up and pressed his palm against the top of the bottle to release its fume right into the guard’s face.

"Who—" The guard fell into a sweet snooze right then and there, before he could even finish his sentence.

"What… what do you want!" While the other guard was somewhat dazzled by the fume, he hadn’t been as close.

"I want… this!" Fang Xing drew out his dagger and stabbed it towards the remaining guard.

The guard narrowly dodged the stab by jumping out of the way, but he was sent to the ground by Fang Xing’s follow-up kick. The guard was still recovering from his fume-induced daze, leaving his reactions slow.

The guard began resisting his lightheadedness with great difficulty and finally reached for his Flying Sword. At the same time, however, Fang Xing also revealed something shiny and an object flew right towards the guard.

Tzin tzin tzin….

A frightening sound rang out as a flash of silver flew past the guard.

"You know… this stuff is no fun when it’s nailed into you. If you don’t want to die, put your sword to the side," Fang Xing coldly ordered the guard while he held a metal cylinder—the origin of the silver flash—in one of his hands.

Turning his head behind him, the guard could see an entire row of silver needles, with most of them pierced deeply in the ground and a few lodged inside a nearby tree. Each one—without fail—was almost fully embedded in its target, causing him to tremble as he imagined them striking his body instead.

"I see you’d rather die. Then…." Fang Xing didn’t give the guard much time to do anything at all and raised the cylinder once more.

"No! I’ll throw away my sword!" the guard pleaded and put the sword down. He was just a new recruit to the outer court as well, after all; there was no way he was going to risk his life for this.

"Good. Good boy," Fang Xing sneered as he put his metal cylinder away, right before he walked up to the guard and kicked him square in the face.

"What? Why?" the guard cried out as he slowly looked back up, unable to comprehend what this man now wanted.

"Ok, this is a bit awkward." Surprised the guard was still conscious even after his kick, Fang Xing embarrassedly took his snuff bottle out once again.

"What a good day! So many cash cows…." Fang Xing dragged both of the guards into the market with everyone else before laughing and collecting his earnings for the day. He remembered very clearly the people who’d shown something of value, so it was like an easy drive on a familiar path for him. The first thing he did was grab the storage ring from that rich bastard, of course, followed soon after by the Spirit Stones.


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