121: Finding bargains at the ghost market

That night, in a guest room of the Star Moon City branch of the Four Seas Merchant Guild.

Qin Feng sat cross-legged, seemingly circulating his Qi to heal his injuries, but in reality, his mind was completely immersed in waiting. The prosperity and foundation of Star Moon City during the day had made his heart surge; such a grand city, gathering resources from all directions, must hide countless Opportunities, depending on whether he could grasp them.

As the zi hour approached, he held his breath and focused.

[Ding! The zi hour has arrived! Daily intelligence has been refreshed!]

The shimmering panel unfolded as expected, and when he saw the information on it, Qin Feng's heart skipped a beat!

[Today's Intelligence:]

[Yellow Intelligence: A hidden 'Ghost Market' exists in Star Moon City. The entrance is located beneath a dry well at the end of Caishikou Street in the west of the city. It opens every day from the third quarter of the zi hour to the beginning of the yin hour (approximately 11:45 PM to 3:00 AM). An entry fee of ten gold coins is required.]

[Blue Intelligence: At the third stall on the left side of the Ghost Market, a thief selling stolen goods is offering an ancient Incomplete Manual stolen from the residence of a retired master—the "Daoist Primordial Chaos Art" (Volume One). Although it is an Incomplete Manual, its grade is extremely high. If the second volume can be found, its value would be immeasurable.]

[Red Intelligence: At the eighth stall on the right side of the Ghost Market, there is a 'Bronze Mud Sword' excavated from a thousand-year-old Ancient Tomb. The blade is completely encased in a special mixture of bronze rust and mud, showing no spiritual light. It must be soaked in 'Century-Old Stalactite Milk' mixed with 'Vermillion Sun Grass Juice' for three days to dissolve the outer layer and reveal its true form. It contains a startling secret within.]

"One blue and one red! As expected of a major city!" Qin Feng was ecstatic, barely able to contain himself. The first volume of the "Daoist Primordial Chaos Art" from the blue intelligence sounded related to his currently practiced "Primordial Unity Qi Art" just by its name; its grade must be high! And the Bronze Mud Sword from the red intelligence represented an even greater Opportunity and secret!

No time to lose! He immediately got up silently, changed into ordinary dark clothing, and prepared to head to the Ghost Market alone.

However, just as he pushed open the door, a cold figure appeared silently in the shadow of a pillar, as if she had been waiting for a long time.

"How did you..." Qin Feng was stunned.

"I will protect you." Ji Ruxue's words were concise, her expression as cold as ever, but her gaze was unquestionable. The one-year contract for close protection had already taken effect; this was her duty.

Qin Feng looked at her slightly pale face, knowing her injuries hadn't healed yet. He wanted to refuse, but seeing her determined gaze, the words died in his throat. "I'm going to the Ghost Market, it's a den of dragons and snakes..."

"No matter," Ji Ruxue interrupted him. "The Ghost Market, I am familiar with it."

Qin Feng said no more and nodded. With this Gold Medal Assassin accompanying him, it was indeed much safer.

Like ghosts in the night, the two avoided the night guards and followed the intelligence's guidance, soon arriving at Caishikou Street in the west of the city. In a quiet corner at the end of the street, they indeed found a dry well half-hidden by weeds. Faint voices and dim light drifted from the well's opening.

After paying twenty gold coins (for two people), they spiraled down the stairs carved into the well wall, and the view suddenly opened up.

A massive underground karst cave appeared before them, with Ores embedded in the ceiling emitting a ghostly glow, providing dim light. Figures flickered within the cave, yet it was exceptionally quiet, with conversations kept extremely low. Stalls were placed randomly on the ground, and most stall owners wore masks or bamboo hats to hide their faces, appearing mysterious and eerie. The air was thick with a peculiar scent—a mix of old, cold air, various medicinal herbs, metals, and ancient artifacts.

This was the Ghost Market, a place for shady transactions.

Qin Feng's gaze was sharp as he headed straight for his target. He first walked to the third stall on the left. The stall owner was a thin, gaunt man with flickering eyes. A tattered cloth was spread out before him, holding a few jade items stained with dirt and several old books.

Qin Feng's gaze instantly locked onto an old book with a yellowed color, special material, and no writing on the cover. Suppressing his excitement, he casually picked up an ordinary-looking jade pendant nearby to play with, asking as if in passing, "Boss, how much for this book?"

The gaunt man glanced at Qin Feng, then at the cold-aura-exuding Ji Ruxue behind him, and whispered, "An ancient Incomplete Manual, good stuff. Thirty thousand gold coins."

Qin Feng sneered inwardly but remained calm. He picked up the book and flipped through it casually (inside were some ancient characters and Qi Circulation diagrams he didn't recognize), then tossed it back onto the stall with disdain. "An Incomplete Manual? I can't even recognize the words, and you call it ancient? One thousand gold coins, take it or leave it."

"One thousand? You're robbing me!" The man got anxious. "This is something I got from... anyway, its origin is extraordinary! Twenty-five thousand! Not a copper less!"

"One thousand five hundred."

"Twenty thousand!"

"Two thousand. If not, then forget it. I think that broken sword over there is somewhat interesting." Qin Feng made a move to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't go!" The man quickly grabbed him. "Ten thousand! Fixed price, ten thousand gold coins! This is definitely a treasure!"

Qin Feng stopped and pondered for a moment, as if making a difficult decision. "Eight thousand! Eight thousand at most! I'll take it back to study for fun. Any higher and I'm out."

The muscles on the man's face twitched a few times. He looked around and finally gritted his teeth. "Deal! Consider it my loss!"

Qin Feng was secretly delighted. He calmly paid eight thousand gold coins and carefully tucked the Incomplete Manual of the "Daoist Primordial Chaos Art" into his Storage Pouch. This saved him two thousand from his psychological expectation of ten thousand.

Next, he immediately headed to the eighth stall on the right. This stall owner was a silent old man. Only three items were placed before him: a chipped ceramic jar, a rusted copper coin, and an object completely encased in dark green, stone-hard bronze rust and mud, barely recognizable as a sword—exactly the "Bronze Mud Sword" from the intelligence!

Qin Feng's heart raced uncontrollably; the treasure pointed out by the red intelligence was right before his eyes! He took a deep breath, stepped forward, first picked up the rusted copper coin to look at, and asked, "Boss, how much for this?"

The old man didn't even lift his eyelids, rasping, "One hundred gold coins."

Qin Feng put down the coin and pointed to the Bronze Mud Sword. "What about this? Looks like a fire poker."

The old man finally looked up at Qin Feng, a glint of sharp light flashing in his cloudy eyes. "From an Ancient Tomb. Fifty thousand gold coins, no bargaining."

Qin Feng frowned. "Fifty thousand? For this piece of junk? I'd find it a waste of space even for a hundred gold coins."

"Take it or leave it." The old man closed his eyes again, looking completely indifferent.

Qin Feng knew he had encountered a tough customer. This "take it or leave it" attitude was the hardest to deal with. He circled the stall twice and suddenly said, "How about this: one hundred for the coin, and five thousand gold coins for this mud lump. I'll take it back as a decoration."

The old man remained unmoved.

"Six thousand!"

"Seven thousand!"

"Ten thousand! Ten thousand at most!" Qin Feng acted as if he were going all in.

The old man finally opened his eyes again and slowly shook his head. "This item is fated with me. If I weren't in urgent need of money, I would never sell it. Fifty thousand, not a single coin less."

Qin Feng's expression shifted, seemingly in an intense struggle. He looked at the Bronze Mud Sword and then touched his Storage Pouch (which contained about a hundred thousand gold coins, fifty thousand of which was his share of the recent spoils, and the other fifty thousand his original savings). If he spent this fifty thousand, he would only have fifty thousand left, and his plan to buy the king breaking pill would be heavily affected.

But a red Opportunity was something that could be encountered but not sought!

"Forty thousand!" Qin Feng gritted his teeth. "This is all I have! Take it or I'm leaving!"

The old man looked at Qin Feng in silence, then at Ji Ruxue behind him, who looked like a bodyguard, seemingly weighing his options. After a full ten breaths, he slowly spat out a word: "Fine."

A heavy stone fell from Qin Feng's heart, but at the same time, he felt a pang of pain as he counted out forty thousand gold coins worth of Crystal Cards and handed them to the old man. After verifying, the old man pushed the Bronze Mud Sword toward him.

Holding this heavy, unremarkable mud sword, Qin Feng felt his heart racing.

Just then, Ji Ruxue, who had been following silently, was drawn to a set of exquisitely crafted Black Iron Sleeve Arrows at a nearby stall, shimmering with a ghostly blue cold light. The sleeve arrows had a complex structure, were small and easy to hide, and fired silently—clearly a Sharp Weapon for assassination.

Qin Feng noticed her gaze and walked over. The stall owner was a person wearing a ghost mask.

"This set, 'Shadow Ghost', is twenty-five thousand gold coins." The stall owner's voice was raspy.

Hearing this, a trace of imperceptible regret flashed in Ji Ruxue's eyes, and she silently looked away. Twenty-five thousand was too expensive.

Qin Feng smiled and said to the stall owner, "Twenty thousand, and I'll take it."

The stall owner looked at Qin Feng, then at Ji Ruxue, seemingly finding the pair a bit strange, but finally nodded.

Qin Feng readily paid twenty thousand gold coins, picked up the exquisite Shadow Ghost sleeve arrows, turned, and handed them to Ji Ruxue.

Ji Ruxue was stunned, a clear look of astonishment appearing in her cold eyes for the first time. "You..."

"A gift for you," Qin Feng smiled. "Thanks to you this time, otherwise I might have met my end on Black Reef Island. Consider it a thank-you gift, and I also hope you'll be safer in the future."

Ji Ruxue looked at the set of sleeve arrows that she was indeed quite moved by, then at Qin Feng's sincere (yet slightly pained) smile. After a moment of silence, she reached out to take them and whispered, "Thank you."

[Ji Ruxue's Favorability +10]

Looking at the System prompt, Qin Feng felt that these twenty thousand gold coins seemed... quite worth it.

This night's trip to the Ghost Market cost him eight thousand gold coins + forty thousand gold coins + twenty thousand gold coins, totaling sixty-eight thousand gold coins, almost emptying most of his earnings from this sea voyage and his original savings.

But in exchange, he got an ancient Incomplete Manual suspected to be a high-grade Cultivation Technique, a Bronze Mud Sword containing a red Opportunity secret, and... a rare ten points of favorability from Ji Ruxue.

Whether it was a loss or a gain, perhaps only time could tell.