16: Rusty sword

There were many miscellaneous items scattered across the stall.

A few fragments that looked like animal bones, several heavily corroded copper pieces, a few tattered bamboo slips, and a pile of stones in various shapes.

What caught Lin Mo's eye was a small, dark brown leather fragment pressed under several stones. Its edges were irregular, and its texture was somewhat similar to the beast-skin parchment he had obtained; it also seemed to have some faint carvings on it.

"Boss, how much for this piece of leather?" Lin Mo asked, pointing at the fragment.

The one-eyed old man's remaining right eye glanced muddily at Lin Mo. "Fifty taels," he said in a raspy voice.

"Fifty taels for a piece of scrap leather?" Beside him, Guard Zhao frowned.

"Buy it or don't." The old man was stubborn; he lowered his head to fiddle with a bone in his hand and ignored them.

Lin Mo squatted down and picked up the leather fragment to examine it closely.

The texture was indeed unique—tough and slightly cool to the touch. The carvings on it were extremely faint, almost illegible.

However, he could vaguely discern some twisted lines, their style subtly similar to the text and diagrams on the beast-skin parchment.

More importantly, Seventeen sniffed very lightly behind him and whispered.

"Master, there is a very faint, strange scent on this leather, like a mix of old herbs and blood. It's about thirty percent similar to the scent of your large beast-skin parchment."

Thirty percent similarity, combined with the visual stylistic resemblance, was enough to command Lin Mo's attention.

This fragment was very likely from the same source as the beast-skin parchment. Even if it was just a scrap, it might provide new pieces of information.

"Thirty taels," Lin Mo bargained.

The old man shook his head. "Fifty taels, not a penny less. This thing was pried out from under an ancient altar; I almost lost my life for it."

Lin Mo pondered for a moment before taking out a fifty-tael banknote.

The fragment was too small and the information limited, but it was worth the gamble.

He tucked the fragment away and was about to leave when he caught sight of a dispute at a nearby stall out of the corner of his eye.

One side of the dispute was a small, thin figure wrapped in a black robe whose face was hidden, while the other side consisted of three burly men in matching martial attire with wolf-head patterns embroidered on their chests.

The person in the black robe seemed to want to sell something, but the three men were acting overbearingly, threatening in low voices as they tried to force a purchase at an extremely low price.

"They're from the Black Wolf Gang," Guard Zhao whispered.

"One of the local bullies of the Ghost Market. They are ruthless and specialize in forced buying and selling, as well as extortion. That person in the black robe... is likely in trouble."

Lin Mo didn't want to meddle, but just as the person in the black robe raised their voice slightly in defense out of desperation...

He heard an extremely faint yet somewhat familiar accent that was sixty percent similar to the dialect of Qingyuan Town, though mixed with some other tones.

Someone from the same region?

While he was thinking, the three Black Wolf Gang thugs seemed to lose their patience. One of them reached out to grab the bundle in the robed person's arms.

The robed person retreated in panic, tripped over some clutter, and fell backward. A corner of the cloak flipped up, revealing the pale, handsome, and terrified face of a youth, looking no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

The youth clutched the bundle tightly, his eyes filled with despair.

"Stop." Lin Mo's voice wasn't loud, yet it reached their ears clearly.

The three thugs paused and looked back. They saw that although Lin Mo and his group were disguised, their bearing was unlike that of ordinary Ghost Market visitors.

Especially Guard Zhao, with his tall stature and sharp gaze; he was clearly a tough customer.

The leading thug narrowed his eyes. "Friend, the Black Wolf Gang is handling business here. Don't meddle in things that don't concern you."

"Business should be a mutual agreement. Forced buying and selling breaks the rules of the Ghost Market, doesn't it?" Lin Mo stepped forward slowly, and Si followed silently, shielding his front.

"Rules?" The thug sneered.

"In this place, we, the Black Wolf Gang, are the rules! This kid is trying to fool people with a piece of junk. We're teaching him a lesson—what the hell does it have to do with you? If you know what's good for you, get lost!"

Seeing someone stand up for him, a flicker of hope ignited in the youth's eyes. He held the bundle tightly, cowering and not daring to speak.

Lin Mo glanced at the bundle in the youth's arms; it was long and narrow, wrapped in coarse cloth. "What is he selling?"

The youth hesitated for a moment before whispering, "It's... a short sword passed down in my family. My father said... it was left by our ancestors."

"Let me see it," Lin Mo said.

The youth hesitated, but seeing the fierce glares of the Black Wolf Gang thugs, he gritted his teeth and handed the bundle to Lin Mo.

One of the thugs tried to block him, but Si stepped forward and stopped him, his gaze ice-cold.

The thug was intimidated by Si's Aura, his movements slowing down.

Lin Mo took the bundle; it felt slightly heavy in his hand.

Unwrapping the coarse cloth, he found a sheathed short sword inside.

The scabbard was made of some dull metal, covered in fine patterns but heavily corroded.

Drawing the short sword, the blade was also covered in rust, even showing some chips in places. It looked like a piece of scrap iron on the verge of complete decay.

However, the moment Lin Mo's fingers touched the hilt and the blade, the wisp of Qi within him suddenly stirred!

It wasn't growing or accelerating; rather, it was a strange sense of resonance, as if something inside this rusted sword was faintly responding to the Qi in his Dantian!

At the same time, Wu also stepped forward and examined the blade closely, especially the corroded patterns and the material. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes as he whispered, "Master, this rust... isn't quite right.

It looks like it was intentionally aged. Moreover, the material at the spine of the blade is something I've never seen before—it's neither gold nor iron. It feels... very heavy to me."

Qi resonance? Special material? Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. This short sword, which looked like scrap iron, was likely not simple.

"I'll take this sword. Name your price," Lin Mo said to the youth.

The youth was stunned. He glanced at the predatory Black Wolf Gang thugs, then back at Lin Mo, and summoned his courage. "One... one hundred taels."

For a piece of "scrap iron," this price was astronomical, but he seemed to have no other choice.

"One hundred taels? Kid, you're looking for death!" the Black Wolf Gang thug roared.

"Fine," Lin Mo nodded and directly took out a hundred-tael banknote, handing it to the youth.

This price was nothing to him now; if the sword truly had something special about it, it would be worth it.

Even if it didn't, saving a youth who was likely a fellow townsman and building some goodwill wouldn't be a loss.

The youth's hands trembled as he took the banknote, almost unable to believe it.

"Friend, are you determined to make an enemy of the Black Wolf Gang?" The leader's face darkened, and the other two slowly surrounded them, their hands moving toward their waists.

Other stallholders and customers in the Ghost Market moved away, watching from a distance for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

"The Ghost Market has its own rules: the highest bidder wins. If you wanted to buy it, why didn't you make an offer just now?" Lin Mo rewrapped the short sword and handed it to Seventeen behind him, his tone remaining calm.

"Damn it, you're refusing a graceful exit! Get him! Grab the sword and the money back!"

Enraged, the thug pulled out a dagger and lunged at Lin Mo. The other two also drew short clubs and rushed toward Si and Guard Zhao.

The battle erupted in an instant, yet ended in the blink of an eye.

Facing the thug lunging with the dagger, Lin Mo simply shifted his body slightly. His left hand was like a flash of lightning as it caught the opponent's wrist and gave it a gentle twist.

"Crack!"

The sound of a breaking wrist bone was accompanied by a scream, and the dagger clattered to the ground.

Lin Mo followed through with a kick to his abdomen. The thug's massive body flew backward, crashing into a stall and knocking him unconscious.

On the other side, Si faced the two whistling short clubs without dodging. He threw both fists simultaneously, striking first by arriving later, precisely hitting the elbows of the two thugs.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two dull thuds were followed by the sound of shattering bones. The two thugs wailed, clutching their twisted arms as they rolled on the ground.

Guard Zhao hadn't even had the chance to act before the battle was over.

His pupils constricted, and he gave Si a deep look.

This follower's skills seemed to have improved significantly since the last time he saw him at the Hall of Joy!

Furthermore, those two punches just now showed a level of power control that was exquisite to the extreme; they disabled the opponents' arms without causing fatal injuries. Such mastery was definitely not that of an ordinary person!

The surrounding onlookers let out low gasps, their gazes toward Lin Mo's group filled with awe.

Fights were common in the Ghost Market, but it was rare to see someone take down three skilled Black Wolf Gang fighters so cleanly.

Lin Mo didn't even look at the three men wailing on the ground. He said to the stunned youth, "This isn't a place to linger. Come with me."

The youth snapped out of it, scrambled up, and stumbled after Lin Mo's group, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the Ghost Market's intricate alleys.