Free Web NovelChapter 1489: Chapter 764: The Best Entry Point (Part 2)
Next, Qing Shui quietly placed the black and solid stone-like substance in his palm. No one noticed as Qing Shui applied a portion of his 20,000 jin of strength to try to crush it. People must know that if it were ordinary steel, it would definitely deform under a certain amount of pressure from Qing Shui.
However, the black stone-like substance didn’t change. Qing Shui stared at it, thunderstruck. An idea popped into his mind, but it was just a guess.
"Could this be... Iron Essence? A material at least 100 times harder than iron!"
If this stone-like object truly was the legendary Iron Essence, then it could be considered a treasure acquired. Regardless, Qing Shui had already abandoned the thought of saving money. He was prepared to go all out and decided to purchase this item. After spending, he could always earn more money, but if he missed the chance to acquire a treasure, he knew how long it might take to encounter such an opportunity again.
"Old man, how much for these two items?" Qing Shui decided to get straight to the point as he did not want to waste time haggling.
"Someone once offered me 80 taels of silver for this branch, but at the time, I didn’t accept. But now, to survive, I have no choice but to sell it. Young brother, if you are willing to offer 80 taels of silver, I can throw in the dark stone along with the branch."
Qing Shui didn’t hesitate and immediately took out the money given to him by Qing Yi, paying the old man for the two items. Upon acquiring the items, he immediately stored them within his spatial area, rubbing his hands in joy. Nearby, Qing Shan and Qing Shi were still bargaining with their respective sellers.
In an instant, Qing Shui only had 20 taels of silver left. But in his eyes, the two items he just obtained were absolutely more valuable. Qing Shui knew that even with 1,000 or 10,000 taels of gold, he might not be able to purchase such treasures.
Moving to where Qing Shan and Qing Shi were, Qing Shui found them both staring at a pendant-shaped jade. Qing Shui knew nothing about jade, be it grading purity or jade pricing. However, from the intense expression in Qing Shan’s eyes, Qing Shui knew his cousin was enchanted. The crafty seller, of course, did not miss Qing Shan’s keen expressions.
"Yo, young brother, this jade pendant is obviously high-grade. Look at its pure green color, the cut, and the sturdiness!" The middle-aged seller enthusiastically promoted his goods.
All merchants are essentially cunning, Qing Shui could feel that the seller before him was someone who had perfected his sales skills. In his previous world, such a person would be called a seller. Whether it’s the tone, the degree of hesitation used, the passionate sharing of information, the smile, the way of speaking; all these are carefully designed to put the customer at ease. How many people can resist?
"Qing Shan, how much does he want for it?" Qing Shui, noticing the way Qing Shan was holding it, smiled slightly. In his heart, he thought: You fool! Have you no poker face? Just one glance and people can tell you’re determined to buy it. Seeing this, if the owner doesn’t fleece you, then he’d be an idiot!"
"50 taels of silver." Qing Shan replied, frowning.
Although Qing Shui didn’t know about jade, he knew that purchasing any grade of jade for 50 taels was definitely not a good thing. It might even be the lowest grade of jade.
"Fifty taels of silver? That’s expensive, forget it, Qing Shan, when I was strolling around, I noticed another nearby stall. Among their goods, there was even a jade pendant that looks similar to this! The other seller only asked for 10 taels of silver, let’s go have a look together. We can always come back here later." Qing Shui interjected, thwarting the crafty merchant’s plot.
"Is that true? How far is it? Does the jade pendant really look the same?" Qing Shan’s heart was moved. Qing Shui silently observed the merchant’s expression, from urgency to panic, Qing Shui knew his plan would succeed.
"Oh, the stall is indeed nearby. Rest assured, the jade pendant looks exactly the same. Not only that, but I also heard that if you buy their jade pendant, the other stall will give some free gifts too. Let’s go!" Qing Shui showed a brilliant smile.
"Wait! Wait! Don’t panic, the price can always be negotiated. The crafty merchant, seeing Qing Shan about to leave, almost cried. How much are you willing to pay for this jade, young sir?"
"Well, besides throwing in that little jade lion over there, how about 10 taels of silver?" Qing Shui responded, pointing his finger in the direction of the scruffy-looking jade lion carving. Since using the Yin Yang Pendant, Qing Shui had developed an interest in worn-out things.
(TL: Is Qing Shui’s new profession a vintage collector? xD)
Initially, the crafty merchant wanted to renegotiate, but after seeing the determined conviction in Qing Shui’s eyes, he could only blame his luck and accepted the offer.
"Qing Shui, this lion is yours, thank you. Fortunately, you were here; otherwise, I would have been drained by that unscrupulous merchant. After all, I only have about two taels of silver on me." Qing Shan joyfully passed the jade lion to Qing Shui before speaking.
"Hehehe, how could there be another similar jade pendant? When I saw the merchant, I already knew he was black-hearted. To think he would fall for my bluff."
Qing Shui played with the jade lion as he strolled the streets, chatting with Qing Shan and Qing Shi. Half a day later, he still hadn’t found anything unusual about the jade lion. Qing Shui sighed: "How could there be so many treasures lying around?" Ever since Qing Shan bought the jade pendant, his obsession made him take it out every few minutes to admire it. Qing Shui shook his head, not understanding why Qing Shan was so enamored with that ordinary jade artifact. If it were him, he would only be as infatuated if the jade had the same mysterious properties as his Yin Yang Pendant.
Afterward, they wandered to a more bustling street. Not to mention, the shops lining the street looked more luxurious, with tailor shops and, most importantly, weapon shops!
"Let’s go to the weapon shop!" Qing Shui made his way into the opulent store.
The difference between a weapon shop and a blacksmith is that in a weapon shop, all the equipment is already made and ready for sale. For blacksmiths, you have to place custom-made orders, determining the weapon’s length, materials used for forging, shape, etc.
As he entered the shop, Qing Shui’s eyes sparkled. There was a variety of various weapons: sabers, spears, swords, scimitars, axes, whips, tridents, halberds, hook swords, hammers, chakras.
According to Qing Shui’s estimate, there were at least about 30 different weapons. As he scratched his head in confusion, he pondered... weren’t there only supposed to be 18 weapons? Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and Qing Shui could feel a piercing gaze filled with murderous intent directed at his back.
Rapidly turning around, indeed, the path of enemies was destined to cross. Situ Bufan, along with five to six other young men, had also just entered the weapon store. That malicious gaze belonged to Situ Bufan; it seemed Qing Shui had left a huge shadow in his heart. To think Situ Bufan could recognize him just from his back view.
Qing Shui could clearly feel the anger emanating from Situ Bufan. After all, Qing Shui indeed embarrassed him quite a bit. A young master from one of the "Hundred-Mile City’s" four great clans losing to a rural mixed-blood five years his junior? If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, then a third-grade Martial Arts General losing to a third-grade Martial Arts Warrior, losing an entire realm beneath someone, how about that?
Qing Shui ignored Situ Bufan, sweeping his gaze over the others standing alongside him. They were all dressed in luxurious appearances, with a slight air of arrogance between their brows. It seemed these youths came from various great clans and powerful factions in Hundred-Mile City.
"To think you dare to enter my Baili City. I was just about to go to Qing Village looking for you. Thank you for saving me all the trouble.
"This is the rural mixed-blood that defeated you?" A sound filled with disdain rang out, exclaimed one of the youths just adjacent to Situ Bufan.
...
