SFS Chapter 73 Black Market
Chapter 73 Black Market
It may have taken less time, but the money spent was real.
Even Yang Silang, who was used to making a fortune by chance, felt a pang of regret.
You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household, and you don't know how much money you can spend until you practice martial arts. Especially with the help of this inscription system, the silver is just burning more and more.
Looks like I'll have to check out the black market.
One drawback of Gongzhou Prefecture is that, being just a prefecture-level city, there aren't many martial artists who can use the Golden Toad Liquid to cultivate and break through to the Steel-Dirty Grand Martial Master level.
So only Gongzhou Hall sold them. He bought six pills in two months, which was enough. Later, he asked Wang Lixiong to help him buy more, and he managed to buy out the entire stock.
This medicine mainly depends on the golden toad as the main ingredient, and its production is limited. Now, even if he wanted to buy it, he couldn't find it anywhere.
He had already asked a security escort agency to buy several pills for him in the outer prefecture. The Golden Toad Elixir he took today was the last one. It seems necessary to go to the black market.
Master Long said that the things there are very mixed, and there might be some Golden Toad Elixir. Of course, the source is not necessarily clear, and there is a certain risk, but the price is definitely cheaper than through the proper channels.
That's why it's worth the risk.
He snapped out of his thoughts, gently rubbed his stomach with both hands, and his ears twitched slightly—a natural reaction to the sounds outside.
After practicing the Toad Strength for two months, his physical fitness improved in all aspects, especially his five senses. Even at night without lights, he could still see fairly clearly, and his hearing, smell, sight, and taste were all enhanced.
Now he can hear the sounds coming from the eldest sister's room across the main hall.
The little girl rolled over, still half asleep, and told her older sister that she really heard a lot of frogs croaking in her uncle's room, which woke her up—some children have extremely strong senses, far exceeding those of adults.
"Where did Uncle hide the frog?"
"Why can't I find it during the day?"
"Mom, shall we have braised frog tomorrow?"
Yang Silang felt ashamed upon hearing this; this child really couldn't stop talking about food. He also heard his older sister spend quite a while coaxing Nannan back to sleep.
Well, the weather is getting warmer every day, so I guess I'll practice my kung fu in the neighbor's yard next door from now on.
-
Late the next night.
In a desolate mountain valley outside Gongzhou Prefecture, a faint light flickered.
The valley is narrow and winding, with only two exits. The valley walls are bare and devoid of vegetation.
It's right outside one of the exits.
Two men wearing black straw hats were chatting idly while guarding the entrance.
"Have you heard? Hong Tatian got arrested and is now in the same cell as that Deputy General Chai."
"Huh? Is this news true or false? Since the riot at the Martial Arts Hall, Hong Tatian has been arrested seven or eight times, and none of them have been true."
"Sigh, I told you this time it would be reliable. I heard it was several grand martial arts masters from the provincial government who joined forces to capture him. You know what? The examiner he killed that day, the provincial education commissioner, was from the Huang family! The Huang family with a Mercury Blood Grandmaster in charge!"
"Hiss... Why did he have to kill the Huang family? Everyone knows that in our Jiangdong Province, the Huang family is the only constant while officials come and go. He's really blind to kill members of the Huang family."
The two were talking excitedly, about to recount the various rumors surrounding the Huang family, a prominent clan in Jiangdong Province.
cough cough...
A coughing sound came from not far away, and then two men in black walked over.
The two were dressed similarly, both wearing straw hats and covering their faces with cloths, leaving only their eyes exposed, except that one of them wore a blue straw hat and the other a black one.
The gossipy guard immediately put on a serious face and asked in a low voice.
"Who goes there?"
"This is not a safe place; leave immediately."
The man in the green straw hat took out five taels of silver from under his robe and tossed it to the two men, scoffing.
"I wouldn't go to a peaceful place; everyone knows this is a black market."
The man in the black straw hat remained silent and also tossed out a five-tael silver ingot.
The two guards accepted the money, chuckled, and made way for the two men in straw hats, giving them instructions.
"Since you know this is a black market, you have to follow the rules once you're inside."
"Once you pay the money, you can go in. You can buy or sell things as you please, but the black market ends at dawn and everyone must leave."
"Remember, fighting is strictly prohibited inside. Buying and selling is entirely voluntary. Choose items based on your own judgment. Whether you find a bargain or get ripped off, once you've made your purchase, you can't go back on your word."
The implication was that any troubles or grudges could be resolved outside the valley, and they wouldn't interfere.
The man in the green straw hat grew impatient and strode inside.
"Okay, okay, you guys are really something, you have to say one thing to everyone you meet."
"Why waste your breath? Wouldn't it be better to just carve it on a wooden board?"
The two guards chuckled, not annoyed at all, and made way for the entrance.
The two thought to themselves, "Don't you know how boring it is to be a gatekeeper? You're so busy that you deliberately chat with people whenever you see them."
The man in the black straw hat silently followed and entered.
After the two entered the black market, the man in the green straw hat turned to the latter and smiled.
"Brother, you've got some good footwork. I couldn't shake you off even when we went into the mountains..."
It turned out they weren't traveling together; they had entered the mountains from different places and had only kept a safe distance from each other for a short distance before reaching the black market.
The man in the green straw hat was proud of his lightness skill and wanted to play tricks on his opponent, but he didn't expect that even with all his strength, he couldn't shake off his opponent.
When approached, the man in the black straw hat nodded in response, then turned to look around.
The valley was long and narrow, with the widest point only two or three zhang (approximately 6.6-7 meters) wide. The surrounding mountain walls were smooth and barren, making it difficult for anyone to sneak in.
As for inside the valley, there is a stall every ten steps or so along the foot of the mountain walls on both sides.
The ground was slightly uneven, just ordinary stones and soil. There were few "pedestrians," and they were all dressed very conservatively, just like the stall owners.
Yang Silang scanned the area, taking in the entire situation within the valley.
He finished his training early tonight and, taking advantage of the clear moon and stars, left Gongzhou Prefecture and headed straight for the black market. He didn't expect to find anything; he just wanted to stroll around and broaden his horizons.
Seeing that he looked like a complete novice, the man in the green straw hat chuckled.
"So this is your first time here, brother? I am Bloodhand Butcher, and I am known for my hospitality. May I ask your name?"
Yang Silang looked at the other person with a strange expression.
If you are the Bloodthirsty Butcher, then who am I?
He paused for a moment, then slowly began to speak.
"I am the Bloodthirsty Slayer..."
"Bloody Butcher's" face twitched slightly upon hearing this.
Bloodslayer... He's trying to kill me! This newbie is so rude!
He snorted coldly, turned around and left.
"Brother Tu, you can explore on your own at your leisure!"
Yang Silang was happy to be alone. He strolled slowly through the black market, glancing at each stall.
The things sold here are indeed very unusual.
There were vendors selling black iron weapons, young and beautiful women, secret manuals and elixirs, and even a book stall selling various travelogues.
Another stall set up a platform with two muscular men standing on it. They wore collars around their necks and their limbs were chained to the ground and locked to large stones. The stall owner said they were two tough guys.
The fact that even copper-skinned martial artists can be sold shows just how rampant this black market is.
In short, the things sold were all kinds of strange and unusual, not what ordinary people in the market needed.