The young man in hemp clothes returned after leaving.
This surprised Bai Yu a little, and he could not help asking:
"Is something the matter, brother?"
The young man in hemp clothes scratched his head and said:
"Brother, are you looking for martial arts manuals?"
Bai Yu's eyes narrowed, cold light flickering within them.
Could it be that this young man in hemp clothes had been following him from the start?
The young man hurriedly waved his hands.
"Brother, don't misunderstand. I just happened to be looking to buy a manual too. Earlier, we stayed at the same manual stall for quite a while."
"From the look of you, you're probably like me—unable to afford any decent manuals."
Bai Yu nodded faintly, but he still did not know what the young man intended.
The young man said:
"It's like this. I ate half a packet of your medicine for free, and I have no way to repay you, so I can only give you some information in return."
"I know of a stall that sells nothing but fragmentary manuals and manuals of questionable origin. The prices are much lower, but it really tests one's eye."
"I want to try my luck there. I wonder if you're interested?"
Fragmentary manuals? Bai Yu's heart stirred.
For others, these manuals tested their discernment.
But Bai Yu was different. He had the Burial World Record; with one look, he would know whether something was real or fake.
And what if these fragmentary manuals could still be used?
Bai Yu thought for a moment and said:
"Then thank you for the information, brother. I am indeed somewhat interested."
The young man in hemp clothes smiled.
"It's good that I could help, brother. The stall is over there."
"Oh, right, brother. My name is Bai Chi. May I know your honorable name?"
Bai Yu was startled. He had not expected to run into someone from the Bai clan.
And that name—Bai Chi, sounding like "idiot." No wonder he could freeload half a packet of Essence Nourishing Powder.
Naturally, Bai Yu would not reveal his real name. Instead, he said:
"My name is Cai Kun."
Brother Bai Chi was quite familiar by nature.
"So you're Brother Kun Kun. Come with me."
Bai Yu put away his stall and followed Bai Chi, asking:
"By the way, Brother Idiot, do you know who that Scarface was earlier?"
Bai Chi smiled.
"Scarface Liu Si. He's a fairly well-known hoodlum around here, specializing in cheating newcomers."
Before long, the two arrived at an inconspicuous stall.
The stall was tucked away in a very remote corner, and the stall owner himself lounged lazily, too indolent even to move.
When Bai Yu had wandered around for the first time, he truly had not noticed this stall.
On one side of the stall were all kinds of porcelain and bronze wares, still stained with dirt.
On the other side lay stacks of messy books.
Bai Yu understood what "questionable origin" meant. Most likely, this stall owner was a tomb raider.
Bai Chi said:
"Brother Kun Kun, I've brought you here."
"My purse is empty. I can't even afford fragmentary manuals, so I'll be leaving first."
Bai Yu did not mind. He cupped his hands to Bai Chi in farewell.
"Stall owner, how much are these books?"
The stall owner was an old man with a mustache shaped like the character eight. He gave Bai Yu a lazy glance.
"Look for yourself. Ask when you've picked something."
Bai Yu did not mind either. He picked up the first book, whose cover read:
Heaven and Earth Without Bounds, Opening Chaos, Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Palm!
The name alone gave Bai Yu a fright. He flipped through it briefly, only to find that the contents were utter nonsense.
It was clearly something made to swindle fools. If it could deceive one person, that was one person gained.
Bai Yu flipped through several books in succession and found that they were all scams and frauds.
He was both annoyed and amused.
"Boss, isn't there even a single genuine thing here?"
The old man with the mustache shaped like the character eight said unhappily:
"What nonsense is this, young man? Everything I have came from ancient tombs, old items with at least several thousand years of history."
"For example, that Three Thousand Great Daos Ascension to Immortality Level in your hand, that dates back to when heaven and earth first opened—"
Bai Yu impatiently interrupted the old man.
"Enough, enough. The oldest thing on your stall is probably this cloth you spread your wares on."
He casually flipped through another book, and suddenly, the attribute panel changed.
Five Spirits Fist (Fragment)! Compatibility with Five Elements Fist: 97%. Can be fused.
Keeping his expression unchanged, Bai Yu continued looking through it. Sure enough, it was a Five Spirits Fist manual.
But only half of it remained, and there were quite a few missing portions at the beginning as well.
The old man with the mustache shaped like the character eight began boasting nonsense again.
"Young brother, you've got a good eye. The one in your hand is the famous Five Spirits Fist, a Yellow Rank, High Grade cultivation method."
"It is said that it was created five thousand years ago by the Five Spirits True Lord. One can enter the Dao through martial arts and shatter the void."
"How about this? I won't ask for much. One fixed price: eighty thousand!"
Bai Yu's face darkened. A complete Five Spirits Fist manual only cost fifty taels.
Yet this battered fragmentary copy dared to ask for eighty thousand.
He put it down and turned to leave.
The old man hurriedly called out to stop Bai Yu.
"Don't leave, young brother! Ask the sky for a price, bargain on the ground. At least make an offer!"
Bai Yu tested the waters.
"Two taels?"
"You're cutting the price at the ankles! You're truly taking my life! Deal!!!"
The old man swiftly stuffed the Five Spirits Fist fragment into Bai Yu's arms, along with a copy of "Li Kingdom Immortal Romance Tales" as a bonus, afraid Bai Yu would regret it.
This Five Spirits Fist fragment was genuine, but it lacked the latter half, and even the beginning had missing sections.
It was practically worthless.
Martial arts concerned one's life. One wrong move could damage one's foundation. Who would dare practice a tattered fragmentary manual blindly?
Bai Yu offered two taels, and the old man tearfully earned one tael and nine qian.
Of that, one qian of the cost came from the bonus book.
The old man smugly held out his hand.
"Young brother, once a piece is placed on the board, there's no taking it back. Pay up."
Bai Yu's face was full of speechlessness.
"Damn it, old man, you tricked me."
The old man hurriedly said:
"You can't put it that way. Ask the sky for a price, bargain on the ground. You offered two taels yourself."
"Now it's money in one hand, goods in the other. You have the goods, so you can't possibly default on the payment, can you?"
"If you do this, I'll call the enforcement team."
With a pained expression, Bai Yu pulled out two taels of silver. Even the hand offering the silver was trembling.
The old man grabbed Bai Yu's hand in one motion.
"Young man, let go. Money is merely something outside the body. Why care so much about such worldly possessions?"
In the end, he half-snatched and half-took the money, swindling Bai Yu out of two taels of silver.
Bai Yu turned and left angrily.
But after taking a few steps, the corner of his mouth curled into an imperceptible arc.
This Five Spirits Fist fragment might be useless to others, but to Bai Yu, it was a treasure.
The attribute panel had indicated that the Five Spirits Fist fragment could fuse with Five Elements Fist. It would surely be of great use.
Bai Yu pretended that he had spent all his money and left the Black Market with his head hanging low.
But in truth, he was so excited that he wished he could immediately return to his small courtyard and learn the Five Spirits Fist fragment.
Yet the more excited he was, the more he suppressed the restless thoughts in his heart.
"As one who seeks immortality, when facing great matters, one must remain calm. Even if Mount Tai collapses before one's eyes, one's expression must not change."
Bai Yu quickened his pace through the darkness.
Suddenly, his ears twitched. He sensed that someone was following him.
Judging from the sounds, there were two people!
Bai Yu thought he had already kept a low enough profile, yet he had still been targeted.
Before you continue