Returning to the Black Market—If Business Fails, Just Rob Them?

Night had fallen when Lu Changsheng, dressed in black and wearing a mask, arrived at the Black Market.

The Black Market was as bustling as ever.

Lu Changsheng strolled through the Black Market, focusing on stalls that sold Martial Skills.

There were indeed people selling Martial Skills, but Lu Changsheng had practiced nearly all of them.

However, after staying away from the Black Market for several months, Lu Changsheng also noticed some changes.

For instance, many stalls had appeared selling "Blood Strengthening Pills."

As the name implied, Blood Strengthening Pills were medicinal pills used to help Blood Strengthening Realm martial artists Strengthen Qi and Blood.

Their purpose was equivalent to Medicinal Cuisine.

Back when Lu Changsheng practiced martial arts, he had bought Eight Treasures Blood Replenishing Powder to improve his qi and blood.

Now, the Black Market was flooded with Blood Strengthening Pills. He had heard that their effects were quite good.

Martial artists in the Black Market often discussed them.

"Blood Strengthening Pills really work. They may not compare to Medicinal Cuisine, but they're cheap."

"My qi and blood used to improve incredibly slowly. I couldn't afford Medicinal Cuisine, but after buying Blood Strengthening Pills, the results were surprisingly good."

"Exactly. A serving of Medicinal Cuisine from Miraculous Garden costs seven taels of silver, while three Blood Strengthening Pills cost only one tael. They're so much cheaper."

"Yeah. With Blood Strengthening Pills, even ordinary martial artists like us can make great progress with our qi and blood."

Lu Changsheng gradually overheard these martial artists' discussions.

He knew that it was difficult for ordinary martial artists to practice martial arts.

"Poor scholars, rich warriors" was not merely an empty saying.

The Martial Path began with the Blood Strengthening Realm, and qi and blood were of paramount importance.

But without Medicinal Cuisine, ordinary martial artists would have to build their qi and blood bit by bit. They might need decades of hard work before achieving anything.

Yet with Medicinal Cuisine, they might be able to strengthen their qi and blood in only a few years, or even within a year or half.

Lu Changsheng was very curious.

Three Blood Strengthening Pills for one tael of silver—if one pill was used per day, then compared with Miraculous Garden's Medicinal Cuisine, they were cheap beyond imagination.

Once these Blood Strengthening Pills were released in large quantities, who would still buy Medicinal Cuisine from Miraculous Garden?

But could they truly be sold so cheaply?

Lu Changsheng found it somewhat unbelievable.

He was a pharmacist himself and knew that some of the medicinal ingredients in Medicinal Cuisine were indeed quite precious.

Even the cost alone was far more than that.

Thus, Lu Changsheng walked up to a stall and tossed out one tael of silver.

"Give me three Blood Strengthening Pills."

The stall owner glanced at Lu Changsheng and directly handed him three Blood Strengthening Pills.

Lu Changsheng examined the Blood Strengthening Pills carefully.

They were crimson in color, faintly laced with black patterns.

They carried a subtle fishy scent, as though they contained some kind of fresh blood.

Lu Changsheng tasted one with his tongue.

He was a pharmacist, and after his Comprehension had improved, the flavor of every medicinal ingredient had left a deep impression on him.

With just a taste, he could roughly tell what medicinal ingredients were inside.

After tasting it, Lu Changsheng immediately discerned that the Blood Strengthening Pill contained roughly a dozen medicinal ingredients.

These ingredients were all ordinary medicinal herbs.

Aside from the herbs, there seemed to be some kind of special blood. Lu Changsheng could not tell what blood it was.

But even those dozen or so medicinal herbs were worth at least three or four taels of silver.

Even if a furnace batch of those ingredients produced ten pills, the cost of a single Blood Strengthening Pill would still be three or four mace of silver.

Three Blood Strengthening Pills for one tael of silver meant selling them at cost without making a profit?

That was impossible!

After all, if this continued, there would likely be all kinds of additional costs. Calculated carefully, there was even a strong possibility of operating at a loss.

Not even mountains of gold and silver could withstand such consumption.

Something was clearly wrong!

The people selling Blood Strengthening Pills are not doing it for profit. They are actually taking losses, so they must be plotting something behind the scenes!

Without changing expression, Lu Changsheng put the three Blood Strengthening Pills into his robes. He could continue studying them later.

Afterward, Lu Changsheng made discreet inquiries throughout the Black Market, asking who was selling so many Blood Strengthening Pills.

The answers were varied and contradictory.

If he truly wanted to investigate thoroughly, he would certainly be able to uncover the truth.

But Lu Changsheng felt there was no need.

This matter had nothing to do with him. Better to avoid trouble than invite it.

He simply needed to stay away from Blood Strengthening Pills.

Besides, he was now an Organ Refining martial artist. These Blood Strengthening Pills were of no use to him.

Lu Changsheng left the Black Market.

But the moment he did, several martial artists with black cloths covering their faces stepped out and blocked his path.

Lu Changsheng frowned. Were they stopping him again to deliver silver?

"Did you just ask where you could find a large quantity of Blood Strengthening Pills?"

One of the martial artists, his face covered and a cloak draped over him, spoke.

Lu Changsheng thought about it. To better inquire into the Blood Strengthening Pills earlier, he had indeed claimed that he wanted to purchase a large quantity of them.

"So what if I did?"

Lu Changsheng replied.

"Heh heh, no one else has a large quantity of Blood Strengthening Pills, but we do."

"How many do you want?"

Lu Changsheng narrowed his eyes slightly.

So these people were not highway robbers. They were the sellers of Blood Strengthening Pills.

If Lu Changsheng wanted to investigate their origin, he could naturally agree, then follow the vine to find the people behind the Blood Strengthening Pills.

But Lu Changsheng had no intention of getting involved in this matter now.

He did not want to wade into these muddy waters.

"I don't want to buy any now."

With that, Lu Changsheng turned to leave.

The masked men all stood dumbfounded.

They clearly had not expected this.

They had thought they had landed a huge deal, only to be strung along.

For a moment, the cloaked man flew into a rage. "Stop!"

"Are you sure you don't want Blood Strengthening Pills?"

Lu Changsheng remained expressionless as he answered calmly, "I'm sure."

At that moment, the cloaked man sneered. "Heh heh, since you don't need Blood Strengthening Pills, then we'll speak to you in a different capacity."

"Hand over all the silver and Silver Notes on you."

"You don't want our Blood Strengthening Pills, but we want your silver!"

The moment he finished speaking, the martial artists instantly surrounded Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng swept his gaze over them and said blandly, "If a deal falls through, you rob people outright? That truly is the Black Market's style..."

Lu Changsheng was not even surprised.

The Black Market was a motley mix of every kind of person. Black-on-black dealings were common, let alone robbery.

These people had probably targeted him long ago. They knew he was asking about large quantities of Blood Strengthening Pills and had likely guessed that he carried a large amount of silver.

That was why they stopped him.

But they had not expected Lu Changsheng to suddenly decide against buying Blood Strengthening Pills.

So they stopped pretending. Since business was off, they returned to their old trade and simply robbed him outright!

This was easier than doing business, and they were more familiar with it!

"Enough nonsense. Us brothers don't want to kill anyone today. Leave your silver behind if you know what's good for you, otherwise—"

Before the cloaked man could finish, he saw the Short Sword in Lu Changsheng's hand flash.

Clang.

Lu Changsheng drew his sword.

The Short Sword in his hand was unsheathed in an instant.

Sword light flickered. Lu Changsheng's figure swayed slightly.

After only a few breaths, Lu Changsheng sheathed his sword.

Pssh.

The masked martial artists all clutched their throats, wailing as they collapsed into pools of blood.

In mere moments, there was no movement left.

Lu Changsheng shook his head.

These people were too weak.

Even Bone Forging martial artists were now not much stronger than ordinary people in Lu Changsheng's eyes. With a casual stroke of his sword, he could easily kill them.

Lu Changsheng then stepped forward and searched the bodies for a while.

Searching corpses was a traditional craft, after all. It could not be abandoned.

"Hmm?"

"There really is a large quantity of Blood Strengthening Pills? It seems they genuinely intended to do business."

"But when the business failed, they immediately turned to robbery. A leopard cannot change its spots."

Lu Changsheng shook his head.

Judging from how these people acted, they were most likely not righteous folk.

Perhaps they sold Blood Strengthening Pills on one hand while casually committing murder and robbery on the other.

Having found so many Blood Strengthening Pills, Lu Changsheng did not know how to deal with them.

Just as Lu Changsheng was troubled over this, an unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"If you do not know how to handle these Blood Strengthening Pills, why not sell them to me?"

Swish.

Lu Changsheng's heart jolted, and he instantly turned around.