Wholesale

Ghost markets around Qingshan County had existed for a long time.

They opened on every third day of the month.

The location was different each time.

Before each market opened, a batch of carriages would be specially hired to bring customers into the Ghost Market.

To learn where those carriages were, one needed special channels.

Jie Jia happened to have a channel for obtaining Entry Tickets.

Dusk was settling over an abandoned village.

Chen Mu wore a hooded cloak and had a black cloth covering his face, wrapping himself up tightly.

Jie Jia, dressed the same way, stood beside him.

The two walked through the abandoned village streets without saying a word.

Quite a few people had set up stalls on both sides of the road, and people would occasionally squat down to speak in low voices.

Whether stall owners or customers, everyone was wrapped up tightly, instinctively lowering their voices when they spoke.

The gathered sounds were like countless ghosts whispering among themselves.

"This is the place." Jie Jia led Chen Mu to a ruined house.

Chen Mu nodded to Jie Jia, then hugged the scroll in his arms and walked into the room uneasily.

A person wearing an Evil Ghost Mask sat quietly behind a grayish-white Square Table.

"What does the customer wish to sell?" the Masked Man asked quietly.

At this point, Chen Mu no longer hesitated. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I want to sell a Body Tempering Technique."

"Please, have a seat." The Masked Man's voice rose despite himself.

A Body Tempering Technique was a good thing!

"May I take a look?" the Masked Man asked eagerly.

Chen Mu's heart leaped with joy.

The Body Tempering Technique really was valuable.

With that thought, Chen Mu placed the scroll on the table and unrolled one-third of it.

The Masked Man could not help standing up. "What exquisite artwork!"

The more detailed and accurate a martial manual was, the higher its value.

Chen Mu chuckled smugly.

This had been drawn using the Second Tier Drawing skill. How could it not be good?

Compared to those crude manuals sketched out with a few lines, his manual was practically a collector's edition!

Wouldn't it be perfectly reasonable to sell such a precious manual for seven or eight hundred taels?

With this money, he could stockpile food and medicinal herbs, stay home, and practice diligently.

Once I grind this Body Tempering Technique to mastery, I won't be afraid even if ten more Sheng Hongs come after me!

As Chen Mu fantasized, he suddenly heard the Masked Man click his tongue. "What a pity..."

Chen Mu's heart skipped a beat.

"It's good stuff, but..." The Masked Man shook his head with a sigh.

"What is it?" Chen Mu grew even more nervous.

"Please, take a look." The Masked Man bent down and pulled a small booklet from a cloth bag on the floor beside him, then handed it to Chen Mu.

Chen Mu looked at it and froze on the spot.

"Sheng Family Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique"?

Sheng?

Sheng Hong?!

Fuck!

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Mu walked out of the ruined courtyard with an utterly furious expression.

Jie Jia followed closely behind.

The two found an abandoned, dilapidated house and slipped inside. Chen Mu pulled off the black cloth over his face, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"My cheap master is really ruthless!"

Not only had he set a trap to swindle money.

He had even sold his own family's Body Tempering Technique all over the place!

The Masked Man had told Chen Mu that the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique had long been famous in the Ghost Market.

The Masked Man alone knew of five shops that possessed this Body Tempering Technique.

"A Body Tempering Technique that could be passed down through a family only sold for eighty taels. Can you believe that?" Chen Mu said indignantly.

If not for his superb artwork, which was more accurate than Sheng Hong's crudely made version, he would not even have been able to sell it for eighty taels!

"Going back?" Jie Jia asked calmly.

"Going back?" Chen Mu suddenly chuckled. "Why go back when we haven't sold everything yet?" As he spoke, Chen Mu pulled another scroll from inside his voluminous cloak.

"Come on, let's sell to another shop." Chen Mu said cheerfully.

Jie Jia: "..." You two really are master and disciple!

A quarter of an hour later, the two returned to the ruined house.

"This time, it actually sold for one hundred and twenty taels." Chen Mu fell into thought.

That meant his drawings still had value.

His artwork was better and more precise than Sheng Hong's version. Those who bought the manual would find it easier to understand and cultivate.

What was this? This was a business opportunity!

"Old Jie, go buy me some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones," Chen Mu suddenly said.

Even Jie Jia's narrowed eye opened wide.

What, selling the goods to two shops isn't enough? You want to make them on the spot and sell them too?

"If Sheng Hong can sell the same goods to six shops, why can't I sell them to eight?" Chen Mu glared at Jie Jia.

This was called surpassing one's master!

"Do you still want your Twenty Percent cut?!"

Jie Jia's eyes shifted. He glanced at Chen Mu and spoke calmly.

"There are three factions that regularly collect all kinds of Body Tempering secret arts."

"Eldest Young Master Zuo has privately put out word that he wishes to purchase a Body Tempering Technique."

"Zhu Yi Pavilion can take a copy as well."

"The White Stream Gang in the city intends to expand. They probably would not refuse an inheritance of a Body Tempering Technique either."

Chen Mu: "..."

Well, damn!

Now that you put it that way, I'm not sleepy anymore!

"Let's do it!"

In one corner of the Ghost Market, inside a ruined house with no roof.

A young man in his twenties stood quietly in the room.

A white paper oil lamp hung from the wall.

The dim yellow light flickered across his fair face, making it alternately bright and dark.

Before long, someone wearing a ghost-face mask quietly entered the room and said joyfully, "Young Master Zuo, sorry to keep you waiting. Here is what you wanted."

As he spoke, he unfurled a scroll.

The young man stared at the illustration, and his expression changed. "What skilled artwork!"

"This is a manual for the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique," the masked man introduced enthusiastically.

"My manual is different from the ones sold by the other shops. Theirs are all crude, inferior copies."

"Look at this artwork. Look at these detailed records. With a manual like this, what is there to worry about when cultivating the Body Tempering Technique?"

As Young Master Zuo listened to the man's introduction and examined the scroll, the stranger his expression became.

"It only costs one thousand taels. Give me just one thousand taels, and this Body Tempering Technique, worthy of being passed down through the ages, will be yours."

"Think about it. With this Body Tempering Technique, won't your Zuo Family be able to pass down martial arts through the generations? The world is becoming more chaotic by the day. Only those with the biggest fists get to speak, isn't that right?"

"You're right." Young Master Zuo withdrew his gaze with a sentimental expression.

"Then the payment..." The ghost-face masked man was overjoyed.

A Body Tempering Technique was no ordinary martial art. One mistake could cripple the practitioner.

A manual this detailed, one that even marked changes in muscle contours, was worth a fortune!

Fortunately, the fool who sold the manual did not understand the market, and fortunately, the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique had been sold everywhere. He had dismissed that fellow with just a few words.

Bought for eighty taels, sold for one thousand. This deal was making him a fortune!

Young Master Zuo clicked his tongue. "What a pity..."

The ghost-face masked man's heart skipped a beat.

"It's good stuff, but..." Young Master Zuo shook his head.

"What is it..." The ghost-face masked man grew tense. Why does this scene feel so familiar?

Young Master Zuo sighed and pulled a scroll from a cloth bag hanging on the wall.

That familiar feeling grew stronger, and a sense of foreboding rose in the ghost-face masked man's heart.

Young Master Zuo silently unrolled the scroll.

A row of lifelike little figures came into view, beside them flowing calligraphy—True Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique.

The ghost-face masked man: "..."

Fuck!

Is this how a Body Tempering Technique should be treated?

Why the hell is everyone wholesaling them?!