Fellow Travelers Showing Their Hands

At dawn, with the sky already bright, a band of hunters clad in animal skins slowly approached from the distant official road outside Yicheng's gates in Jiangning Prefecture. They were the people of Teng Village.

They had set out before first light. Now, the world was fully illuminated by daylight, and they had finally reached Yicheng. Fortunately, they had not encountered any bandits along the way.

After paying sixty-two copper coins, the group entered Yicheng. Once inside, they did not scatter but headed purposefully toward a broad street.

Normally, whenever they came to Yicheng, they would have a good time. After all, it was rare for them to enter the city. They might visit the gambling house and play a few rounds. But this delivery involved too much gold and silver, and no one dared let down their guard.

On a quiet, spacious street with few passersby, the people from Teng Village proceeded forward.

"This area is where the various commerce halls are located. Among them, Yang Province Commerce Hall occupies the largest grounds." Teng Yongfan pointed ahead. "That is Yang Province Commerce Hall."

Gu Sheng swept his gaze over it. The gates of Yang Province Commerce Hall were nearly thirty meters wide, enough for twenty or thirty people to walk abreast. The two towering azure stone lions at the entrance gleamed with golden light, looking majestic and imposing.

Teng Yongfan sighed. "Those two stone lions are made of Lapis Lazuli. They are so huge that each one must weigh over ten thousand jin. Those two lions alone are worth several thousand taels of silver!"

Yangzhou salt merchants were said to rival the great tycoons of Yu Province. Their wealth was no empty boast.

"Get lost, all of you."

One of the four burly guards at the entrance to Yang Province Commerce Hall shouted at Teng Qingshan and the others.

Teng Yongfan quickly said, "We're here to deliver goods. Lord Li from Jiangning Prefecture placed an order with us!"

"Lord Li from Jiangning Prefecture?"

One of them frowned. "Wait here. I'll report it."

Somewhere inside Yang Province Commerce Hall, Gu Sheng and the others had already met Qin San. After they took out the Jade Chill Blades, Qin San signaled for the guards to test them one by one by chopping firewood.

"Hmm?"

Qin San's expression darkened. He had originally planned to simply swallow the remaining payment, but it seemed he would have to act personally now.

Qin San suddenly rose, took a Jade Chill Blade from a guard, and lightly flicked its edge with his right hand. With Inner Force coursing through it, the blade immediately curled. Gu Sheng and Teng Qingshan, who had been watching his movements closely, saw it all.

His expression immediately sank, while the people of Teng Village felt their hearts skip a beat.

"What is going on? Why has this blade's edge curled?"

Qin San pretended to be furious as he hurled the Jade Chill Blade away. With a clang, it landed before Teng Qingshan and the others.

"How could that be?" Teng Yongfan hurriedly picked it up.

The surrounding villagers looked and saw that the Jade Chill Blade's edge had indeed curled.

Teng Yongfan's face changed drastically.

According to the written agreement, once there was a quality issue, they would be in serious trouble.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible." Teng Yongfan repeatedly shook his head, his face filled with anxiety. "I inspected every single blade. How could this happen?"

The leader sneered. "Impossible?"

"Qingshan!"

Gu Sheng tugged on Teng Qingshan's sleeve and pointed toward several figures in the residence who seemed to be speaking. If Gu Sheng remembered correctly, Lord Li should be at home at this time!

"My lord!"

Teng Qingshan glanced in the direction Gu Sheng indicated, then secretly laughed. His voice suddenly rang out, full and powerful with Inner Force behind it, clearly audible throughout the residence.

Qin San's expression changed as he barked, "Kid, keep your voice down. If you disturb the master resting up ahead, every last one of you will be thrown into prison."

"My lord, do you know Inner Force? The legendary Inner Force?"

With an admiring, excited expression, Teng Qingshan looked at Qin San. "Just now, I saw your hand touch that Jade Chill Blade, and that sharp edge..."

Before Teng Qingshan could finish, Qin San, who had still been stunned, suddenly changed expression and shouted angrily, "Kid, shut up!"

"What is going on?"

A voice sounded out. A group emerged from the residence, led by a fair-skinned middle-aged man in a black fur coat, whose appearance alone showed that he lived a life of luxury.

Beside the middle-aged man was a cute young girl dressed mischievously in a white snow-marten coat, her hair tied in two braids. Behind them stood two servants and two personal guards.

"Master."

Everyone in the rear courtyard immediately bowed.

The middle-aged man frowned. "Oh, the Jade Chill Blades have arrived? Since they have, pay them quickly and send them away. What are you making such a racket for?"

Qin San hurriedly replied, "Yes, Master!"

"Hey, Qin San, what were you arguing about just now?"

The mischievous young girl blinked her large eyes and asked curiously. She looked at the Teng clansmen in animal skins, then quietly muttered to herself, "Every one of them looks like Tarzan. Are these what hunters of this era are like?"

Though Miss Li's voice was soft, Gu Sheng and Teng Qingshan, with their exceptional hearing, heard every word clearly. Teng Qingshan merely felt that her manner of speaking was strange, but Gu Sheng froze at once.

This era! Tarzan! A transmigrator? A Reincarnator?

Gu Sheng kept his eyes forward while secretly observing every move this young lady made from the corner of his eye.

Qin San immediately bowed and said, "Miss, it is like this. We ordered goods from them, and they have now delivered them. We were just inspecting the goods... but one of the Jade Chill Blades is of poor quality. Its edge actually curled after chopping wood."

After hearing this, Miss Li frowned and snorted at the people of Teng Village. "A Jade Chill Blade costs one hundred and fifty taels each. It is so expensive, yet its edge curls just from chopping wood? How can we accept such a weapon?"

As she spoke, Miss Li crossed her arms before her chest. That gesture further confirmed Gu Sheng's judgment, and he promptly ran out with a flattering smile. "Miss, please calm your anger. Your criticism is entirely justified. This truly was our oversight.

However, only one blade has a problem—just one. It does not affect the quality of the other Jade Chill Blades.

How about this? One defective blade, one blade deducted. Of these one hundred and eighty-two—no, one hundred and eighty-one—Jade Chill Blades, we will only collect the remaining payment for one hundred and eighty blades. At one hundred and fifty taels per blade, one hundred and eighty blades come to twenty-seven thousand taels. You already paid an eight-thousand-tael deposit, so the remaining payment is nineteen thousand taels.

Miss, is my calculation correct?"

With a broad smile, Gu Sheng ran up to Miss Li, nodding and bowing as he fawned over her in a low voice. His bootlicking manner was completely unlike his usual self. Yet no one noticed that while he bowed and scraped, wisps of nearly imperceptible powder drifted from between his fingers onto several people from the Li Family Commerce.

The expressions of the Teng Village group became extremely strange. None of them had expected Gu Sheng to pull something like this. Teng Yongfan's palms were sweating, while Teng Qingshan instead breathed a sigh of relief. Having lived two lives, he understood the tricks behind this far too well.

From beginning to end, this matter should have been Qin San's idea. If it were exposed, he would certainly suffer the consequences. With so many people watching, he could only swallow the loss.

As for offending them, Qin San had already intended to cheat them out of the remaining payment. At this point, what was there to fear about offending anyone?