The two guests at the tea table chimed in with Lu Guofu.
The Hagen Das Kingdom lay in the northern part of the empire, where snow and ice covered the land year-round and crops could not be grown.
Lu Guofu's merchant guild had built up such a presence in the Hagen Das Kingdom that he himself represented a business opportunity. The two merchants dreamed of going there to make their fortunes, so they chatted with him at length.
Before long, seeing that Qin Yuan had no intention of joining the conversation, Lu Guofu thought he hadn't made himself appealing enough and couldn't help asking, "May I ask your name, brother? Are you in the grain business, too?"
Qin Yuan took a sip of tea and shook his head. "My surname is Qin. I'm not in the grain business. I deal in gems."
Lu Guofu nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. People downstream are always panning for gold. Since you're a gem merchant, I imagine you buy nuggets from small-time prospectors. I happen to know a few people in that line. Want me to introduce you?"
The gem business was a lucrative one, and the most famous gem merchants in the Heaven Dou Empire came from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Qin Yuan was remarkably composed, clearly a man who had seen the world. There was a good chance he was connected to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Anyone doing business in the Heaven Dou Empire had to deal with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect sooner or later. Building a good relationship with Qin Yuan could only be a good thing.
Qin Yuan shook his head again. "That won't be necessary. Gold and silver offer limited profits; processed gems are far more lucrative. I didn't bring much money with me on this trip, so I'm focusing on buying gem raw material."
The other guest at the table took an interest and spoke up. "Brother Qin, my name is Huang Ling. I know a merchant who has some excellent-quality gem raw material. Would you be interested?"
The gem raw material stolen from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was undoubtedly top quality. If luck was on his side, the person Huang Ling knew was probably connected to the gang of thieves.
Lu Guofu didn't want someone else to steal Qin Yuan's attention. He immediately said, "Brother Qin, I'm a little older than you and have seen more of the world."
"Recently, a caravan carrying gem raw material near Lin Chuan City was robbed. Be careful not to buy stolen goods. If the original owner tracks them down, you'll only invite trouble."
Qin Yuan feigned surprise. "That happened? Whose caravan was robbed?"
Lu Guofu shook his head. As a major merchant, he had access to certain sources of information, but gems weren't part of his business, so he hadn't paid much attention to the incident.
Huang Ling, however, didn't take kindly to his words. "Brother Lu, my friend's gems come from a reliable source. Don't spread baseless claims, and don't ruin my business."
Lu Guofu shrugged. "I was just trying to help. I wanted Brother Qin to stay alert so he wouldn't attract the thieves' attention."
After leaving the teahouse,
Qin Yuan had a plan.
According to Lu Guofu, there had only been one recent robbery involving gem raw material. Huang Ling had reacted quite strongly, so it seemed the friend he mentioned had a shady background, and Huang Ling was acting as a middleman, scouting for customers.
Before long, Huang Ling left the teahouse and met Qin Yuan at a street corner.
"Brother Qin, don't get the wrong idea. The gems my friend has are top quality, and there's absolutely no dispute over them. We're legitimate businessmen. Why would we trade in stolen goods?"
Qin Yuan smiled and nodded. "I'm still inclined to trust you, Brother Huang. But I've been searching the mainland for a long time and haven't come across any good merchandise. If I delay much longer, I'm afraid I won't be able to answer to my employer."
As they talked, Huang Ling led Qin Yuan out of the city.
According to Huang Ling, a mine outside the city produced gems, so that was where the deal would take place.
Qin Yuan did question him along the way, but Huang Ling brushed off his concerns.
Before long, they arrived at a wooden cabin outside the city.
The friend Huang Ling had mentioned was a fierce-looking man. He clutched a bulging burlap sack and warily scanned the area.
"Old Huang, is this the buyer?" the man asked cautiously.
Huang Ling answered, then added, "I've brought the customer. You two can talk things over yourselves. Just don't forget my cut."
With that, he left.
Qin Yuan picked up a stool and sat down in front of the man. "Let me see the goods."
The man glanced around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he took a rough gem from the sack.
Qin Yuan had assumed the man would try to rob him, but it turned out he really was conducting a straightforward sale.
It was no wonder the robbery hadn't caused much of a stir. After stealing the gems, the thieves had started selling them through legitimate channels in private. Of course, that hadn't attracted much attention.
Qin Yuan hadn't really come to buy gem raw material, and he didn't have that kind of money anyway.
Even a layman like him could tell these gems were of exceptional quality. If they'd been ordinary gem raw material, why would the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect have risked so much to buy them on the Black Market?
Qin Yuan had an inkling of what was going on. He asked, "The gems are indeed fine. They're clear inside, without a single crack."
"But I recently heard that a vehicle carrying gems was stolen. I need to know where your gems came from, so I don't buy stolen goods and invite trouble."
The man frowned. "If you can't afford them, get lost. Stop asking so many questions!"
Qin Yuan thought it over. To avoid tipping them off, he bought all the gem raw material in the sack.
It hurt to pay so much, but if these gems really were the ones stolen from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he could still recover some of his costs.
That night, Qin Yuan returned to Lin Chuan City.
According to Ning Fengzhi's instructions, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had a secret outpost in Lin Chuan City, so Qin Yuan hurried there to meet up with them.
"Mr. Qin, there are some things we don't dare investigate too deeply, in case we draw the attention of other forces."
Qin Yuan hurriedly asked, "I know these are stolen goods, but who was the original owner? Is there really someone even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can't afford to offend?"
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciple gave an awkward laugh and, following Ning Fengzhi's instructions, told him the truth. "These gems belonged to Spirit Hall. They were stolen by a gang of vicious criminals, then appeared on the Black Market, where one of our sect's disciples bought them."
"Spirit Hall's experts have already traced them to Lin Chuan City. Mr. Qin, you must be careful and avoid being seen by anyone from Spirit Hall."
As it happened, this mission wasn't really about avenging the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples. It was more like a cover-up.
The gang of thieves had taken the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples' Soul Tools, so they must have known their identities. If Spirit Hall found the thieves first and the truth came out, it would give Spirit Hall an excuse to make trouble for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
It was no wonder Ning Fengzhi had approached Qin Yuan. His background was clean enough, and his ties to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were deep enough.
If they'd used an outsider, and that person told Spirit Hall everything, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would have been in trouble.
Qin Yuan couldn't help feeling dissatisfied with Ning Fengzhi's deliberate omission. He needed to assess the risks of the mission, and any concealment could very well lead to failure!
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciple apologized repeatedly. "Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Qin. This matter is of great importance, so the Sect Master had to be cautious."
As he spoke, another disciple arrived to report the results of the inspection.
Most of the gems Qin Yuan had brought back were from the batch the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had bought on the Black Market. Some worthless pieces had been mixed in at the bottom of the sack to make them seem better than they were.
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