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"Gold coins, gold coins, lovely gold coins!" Lin Qi lay on the gold coins, intoxicated, and shouted hysterically, "Lovely gold coins, my darlings, my little cuties, how lovely gold coins are! Oh, oh, a small part of my life's dream has come true!"

Enzo and The Cripple both twitched their mouths simultaneously.

Lin Qi's life's dream had been described to them countless times—when he died, his tomb would be filled with gold, and he could lie comfortably in countless gold coins for eternal slumber. For gold, he could do almost anything!

Clearing his throat, The Cripple heavily patted the square table.

"Six high-quality Stabbing Sword, three gold coins each."

The Cripple's voice was serious, filled with an undeniable authority.

Lin Qi raised his head angrily. He glanced at the dozen glittering gold coins on the table and roared in annoyance, "Uncle The Cripple, is this a black shop? With this quality, such good Stabbing Sword, the material cost alone is more than three gold coins! Ten gold coins each, or I'll find someone else!"

The Cripple shouted even louder, "Damn thing, ten gold coins? Why don't you go rob someone? Three gold coins, my profit is already very thin. You know, what kind of business are we in? If the empire were buying these Stabbing Sword, they would be worth the price you mentioned, but we're doing business in the shadows!"

Lin Qi nimbly picked up the gold coins on the table one by one. Without any visible action, as soon as the gold coins reached his palm, they disappeared without a trace. This strange ability made The Cripple and Enzo gasp in admiration. What exceptional innate talent could possess such a skill?

In the blink of an eye, all eighteen gold coins and one silver coin were collected by Lin Qi. He placed his hands on the square table and roared angrily at The Cripple, "Yes, dear Uncle The Cripple, we are both doing business in the shadows, so a low price is expected. But the price you're offering is outrageous. This price not only insults these six top-grade Stabbing Sword but also insults me!"

Straining his eyes wide open, Lin Qi roared, "Am I staying up all night, traveling more than ten miles in the middle of the night to come to this godforsaken place for a mere eighteen gold coins? I am a man who does big business. I cannot toil so hard for a mere eighteen gold coins!"

The Cripple snorted coldly, 'a mere eighteen gold coins'? Lin Qi was a scoundrel who would break someone's head for a single copper coin. He had known Lin Qi for three years, and he knew this kid better than Lin Qi's father—his old friend Blackbeard. Let alone eighteen gold coins, he would travel a hundred miles overnight for eighteen copper coins.

Three gold coins per Stabbing Sword. The price was indeed a bit low, but thinking about the bottle of wine Lin Qi had just chugged down!

The Cripple's heart turned cold and ruthless. He gritted his teeth and said, "Three gold coins each, no room for negotiation. But the batch of Eastern medicinal herbs you took from me last month, that payment can offset this. If you still don't agree to my terms, you can go find that dead hunchback! See what price he can offer you!"

"May the great gods bless your ancestors!" Lin Qi immediately beamed with joy. He glanced at the bronze wine bottle on the ground and said with a relaxed smile, "Then, it's a deal. This bottle of wine will be a celebration of our completed transaction. Ah, tonight's drinks, according to the old rule, you're treating us, aren't you?"

The Cripple grunted. He walked to the table, wrapped the six Stabbing Sword in a cloth, opened a hidden compartment on the wall, and tossed the cloth roll inside. A clanging sound of metal gradually faded into the distance, and it was unknown where these Stabbing Sword had slid to through the secret passage.

Giving a thumbs-up towards the tavern, The Cripple snorted, "Old rules, drinking is fine, but if you dare to cause trouble, I'll break your legs! Hey, Vik, you can come out now. Is this how you treat your dear Uncle The Cripple?"

Candlelight flickered. From a dark shadow in the corner of the room, a slender, emaciated figure slowly stood up. Wearing a black tight-fitting suit, Vik, short and thin like a monkey, emerged from the corner holding a crossbow. He carefully removed the blackened bolt from the crossbow and then pulled the trigger, making a 'bang' sound of an empty string.

Lin Qi swayed his body joyfully, his arms swinging gently left and right. He teased with a glib tongue, "Ooh la la, dear Vik, you can't do that. How can you aim a crossbow at our dear Uncle The Cripple? Oh, don't do that next time. Especially with poisoned bolts, you really are a little rascal!"

Sniffing the air and detecting a faint, fishy smell, Lin Qi laughed even more joyfully. "You actually smeared the Seven-Pace Viper venom I got from that old geezer last time on the bolt, Vik. You really are a little rascal."

Vik grinned at The Cripple, who was sweating profusely on his forehead, and carefully hung the crossbow in the cloth bag at his waist.

The Cripple glanced sideways at Lin Qi, his wariness of this kid increasing. Seven-Pace Viper venom, damn it, they actually smeared this kind of demonic poison on the bolt! A crossbow was already a despicable assassination weapon, and with the Seven-Pace Viper venom, these brats were all more insidious and ruthless than the last. How could such exceptional individuals emerge from the dark world of The Seventh Empire?

"What's even more detestable is that they're on my turf!" The Cripple took a deep breath and said magnanimously, "Alright, alright, dear children, you can go and have fun. Eighteen gold coins, that's a lot of money. You need to spend some of it here, otherwise, it's not a good thing for young children like you to have so much money on hand!"

"The drinks are on me, but Uncle The Cripple has more fun things here. Hurry up and spend some money, or I'll be heartbroken. My gold coins, my gold coins!" The Cripple wiped his eyes with his dirty sleeve and lamented sadly, "My gold coins, they were earned one copper coin at a time, and you took away eighteen gold coins at once!"

Lin Qi no longer paid attention to The Cripple. Tonight's transaction was complete. The Cripple was a dispensable existence to him. Now, he should go drink, go have fun, and then find new opportunities to make money while drinking and having fun.

The Cripple's Shop was a good place. Lin Qi could always find many opportunities to make money here, and he would never let any opportunity slip by.

As they opened the secret door and were about to head to the tavern for drinks and merriment, a tavern maid emerged from the darkness like a ghost.

"Boss, some strange guests have arrived. Lisa slapped them."