Treasure Merchant

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A burly man wearing a black tight-fitting suit, a bamboo hat, and a common heavy broadsword strapped to his back walked slowly along the streets in the northwest district of Zhuqi County. From time to time, he scanned the passing martial artists, searching for someone.

Mysterious martial artists who used bamboo hats to hide their faces were not uncommon in Zhuqi County. Many in the pugilistic world preferred to conceal their features to avoid being hunted by enemies, hiding their tracks as they went.

This martial artist was none other than Ye Qin.

Ye Qin had deliberately strapped on a heavy broadsword to mislead others into thinking he was an itinerant swordsman. He even wore several thick coats and wrapped himself in heavy coarse cloth to appear broad-shouldered and sturdy, like a man in his twenties or thirties. He had applied an herbal concoction that turned his face and hands as black as charcoal, and he kept a walnut in his mouth to make his voice sound hoarse and deep.

Disguise was a mandatory skill for disciples of the Herb Gathering Hall who gathered herbs in the wild, and he was extremely proficient in it.

Ye Qin had spent at least half a day wandering through the markets, post stations, inns, and taverns of the northwest district, constantly trying to find a buyer for the Clear Heart Pill. After the incident at the Spring Jade Shop, he had become much more cautious. He did not simply seek out anyone to sell the medicine to; he needed to satisfy several conditions. First, the buyer had to be a wealthy martial artist who could afford the Clear Heart Pill. Second, they had to have a powerful gang background so that the Herb Gathering Hall would not dare to easily investigate them, which would prevent them from tracing the trail back to him. Third, they had to be outsiders who were unfamiliar with the local martial arts scene and would leave soon; once they left Zhuqi County, he would be safe forever, without having to live in constant fear.

After his disguise, Ye Qin wandered around the county, looking for martial artists who met these criteria. Recently, the number of visiting martial artists in Zhuqi County had increased significantly, so finding wealthy and powerful figures was not too difficult.

However, Ye Qin was extremely cautious, repeatedly vetting his targets. To minimize the possibility of exposure, he only intended to find one party for a stable private transaction, avoiding contact with too many people.

He scouted several of the most luxurious restaurants and inns in Zhuqi County, observing groups of martial arts elites from Wan'an City, the capital of Ping Province. These people were almost all disciples of the top ten largest gangs in Ping Province. Even the Medicine King Gang would not easily provoke them, lest they cause a conflict. Therefore, selling medicine to them privately should be difficult for the Medicine King Gang to trace.

At noon that day, just as Ye Qin was sitting at an open-air tea stall by the street, resting and drinking herbal tea, he saw a luxurious, large four-wheeled carriage, pulled by three white-maned steeds and inlaid with gold foil, drive into the city under the escort of dozens of capable men in tight-fitting outfits. It slowly came to a stop at the post station in the west of the city. These men held their heads high, their eyes sharp and focused; any one of them was a formidable first-rate martial artist. As they stood at the post station, they layered themselves to block all possible attack routes against the carriage, clearly well-trained.

A gold-threaded flag was planted in front of the carriage, embroidered with the large characters "Treasure." An elderly man in yellow robes with a ruddy complexion was the first to step down from the carriage. A white-clad young disciple with sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes, along with a slender young woman in red, also emerged and, surrounded by the guards, entered a nearby luxury inn.

Inside the tea stall, several ordinary martial artists saw the carriage and the people who emerged from it, and they whispered in surprise.

"The Treasure Gang, the ninth largest gang in Ping Province! That old man, the mark embroidered on his shoulder, he looks like an elder-level figure."

"Why would such a big shot come to Zhuqi County so early? Isn't the Medicine King Gang's Medicine Conference still months away?"

"Brother, you don't know. The Treasure Gang is best at hosting all kinds of auctions. The Medicine King Gang must have invited them to host this medicine trading conference. It's no surprise they showed up early to prepare."

Ye Qin listened to every word they said, and his heart stirred.

Those who walked the path of the pugilistic world could not possibly be ignorant of the ten great gangs of Ping Province. This Treasure Gang was a decent candidate for a transaction. Information about the Treasure Gang surfaced in his mind.

The Treasure Gang was the ninth largest gang in Ping Province, slightly inferior to the Medicine King Gang, but still a famous large-scale organization. Its disciples liked to style themselves as treasure merchants. Their primary business was collecting all kinds of rare and secret treasures, then buying low and selling high through trade and auctions. Regardless of the treasure—"precious blades, swords, armor, secret manuals, precious medicines..."—they didn't ask about the origin, only the price, and they bought everything, including top-tier medicines.

Moreover, if those martial artists were correct, this Treasure Gang had been specially invited by the Medicine King Gang to host the auction at the Zhuqi County Medicine Conference. They were far superior to the backers of the Spring Jade Shop, such as the Eight Harmony Gang.

Ye Qin considered that selling the Clear Heart Pill to the Treasure Gang was likely the best choice. The Treasure Gang's rule was never to inquire about the origin of a treasure, which was very favorable for hiding his identity.

To this end, Ye Qin waited for two full days outside the inn where the Treasure Gang elder was staying, looking for an opportunity to make contact alone. Over these two days, various gang leaders from Zhuqi County came to visit the elder, but he never saw anyone from the Treasure Gang come out.

It wasn't until the third day that the Treasure Gang elder finally left the inn alone to walk around the county and clear his mind.

Ye Qin immediately followed.

The Treasure Gang elder was a man in his fifties or sixties with a ruddy complexion and a constant smile. His temples were bulging and full, clearly indicating an extremely deep internal cultivation. With Ye Qin's current first-layer cultivation of the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra, he actually felt a trace of pressure from the old man; he feared this elder was not much weaker than himself.

The old man was quite interesting; he seemed to have noticed Ye Qin following him, yet he strolled through the county market unhurriedly, picking through items here and there, and even haggling with a street vendor for a long time.

Finally, walking to the entrance of a quiet, secluded alley, the old man stopped, clasped his hands behind his back, and asked in a deep voice, "Little one, you have quite some nerve. To actually dare to follow this old man—I, Huang Jinhu of Ping Province, have roamed these lands for decades and haven't encountered a young person with such guts in a long time. Speak, why are you following me? If you can't give me a good reason, be careful, or you might find a few of your bones broken."

Ye Qin stopped more than ten paces behind the old man, adjusted his bamboo hat, and with the walnut in his mouth, said calmly, "Senior is a master of the pugilistic world; how could you fear being followed by an unknown junior? With your experience, you must be able to guess why this junior has been following you."

"This young man is quite clever." The old man snorted coldly. "There are only two reasons people follow the Treasure Merchants. Either they want to get some treasure from me, or they want to sell me some treasure. Boy, tell me, do you want something, or do you want to sell something?"

"Senior is indeed sharp-eyed. My master was too hasty in his training some time ago and unfortunately suffered a qi deviation. He is currently being forcibly suppressed by a martial uncle, and I am in urgent need of a single pill of the top-tier restorative medicine, the 'Clear Heart Pill,' to go back and save his life. I wonder if the Treasure Gang has this precious medicine, and what the price might be? I am willing to pay a high price."

Ye Qin did not know the market rate for the Clear Heart Pill and did not want to be taken advantage of, so he fabricated a cover story to fish for the old man's buying price. Once he knew the buying price, he would naturally have a clear idea of the selling price.