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A burly man in black, with a bamboo hat on his head and an ordinary broadsword strapped to his back, strolled through the streets of the northwestern district of Zhuqi County. He kept glancing at the martial artists passing by, searching for someone.
Mysterious martial artists like him, who hid their faces beneath bamboo hats, were common in Zhuqi County. Many martial artists wore them to conceal their identities and movements, hoping to avoid being hunted down by their enemies.
That man was none other than Ye Qin.
Ye Qin had deliberately strapped a broadsword to his back to mislead people into thinking he was an outsider swordsman. He had even put on several thick coats and wrapped himself in layers of coarse cloth, making himself look broad and sturdy, like a man in his twenties or thirties. He had smeared an herb that darkened the skin over his face and hands until they were as black as charcoal. He also kept a walnut in his mouth to make his voice hoarse and low.
Disguise was a skill every Herb Gathering Hall disciple had to learn for gathering herbs in the wild, and he had mastered it thoroughly.
Ye Qin had spent at least half a day wandering through the markets, post stations, inns, and taverns in the northwestern district, looking for a buyer for the Clear Heart Pill. After what had happened at the Spring Jade Shop, he had grown much more cautious. He wouldn't approach just anyone to sell the pill; his buyer had to meet several conditions. First, they had to be a wealthy martial artist who could afford the Clear Heart Pill. Second, they needed strong backing from a gang, so the Medicine King Gang wouldn't dare investigate them too closely and follow the trail back to him. Third, they had to be an outsider, unfamiliar with local martial artists, and planning to leave soon. Once they were gone from Zhuqi County, he would be safe for good, with no need to live in fear.
After disguising himself, Ye Qin wandered around the county town in search of someone who fit the bill. Recently, the number of visiting martial artists had risen sharply, so finding someone wealthy and influential shouldn't be too difficult.
Ye Qin was simply being very careful as he repeatedly weighed his options. To reduce the chance of exposing himself, he intended to make a steady private deal with just one buyer and avoid dealing with too many martial artists.
He had watched several groups of wealthy martial artists from Wan'an City, the provincial capital of Ping Province, at some of the county town's finest restaurants and inns. Nearly all of them were disciples of the ten largest gangs in Ping Province. Even the Medicine King Gang wouldn't dare provoke them lightly and risk starting a feud. Selling to them in private should make it difficult for the Medicine King Gang to trace the transaction back to him.
At noon that day, Ye Qin was sitting at an open-air teahouse by the roadside, resting and sipping iced tea, when a grand four-wheeled carriage rolled into town. It was driven by three white-maned steeds and covered in gold leaf. Dozens of fit, muscular men in riding clothes escorted it on horseback. The carriage proceeded slowly to the post station in the west of town and came to a halt. The men stood tall, their eyes glinting with restrained sharpness. Any one of them would have been a formidable first-rate martial artist. They took up positions around the post station, sealing off every approach from which the carriage might be attacked. Clearly, they were well trained.
A golden flag bearing the large characters "Treasure" was mounted at the front of the carriage. A ruddy-faced old man in a yellow robe stepped down first. A handsome, slender young man in white, with sharp brows and bright eyes, and a young woman in red, her figure graceful, followed him out. Surrounded by the muscular guards, they entered a nearby luxury inn.
Several ordinary martial artists in the teahouse saw the carriage and its passengers and immediately whispered in surprise.
"The Treasure Gang, the ninth-largest gang in Ping Province! That old man's shoulder bears what looks like the insignia of an elder."
"Why have figures like them come to Zhuqi County so early? The Medicine King Gang's Medicine Conference isn't for several more months."
"Brother, you don't know? The Treasure Gang specializes in hosting all kinds of auctions. The Medicine King Gang must have invited them to host this medicine trading conference. It's no surprise they've arrived early to make preparations."
Ye Qin listened to every word, and an idea stirred in his mind.
Anyone who roamed the martial world would know of Ping Province's ten great gangs. The Treasure Gang seemed like a fine trading partner. He recalled what he knew about them.
The Treasure Gang was the ninth-largest gang in Ping Province, only a little weaker than the Medicine King Gang, but still a famous major organization. Its disciples liked to call themselves treasure merchants. Their sole business was collecting rare treasures, then buying low and selling high through trade and auctions. Whether it was a treasured saber, sword, armor, manual, or medicine, they never asked where it came from, only how much it cost. Naturally, even top-grade medicines were among the things they bought.
And if those martial artists were right, the Treasure Gang had been specially invited by the Medicine King Gang to host the auction at the Medicine Conference in Zhuqi County. It was far more powerful than the force behind the Spring Jade Shop—the likes of the Eight Harmony Gang.
Ye Qin considered the matter. Selling the Clear Heart Pill to the Treasure Gang seemed like the best choice. The gang's rule was not to ask where a treasure came from, which would help him conceal his identity.
So Ye Qin waited outside the inn where the Treasure Gang's elder was staying for two whole days, looking for an opportunity to meet one of its members alone. During that time, gang leaders from all over Zhuqi County came to pay their respects to the elder, but no one from the Treasure Gang came out.
It wasn't until the third day that the elder finally left the inn alone to stroll around town and clear his head.
Ye Qin immediately followed him.
The Treasure Gang's elder was a ruddy-faced old man in his fifties or sixties, always wearing a smile. His temples bulged, a clear sign that his inner cultivation was extremely deep. Even with Ye Qin's current first-layer cultivation in the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra, he felt a hint of pressure from the old man. The elder was probably not much weaker than he was.
The old man was quite interesting, too. He seemed to have noticed Ye Qin following him, yet he strolled unhurriedly through the county market, looking this way and that, picking things up and putting them down, and haggling with a street vendor for ages.
At last, when he reached the mouth of a quiet alley, the old man stopped and clasped his hands behind his back. In a low voice, he said, "You've got some nerve, kid. You've been following me all this time. I'm Huang Jinhu of Ping Province. I've roamed its lands for decades, and it's been a long time since I met a young man with this much courage. Speak. Why are you following me? If you can't give me a good reason, I'll break a few of your bones."
Ye Qin stopped a dozen or so steps behind him. He adjusted his bamboo hat and, with a walnut in his mouth, replied calmly, "You're a renowned martial artist, senior. Surely you're not afraid of some nameless youngster following you? With your experience, you can probably guess why I've been following you."
"Young man, you're quite the clever one," the old man snorted. "There are only two reasons people follow treasure merchants. Either they want something from me, or they want to sell me something. So, kid, what is it? Do you want to buy something, or sell something?"
"Senior sees everything clearly. A few days ago, my master was too hasty in his training and, unfortunately, suffered a qi deviation. One of my fellow disciples, an uncle, is barely keeping it under control. I urgently need a top-grade medicine to regulate his breathing—a Clear Heart Pill—to save his life. Does the Treasure Gang have one, and if so, how much does it cost? I'm willing to pay a high price."
Ye Qin didn't know the going rate for a Clear Heart Pill and didn't want to get cheated, so he made up a story to find out the old man's buying price. Once he knew that, he could figure out roughly what he might sell it for.
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