Treasure Exchange (Seeking Votes)

"You want a Clear Heart Pill?"

Elder Huang frowned, seemingly lost in thought for a long moment before continuing, "If this old man remembers correctly, a treasure-level medicine of this caliber has not appeared in the jianghu of Ping Province for at least a decade. To my knowledge, the last Clear Heart Pill seen in Ping Province is kept personally by Tie Yuyang, the leader of the Fire Cloud Gang, the largest faction in the province. Unless one can persuade the great Gang Leader Tie to part with it, it is impossible to find a second one. However, as the great Gang Leader Tie keeps it for life-saving purposes, he would naturally never trade it to an outsider."

"This humble one would like to ask the Elder, what is the market price for this Clear Heart Pill?"

"Haha, such a treasure has no fixed price. If there is only one, everyone will fight for it, so selling it for a hundred Gold Leaf would be common. If there were dozens or hundreds, then it would be worth twenty or thirty Gold Leaf."

Elder Huang laughed, finding this question from Ye Qin quite amusing.

Ye Qin now had a rough idea of the market price for the Clear Heart Pill. Unfazed by the old man's laughter, he took out a small medicine vial: "This humble one happens to have one of these 'Clear Heart Pills' that everyone in the jianghu is fighting over. I wonder how much you would be willing to pay for it, Elder?"

Elder Huang's laughter came to an abrupt halt, his face filled with astonishment: "Kid, you have a Clear Heart Pill in your hands?"

Ye Qin cupped his hands in apology: "That is correct. This humble one does indeed have one Clear Heart Pill and is looking for a buyer. Because I was unsure of the price, I acted rashly to test the waters. Please forgive me, Senior."

"Oh, no wonder you wear a bamboo hat and dare not show your face; it turns out you are carrying a treasure. This old man has misjudged you today. It is no matter that you tried to trick me, but I must verify the goods in your hands first."

Upon hearing Ye Qin's explanation, Elder Huang was not angry; instead, he appeared somewhat delighted. After more than a decade, being able to see a Clear Heart Pill surface again was undoubtedly a very pleasant matter for a treasure merchant like him.

Ye Qin flicked his wrist, and the small medicine vial traced an arc through the air, landing in the old man's hand.

The treasure business of the Treasure Gang relied entirely on reputation to build such a massive trade in Ping Province. Although this Clear Heart Pill was a treasure, in the eyes of a treasure merchant, it was merely a piece of merchandise worth dozens or hundreds of Gold Leaf. A dignified Elder of the Treasure Gang would certainly not ruin his own reputation over a pill worth a mere hundred Gold Leaf.

Elder Huang took the vial, opened it, and poured out a cyan pill. He first examined the luster of the pill, then scraped it with his fingernail to carefully identify the scent, nodding with great satisfaction.

"Not bad, it is indeed a Clear Heart Pill. It belongs to the top-tier of restorative medicines; the medicinal scent is quite pure and rich, and it should have been finished not long ago. Little brother, how do you wish to sell this pill?"

Having verified the goods, Elder Huang returned the vial to Ye Qin. He had already begun to treat Ye Qin as a seller and client, even changing his form of address.

"This humble one is not familiar with the rules of the Treasure Gang, so I must ask for your guidance, Elder."

"With this pill, little brother, you can already be considered a seller for our Treasure Gang. Let me explain the trading methods of the Treasure Gang. We have three ways to trade."

"The first is consignment auction. The seller leaves the treasure with our Treasure Gang, and it is then publicly auctioned. We only take a small commission. The final price is determined entirely by the auction. Once the auction is complete, the Treasure Hall collects the money from the buyer and pays the seller. This method takes a bit longer, as there isn't an auction every day. I estimate that I will hold a small treasure auction in Zhuqi County every ten days or so. If you have time and are not in urgent need of money, you can entrust this medicine to me for auction."

"And what else?"

"The second is a direct sale. If the seller is in a hurry to offload the goods, they can sell the treasure directly to our Treasure Gang. In this case, we pay on the spot. The deal is settled immediately. However, the price will certainly be far lower than the auction price. The last method is a treasure exchange. If the seller takes a fancy to a treasure of ours, they can use their own to trade for it. Of course, one must use a high-value treasure to exchange for a lower-value one. After all, our Treasure Gang is not a charity; we do not provide free, equal-value exchanges. Little brother, do you choose consignment auction, direct sale, or do you intend to exchange this pill for other treasures?"

Ye Qin pondered for a moment before making his decision.

He would only deal privately with Elder Huang of the Treasure Hall from now on to maximize his anonymity. The Herb Gathering Hall in Zhuqi County would never dare to investigate an Elder-level figure of the Treasure Gang.

The Medicine King Gang would also not mobilize their forces to pursue a nameless disciple like him to the end.

As long as they could not trace it back to the Treasure Gang's Elder, they could not trace it back to him.

As for the White Jade Embryo at the Spring Jade Shop, he had already decided to give it up to avoid bringing trouble upon himself.

Since that was the case, he was not in a hurry for money.

What he lacked most right now was jade containing spiritual energy for his cultivation of the second layer of the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra. Even a small shop like the Spring Jade Shop had one or two pieces as their store treasures. A large faction like the Treasure Gang should certainly have such jade.

Ye Qin made up his mind: "A treasure exchange. Elder Huang, I will use this pill to trade with you for a piece of jade. However, the jade must be very rich in spiritual energy; if it lacks sufficient energy, I will not want it."

Elder Huang mused for a moment: "Jade with very rich spiritual energy?... My Treasure Gang has quite a lot of jade, though I am not sure if it will meet your requirements. Why don't you accompany me to the inn? I brought quite a few treasures with me on this trip to Zhuqi County; perhaps there is something you want among them."

Ye Qin nodded.

The two left the alley one after the other and entered the luxury inn where Elder Huang was staying. To avoid suspicion, Ye Qin deliberately kept a distance of over a hundred paces, waiting until Elder Huang had entered the inn before he followed.

Inside the inn, a young man from the Treasure Gang was already waiting. Seeing Ye Qin in his black clothes and bamboo hat, he immediately led him to a luxurious guest room on the second floor. As soon as Ye Qin entered the room, he immediately felt several sharp gazes watching him vigilantly from the adjacent rooms.

Ye Qin was slightly startled, but he quickly relaxed; it was only natural for an Elder of the Treasure Gang to have many guards protecting his residence, and they were not necessarily targeting him.

Elder Huang was already waiting in the room.

On a large rosewood table, dozens of small treasures were laid out: a sharp Blood-Coagulating Dagger, a gold-thread inner armor, several volumes of high-level secret manuals, some rare formulas, some bottles and jars, and other items whose functions Ye Qin did not know.

Elder Huang picked out several pieces of jade, jade pendants, and bracelets, smiling: "These are the few small pieces of jade I carry with me. Take a look, little brother. If none of these catch your eye, you may choose any one of the other small treasures."

Ye Qin's gaze swept over the jade, and his heart stirred as he picked up one of the cyan jade pendants.