The Peddler

Azure City, southern outskirts, Wang Family Estate.

Wang Dalong listened to the busy tone on the phone, his brows knotting together as he viciously slammed the phone onto the table.

"What the hell is going on?!"

He paced around the room twice, unease creeping into his heart.

Ghost had suddenly called but said nothing. What did that mean?

Had the mission failed?

Impossible.

Ghost was at the peak of the martial apprentice realm. Killing Lin Yun should have been effortless.

Then had he turned on him?

Wang Dalong abruptly stopped, his expression turning ugly.

He recalled how Ghost had previously demanded a higher price and said Lin Yun had something valuable on him.

That brat had probably found some treasure on Lin Yun and wanted to keep it for himself, not even caring about the final payment.

"What a bastard with no professional ethics."

Wang Dalong spat, his face darkening.

But he did not dare to truly seek Ghost out and settle the score.

That man was a desperate outlaw. If he pushed him too far and Ghost bit back, it would not be worth the trouble.

Besides, he had only paid a one-million deposit. As long as Lin Yun died, his goal would be achieved.

As for whatever treasure Lin Yun had, as the eldest young master of the Wang Family, Wang Dalong had no interest in such trifling scraps.

Wang Dalong sat back down, lifted his teacup, and took a sip, gradually calming himself.

He would consider the matter settled.

After eating some dry rations, Lin Yun hugged his luggage and slept on the bunk to recover from his injuries.

In his current condition, even fighting was somewhat difficult, let alone going out to hunt.

The less he moved, the better.

Until his injuries healed, he could not act recklessly.

Still, Lin Yun did not dare sleep too deeply.

He had checked earlier. There was no City Defense Army at this outpost, so it had likely been established voluntarily by hunters.

Without official backing, even if there was the most basic level of security, all kinds of accidents could still happen.

Lin Yun had no intention of letting some hunter of unknown origins steal the treasure he had traded his life for.

Over the next two days, Lin Yun barely moved and recovered roughly sixty percent of his injuries.

"It's time to go down and take a look."

Lin Yun went down to the first floor.

Even more martial artists had gathered on the first floor. Most were in the middle to late stages of the martial apprentice realm, sitting in small groups drinking and chatting. Empty beer cans and wrappers littered the floor.

Four or five simple stalls stood against the wall, with signs advertising supplies, weapon repairs, and high-priced material purchases.

Dim yellow bulbs hung overhead, while the air was thick with the smell of alcohol, sweat, and a faint bloody tang.

Lin Yun looked around before walking to the material-buying stall at the very back.

The stall owner was a sharp-featured middle-aged man. He leaned back in his chair, wiping a dagger without even raising his eyelids.

"Boss, I'm selling materials." As Lin Yun spoke, he took the items from his backpack and laid them out one by one.

Claw Rat pelts and claws, the shell and pincers of an Ironclad Turtle, as well as the valuables from the Rockback Beast, were neatly arranged on the table.

The boss glanced over them. Seeing that Lin Yun was merely a teenager yet had materials from a Rockback Beast, he wondered if the kid had gotten lucky and picked them up somewhere.

Whatever. It was not every day that he ran into a young fool. Naturally, he had to fleece him properly.

The boss immediately frowned, using his dagger to poke at the edge of the shell with an unsatisfied expression.

"Kid, your Claw Rat and Ironclad Turtle cuts are pretty bad. Only the Rockback Beast was handled decently."

His tone was utterly casual.

"I'll give you one hundred and fifty thousand for the whole table."

Lin Yun was nearly angered into laughter.

"Boss, you're forcing the price down too hard. Even without the Rockback Beast materials, the Claw Rat and Ironclad Turtle alone are worth at least seventy thousand. It should be at least one hundred and seventy thousand, shouldn't it?"

He had already calculated it. If he took these materials to an official purchasing station in the safe zone, they would fetch at least one hundred and eighty or one hundred and ninety thousand.

After all, exotic beasts only existed outside the city and in the fallen zones. Their materials were not easy to obtain under normal circumstances.

Even during special times, hunting exotic beasts required hunters to risk their lives.

Though price gouging was common at outposts, one hundred and seventy thousand should have been the bottom line.

Clearly, the boss saw that he was an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old teenager and injured besides, and assumed he would be easy to bully.

Hearing Lin Yun's words, the boss sneered and slammed his dagger into the table with a dull thunk.

"Then don't sell. I'm the only one buying materials at this outpost. At worst, you can go to another outpost."

Lin Yun said nothing and reached out to gather up the materials on the table.

"Hey, wait." The boss pressed down on his hand, his tone instantly turning grim. "One hundred and sixty thousand, not a cent more. Think it through. In a place like this, money is just a worldly possession. Don't lose sight of the bigger picture over a little profit."

As soon as he finished speaking, four broad-shouldered martial artists slowly surrounded Lin Yun from the side.

"Kid, just sell it. Better than letting it rot in your hands."

"Exactly. Your cuts really aren't that good. The boss offering one hundred and sixty thousand is plenty fair."

Someone reached out and patted Lin Yun's shoulder, with noticeably more force than was appropriate for persuasion.

"The boss has been running a stall here for a long time. He's someone with standing. Don't make trouble over this little bit of money."

Lin Yun knew these people were working with the boss. If soft tactics failed, they were ready to resort to force.

Lin Yun stopped moving and looked at the boss, irritation already in his voice.

"Boss, that's not how you do business. Either give me a fair price, or these materials can rot in my hands before I sell them to you."

The smile on the boss's face vanished completely, his gaze turning vicious.

"You little bastard, you think you can tell me how to do business? I gave you face, but you don't want it. I'll ask you one last time: are you selling or not?!"

The martial artists beside him also rolled their wrists, their knuckles cracking as they assumed fighting stances.

Lin Yun took a deep breath.

They had gone too far!

Before they could make the first move, Lin Yun's left fist suddenly shot out and smashed solidly into the nose bridge of the man on his left.

"Argh!"

The man screamed as blood spurted from his nose, and he fell flat onto his back.

"You dare make a move! Get him!"

Seeing that Lin Yun actually dared to strike first, the boss roared, and the remaining three men lunged at him together.

Lin Yun's face darkened. Instead of retreating, he advanced.

Not to mention Ghost, even the more than twenty Black Tiger Gang thugs he had dealt with at the martial arts gym before had been fiercer than these people who only knew how to bully others.

As he unleashed Wind-Treading Step, Lin Yun's figure weaved nimbly among the three men. Every punch he threw carried a dull rush of wind.

In barely ten seconds, all three men were on the ground, clutching their stomachs or chests and curled up in pain, unable even to stand.

Lin Yun stepped forward, grabbed the boss by the collar, and lifted him with a slight exertion of strength.

The boss's face went pale with fright. He had never imagined that this teenager, still wrapped in bandages, was actually a seventh-level martial apprentice—and that he struck so ruthlessly.

"Y-you dare hit someone at the outpost! You don't want to live anymore?!" the boss shouted fiercely despite his inner fear.

Just then, the sound of someone slurping noodles came from nearby.

Lin Yun turned and saw Black Brother walking downstairs with a bowl of instant noodles.

He held the noodle cup in his left hand and a plastic fork in his right, eating with obvious enjoyment.

The moment the men on the ground saw Black Brother, they immediately struggled to their feet, lowered their heads, and called out in unison.

"Black Brother."

The boss's expression also changed instantly. "Black Brother! This kid... this kid deliberately picked a fight and attacked people!"

Black Brother ignored him. He raised his eyes toward Lin Yun, still chewing noodles as he spoke indistinctly.

"It's nothing much. Let him go first."

Lin Yun looked at Black Brother for two seconds. Since the man had saved him before, he released the boss.

Only then did Black Brother turn to the boss, his lips curling into a faint, ambiguous smile.

"Old Chen, what do I always tell you? Business has to be fair. What, you saw he was young and wanted to butcher him?"

All color drained from the boss's face as he waved his hands repeatedly.

"No! Nothing like that, Black Brother! How would I dare cheat customers on your turf?"

As he spoke, he hurriedly gathered the materials on the table, then looked up and shouted anxiously at Lin Yun.

"Kid! We'll go with what you said—one hundred and seventy thousand! Is one hundred and seventy thousand alright?"

"Ah!"

A scream suddenly rang out.

Before anyone could react, Black Brother fiercely drove the plastic fork down, piercing straight through the boss's hand and pinning it to the wooden tabletop. Blood dripped over the edge of the table, pooling into a small puddle on the floor.

Lin Yun's pupils contracted slightly.

A martial master!