He had long since asked Lin Ziwei to keep an eye out for news of auctions held by the major trading companies. But nothing had come of it, and he could only wait.
Several more days passed.
Lin Ziwei sent someone with a letter. Zhao Feng opened it and read.
"Brother Zhao, I've made some inquiries. There will very likely be three drops of origin-returning spirit milk up for auction at the Hundred Treasures House in the capital next month! The posters aren't out yet, but there should be an eighty or ninety percent chance," Lin Ziwei wrote.
After reading the letter, Zhao Feng began calculating. From what he had learned before, the starting bid for a single drop of origin-returning spirit milk was nearly a hundred thousand taels of silver. The final price would be at least a hundred and fifty thousand, perhaps even two hundred thousand. With his current funds, he had sixty or seventy thousand taels at most-nowhere near enough.
And who knew how many years it would take to earn enough merit points through missions? Such a chance could only be stumbled upon, not sought out. He could not let it slip away! But where could he get the money? Borrowing from Lin Ziwei would certainly be no problem, but he would still have to repay her eventually.
At that thought, he had an idea.
Zhao Feng left his little courtyard and headed for his Hundred-Household Office. Since he was no longer concealing his identity, he wore a blue Flying Fish Uniform with a cloak draped over his shoulders as he galloped down the street. Passersby scrambled out of his way in alarm.
The 21st Hundred-Household Office in Paper Horse Alley, Qingzhou, occupied a small courtyard tucked into a corner of the alley.
Several banner officers