A Gamble Worth a Fortune

Heka sheathed the short sword, then slipped his hand back into his pocket. When it reappeared, he was holding thirty copper coins.

The short sword was made and crafted well. If bought from a blacksmith's shop aboveground, it would probably cost one or two hundred copper coins.

But this thing had appeared here, just like the hand crossbow Heka had picked up from the general store before.

Everything that appeared through these channels was dirty goods, meaning it carried more or less trouble in its wake.

The short sword in Heka's hand was clearly a standard-issue weapon from some noble's private army. No one knew what sort of trouble it carried, so its price plunging was only natural.

"If you're not buying, don't cause trouble, sir."

The man in the darkness raised his head. Heka still couldn't make out his face, but judging from the silhouette in the shadows, he seemed to be a gaunt fellow.

Heka drew the short sword again, then tapped the spot on the spine that someone had deliberately ground away. It had originally been the crest of some noble lord.

"Add another thirty copper coins. We found this sword along the road. It definitely has no blood on it."

Heka returned the short sword to the stall, then turned and walked toward the stall beside it.

Although he still had some copper coins on him, he had no idea how long he would have to wait afterward, so he needed to spend them carefully.

Of course, the most important point was that this man was obviously spouting nonsense. If it had no blood on it, why would it have ended up here? Once something reached this place, everyone should know what they were dealing with.

As for the silver coins, Heka planned to buy two or three high-draw-weight crossbows from a blacksmith's shop in the city after collecting the grain. He would use the opportunity to spend the silver coins he had on hand while exchanging some of them for copper coins.

However, although Heka had seen crossbows on the shelves at the back of a blacksmith's shop, he had never actually seen anyone buy one.

They were probably regulated in the city. No one in the gang possessed such a weapon. Even Fat Pig, who was loaded, only had a hand crossbow, not a crossbow with a higher draw weight.

"Fifty copper coins, and you can take it."

When the stall owner saw Heka had already gone to someone else, he immediately waved, signaling for Heka to come back.

Heka didn't turn around. After sweeping his gaze over the stall in front of him, he picked up a short sword slightly longer than the one at the previous stall. Strictly speaking, this sword could no longer be considered short to Heka.

The merchant, seeing a customer from another stall come over to his, immediately beamed. Clearly, these two had competed against each other quite a lot.

Heka weighed the weapon in his hand, then examined the goods before him.

Compared with the stall selling grain, these stalls were clearly much more rudimentary.

These two stalls, along with the three behind them, seemed to mainly deal in secondhand equipment.

Here, Heka saw somewhat damaged chain mail, iron gloves, battered leather armor, secondhand leather boots, ropes, and even a cuirass whose family crest had been ground away.

If these things were taken to a legitimate blacksmith's shop, they would probably be heavily underpriced—and might even attract the original owners.

So they had ultimately been bought by merchants dealing in the underground black market. After some repairs and patchwork, they had appeared here.

Unfortunately, after scanning the stalls, Heka found no crossbow mechanisms at all, not even a hand crossbow.

There were a few detached crossbow arms, but there was no telling whether they were any good. If one broke when he used it and failed to hurt anyone else, he might injure himself first.

The short sword in Heka's hand still had a small length of leather strap attached. It was used to fasten the scabbard to a belt.

Finally, the owner, watching the duck nearly in his mouth fly away, could no longer hold back.

"Forty-five copper coins. Not a coin less."

"Guest, the sword from our stall is clean. It was just priced far too low by the blacksmith's shop before. Give me forty-five, and you can take it."

The owner opposite Heka smiled. As soon as his fellow merchant announced his price, he immediately gave his own, placing particular emphasis on the word "clean."

Heka looked up at him, then turned to look at the first stall owner. He saw that the man had already stood up.

Although the black robe still concealed most of his body, Heka could sense that he was probably rather angry.

Feeling that the time was right, Heka put down the clean short sword whose blade had already been ground down many times and was at risk of breaking, then returned to the first stall.

Heka casually picked up an iron lump from the stall, then lifted the first short sword he had seen as well. At the same time, he placed forty-five copper coins on the stall.

"Forty-five copper coins for just one sword? That thing is an iron item at the very least. Even if you toss it to a blacksmith, it'll be worth four or five copper coins. How can you count it as a free extra?"

Heka tapped the pile of copper coins in front of him, then added another coin on top.

"Fine, fine. You win. Take it, take it."

Heka stuck the short sword into his belt, then toyed with the iron object in his hand.

It was a hook used to catch the string of a crossbow mechanism, making it easier to draw.

The winding roller—or winch—that Heka had made himself for drawing the crossbow used a wooden hook. But wooden hooks were ultimately not strong enough. The moment he saw a usable replacement, he bought it.

Bought separately, it would probably have cost quite a bit more. Adding it to the short sword as a free extra saved him a considerable sum.

He had only just come down, yet he had already spent one hundred and ten copper coins. The two major expenses, fuel and the crossbow mechanisms, had not even been purchased yet. He still needed to buy two sets of clothes and, finally, a quilt.

At the thought, Heka couldn't help sighing.

If he hadn't been carrying the vast fortune of twenty-three Huika Gold Coins, he absolutely would not have been so generous in buying these items.

At the very least, with the short sword just now, he would have risked exposing himself and haggled with the other man some more before agreeing.

After all, this money had been earned through his blood and sweat. For every fifty copper coins he managed to save, he had to take a beating.

Heka made a circuit of the black market and regretfully discovered that there really were no stalls selling clothes or fuel.

That made sense. Unlike secondhand weapons and embezzled grain, those two goods were not the sort that had to stay hidden. Selling them openly on the street was perfectly feasible.

Heka left the black market with his spoils, then immediately turned left and entered a narrow tunnel. It connected to another tunnel that sloped upward and was only wide enough for one person to pass through.

Heka climbed over the slope, then took out his hand crossbow and quietly waited for any pursuers who might come after him.

There was only one entrance here. If the others came in, they would have to show their heads within his line of sight. One bolt would be enough to hit an opponent in the face, and at most, a second bolt would be needed to finish him off.

There were three tunnels behind this place. Even if there were too many pursuers, he still had a chance to run.

Heka waited in silence. With each breath, the surrounding darkness was drawn bit by bit into his abdomen, as though it intended to swallow Heka completely, inside and out, into this deathly silence.