Li Feng lay on the hard wooden bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep at all.
No, long nights bring many dreams. These hot potatoes must be unloaded as soon as possible. I am going out right now to sell this Water-Cutting Saber Art and the jewelry. Li Feng sat up abruptly.
The Black Tiger Gang was currently engaged in a turf war with the Green Bamboo Gang. Things bearing the mark of the Black Tiger Gang certainly could not be sold to legitimate pawnshops or martial arts halls; who knew if he might happen to run into an expert from the Black Tiger Gang? His current strength was still not high enough, so he could not take this risk.
Li Feng found a piece of black cloth to cover most of his face, exposing only his eyes and forehead, and draped a wide cloak over himself to completely conceal his figure. Only then did he push open the door to his room and vanish into the night.
Based on the original owner's memories, Li Feng knew that in a secluded alley in the southern part of the city, there was a place tacitly approved by all factions-the black market.
When the original owner's father had just passed away, his sister-in-law had also brought him there once to pawn some items to tide over the crisis. Although that place was a mixed bag of fish and dragons, it placed great emphasis on rules, and basic safety guarantees still existed. Because of this, Li Feng dared to venture alone into the night to fence stolen goods.
Along the way, he walked with extreme caution.
As a white runner of the City Guard Office, he naturally knew the rules for the City Guard Office's night patrols: generally two-man teams, patrolling only fixed routes.
Relying on his understanding of the patrol routes, Li Feng narrowly avoided all the patrol squads without incident.
Soon, he reached the entrance of the black market, only to see two burly, muscular men standing guard on the left and right.
"Know the rules, right? Five copper coins. Once you enter the black market, private fights are forbidden, or else bear the consequences!" One of the burly men glanced at Li Feng expressionlessly and said coldly.
"Alright."
Li Feng deliberately lowered his voice, took out the five copper coins he had prepared beforehand from his bosom, tossed them over, and quickly entered the black market.
The light inside the black market was extremely dim, but the flow of people was quite large, appearing rather bustling. Tattered cloth was spread out on the ground on both sides, crowded with various types of items such as weapons, leather armor, and antiques.
Most of the people coming and going were just like Li Feng, wearing bamboo conical hats or veiled masks, unwilling to reveal their true faces, maintaining a certain distance from one another.
Li Feng even noticed that in a certain corner there were stalls selling martial arts cultivation techniques.
He just didn't know if these martial arts cultivation techniques were authentic. After he paid off the debt for the Water-Cutting Saber Art, if he lacked other martial arts cultivation techniques, he could consider taking a look. Although the types of techniques in this black market were not many and the grades weren't all that high, their advantage lay in being cheap.
Forget it; thinking about these things right now was still too early. Banishing the chaotic thoughts from his mind, he didn't linger long, walking straight toward the black-hearted stall where his sister-in-law had previously brought him to sell items.
"Give me an estimate on these few pieces of jewelry." Li Feng tossed the few pieces of delicate jewelry stained with a trace of blood from his bosom.
That black-hearted boss's eyes instantly lit up. He picked up the jewelry and scrutinized it for a moment, then immediately let out a sinister, mocking laugh:
"The workmanship is not bad. However, there is still a trace of blood stained on this, and looking at this special pattern imprinted on it, this should be jewelry originating from the Black Tiger Gang, right? Right now, even though the Black Tiger Gang is in a turf war with the Green Bamboo Gang, their experts haven't all died off. This stuff is not easy to offload... How about this? Ten taels. I'll take it for ten taels of silver."
"Ten taels? Do you take me for some greenhorn who just came out to play?" Li Feng sneered. "This jewelry looks outrageously expensive at a glance. If you take it to sell yourself, you'll flip it for at least seventy or eighty taels!"
The black-hearted boss gave a dry laugh and said unhurriedly, "Customer, accounts aren't calculated like that. How could this jewelry be sold directly? If people from the Black Tiger Gang came looking for me, would my whole family's lives still be spared? I am risking the lives of my entire family to help you clear this account! One final price, twenty taels, not a single coin more!"
"The Black Tiger Gang is currently going at it hot and heavy with the Green Bamboo Gang; what leisure do they have to care about a few pieces of junk jewelry? Besides, you folks making a living in this black market-could you lack the means to fence stolen goods? Even if you casually turn around and sell it to some wealthy merchant in the inner city, it's still worth sixty or seventy taels."
Li Feng continued speaking.
Hearing this, the black-hearted boss's expression shifted slightly, but having grown accustomed to running black-hearted businesses, his heart still wouldn't give up: "Thirty taels! This is already an exorbitant price. Customer, just go inquire around this black market-besides me, who else can offer this price!"
"Forty taels. Short one coin and I'm walking right now." Li Feng made a move to leave.
"Sigh, sigh! Don't be in such a rush, customer! Forty taels it is, forty taels. I'll do this business, consider it making your acquaintance. Remember to look for me in the future if you have jewelry like this." Seeing Li Feng about to leave, the boss changed his face faster than turning a book page and immediately squeezed out a smile as he spoke.
With that, he took out four ten-tael silver ingots and handed them to Li Feng.
Li Feng calmly received the forty taels of hard cash, inspected them carefully, and confirmed the fineness and weight were correct before putting them into his bosom.
With this single move, he had gained a huge sum of forty taels. He was naturally extremely happy, but the moment he thought of how far off he still was from purchasing medicine to treat his sister-in-law, his heart sank back down.
He ignored the black-hearted boss's polite formalities, turned around, and re-immersed himself in the noisy stream of people.
Next, he needed to find a suitable and relatively open place to unload this copy of the Water-Cutting Saber Art.
Before long, Li Feng found a suitable spot, put down the Water-Cutting Saber Art, and sat cross-legged on the ground.
There was still some time before dawn. This saber art was unlike jewelry; encountering someone fated meant the price it sold for would definitely be higher than what this black-hearted merchant offered.
Moreover, this cultivation technique was not like jewelry, where anyone with a discerning eye could tell its authenticity at a glance. Rather than actively promoting it, it was better to sit and wait for fish to bite.
Not long after Li Feng sat down, a person greeted his stall.
This person was tall and thin, draped in black clothes, with his face covered in black cloth and a bamboo conical hat on his head, wrapping himself up tightly.
"Brother, what kind of item are you selling here?" This person in black asked.
"A martial arts cultivation technique, the Water-Cutting Saber Art!"
Li Feng raised his head, glanced at him casually, and said indifferently.
"Pfft, this cover is so dilapidated that even the characters can't be seen clearly. You call it a martial arts cultivation technique just because you say so!"
The person in black sneered.
However, despite saying that, this person in black actually squatted down directly, reaching out his hand intending to flip through the booklet.
Slap!
Quick as lightning, Li Feng instantly batted away the hand the other party extended.
"If you can't afford it, don't go touching things randomly! Don't come here and cause trouble for me!"
With a low bark, Li Feng startled the person in black.
"Tch, if you won't let me look, then don't. You really think it's some peerless saber art?"
The person in black rubbed his hand, muttering under his breath. Seeing Li Feng utter not a single word, he could only turn around and walk away in a huff.
He hadn't expected this stall owner to look malnourished and exceedingly easy to bully. He had originally thought about coming over to take a casual look and pick up some cheap bargain if possible, but he hadn't expected him to be someone completely unwilling to suffer even the slightest loss.
After the black-clothed, conical-hatted person left, from time to time some other people came over to ask Li Feng what he was selling, but upon learning that it was merely an ordinary saber art, none of them harbored any intention to buy.
People in this black market buy and sell with such caution, especially when it involves martial arts cultivation techniques. Could it be that one can only go to formal shops to sell them? Li Feng thought to himself inwardly.
Just as Li Feng was pondering, a figure arrived before his stall.
"Big Brother, what are you selling here?"
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