"Third Young Master, did you and Miss Xun'er come to the Market District for anything in particular today? If there's anything you need, just say the word."
Hearing how Xiao Yan addressed him, Payne's smile grew even warmer.
"Nothing important. I was getting a little bored staying at home, so I came out to clear my head!"
Xiao Yan smiled and waved a hand. "Uncle Payne, go ahead and get back to work! I'll call you if I need anything."
"All right!"
Payne nodded. "Then I won't interrupt your shopping, Third Young Master, Miss Xun'er. Enjoy yourselves."
"Xun'er, let's go~"
Xiao Yan gave a polite smile, then took Xiao Xun'er's hand and led her into the Market District.
"Pari, take two men and follow the Third Young Master and Miss Xun'er. Don't let any blind fools offend them."
Watching Xiao Yan and Xun'er walk away, Payne slowly let his smile fade and turned to give orders to the tall, thin guard beside him.
"Yes, Captain!"
The tall, thin guard promptly took two guards into the crowd, following Xiao Yan and Xun'er from a distance.
Xiao Yan wandered through the Market District with Xiao Xun'er for a while before finally stopping in front of a stall.
Looking at the thumb-sized green crystal on the stall, Xiao Yan couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief. "Finally found one."
The green crystal before him was a wood attribute rank-one magic core, one of the main ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.
Just as Xiao Yan was about to bend down and pick up the magic core for a closer look, a rather peculiar sensation suddenly welled up within him.
Without betraying anything, Xiao Yan picked up the magic core and glanced out of the corner of his eye at the black iron fragment beside it.
It was an ancient-looking piece of iron, with traces of dirt still clinging to it, as though it had just been dug out of the ground.
"Little Yanzi, buy that black iron fragment. That's a fine treasure."
Before Xiao Yan could figure out what that strange sensation was, Yao Lao's voice rang in his ear.
At Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yan's expression shifted slightly, and he gave a barely perceptible nod.
However, Xiao Yan didn't pick up the black iron fragment directly. Instead, he tossed the green magic core in his hand and asked the shifty-looking stallholder, "What kind of magical beast did this magic core come from?"
"You have a keen eye, young master! This is the magic core of a rank-one Wood-Eating Fox. It's among the finest rank-one magic cores."
Seeing Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er's fine clothing, the stallholder eagerly greeted them. "Our Sharp Fang Mercenary Group spent over half a month hunting down five Wood-Eating Foxes just to get this one magic core. If you're serious about buying it, five hundred gold coins will do."
"Too expensive!"
Xiao Yan shook his head. "The market price for a rank-one magic core is usually between four hundred and four hundred and fifty gold coins. Besides, Wood-Eating Foxes don't have much offensive power compared to other rank-one magical beasts. They're fairly easy to kill, just a little hard to find!"
"..."
The stallholder's lips twitched. Realizing he had run into someone who knew his stuff, he immediately gave an awkward smile. "Then four hundred and seven-"
"I'll take that magic core!"
Before the stallholder could finish, a rich, resonant voice suddenly rang out.
The stallholder instinctively turned toward the voice and saw a handsome youth in moon-white robes, carrying an ivory folding fan, strolling toward them at an unhurried pace.
Xiao Yan frowned slightly when he saw who it was.
He had thought Nalan Sheng had already left Wutan City. Finding this fellow in his own family's Market District instantly soured his mood.
"There are five thousand gold coins on this card. Besides that magic core, I'll take everything else on your stall too."
Ignoring Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er, Nalan Sheng took out a black card and tossed it in front of the stallholder, speaking in the tone of someone for whom money was no object.
"..."
The stallholder froze for a moment, then hastily put on an ingratiating smile. "Please wait a moment, young master. I'll pack everything up for you right away."
It was hardly surprising that the stallholder fawned over him. Though his stall held plenty of goods, their total value was at most two or three thousand gold coins.
Nalan Sheng had offered twice that amount to buy out the whole stall. How could the stallholder not be delighted?
[Ding! The host has snatched the destined male protagonist's rank-one magic core! Reward: 100 villain points!] [Ding! The host has snatched the destined male protagonist's Black Rank Low-Level Dou Technique, "Suction Palm"! Reward: 1,000 villain points!]
Hearing the system notifications ring in his ears, Nalan Sheng's lips curled slightly. Only then did he turn his gaze to Xiao Yan and feign an apologetic look. "Third Young Master, I'm terribly sorry~ I just happen to urgently need a wood attribute magic core. I didn't come here specifically to snatch things from you."
"..."
Looking at the barely concealed curve of Nalan Sheng's lips, Xiao Yan was inwardly speechless, yet he smiled and said, "You must be joking, Young Master Nalan. When shopping in the Market District, the highest bidder gets the goods. How could that count as snatching anything?"
"How understanding of you, Third Young Master. Then I won't interrupt your date."
With that, Nalan Sheng waved a hand, swept everything the stallholder had packed into his Storage Ring, and left without looking back.
"Brother Xiao Yan, that fellow clearly did it on purpose."
Watching Nalan Sheng leave, Xiao Xun'er knitted her willow-leaf brows. "He must have known you urgently needed a wood attribute rank-one magic core. That's why he deliberately offered a high price to buy it."
"Obviously~ Of course I know he did it on purpose."
Xiao Yan said helplessly, "But he didn't break the Market District's trading rules. I can't just throw my weight around, can I?"
"If I really did that, the Xiao Family Market's reputation would stink. Who would want to set up a stall and do business here then?"
"Brother Xiao Yan, what should we do next?"
"What else can we do? Keep shopping!"
Xiao Yan shrugged. "I refuse to believe we can't find a second wood attribute rank-one magic core in a Market District this big."
[Teacher, what exactly was that black iron fragment? Why did it give me such a peculiar feeling?]
Compared to the rank-one magic core Nalan Sheng had snatched away, Xiao Yan was more curious about the origins of the black iron fragment. He couldn't resist asking Yao Lao inwardly.
[Even I can't say exactly what it was. But that black iron fragment was probably made by an alchemist, so only someone with exceptional soul perception could sense what was special about it.]
Yao Lao thought for a moment before saying, [If I'm not mistaken, that black iron fragment was meant to store information. There's a very good chance it contained some Pill Recipes.]
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