Chapter 140: Transactions at the Red Hill Gathering
The old man’s information, although useless, was… entertaining.
“Now, let the trading begin,” the raspy voice from behind the red veil announced.
The woman in black spoke first, “I have one Frost Immortal Milk, one Demon Subduing Spirit Bamboo, and two pieces of Azure Flower Immortal Gold. The Frost Immortal Milk is three hundred taels, the Spirit Bamboo two hundred and fifty taels, and the Immortal Gold is a bit more expensive, three hundred and eighty taels per piece. Anyone interested?”
Shi Hao heard Dragon Girl mutter beside him, her voice barely audible, “Stealing from your own sect?”
This confirmed his suspicion that the woman in black was from the Chongxian Sect.
Ordinary “unorthodox” cultivators wouldn’t have so many valuable immortal ingredients to sell.
“I’ll take one piece of Azure Flower Immortal Gold… actually, both pieces,” said the fat man with the Qiúniú mask, Daoist Tie Yu.
“I’ll buy one from you for four hundred taels,” the man with the tiger mask said, his voice muffled.
Daoist Tie Yu, after a moment of thought, said, “Fine by me.” He clearly only needed one piece and was simply buying both to have a spare. Since someone was offering a higher price, he had no reason to refuse.
The man with the two-horned demon mask, sitting on a stone bench, said, “I’ll take the Demon Subduing Spirit Bamboo.”
The three quickly completed their transactions. The man with the tiger mask and Daoist Tie Yu both paid through the Red Hill Gathering organizer, while the man with the two-horned demon mask paid with silver notes directly.
The Frost Immortal Milk remained unsold.
Daoist Tie Yu then took out a box and said slowly, “I have the ‘Moon Hare’ divine crystal. Seven hundred taels of silver. If you want it forged into a magical weapon, I can do that for an additional two hundred taels.”
Seven hundred taels was a high price, but for a mid-rank divine crystal like the Moon Hare, it wasn’t unreasonable.
They looked inside the box. The divine crystal radiated a golden light, its shape vaguely resembling a rabbit. Although not particularly expensive, seven hundred taels was still a significant sum.
Although several people were tempted, no one spoke.
The snake demon girl’s eyes lit up, “I’ll take it…”
Daoist Tie Yu, however, said, “I won’t sell it to you.”
The snake demon girl exclaimed, “What?! Why not?!”
Daoist Tie Yu said, “You still haven’t paid me for that sword you lost. No deal.”
The snake demon girl turned to the organizer, about to protest, when the woman in black, after a moment of hesitation, said, “I’ll take it.”
Daoist Tie Yu said, “Alright, deal.”
The woman in black said, “Please forge it into a magical weapon, preferably a bracelet or a pendant, something inconspicuous.” She looked at the organizer, “Please deduct nine hundred taels from my account and give it to him.”
The raspy voice from behind the veil said, “No problem.”
Daoist Tie Yu tossed a small, black bamboo plaque to the snake demon girl.
Shi Hao wondered what kind of “ticket” cost two hundred taels. What was this Wondrous Ghost Market?
Or did this wealthy young lady simply have too much money?
After receiving the plaque, the snake demon girl said, “I have a Blue Frost Moon Essence Shoot and nine Blazing Sky Leaves for sale. The shoot is two hundred and twenty taels, and the leaves are fifty taels each.”
The old man with the lifelike mask said, “I’ll take all the Blazing Sky Leaves.”
Xu Xiaoyan was secretly pleased. Blazing Sky Leaves were relatively common immortal ingredients, and most people had ways of obtaining them, although usually in small quantities. She had thought she would be lucky to sell four or five, but he wanted all of them.
The transaction was completed quickly.
However, the Blue Frost Moon Essence Shoot remained unsold.
“I have a weapon for sale,” the man with the two-horned demon mask said, his voice hoarse, “The Parting Hook. A powerful weapon. Hook a hand, and it parts from the arm. Hook a foot, and it parts from the leg. Hook a head, and it parts from the neck…”
Daoist Tie Yu suddenly said, “There’s no such weapon. Unless it’s a demonic artifact.”
The man took out a long box from behind him, opened it, and said sadly, “It is a demonic artifact.”
They looked inside. A black, sinister-looking hook lay within.
Daoist Tie Yu’s voice was tinged with amusement, “How much are you selling it for?”
The man sighed, “One copper coin. Take it if you want it.”
No one spoke… A demonic artifact like this, containing demonic essence, was like carrying a venomous snake. Even if powerful, the risk of backlash was too great.
And even if he wanted to give it away, no one would likely take it.
Hook a hand, and it parts from the arm… It sounded powerful.
But a sword could also sever limbs. What was so special about it?
Seeing no one was interested, the man with the two-horned demon mask sighed deeply.
Suddenly, a soft voice said, “I’ll take it.”
They looked over and saw the small, thin woman with the disheveled hair, sitting quietly on the grass, almost forgotten.
Her grey dress was tattered and dirty. She sat cross-legged, her eyes gleaming through the strands of hair, her presence unsettling.
Her voice was soft and raspy, not a deliberate disguise, but her natural voice.
“You want it?” the man with the two-horned demon mask asked, hesitant, “Are you sure?”
His voice, although relieved, was also tinged with guilt, “Miss, you should reconsider. Once you touch it, it will follow you. You can’t get rid of it. Every night, you’ll have nightmares, dreaming of those whose limbs it has severed, whose lives it has taken…”
“I’ll take it,” the small woman said impatiently. She fumbled in her pocket and tossed a copper coin towards him.
The man with the two-horned demon mask sighed in relief, caught the coin, and then, with exaggerated formality, walked over and presented the box to her.
The small woman took the box and placed it on her back.
The man, returning to his seat, seemed to have a weight lifted from his shoulders.
The small woman, still sitting on the grass, her head lowered, said, “I have a small item for sale.” She shook her sleeve.
An ugly, dark gold toad hopped out. Before she could say anything, Daoist Tie Yu asked, “How much?”
The toad, covered in warts, its appearance repulsive, hopped around on the grass. It clearly wasn’t a magical weapon, and it didn’t seem like a Daoist ingredient.
They were wondering what this strange creature was when the fat man offered to buy it.
The small woman hesitated, then said, her voice uncertain, “One hundred taels?” She seemed afraid of asking for too much.
Daoist Tie Yu said, “Deal.” He paid her through the organizer.
The dark gold toad continued hopping around. The small woman fumbled in her pocket and took out a dirty rag, “Here, you can have this too.”
Daoist Tie Yu said, “No, thank you.” He took out a pair of small tongs, picked up the toad, and put it away.
The small woman said, “Oh,” and put the rag back in her pocket.
Everyone looked puzzled, unsure what that creature was, but the strange transaction was completed.
Most of the trades were done.
The girl with the dragon girl mask spoke, her voice muffled, “I have a magical weapon for sale: the Moon Phase Ring, containing the Yin Divergence Star divine crystal. One use per day, allows you to distort space for a short time. It has four uses remaining.”
The Moon Phase Ring had been taken by Shi Hao, but after they reconciled, he had returned it, although she had bitten him again, still angry about his previous actions.
She lowered her voice, “I’m selling it for ten taels of silver.”
The woman in black, seeing the jade ring, froze, then looked at the girl with the dragon girl mask in surprise.
Du Yuejiao, feeling a chill, knew she had been recognized. But she had to sell something, and she didn’t have anything else.
Then she realized that the woman in black was probably even more nervous than she was. She met the woman’s gaze.
The woman’s eyes flickered with fear…
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