txolops Chapter 58 Dagger Deal and Assassination
Chapter 58 Dagger Deal and Assassination
As the steel billet on the anvil gradually cooled, Fan Zhou looked delighted.
"This is the Thirty-Six Steel Refining Project."
Two months of dedicated research finally brought him to this point.
"Next, we need to keep up the good work and stabilize our shooting touch as soon as possible."
Peng Yue helped us forge the Thirty-Six Refined Steel this time. Peng Yue's experience is still lacking, so we need to continue to work hard.
Fan Zhou clamped the steel billet aside to cool it down, then took out the iron block again and put it back into the furnace to smelt. While he still had a good feel for it, he continued to forge it.
He kept busy like this until evening.
As darkness approached, Fan Zhou and Peng Yue extinguished the stove early, preparing to set up their stall on the street.
Fan Zhou returned home, took out all the items he had forged, wrapped them in cloth, and rushed to the East Market.
There are many shops here, making it the best place to trade goods. If you set up a stall here, you're sure to sell your items.
Unfortunately, others think the same way.
When Fan Zhou arrived carrying a bunch of things, the East Market was already bustling with noise and excitement.
Looking around, the whole street was full of people, mostly from the Gumi tribe. They were all dressed in gold and silver, making them easy to identify. On both sides were vendors, including disciples of the Sword Furnace, local villagers, wandering cultivators from outside, and even people from the Gumi tribe selling some local specialties.
Everywhere there were shouts of vendors and the sounds of bargaining. The long queues stretched outside the market and all the way to the small towns of the villagers, with lights winding like a long snake.
"So many people?"
Fan Zhou was dumbfounded. Carrying his things, he squeezed through the crowd, searching for a place to stand. Finally, he found an open space outside the market and set up his stall.
Besides the most important dagger, he also forged small items such as iron pots, kitchen knives, scissors, and mirrors, as well as several weapons he had obtained from killing rogue cultivators.
"A sharp dagger forged from seventy-two-times refined steel, capable of cutting through iron like mud, slicing through gold and jade!" Fan Zhou shouted loudly as he sold his wares.
He called out for a while, and finally a young man from the Gumi tribe dressed in a silver robe came over, picked up the dagger and examined it.
Fan Zhou put on a smile and said, "You have a good eye, sir. This dagger was forged with seventy-two-times refined steel. It is truly incredibly sharp. If you like it, feel free to take it for two spirit stones."
The young man was taken aback. "Two spirit stones? You might as well just rob us."
He immediately put the dagger back and turned to leave.
Fan Zhou quickly tried to persuade him to stay, saying, "If you think it's too expensive, I can give you a discount."
The young man stopped and turned back to ask, "Would you sell it for a spirit stone?"
Fan Zhou's expression froze. "Is this how you bargain? You're offering to cut the price in half right off the bat."
"How about this, a fixed price: 198 grains of spirit sand, plus a free whetstone!"
"I'm not a sucker," the young man scoffed and walked away without looking back.
Helpless, Fan Zhou could only shout again: "Selling kitchen knives, scissors, iron pots... and an ancestral dagger."
He called out for a long time, and finally another middle-aged man came over and asked:
"How much is this iron pot?"
Fan Zhou's expression brightened, and he picked up the iron pot to introduce it:
"This iron pot of mine is made by the Sword Furnace, using cold forging techniques, and it has already been seasoned. You can use it however you like without it sticking. Today we're having a promotion, so I'm only selling it for two spirit sand grains."
The man picked up the iron pot and looked at it, then pointed to the mirror next to him and said, "With this mirror, both grains of spirit sand are completely contained."
Fan Zhou shook his head, "The two items together would require at least three grains of spirit sand."
"Fine, I'll take them all."
The man took out three grains of spirit sand and bought the iron pot and the copper-tin mirror. He then turned and left.
Fan Zhou was delighted with the reopening and started hawking his wares again.
Time passed quickly, and it got completely dark. There were fewer and fewer people on the street.
Fan Zhou worked hard for a long time and sold a lot of miscellaneous items, but no one was willing to buy his favorite dagger.
This really worried him. Those miscellaneous items were only worth a dozen spirit sands, and he was hoping to sell this dagger for a good price.
"Is my sales approach wrong?"
Fan Zhou thought for a moment, then stood up and called out:
"A superior dagger forged from seventy-two-times-refined steel, guaranteed to cut through iron like mud; an essential item for home, travel, murder, and arson!"
"The manufacturer is having a promotion now. It's not 298 or 198, but only 168 spirit sand. You can take the dagger home immediately, plus a beautiful gift. You won't lose out, you won't be cheated."
Fan Zhou shouted at the top of his lungs for a while.
Passersby on the street stared at him in astonishment. Although a few people did come up to ask him questions, they all left after looking him over.
As the number of customers dwindled, Fan Zhou gave up and prepared to pack up and go home.
He bent down and packed his things, preparing to come back to sell them the next morning.
Suddenly, a deep voice came from above:
"Let me see the dagger."
Fan Zhou paused, his hair standing on end.
The person walked right up to him, and he didn't even notice.
He raised his head warily, and in front of him stood a person shrouded in a black robe, whose face could not be seen.
Fan Zhou handed over the dagger and told the truth:
"The blade is forged from 72-ton steel and is extremely sharp."
The man in black robes reached out, took the dagger, and examined it closely.
Fan Zhou's gaze darkened slightly. He saw a pair of bloodshot eyes on the blade of the dagger.
The black-robed man's hands were very fair, suggesting he was a young man.
"How much is the dagger?"
The person in the black robe had a low, hoarse voice, making it impossible to tell whether they were male or female.
Fan Zhou said, "One hundred and sixty-eight spirit sands."
"I'll trade you something else."
Fan Zhou frowned slightly. "If it's a spirit object from the Wood Virtue Dao, that would be acceptable."
The man in black robes didn't speak, but simply took a jade-like leaf from his sleeve and handed it to him.
Fan Zhou channeled his energy, holding the leaf in his palm. The spiritual energy contained within was pure and abundant, carrying a cool, woody aura, seemingly quite extraordinary.
"These leaves can cleanse the eyes, cure eye diseases, and improve eyesight; they're enough to buy this dagger," said the man in black robes.
Fan Zhou shook his head, "These leaves are too valuable, I don't have the money to give you."
"You don't need to give me change."
The man in black sheathed his dagger and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute," Fan Zhou called out to him.
The man in the black robe paused, and the dark hood turned towards him.
Fan Zhou picked up a smooth whetstone and gestured, "This is a free gift."
"unnecessary."
The man in black robes walked into the darkness, and his figure quickly disappeared.
Fan Zhou didn't care. Looking at the few remaining small items, he shouted loudly again:
"Going bankrupt, selling at a loss, everything is priced at just one spirit sand, first come, first served!"
the other side.
The man in black robes walked into the woods and gradually came to a secluded spot.
It was pitch black all around, and there was no sound.
The man in black robes stood quietly in place, waiting.
After an unknown amount of time, a woman's voice suddenly rang out in the darkness.
"You shouldn't have come here."
The man in black robes turned around, staring intently at the woman, and after a long while spoke:
"You're the one who shouldn't have come."
…………
"All done, let's pack up!"
After selling everything, Fan Zhou happily rolled up his stall cloth and headed home.
"I never expected that someone would actually buy that dagger in the end."
Fan Zhou took out the jade-like leaf from his pocket.
He didn't recognize what it was, but judging from the spiritual energy it contained, it was definitely no ordinary item.
"If what that person said is true, and these leaves can really cure eye diseases, then they must be very expensive."
Fan Zhou planned to ask Qin Zhiyuan what kind of spiritual object it was, and whether it would be more worthwhile to sell it or to consume it himself.
He gathered the leaves, then touched the money pouch on his chest, a smile spreading across his face:
"Those little trinkets actually sold for seventeen spirit sands, they really saved my life."
He's almost run out of the several health-preserving medicines he takes daily, such as Lingzhu ointment and Qinglu loquat syrup, which will require a large expense later.
With this money, plus his monthly allowance for August, it would be more than enough and wouldn't affect his usual spiritual practice.
"Once I can reliably forge Thirty-Six Refined Steel, I shouldn't have to worry about spirit sand anymore."
Fan Zhou grinned and said:
"Good days are coming."
He excitedly leaped up, covering more than 30 feet in an instant, and in a few bounds he had run quite a distance.
Just as he was about to return to the market, a dark shadow suddenly rushed out of the woods beside him, sweeping past him and almost colliding with him.
"What is that?!"
Fan Zhou was startled and quickly turned around to look.
But there was nothing behind him, not a single person, and not a sound.
"Is this a ghost?"
Fan Zhou suspected that they might have encountered some kind of monster.
He didn't want to pay any more attention, but then he suddenly noticed a few drops of blood on the ground.
Fan Zhou frowned, squatted down, and dipped his hand in the blood to examine it.
"Human blood?"
Fan Zhou immediately became alert and quickly looked around, but there was no trace of the dark figure from before.
He looked into the dark woods, thought for a moment, and then went inside.
The forest was pitch black. Fan Zhou grabbed a piece of bark from a tree, heated it with his internal energy until it was charred and then burst into flames, turning into a fireball.
By the light of the fire, he looked around for any suspicious traces and, sure enough, found another trace of blood.
Fan Zhou followed the trail of blood and rushed into the depths of the forest. Suddenly, he noticed that the spiritual energy ahead was chaotic, and he could vaguely sense an unusual aura that rose and fell like flames.
Fan Zhou frowned, gripped the long sword at his waist, and slowly walked over.
The firelight illuminated the weeds and pebbles, and they gradually moved forward.
In the shadows, a snow-white figure was revealed.
someone!
Fan Zhou was startled and quickly took a few steps forward.
The firelight illuminated the view ahead, where a young girl in a snow-white dress lay on the ground. She was tall and slender with stunning curves, and even her pale face could not hide her beauty.
Fan Zhou was taken aback. Although the demeanor was completely different, he still recognized the person.
"Princess Changming!"
"What's wrong with you?"
Fan Zhou rushed over to check on Princess Chenxing, only to find her face pale, her eyes closed, and her expression pained.
A dagger was deeply embedded in her lower abdomen, and black poisonous blood was seeping from the wound, staining a large area of her snow-white dress black.
Fan Zhou's pupils contracted sharply, his gaze fixed on the hilt of the dagger.
It was made of nanmu wood, with a curved shape that fits the palm of the hand perfectly. It was coated with several layers of black lacquer and tung oil, and wrapped with thin hemp rope.
It was made by his own hands!