Chapter 26 - 26 The Man in Black
Chapter 26: Chapter 26 The Man in Black
Translator: 549690339
Lin Jing, upon awakening, initially felt a hint of sleepiness, but that sensation had now vanished after this matter.
After washing up, Lin Jing left the house.
In this period, he had concocted quite a few elixir medicines, and now it was time to sell them.
Arriving at Yuebaolou, Elder Yu was not present, instead, a slightly portly middle-aged man stood behind the counter.
Lin Jing couldn’t help but inwardly sigh with disappointment.
He had intended to ask Elder Yu some questions, but now he had no choice but to let it go.
Approaching the counter, Lin Jing handed over all the lower-grade elixir medicines he had previously selected to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man tapped away rapidly on an abacus, eventually quoting a purchase price of 60 Spirit Stones.
After selling the elixir medicines, Lin Jing bought materials for 100 Energy Gathering Pills. Due to severe demonic beast chaos, both elixir medicine prices and material costs had risen.
In addition to the Spirit Stones earned from selling the elixirs, Lin Jing had to pay an extra 60 Spirit Stones to purchase the materials needed to concoct these 100 Energy Gathering Pills.
Afterward, Lin Jing left Yuebaolou directly.
Once he had finished concocting these 100 Energy Gathering Pills, he should be able to reach the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.
Next, Lin Jing didn’t return home but instead started wandering around Fang Market.
He did so until the sky had completely darkened.
It was only after disguising himself that Lin Jing headed towards the business that had sold Pure Elixir Medicine before.
His skills in disguise were not proficient, and during the day, it was easy for someone to see through him.
Therefore, Lin Jing had chosen to sell elixir medicine at night.
Upon arriving at the business, the shopkeeper and a man in black, the two of them were engaged in conversation.
The man in black frowned at the shopkeeper, complaining,
“Shopkeeper, isn’t the price of this single elixir medicine a bit too expensive?
It’s more than half as much again as usual.”
The shopkeeper, with a placating smile, began,
“Esteemed guest, you are surely aware of the current situation.”
“With the fierce unrest of demonic beasts, there is a scarcity of elixir medicine, and the current price is very fair.”
“Fair?” exclaimed the man in black.
“Even on the black market, the price is nearly the same as it is now, right?” The shopkeeper gave the man in black a meaningful glance and then said,
“Guest, it seems you haven’t been to the black market for quite some time! Nowadays, not just elixir medicine but nearly everything has nearly doubled in price there.”
The man in black looked astonished and then nodded in agreement. “Yes, I’ve been rather busy and haven’t been there for a long time.”
After saying this, he wisely stopped talking to avoid giving himself away.
In truth, he had never been to the black market, because to enter, one not only needs a Token but also someone to lead the way. Without a guide, it’s impossible to find the entrance to the black market.
He had simply come across a Black Market Token by chance and often showed it off for bragging rights.
After all, gaining entry to the black market was not something ordinary people could manage.
But the shopkeeper was different; it was clear he was a person who frequented the black market.
At that moment, Lin Jing walked in.
The shopkeeper immediately recognized Lin Jing as the person who had sold him Pure Elixir Medicine the other day.
“Esteemed guest, welcome,” greeted the shopkeeper with a beaming smile, coming forward and leaving the man in black standing where he was.
“Do you have any elixir medicine to sell today, guest?”
“Hmm,” Lin Jing nodded.
He then took out a bunch of small porcelain bottles filled with elixir medicine from his Storage Bag.
“Shopkeeper, could you give me an estimate of how much these are worth?”
“Certainly, please wait a moment,” replied the shopkeeper, as he opened the bottles, examining each one in turn.
This time, Lin Jing did not take out all of the elixir medicines he had concocted.
Instead, he only brought out a part of them.
Having sold elixir medicines here not long ago, Lin Jing thought that bringing out too many again might arouse suspicion.
Watching Lin Jing take out so many elixirs at once, the man in black was also shocked and leaned forward to look at the porcelain bottles in the shopkeeper’s hands.
It wasn’t long before the shopkeeper had finished checking the elixirs.
“Dear customer, the quality of your elixirs is impeccable, and this time the quantity is even more than the last,” the shopkeeper said.
“Not to hide it from you, due to the recent rampages by the Demonic Beasts, the prices of elixirs have risen sharply. Therefore, our purchasing price has also risen, about a twenty percent increase compared to before.” “Your elixirs, after my calculations, are worth a total of 530 Spirit Stones.”
“Are you satisfied with this price?”
“Hmm, satisfied,” Lin Jing nodded.
“Good, customer, please wait a moment. I’ll fetch the Spirit Stones for you.” As he spoke, the shopkeeper collected the elixirs.
The man in black, having overheard the shopkeeper’s words, was already dumbfounded.
530 Spirit Stones, that was the fruit of his labor for several years.
Before long, the shopkeeper had prepared the Spirit Stones and handed them to Lin Jing.
Having completed the transaction, Lin Jing took his leave from the shopkeeper.
“Fellow Daoist, please hold on a moment.”
However, not long after he stepped out, someone called out to him.
Lin Jing turned around, only to see that it was the man in black from the shop.
“Fellow Daoist, may I inquire what you need?” Lin Jing asked.
The man in black sized up Lin Jing and then spoke:
“Seeing how you handled so many elixirs at once, I presume you are an alchemist, correct?”
“Yes,” Lin Jing answered simply, without any concealment.
“I would like to propose a transaction with you, Fellow Daoist. What do you think?”
“A transaction?” Lin Jing frowned.
“That’s right,” the man in black said, taking out a black token from his person.
“I have here a Black Market Token, which allows anyone holding it to enter the black market.”
“As an alchemist, Fellow Daoist, by holding this token and entering the black market, you can sell the elixirs you produce for more than fifty percent extra.” “And I am not asking much for this token – just 500 Spirit Stones, and it’s yours. It can be said to be quite a bargain.”
“You might want to think about it. Based on the amount of elixirs you sold today, you could make back your investment and even earn quite a bit more after just a few transactions.”
“You should consider it, that’s over fifty percent profit…”
At this point, the man in black became somewhat excited.
After his excitement, the man in black looked straight at Lin Jing, awaiting his response.
In his mind, such a profitable deal was one that Lin Jing had no reason to reject.
However, Lin Jing’s next words shattered his illusion.
“Sorry, I’m not interested.”
With that, he prepared to leave.
The man in black had evidently seen Lin Jing earn the Spirit Stones, which was why he had proposed this transaction.
Who knew if the token was real or fake. Moreover, even if it was real, the black market was probably not as simple as the man in black had described, allowing one to enter and exit at will.
“Fellow Daoist, please wait.”
The man in black again blocked Lin Jing’s path.
“You must think my token is fake, right?”
“If you don’t trust me, we can go back and ask the shopkeeper we spoke with just now. He can verify that this token is genuinely authentic.”
“Please step aside, I’m going back,” Lin Jing replied, without any hint of uncertainty, and continued forward.
Leaving the man in black standing alone on the spot.
“Ptui…!” the man in black spat.
“Ungrateful. I’ll remember you, just you wait,” he said venomously, watching Lin Jing’s retreating figure..