Chapter 58: Treasure Competition Gathering
Afterward, the sudden heavy snowfall persisted for several days. With the roads blocked by snow, many merchant caravans couldn’t travel in and out, missing their schedules.
Thus, they had to change their plans and sell off their goods in Donglai County City, hoping to return home before the New Year.
As a result, a fairly large auction was held on the bustling Yong’an Street.
"I heard there are a lot of good items from the North this time. Maybe there will be something novel to broaden our horizons," Lv Gang said with a smile. Once again, he was traveling with Song Changming.
"Hopefully," Song Changming nodded.
In fact, he wasn’t interested in those novelties. The reason he accepted the invitation was to purchase some high-quality martial arts herbs.
Since he broke through to a new stage of body refining cultivation a few days ago, he realized that herbs of ordinary quality were becoming less effective for him.
Previously, he might have increased his body refining experience value in four or five days, but now, with the same quality herbs, it would take much longer to gain any experience value in body refining skills.
Undoubtedly, as his physical strength continued to improve, the auxiliary effects of common herbs became increasingly weak.
At this point, he could either spend more time and effort to slowly refine his skills.
Or, if he wanted to maintain his previous efficiency and progress in body refining, he needed better herbs to replace the old ones.
And the price of these high-quality herbs was naturally different from that of common herbs. Depending on the rarity, the market price might increase by several times or even more.
Sometimes, there was a shortage of excellent herbs in the city, leading to a situation where they were unavailable even if one had money.
Therefore, he came to this auction to see if he could buy some satisfactory body refining herbs at a fair price, making his trip worthwhile.
Soon, the two of them arrived in the areas around Yong’an Street.
Perhaps because of the auction being held today, the place was extraordinarily lively, with crowds everywhere.
The snow on the street had already been conscientiously cleared away by the small vendors.
Both sides of the long marketplace street were now filled with various items: calligraphy and painting scrolls, porcelain and jade, silks and satins, and many strange family heirlooms, all dazzlingly displayed.
Song Changming looked along the way without stopping.
He had a clear goal, and these were not what he was looking for.
Until they reached the largest market entrance, which looked like a big square.
The northern merchant caravan had taken over this place, with many people coming for their auction.
Looking at the goods from the northern merchant caravan, Song Changming had to admit that due to the different geographical environment and climate, there were indeed many items worth seeing that the Southern States didn’t have.
Before long, Lv Gang took a fancy to a fine steel saber.
As a martial artist who had trained with blades for many years, he could basically discern the quality of a blade at a glance.
The quality of this steel saber was clearly superior to the standard official saber provided to their patrol captains by the Patrol Armor Bureau, clearly crafted by a master artisan.
Lv Gang loved it dearly, and even though the bidding price had already exceeded fifty silver, he was still willing to pay.
"Sometimes, when going on dangerous missions, it’s best to carry two sabers. Even if the official saber gets damaged, there’s still a better one for self-defense," Lv Gang said while stroking the newly acquired saber after spending a wave of silver coins.
He seemed to be convincing himself that the money was well spent...
"That’s true," Song Changming agreed with Lv Gang, as he always carried two sabers during missions. It’s his habit to avoid the awkward situation of having no saber at hand.
It is worth mentioning that although swords and blades were sold here, there was no armor available, and while hunting bows and arrows were sold, hand crossbows and strong crossbows were not sold.
This is because both armor and crossbows are forbidden items strictly prohibited by the government.
If discovered, it leads to imprisonment.
Only the government-affiliated troops and patrol guards are qualified to use these weaponry and equipment.
The reason is that armor can provide protection, while crossbows can easily give an ordinary person long-range shooting threats.
These two types of equipment have considerable strategic significance.
Once someone stockpiles large quantities of armor and crossbows, it can quickly form a combat-ready army to disrupt the region or even threaten the government’s rule.
Therefore, private use and storage are prohibited.
In contrast, other swords, bows, and arrows require long periods and extensive training to form some combat strength. To gather an elite force using them is extremely difficult, time-consuming, and costly, so the government does not worry or forbid the manufacture of these weapons among civilians.
Moving past a section of weapons, Song Changming soon found the herbal selling area.
Common, low-priced herbs were piled in bundles in large boxes, clearly marked, allowing people to pick and choose for purchase.
The more rare herbs were stored in individual exclusive herbal boxes, displayed for appreciation and bidding.
The ones on the long table were the batch open for bidding. After the bidding ended, the highest bidder would win, and then another batch would be displayed by a designated person for another round of bidding.
Soon, Song Changming noticed some of the body refining herbs he needed, with starting prices that were fairly low. Once the bidding exceeded a reasonable price, most people would choose to give up.
Compared to the drugstore prices in the city that had been inflated, they were indeed much more affordable.
And the quality seemed to be at least above average; otherwise, they wouldn’t be displayed for bidding.
"White Bone Flower, sold for three silver and five hundred copper."
"Scorching Red Grass, sold for two silver and three hundred copper."
"..."
Song Changming took out his money bag and started working.
The bidding process wasn’t complicated; it was just about throwing money.
Despite having spent a lot of money and silver in martial arts training over the past six months, he still had more than half left from the three large reward silvers he gained from destroying the Nine Bends Association, plus the salary he received and miscellaneous funds accumulated over time.
Thus, his savings were still considerable, amounting to over a thousand silver coins.
With a series of transactions completed, the surrounding people were somewhat displeased upon seeing Song Changming’s affluent demeanor, purchasing precious herbs in bulk without batting an eye.
"This young man, while you feast, you should at least let us sip some soup. I just want two pieces of this White Bone Flower," a man who seemed like a Jianghu individual said to Song Changming with displeasure.
Since Song Changming wasn’t on official business today, he was dressed in plain clothes, so no one recognized him.
In fact, he had some reputation on Houli Street, but on Yong’an Street, he was no different from a passerby, so naturally, no one would give him special face.
Song Changming glanced at him and casually replied, "Isn’t fair bidding supposed to go to the highest bidder? If you can afford it, I certainly won’t stop you."
He adhered to the rules, not buying into the man’s approach.
This person dared to speak because Song Changming seemed young and plainly dressed.
But little did he know Song Changming was so firm, appearing harmless yet not at all afraid.
Initially wanting to lash out and scold Song Changming, he caught sight of Song Changming’s saber at his waist, which brought clarity back to his eyes, and he reluctantly kept silent.
Sometimes, the sharpness of a weapon speaks louder than a thousand words.
...