Translator: AnubisTL
While the old man was helping Li Qing pack up the jade pieces, Li Qing suddenly fixed his gaze on one of the jade slips.
"Old man, what is this?" Li Qing pointed to the jade slip, which was about the size of two fingers combined, and asked.
The old man merely glanced at it and shook his head, saying, "It’s something left by my ancestors, probably a protective jade talisman or something like that."
He wasn’t entirely sure, as these items had been passed down through so many generations that their origins were lost in time.
If it weren’t for the lack of food, he would never have considered selling them in exchange for Dark Wheat Mushrooms.
Li Qing took the jade slip in his hand, squinting as he examined it closely. There seemed to be faint, intricate patterns on its surface.
The jade slip was smooth and warm to the touch, and it would undoubtedly be considered a top-grade piece of jade in any world.
As the old man hastily finished packing the jade pieces, Li Qing took out over three pounds of Dark Wheat Mushrooms from his cloth basket and handed them to the elderly stall owner.
With the transaction completed, Li Qing continued to wander around the market.
In the World of Eternal Night, he was familiar with most things, but there were a few local specialties that he couldn’t identify.
For example, there was a type of mushroom that looked remarkably like a chunk of meat, with its mycelium intertwined, appearing white and fatty—hence its fitting name, White Meat Mushroom. Its value was significantly higher than that of Dark Wheat Mushrooms, with three pounds of the latter needed to exchange for just one pound of the former.
Of course, Li Qing had little interest in these fungal foods.
He had come to the market in Blackrock City with the intention of trading his Dark Wheat Mushrooms for some refined iron and to see if there were any other special ores available.
Ever since he had begun to grasp the basics of the Ancient Mystic Hammer Art, he had felt an urgent need for a suitable hammer.
The hammer he currently used for forging was the one he had used as an apprentice blacksmith, specifically designed for metalworking.
If he were to use it in combat, it would be entirely inadequate, and he would need to forge a new one.
Thinking of this, Li Qing touched the cool, ink-gold-like metal hidden deep within his robe.
It was the Ink Gold that Officer Li Gui had given him earlier, instructing him to melt it into the Mountain-Splitting Axe.
Due to the sudden bandit attack, Li Qing had been unable to complete the forging of the Mountain-Splitting Axe while in the tent.
But to his astonishment, he discovered that the Ink Gold he had thrown into the forge had not melted.
This was despite the fact that it had been in the hottest part of the forge, where even the hardest metals should have melted.
Yet, the Ink Gold remained completely intact.
So, before fleeing to the granary, he made sure to take the Ink Gold with him.
After retrieving it, he also noticed that despite being subjected to such high temperatures for so long, the Ink Gold showed no signs of melting. In fact, its surface had only warmed slightly, going from cool and smooth to slightly hot to the touch.
’The bandits’ attack on the camp has turned Officer Li’s Ink Gold into a windfall for me. But since we share the same surname, I doubt Officer Li would mind too much.’
With this thought, Li Qing’s mood couldn’t help but brighten.
He planned to buy some high-quality refined iron and continue trying to see if he could smelt the piece of Ink Gold. If successful, he intended to use the Ink Gold as the hammerhead to forge a top-quality war hammer.
After wandering around the market for a while, Li Qing quickly found a blacksmith shop.
Inside, there were no clanging sounds of metalwork, and the temperature wasn’t as scorching as one would expect. It didn’t seem like a normally operating blacksmith shop at all.
When Li Qing walked in, a young man who looked like an apprentice sat listlessly beside a gray anvil and spoke weakly, "Customer, what would you like to forge? Weapons or farming tools?"
Hearing this, Li Qing’s mind stirred.
This was a good opportunity to inquire about the current blacksmithing market in Blackrock City. He asked, "I’d like to forge a few cutting knives. How much would that cost?" As soon as he said this, the apprentice’s eyes lit up. He struggled to stand up and said, "If you bring your own iron ingots, two cutting knives would cost half a pound of Dark Wheat Mushroom!"
"If I provide the materials, one cutting knife costs half a pound of Dark Wheat Mushroom. If you want more, we can negotiate further!"
So, the Yan Family had indeed underpaid him when they asked him to forge cutting knives before. Back then, he had forged three knives for them and only received half a pound of Dark Wheat Mushroom!
However, since this blacksmith shop was located in the market, it was normal for the prices to be slightly higher.
"Ahem, I’m here to buy some refined iron. How much does your refined iron cost?" Li Qing coughed and asked.
"One pound of Dark Wheat Mushroom for twenty pounds of iron ingots. How much do you want?" The apprentice in the blacksmith shop suddenly lost interest.
However, Li Qing’s next words made his eyes widen in surprise.
"Then give me three hundred pounds!" Li Qing said in a deep voice.
"What? Th-three hundred pounds?"
"Yes, is there a problem?" Li Qing carefully observed the man’s expression and smiled.
"No, of course not! Let me go find it for you!" The man’s steps suddenly became much more lively.
Buying three hundred pounds of iron ingots in one go was a deal worth fifteen pounds of Dark Wheat Mushroom, which was no small amount.
For this blacksmith shop, which hadn’t had any business for a long time and was on the verge of starvation, this was extremely important! Around Blackrock City, there were many mines, and one could go outside the city to mine iron ore and smelt it into ingots.
The few blacksmith shops in the city all did this. Under the current laws, no one would regulate such activities—whatever you mined was yours.
Unlike in Maple Country, where the control over salt and iron was very strict, and the sale of private salt or the outflow of iron tools was strictly prohibited, keeping the price of iron consistently high.
After a long while, the blacksmith apprentice finally emerged from the back warehouse, looking dusty and disheveled.
"Customer, I’ve finished counting. I have about three hundred pounds of iron ingots here. That’ll be fifteen pounds of Dark Wheat Mushroom!" He rubbed his hands together, his eyes fixed on Li Qing, afraid that he might be here just to mess with him.
Thud! Li Qing set down his backpack, which contained about fifteen or sixteen pounds of Dark Wheat Mushroom.
The blacksmith apprentice’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He swallowed hard and said, "I’ll go pack it for you right away!"
Soon, the three hundred or so pounds of iron ingots were all loaded into a sturdier and larger basket. The blacksmith’s apprentice struggled to push the basket into the shop.
"Whew! Sir, would you like me to help you carry it back?"
However, Li Qing shook his head, declining his kind offer.
"No need, I can carry it myself."
With that, Li Qing squatted down and directly hoisted the basket loaded with over three hundred pounds of iron ingots onto his back, appearing remarkably steady.
After briefly assessing the weight and his own limits, Li Qing let out a slight sigh of relief.
It was manageable, just barely within his capacity, and not too strenuous. He decided to treat it as an opportunity to temper his physique along the way.
Li Qing was quite satisfied with his current physical strength. Carrying over three hundred pounds of iron ingots while walking steadily on the road was something he would never have dared to imagine in the past.
Under the astonished and awestruck gaze of the blacksmith’s apprentice, Li Qing walked out of the blacksmith’s shop, ready to leave the marketplace.
(End of the Chapter)
📚 Read [ IR ] on Patreon.com/ AnubisTL – Up to c58. [+2]
☕ First 50 Chapters FREE on Patreon and then $5/mo.
🎯 Translated [ 2 ] Novel [ 400k +] Words and counting!