Page 17: Eye-catching crystal

Long Bai and the rest reached the city by midnight. Although the night is deep, the scene in that area is not what you would have expected. Knowing that it is in the middle of the night, it is expected that people will be at home resting but this place is different. Dry goods are displayed on different stalls while there's a whole section of the street that seels food. There are also bargain stalls where people can haggle with the vendor.

"This kind of atmosphere... A night market?" Long Bai unconsciously muttered bit was audible enough for the people around him to hear it.

"Oh? Brother Bai knows a night market? You might have experienced a night market from somewhere I presume?" Shen Zhu amused.

"Well, you can put it like that." Long Bai ended as he doesn't want to recall an experience related to it.

Back on Earth, Long Bai went to a night market once and enjoyed a lot of things at first. However, that same night, he got pick-pocketed. His brand new phone was gone just like smoke however there's something that made him even more resentful. The day after, he found his phone being displayed at a second-hand cellphone shop. To Long Bai, such experience made him start to feel too cautious every time he's in a crowded place.

That night, everyone followed Vice chief Bo to a wide building that consisted of three storeys. From the outside, the building looked ordinary but once they got inside, they were greeted by a decent interior design. The internal design was decorated with colorful paintings and elegant curtains. Lanterns are also used as a light source for the night which made the ambience more attractive.

As they followed the vice chief inside the building, they were led to a corridor with multiple rooms. Except for Yue who's the only female, the rooms were occupied by at least three males. The night was spent silently since everyone are focused on recuperating from a tiring day. Most opted to hit the sack as soon as they can but there are few who chose to cultivate. For those who decided to cultivate, they are the ones who had converted fire crystals with them. Since they have the resources, the time is of essential to cultivate instead. Anyway, when they cultivate, the body will undergo the natural healing process and it would even be far more faster. The night's hour passed like a silent brook.

Like the unnoticed flow of the wind, time became non-existent to those who have immersed themselves in meditation and sleep. Without feeling the passage of a few hours, the elements of morning has come. While everyone have their own things to attend at, Long Bai decided to go out alone and check what the city can offer.

"Brother Bai, the three of us will be going with the vice chief today. We'll try to see what we can do for now together with the proposal you told us a while ago. When will we expect you to return here?"

"Sis Yue, it might take a while. Maybe I will be returning late this afternoon. For the mean time, I'll let you and the rest take care of our business here. I'll also return with some food I might be able to take. I'll get going then!"

Long Bai asked the three a moment ago about how they would play in this pavilion. Since they need to collect some resources, they would first need some money and to do that, they need to establish a kind of sustainable business. Considering this, Long Bai has thought of putting his array skills into action since the other group has already taken up the job of an alchemist. In this way, he could also increase his proficiency in array making.

In this world, it would seem that array making became more popular than pill making since the restriction is not as high than the latter. The basic materials needed are easier to procure compared to alchemy. The only challenge to the practitioners here is to familiarize themselves with the inscriptions needed to make a rune for the array.

Not long after Long Bai took off, he came across an interesting street. It says on the street signage, "bidding alley" which made him more curious. With a certain level of curiosity, he approached one of the stations which was being watched by a middle- aged man.

"Mister, how come there's no price tag for the other displays while some have cross marks on it?" Long Bai asked.

Looking at the displays of different items laid on the ground with a cloth sheet, he doesn't seem to understand what's going on. He looked at the man with questioning eyes.

"Lad, you seem new to this town. Let me explain. You see, this street that spans a 120 meters is the area allotted for this business. There's no tax in here but it doesn't guarantee also a customer. What we do here is to display items and put a piece of paper on it. If you like an item or two, put your own price on it. However if someone wanted that same item, he or she can layer a higher price for it. At the end of the day, the person with the highest bidder buys it with the amount he puts. Of course, as long as the owner will sell it, the highest bidder can buy it. It is similar to auction hall. Did you get it?"

"I see. Can anyone put up a bidding space?"

Long Bai was thinking that this thing is interesting. Although it is more risky than a formal auction, he wanted to experience something like this once in a while. In addition, since he wanted to roam the city freely and enjoy its perks, he needed the money he can have here.

"Of course, anyone can. If you like to set your own, you can take this space on my left. The guy who was supposed to be in there did not showed up for a ling time now. Maybe he got lucky and is enjoying his good fortune."

"Oh, thanks. I hope I can get lucky too."

Long Bai proceeded in setting up his spot. Using a thin 50cm x 50cm cloth, he laid it in front of him and secured it using small stones as weights on its corners. While he is busy thinking of what he should out in display, the man beside him was watching him curiously.

Long Bai on the other hand was focused he was not bothered by what's going on around him.

'Hmm... What should I out in display? Ah, yes. I remembered there are this extra weapons I loot from the past. Maybe i can display two of this grade 1 sword and 1 grade 2 sword. I wonder how this kind of weapon is valued in here? I still have some extra weapons here but I think these three is enough. Now what should I put next? Hmm... how about this converted fire crystal with a 98% purity? Maybe this is a good opportunity to check each of the item's value here. I'll display 5 of these for now.'

After some thought, Long Bai brought out the three swords and five white crystals from his cosmic pouch. Just when he did that, he heard a gasp beside him. He looked at the man who was looked surprised.

"...is there something wrong? You don't look alright?"

"Where did you hide those weapons? I did not see you carrying those a while ago and where did you get such beautiful crystals... wait, are those converted fire crystals?"

Long Bai just then realized that this place are not yet fully versed with dimensional storages. To not make it sound suspicious, he just then replied that he had all along in his body. As for the crystals, he admitted that they are the real deal. After hearing Long Bai's explanation, the man just gave a dry laugh. It seems that the items Long Bai have just brought out are something valuable.

'Oh well, maybe I can use this to bait some bigshots. I might be able to have more side lines aside from the one with the blackwood pavilion.' Long Bai thought as he finished setting up the items.

Since it was still early in the morning, there are only few people passing on that street. To pass the boredom, Long Bai kept talking with the man beside him who introduced himself as Yanjie.

Yanjie talked about himself a lot during the conversation. He told him about his past and the things that he have done as a man. The conversation went on for more than an hour. Just when they went out of topics to discuss, people started pouring into the street and some of them came to notice Long Bai's items.

The essence crystals were too catchy that attracted some few eyes. At first, the people were just eyeing at the catchy converted fire crystals but as more and more checks the display, some started to put attention on the swords. One particular young man noticed the crystals and raised a request to Long Bai.

"Young seller, may I know where these crystals came from?"

"Is there something wrong with it? If you are interested, put your price on it. If you'll be the buyer, I might tell you about it." Long Bai replied with a business face.

At first, Long Bai didn't know why this person is putting a lot of interest in it but after hearing the man's next words, he came to realize how much it would make a fuzz.

"I apologize if I seemed rude. I'll be putting my price right now."

While the man is writing the price, everyone watching started to have their eyes grow wider. They can't just believe the number written on the piece of paper. The amount is double than the normal price.

A person started yelling about it that attracted the attention of the people around. People started to crowd the spot and one by one came to check the crystal. For a while, no one from the crowd can explain why the man chose to out a high price on it. Due to this, some people started to speculate that what happened was just a publicity stunt to notice the products. This made some of the people become enraged to the extend that those who felt the same went to the spot to confront Long Bai.

It started with just a dew people. There was 5, then 7, and then the single digit turned to a double digit. A few minutes after they started to make ruse, a population of almost twenty started to yell at Long Bai.

Some came to say that he should start packing his items or they will do it themselves. Some who did not have patience even started making threats about taking his items and throw it somewhere. The man who is staying beside him even started tidying up his spot after hearing the threats coming from the people.

Long Bai who is receiving all of these banter stayed silent and motionless. Although they are already doing a harassment, he preferred to stay quiet unless they will make the first move. Only when they'll do something besides yammering will he make his move.

This event spread out so fast around the area that it even got the attention of the peace keepers. Before it got out of hand, five peace keepers came to check the situation. Being a guard employed by the city, they are clad with a sturdy lamellar armor. Bearing the insignia of the city council's peace force, their aura suggests that they really are with the law.

As the people noticed the incoming guards, they made a way for them splitting the crowd at its center. Long Bai on the other hand looked at them and scanned their cultivation levels. As expected by Long Bai, they were at least at the core foundation layer of the soul tempering stage. The lowest is at the third level while the strongest is at the sixth level.

With a loud voice, one of the guards yelled loudly.

"What is going on here? Can someone explain? You! What happened?" The guard pointed out at the closest person.

With his head bowed down, he started to speak.

"Senior as you can see, this lad over here came to make a public stunt just to fool people around. Please check the price on the essence crystal that the young man have." the man ended while pointing at the items on the floor.