Chapter 19: Buying a Knife, Getting a Sword?

Shao Zifeng walked into the "black market," and the first thing he felt was the noise. Various shouts could be heard non-stop, like the one from the stall next to him, where a loudspeaker was promoting.

"Antiques and calligraphy, selling antiques and calligraphy, just dug out from an ancient tomb, eighty percent new..."

Shao Zifeng looked at the stall of the old man selling antiques and calligraphy. There were rows of brand new porcelain and bronze artifacts, and Shao Zifeng even saw a scroll with packaging imprinted with "Souvenir from Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival."

???

Little question marks, do you have many... Pfft, pfft, can our "black market" do business this carelessly? Just because we call it a "black market," does it really have to be this shady? Shao Zifeng kept lamenting along the way.

"Young man, come here, young man." At this moment, Shao Zifeng heard a somewhat hoarse male voice from a stall to his left.

Shao Zifeng turned his head to look, only to see a middle-aged man with a wrinkled face behind a stall full of old radios and tapes, beckoning him incessantly.

Curious, Shao Zifeng walked over and scanned the man's stall. Aside from some radios and tapes that were no longer common in the market, he didn't find anything of value.

Shao Zifeng looked questioningly at the stall owner.

The stall owner said mysteriously, "Young man, have you ever heard of mutant creatures with the "幽" attribute?"

Of course, Shao Zifeng knew about mutant creatures with the "幽" attribute. They appeared out of nowhere around the world one day in 2005, following the "First Unknown Recovery Event." These semi-transparent beings were children of the night and shadows, immune to physical harm. It wasn't until someone accidentally captured the transformation of a dying mutant creature on film that people understood their origin.

These later came to be known as "幽" attribute mutant creatures. Though they can be contracted, most harbor immense hatred for humans, having been killed directly by humans or indirectly sacrificed in wars.

After 2005, the appearance of mutant creatures with the "幽" attribute became much rarer. The upper echelons of the country speculated that "幽" attribute creatures might be born of another phase of unknown recovery, hence 2005 was also known as the "Second Unknown Recovery Event."

"幽" attribute mutant creatures were always scarce. If possible, Shao Zifeng also wanted to contract one... if he could solve the vetting issues, that is.

"Do you have any?" Shao Zifeng grew impatient. The bizarre experiences of the night left him with no patience for more nonsense; he just wanted to buy the energy potion and leave this weird place.

"My surname is Chen. I once ran a haunted house in Jiujiang City. I have tapes here that will attract creatures with the "幽" attribute. If you're lucky, you might want to try your luck." The man surnamed Chen looked at Shao Zifeng with an enigmatic smile.

"Hey... hey, young man, don't go, listen." The middle-aged stall owner quickly pressed a button on a radio, which emitted a buzzing static before a muffled male voice could be heard saying, "…it hurts..."

Shao Zifeng looked at him as if he were an idiot and said slowly, "There's a woman in my shadow who kills people with her hair, do you believe it?"

Then he ignored the man and continued walking in.

Qiuqiu sensed Shao Zifeng's mood wasn't good and was a bit at a loss. Standing on Shao Zifeng's shoulder, it looked around, trying to help find a target. Suddenly, it seemed to sense something, tugged at Shao Zifeng's hair, and pointed to a stall.

"Ying ying ao~"

"What's up, Qiuqiu?" Shao Zifeng, who was carefully observing both sides of the stalls, suddenly sensed Qiuqiu's excitement and anticipation.

"Ying ying~ ying~ ao~" Qiuqiu pointed at a stall with cold weapons, chattering and gesturing as if to tell Shao Zifeng there were good things over there.

Shao Zifeng stopped and turned to look where Qiuqiu was pointing.

Before an elderly man in traditional Chinese clothing, several Tang swords and Han swords were neatly arranged. Shao Zifeng scanned each one, and as he glanced past a Tang sword, his gaze froze, and a few blue dots began rotating in his peripheral vision.

[Name]: Tang Hengdao Scabbard

[Attribute]: Fire

[Quality]: ★★★★

[Condition]: Intact

[Description]: A scabbard of superior quality compared to the original sword. After the original sword was damaged, it was only used to store some ordinary iron.

[Function]: Unknown

Seeing these lines, Shao Zifeng was at a loss for words. He hadn't expected his Golden Finger to also have an effect on energy-containing items; this way, he wouldn't miss out on valuable treasures in the future.

Shao Zifeng patted Qiuqiu's smooth head to encourage it. Leisurely, he walked up to the stall of the elderly man in traditional clothing and stole a glance at him. The old man, appearing to be in his seventies, was dozing with his eyes closed.

"Grandpa, how much is this Tang sword?" Shao Zifeng calmly picked up the Tang sword and asked.

The old man didn't open his eyes in response but stretched out a palm with no missing fingers.

"50?" Shao Zifeng asked cautiously.

"5000." The old man opened his eyes, glared at him, and said grumpily.

"Grandpa, isn't 5000 a bit expensive? How about 500?" Shao Zifeng tried, recalling scenes of negotiating prices while shopping with his mom.

"Hmm... seeing as we have a connection, I'll take a loss today. 500 it is. Alipay or cash?" The old man in traditional clothing flashed a cunning smile and quickly pulled out his phone, opening the Alipay app.

Shao Zifeng was bewildered as he looked at the information on the Tang Hengdao. What? Why do you look like you made a killing?

After paying, Shao Zifeng unsheathed the Tang Hengdao, and a flash of cold light appeared.

"Whoa."

It shouldn't have been unsheathed under a bright light, it was blinding.

The blade... huh? Isn't this a sword? The trembling blade had "Tai Chi" inscribed on it.

This is probably the sword used by elderly folks for practicing Tai Chi, right?

Merchants truly are cunning, even an honest-looking old man.

Anyway... you might make a profit, but I'll never lose. Glancing again at the scabbard's information, Shao Zifeng contentedly sheathed the sword.

Shao Zifeng spent the rest of the time browsing other stalls.

Finally, at a stall selling pet supplies, he saw traces of "Energy Potion Type I (Fire)."

Unfortunately, each bottle's energy purity was only around 2%. Compared to him, Lai Si'er truly seemed a paragon of integrity and kindness.

At four o'clock, agents of the Abnormal Administration Bureau began clearing the area, and Shao Zifeng followed the crowd out of the complex.

Once the Abnormal Administration Bureau's vehicles left and the crowd thinned out, Shao Zifeng noticed a strange phenomenon. Among the people, a dozen or so had put on masks and face coverings at some point and were heading towards another part of the complex with their heads down.

Curious, Shao Zifeng discreetly donned a mask and sunglasses and trailed behind those people.