“Little girl, you can’t do this! I can hardly bear to watch,” a middle-aged woman said to Feng Qingran with disdain.
“Sure, this old man stole our business, but don’t you think you’re going too far?”
“Aren’t you basically driving the old man to his grave? His painting is worth a million, and you just slashed the price by nine hundred and fifty thousand. Who haggles like that?”
…
Feng Qingran swept her icy gaze over those who were criticizing her.
Everyone present felt a sudden chill run down their spines and fell silent.
Her almond-shaped eyes shimmered with frost. “Fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones. If you’re willing to sell, I’ll buy. If not, I’ll walk.”
“I’ll sell,” the old man sighed, handing over the painting with trembling hands. No one else dared to speak.
Feng Qingran extended her jade-like hand, took the scroll, and handed over the spirit stones.
The others exchanged glances. What a difficult young lady! They had been running this act for decades and rarely came across someone so tough to deal with.
Feng Qingran put away the painting and had only taken a few steps when she turned around.
Behind her came a voice as clear as a nightingale’s: “Master, this is the painting I saw at that old man’s stall.”
A glint of light flickered in Feng Qingran’s beautiful eyes—so there were other knowledgeable people around.
Still, she didn’t look back and continued forward.
The young woman’s voice rang out again: “Old sir, I came by an hour ago. Please take out that painting and let my master have a look.”
The old man produced a painting and handed it to her.
She took it, unrolled it, and showed it to a white-haired elder beside her.
The elder had a full head of silver hair, and his cloudy eyes held an innate authority that needed no display.
If Feng Qingran had turned around, she would have noticed that this painting was identical to the one in her hands.
The white-haired elder swept his dignified gaze across the scroll and shook his head. “Xi Yao, there’s nothing special about this painting. Are you sure you weren’t mistaken?”
Luo Xiyao immediately spoke up. “Impossible, Master! I truly felt an extremely strange aura emanating from this painting—something that resembles the Tai Chi Array Disk you carry.”
At the word “Tai Chi,” the white-haired elder’s expression shifted dramatically.
Though he rarely used the Tai Chi Array Disk, Luo Xiyao was his closest disciple and had indeed seen him wield it before. The aura of Tai Chi was exceptionally unique, and since Luo Xiyao was an outstanding array master, there was no way she could have misidentified it.
Filled with excitement, the elder asked again: “Xi Yao, are you certain it’s an aura similar to the Tai Chi Array Disk?”
“I’m absolutely sure—there’s an extremely faint Tai Chi aura,” Luo Xiyao confirmed.
Upon hearing her answer, a gleam of wisdom flashed in the elder’s eyes. He turned to the painting seller and asked, “Is this painting the same one you had an hour ago?”
The old seller exchanged glances with his associates, a shrewd look flickering in his eyes.
He then brought out a stack of paintings. “All these are identical. I’m afraid I’ve forgotten which one the young lady was looking at earlier.”
The white-haired elder’s face turned cold at the sight of the pile in front of him.
Luo Xiyao’s eyes burned with anger. This old swindler was clearly trying to rip them off!
Knowing that his time with Luo Xiyao in the black market was running short—too short to inspect each one individually—the elder decided to buy them all.
“How much for all of these together?” The white-haired elder’s voice carried an imposing pressure.
Unfortunately, this was the black market. Though the old seller was gasping under the pressure, he wasn’t about to let such a fat cash cow slip away.
Hunching his back, the old seller said with a tremor, “One painting costs one million low-grade spirit stones. There are two hundred and fifty-one in total. Since you two are buying in bulk, I’ll throw in the extra one for free. Just give me twenty-five billion low-grade spirit stones.”
Luo Xiyao was livid. “An hour ago, you were asking for only a hundred thousand each!”
A burly, menacing man stepped forward, blocking the old seller. “Hey now, little miss. Buying and selling is all about willingness. If you’re not interested, fine—but don’t go bullying an old man.”
The white-haired elder’s cloudy eyes turned cold.
In the black market, the moment you show even a hint of interest in something, these people would bleed you dry.
But under the protection of the black market’s rules, these unscrupulous merchants faced no consequences whatsoever.
All the money they earned from sales was split fifty-fifty with the backers of the black market. And those backers were more than happy to see people get cheated.
Shielded by this layer of protection, the merchants only grew bolder in their scams.
Luo Xiyao fumed. “You’re all in cahoots! You’re blatantly trying to extort us!”
“Miss, if you’re not buying, please move along. I’d still like to earn a bit more for my funeral fund,” the old seller said with a cunning look.
Luo Xiyao’s pretty face flushed with anger, a hint of resentment flashing in her eyes.
Never in her life had she been treated like this!
The white-haired elder placed his withered hand on her shoulder. “Xi Yao, the black market has its own rules. Don’t be upset.”
Then, pulling out a golden token, he said to the seller, “That’s a lot of spirit stones. I’ll transfer them directly to you.”
The seller produced a black token.
The elder’s golden token tapped against it, and a flash of red light signaled the transaction.
The seller took back his token, checked the balance, and his face lit up with excitement. In all his life, he had never seen so many spirit stones!
His aged complexion flushed with vitality, and his hand trembled as he clutched the token.
“Ha ha ha…” The old seller burst into wild laughter, feeling as if strength had surged through his entire body. Even his hunched back straightened.
The white-haired elder collected all the paintings and left with Luo Xiyao.
He hadn’t gone far when he vaguely heard someone behind him say, “Old Hui, you’ve struck it rich this time! Ah, but that girl who bought one of your paintings for fifty thousand earlier—she really got a bargain!”
