Chapter 5 Black Iron Piece
Xiao Ling took Xiao Xun'er's hand, and the two walked through the shops. After a while, they arrived at the grocery market. The merchants here basically put out a blanket and put things on it. There were all kinds of items, which might be rare treasures, but most of them were worthless things.
When they arrived at the grocery market, Xiao Ling wanted to tease Xiao Xun'er, so he said, "Xun'er, this is a famous bargain hunting market in Wutan City. Why don't you try to buy something here today to see whether you lose money or make money."
Xiao Xun'er first lowered her head and pondered for a while, then opened her left hand and clenched her right fist, and suddenly smashed her right fist to her left hand, as if she had thought it through.
Then, with a sly smile at Xiao Ling, she said, "Brother Xiao Ling, just watch."
She then took Xiao Ling's hand and led him to a stall owner, pointing to a wooden box on the stall. She asked, "What's the deal with this box? What's the price?"
The owner was a black-robed man. Xiao Ling's spiritual power sensed the box, but it felt like his soul power had simply been drained into the sea, with no trace of Dou Qi. This made Xiao Ling frown, and he secretly became wary, planning to make it easier to evacuate.
The black-robed man said, "Only one of these three boxes contains a hundred gold coins. Each one is priced at fifty."
Xiao Xun'er's eyes lit up at this. She paid fifty gold coins and immediately took the middle box, handing it to Xiao Ling, blinking expectantly.
Seeing this, Xiao Ling opened it as well. Upon seeing the hundred gold coins inside, a flash of understanding crossed his eyes.
Seeing Xiao Xun'er's excitement, Xiao Ling sighed inwardly, "A casual joke from me is enough to get her to invite Dou Huang masters to perform with me. This girl is truly heartwarming! I will never let you down in this lifetime."
He patted Xiao Xun'er's head and said, "Then I'll borrow your luck today to find an opportunity." With that, he took Xiao Xun'er's hand and walked deeper into the market.
"Huh? Could this be..."
Xiao Ling's expression suddenly changed. Glancing at a stall ahead, he noticed an unusual soul vibration on a piece of black iron. He took Xiao Xun'er's hand and approached the stall.
The stall was small, with a dozen or so items scattered across it.
The most valuable items were several magic cores, tinged green in color, likely first-level magic cores.
On the Dou Qi Continent, magic cores are also known as magic energy crystal cores or elixir prototypes.
As the name suggests, they are energy crystal cores within magical beasts, imbued with the extremely violent energy of heaven and earth.
Normally, only magical beasts can devour magic cores and directly absorb the celestial energy contained within them.
If a human were to directly inhale this celestial energy, they could suffer from possessedness and severed meridians, or even instant death.
While the raging energy of magic cores prohibits direct use by cultivators, they can flourish in the hands of alchemists, becoming a staple ingredient in their refining of elixirs.
After refinement using exquisite fire control techniques and blending with other medicinal herbs to calm the raging Dou Qi within the magic cores, the cores are transformed into elixirs that boost cultivators' strength.
Furthermore, magic cores can be used not only in refining elixirs but also in crafting weapons and jewelry, enhancing their attributes or adding features that aid cultivation.
Consequently, magic cores have long been a highly sought-after ingredient on the Dou Qi Continent, commanding a high price.
Xiao Ling squatted down, pointing at the magic cores. He accidentally glanced at the ordinary piece of black iron, and casually said to the middle-aged mercenary with a cunning look sitting next to the stall, "How much are those magic cores, boss?"
"Here are two wood-attribute magic cores and one water-attribute magic core."
The middle-aged mercenary glanced at Xiao Ling and Xiao Xun'er out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that although they were still young, they had extraordinary temperaments and should be able to afford magic cores, he smiled and said, "Young master, if you really want to buy them, I'll sell them to you for 1,500 gold coins."
"1,500 gold coins for three, isn't that too expensive?"
Xiao Ling frowned and said angrily, "Other people's first-level magic cores are between 400 and 500 each. Why are they so much more expensive in yours?"
"How can it be expensive? It's been the same price for so many years, young master. These magic cores of mine are all top-grade magic cores, and the types of magical beasts they deal with are also relatively difficult to deal with."
The middle-aged mercenary shook his head and said, "Several brothers in our mercenary group were injured because of this, so we got these magic cores, so they are more expensive than ordinary first-grade magic cores."
Xiao Ling pondered for a while and said, "Four hundred and fifty gold coins each. If you are sincere, I will sell all three at once."
"Four hundred and eighty gold coins each, young master. If the price is too cheap, how can I explain to my brothers when I go back?"
"Four hundred and sixty gold coins each!"
Xiao Ling stood up, took Xiao Xun'er's hand and pretended to leave, then said, "Magic cores are not exclusive to your family. Maybe I won't buy from you."
"Four hundred and seventy gold coins each, how is that, young master?"
Seeing that the customer was about to leave, the middle-aged mercenary hurriedly shouted, "Young master, how about we each take a step back?"
"Okay! Four hundred and seventy gold coins each. Pack them up for me, and you can give me a few small gifts." Xiao Ling casually grabbed a few unremarkable trinkets from the carpet.
Seeing that Xiao Ling's possessions were merely worthless, barely a few gold coins, the middle-aged mercenary felt relieved. However, a look of deep regret crossed his face as he said, "Alright, I went through so much trouble to find these in the Warcraft cave. They must be treasures. I'm the one who got the short end of the stick."
A flash of excitement flashed in Xiao Ling's eyes. He took out the gold coins and handed them over. After packing up the items, he took Xiao Xun'er and left.
On the way, Xiao Xun'er noticed Xiao Ling's excitement and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Xiao Ling, why do you look so happy? I guess those were the small porcelain items you wanted to buy."
"Xun'er, you're so smart! You guessed it all. I'm naturally powerful in spirit energy. This piece of black iron gives me a strange feeling. I don't know what it's good for, but I'll take it back and study it to see if I can uncover any secrets." Xiao Ling held out the piece of black iron and said to Xiao Xun'er.
"Brother Xiao Ling, you're really smart. That merchant is obviously a profiteer," Xiao Xun'er said with a smile.
"These guys are all profiteers. As soon as they see you show interest in something, they'll deliberately raise the price. I don't want to be taken advantage of." Xiao Ling put away the black iron piece and stopped thinking about it.
The two of them strolled between the shops, giving each other gifts, and slowly walked out of the market, facing the slowly rising sun, and returned to the Xiao family.
(End of this chapter)