Yue Qingqian approached the stall guarded by the hulking figure. She kept her steps deliberately uneven, her gaze darting around nervously before settling on the rough ores displayed, mimicking the wary demeanor of a scavenger constantly assessing potential threats and opportunities.
The guard, a massive man whose face was completely hidden behind a crude iron mask, didn't react to her approach. He stood like a statue carved from granite, his aura thick and suppressing, making it impossible to gauge his cultivation level beyond 'dangerous'.
Yue Qingqian stopped before the stall, careful not to get too close. She gestured vaguely at the piles of common spiritual iron.
"Looking for... reinforcing material," she said, her voice deliberately roughened, adopting the coarse accent common in the Outer Sect mines. "Something... heavy. Denser than this scrap. For digging tools. Got anything... tougher?"
The guard remained silent for a long moment, his hidden gaze seemingly evaluating her from head to toe. The silence stretched, amplifying the background hum of the market. Yue Qingqian forced herself to remain still, projecting impatience mixed with nervousness.
Finally, the guard moved. Without a word, he reached towards the back of the stall and picked up the small, cloth-wrapped bundle Lin Fan had identified. He placed it heavily on the rough wooden counter. It landed with a dull, solid thud that seemed to absorb sound.
He didn't unwrap it. He simply tapped the bundle once with a thick finger.
Yue Qingqian knew this was the moment. She leaned forward slightly, feigning interest mixed with suspicion. "What's this? Looks small."
The guard spoke for the first time, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that seemed to come from deep within his chest. "Deep. Heavy. Drains energy. Not for forging weapons. Only... anchors. Or... special arrays."
He knew exactly what it was and its potential uses. He wasn't just a brute; he understood the value, and the danger, of the material.
"Maybe," Yue Qingqian said, trying to sound skeptical. "How much?"
The guard held up three thick fingers.
Three thousand low-grade spirit stones? Yue Qingqian thought. That was exorbitant for an Outer Sect transaction, but probably fair, even low, for genuine Deep Ocean Black Iron, especially in a black market setting. Lin Fan had anticipated a price range between two and five thousand and had given her exactly three thousand five hundred stones – enough to make the purchase but not enough to appear suspiciously wealthy.
"Too much," Yue Qingqian scoffed immediately, shaking her head, playing her part. "For a lump of hard-to-use scrap? One thousand. Take it or leave it." This was the standard opening gambit in the Outer Market – lowball aggressively.
The guard simply stared at her, unmoving. The silence returned, heavy and tense.
Just as Yue Qingqian was about to reiterate her offer, another cloaked figure drifted over to the stall, their sharp eyes also fixing on the cloth-wrapped bundle.
"Deep Ocean Black Iron?" the newcomer asked, their voice sharp and assessing. "How much are you asking?"
Lin Fan, watching from the shadows, felt his muscles tense. A competitor. This complicated everything.
The guard ignored the newcomer, his hidden gaze still fixed on Yue Qingqian. He slowly lowered one of his three fingers, leaving two raised. Two thousand.
The newcomer chuckled, a dry, rasping sound. "Two thousand? I'll offer two thousand five hundred right now."
Yue Qingqian's heart pounded. This was going badly. A bidding war was the last thing they wanted; it attracted too much attention. She had to end this quickly.
Remembering Lin Fan's contingency plan – 'If competition arises, secure the item swiftly, slightly above the asking price, then vanish' – she made her move.
"Fine," she snapped, projecting annoyance and a hint of desperation. She quickly took out a worn pouch from her robes. "Two thousand one hundred. Final offer. Need it for a rush job." She placed the pouch, containing exactly 2100 low-grade spirit stones, firmly on the counter, pushing it towards the guard.
The newcomer started to speak again, likely to raise the bid, but the hulking guard acted decisively. He swept Yue Qingqian's pouch off the counter with one hand and simultaneously pushed the cloth-wrapped bundle towards her with the other. Transaction complete. His gaze then shifted to the newcomer, a silent, menacing dismissal.
The newcomer hesitated for a second, clearly displeased but unwilling to challenge the massive guard, and melted back into the crowd.
Yue Qingqian didn't waste a moment. She snatched the heavy bundle, tucking it securely into her own satchel. Without a word of thanks or farewell, she turned and walked away from the stall, deliberately keeping her pace steady, resisting the urge to run.
She could feel the eyes of the guard on her back, and perhaps other unseen eyes as well. She stuck to the less crowded paths, heading towards the western exit tunnel – the alternate escape route Lin Fan had designated in case of trouble. She didn't dare look back towards Lin Fan's hiding spot; making contact was too risky now.
She reached the tunnel entrance, glanced back once into the dimly lit, menacing cavern of the Ghost Market, and then slipped into the darkness, her footsteps quickening as she began the treacherous journey back to the surface, the heavy weight of the Deep Ocean Black Iron a solid, terrifying lump against her side.