Chapter 856: Blackmail
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
During the Martial Arts Circle Convention, the merchants from various large Inner worlds would gather in Dragon City. They would bring out their best items, because, in Dragon City, good items could be sold for the very best prices.
According to Tang Zhizhi’s explanation, the Free Trade Zone was divided into three large sections, or rather three tiers. The lowest tier was the Free Trade Market.
The items in the Free Trade Market was a mix of good and bad. Everyone could trade freely and there were very few restrictions. The transactions carried out in the Free Trade Market would not be guaranteed and protected by the Huatian Palace. In other words, even if one was swindled or bought fake goods in the Free Trade Market, the Huatian Palace would not take an interest. One could only blame themselves for not being careful.
The second tier was the trade shops. Trade shops were more established. Only the capable big businesses from various large Inner worlds were qualified to open shops in Dragon City. The shops in Dragon City had to be registered. If the shops sold fake goods, then with concrete evidence, the rights of the consumers would be protected by the Huatian Palace.
The highest tier was the Trading Palace Hall. Items that could be sold in the Trading Palace Hall were all rare and exotic treasures. It was the highest standard Free Trade Zone of Dragon City.
However, according to Tang Zhizhi, the most interesting area in the Free Trade Zone was actually the lowest tier Trade Market. It was because the Trade Market was not regulated. One could be swindled, but they could also get their hands on real treasures. Dragon City was so large, and the people who came here were always powerful. They would always have good things in their hands that no one knew about, or maybe the owner did not know its value. If one encountered such a situation, it was like striking gold.
Also, the people selling items in the Free Trade Market were almost all individual retailers. The items that these individual retailers had were mostly items that they had obtained in the Desolate Dragon World or items from the Desolate Dragon World that they had purchased. Most of the time, the individual retailers did not know the value of the item and would very easily sell them off.
Many people liked to roam the Free Trade Market because of their desire to fish for treasures.
The first tier of the Free Trade Zone was the Free Trade Market. Mo Wen was also quite curious, so he brought Tang Zhizhi along for a stroll. Ling Feng did not tag along. As an elder who had lived for more than two hundred years, he had already lost interest in many things. Moreover, his cultivation had only just recovered, and he needed to cultivate in peace to stabilize his realm.
Inside, the Trade Market was like any other market. There were stalls and everyone could only sell their items in their preallocated area.
Mo Wen discovered that the items that appeared here were not high-grade goods. Most of them were materials from the bodies of demonic beasts, some ordinary spiritual medicines, strange ores, or ordinary weapons.
The materials from the bodies of demonic beasts were very suitable to make into ordinary divine weapons. For example, the bones of some demonic beasts could be forged into long sabers that could slice through steel like butter. The skin of demonic beasts could be used to create armor that swords and sabers would find difficult to penetrate. In the martial arts circle, there would easily be a market for such items.
When two people had similar cultivation and combat experience, whoever had weapons forged from the materials of demonic beasts would have a higher chance of victory.
However, Mo Wen was obviously not interested in such things.
“Huh? There seems to be a ruckus up ahead!” Tang Zhizhi suddenly looked up curiously. A ruckus could be heard from there and quite a few people had gathered around.
Usually, such situations would only happen when there was a problem with the trade.
Mo Wen glanced in that direction and was not interested. He prepared to turn and stroll off in another direction. There were no rules in the Free Trade Market, and it was commonplace for conflicts like this to occur. Some people even stirred up trouble intentionally. As long as the Huatian Palace did not get hold of any evidence, they would mostly not get into trouble.
However, Mo Wen had just turned around when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked over there once again. He had heard a familiar voice.
“Come, let’s go over and take a look.” Mo Wen headed in the direction of the ruckus.
A look of surprise flashed in Tang Zhizhi’s eyes. Such incidents were common in the Free Trade Market. Before this, they had encountered a few, but Mo Wen had always walked off on his own after glancing over. Why was he in the mood to join in the fun this time?
A group of people had gathered in front of a stall. The stall was not too big and was packed with people. Most of them had come to see what was going on.
“Who would have thought that a young maiden like you would have such sinister thoughts? You actually sold me fake goods. This is not the snake gallbladder of a Green Tree Snake at all! It’s just a common Red Patterned Snake’s gallbladder.”
A burly, big-faced man stood in front of the stall. He had a foot planted arrogantly on the stall as he looked at the two young maidens working the stall with a fierce expression. In his hand, he held a jade box, and it contained a snake gallbladder that emanated a rustic smell.
“That’s not true. We truly sold you the snake gallbladder of a Green Tree Snake. There is absolutely no error there. As you can see here, the snake skin and venom sacs of the Green Tree Snake are still here,” a young maiden in her early twenties hurriedly explained. Surrounded by a large crowd, she was so anxious that she almost started to cry.
Beside her stood an even younger maiden. She was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. She also looked at these people in panic. She was so scared that she had turned pale.
These two were none other than Su Wan’er and Wang Qian. The two of them had wanted to help the sect seniors out in some way, so they had brought the materials from the demonic beasts they hunted to sell in the trade market. Who would have thought that such an incident would occur?
They had indeed sold a Green Tree Snake’s gallbladder. They had personally dissected the snake, so it was impossible for them to be wrong.
“Bullsh*t. You call this a Green Tree Snake’s gallbladder? Do you think I’m blind? You sold me a rank one demonic beast, Red Patterned Snake’s gallbladder instead of a fifth rank demonic beast, Green Tree Snake’s gallbladder. Do you know what this kind of behavior is called? This is swindling! Do you know what kind of existence the Huatian Palace is? If I let the Huatian Palace know that you have swindled others, hehe, most likely even your little lives will not be enough to compensate.”
The burly man slammed the snake gallbladder down in front of Wang Qian and Su Wan’er with a fierce look. At the same time, his body faintly emanated an aura belonging to an Embryonic Breathing Realm ancient martial art practitioner. The aura was intended to threaten these two mere Regulated Breathing Realm young maidens.
“We truly have not swindled you…” Su Wan’er was on the verge of tears. Her tears rolled around in her eye sockets. The snake gallbladder was clearly not the one that they had sold prior to this. It had certainly been switched out for another. She did not understand why someone else would want to frame them in such a manner.
“This is not the snake gallbladder that we sold you. We will not admit to this accusation,” Wang Qian said as she clenched her teeth. They definitely could not admit to such a thing. Moreover, they had not sold fake goods at all.
“What’s the matter? Are you denying it now?”
The burly man hideously and coldly laughed and said, “Just now, when I bought the Green Tree Snake’s gallbladder, many people saw me. There was also another person that wanted to buy it. They are all witnesses. Do you think that there is any use in denying it? Enough talk. According to the rules, one fake will be compensated tenfold. I spent fifty Dragon Coins on this Green Tree Snake’s gallbladder. If you are sensible, you will compensate me with five hundred Dragon Coins. Otherwise, you’d believe that I can kill you both with just one hand!”
“That’s right. Just now, I indeed saw you sell him this Green Tree Snake’s gallbladder, and I saw you place it in this jade box.”
“That’s right, this is the snake gallbladder. I also wanted to buy it. Fortunately, this gentleman here bought it at a high price. If not, I would have been swindled instead.”
“Young maidens, you had better compensate this man. Since you have committed such an act, you naturally have to pay the price. Otherwise, this incident won’t end well.”
From within the crowd, a few sinister voices sounded. They caused the two maidens, whose hearts were originally on the verge of breaking down, to immediately break down. Even Wang Qian, who was trying to act strong, could not hold back her tears.
The voices of the crowd were all in support of the burly man. This caused her to feel that everyone agreed with the burly man’s words and that the crowd did not believe the two of them.
Compensating ten times the amount would mean compensating five hundred Dragon Coins. Even if they sold themselves off, they could not amass so much money.
In Dragon City, one spiritual stone was equivalent to a hundred Dragon Coins. The value of a Dragon Coin was very high. Normally, a few Dragon Coins could buy more inferior demonic beast materials. The Green Tree Snake was a fifth rank demonic beast and its gallbladder was the most precious part of its body. By eating one, an ancient martial art practitioner could enhance their physique, strengthen their body and also greatly improve their body’s resistance to poison. They could basically ignore ordinary poisons.
Such an amazing item was sold for a mere fifty Dragon Coins. Five hundred Dragon Coins was an astronomical price.
The surrounding onlookers were here just to join in the fun. Aside from a few people, the rest mostly just watched and did not say anything.
In reality, a few sharp-eyed individuals could tell that this burly man was blackmailing these two young maidens. The difference between a Green Tree Snake’s gallbladder and a Red Patterned Snake’s gallbladder was so big. Yet alone testing its various traits, even just looking at its appearance, one could differentiate between the two.
The burly man could only have mistaken the Red Patterned Snake’s gallbladder for the Green Tree Snake’s gallbladder if he was blind. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for even a fool to be tricked in such a situation.
Clearly, he was intentionally blackmailing the two young maidens. The few people who spoke up were most likely the burly man’s accomplices.
Although many people saw through the trickery at play, no one spoke up for the two maidens. They were all just here to enjoy the fun. They would let things slide if it did not affect them. This kind of attitude was very commonplace in the martial arts circle. After all, in the martial arts circle, a small grudge could cause swords to be drawn. If there was no need to do so, no one wanted to simply make enemies of others. Moreover, the person was a rogue. They were even more unwilling to offend him.
“Please believe us. We truly have not cheated anyone. He did indeed buy a Green Tree Snake’s gallbladder, but the one he brought back isn’t it.”
Wang Qian looked around in panic. In such a situation, she wanted to get the help of others. At least if someone agreed with her, she could calm down slightly.
However, what disappointed her was that no one came out to vouch for them. Instead, some of the people around insisted that they had committed fraud.
“Humph, even now you are still stubborn. Quickly compensate me. If you keep going on about it, don’t blame me for being rude,” the burly man said with a fierce look on his face. The aura on his body pressed down undisguised on the two young maidens.
He saw that the two young maidens had materials from the Green Tree Snake as well as materials from a few high ranking demonic beasts. Due to this, he firmly believed that they would certainly have a lot of Dragon Coins on them. Also, these two young maidens were only Regulated Breathing Realm ancient martial art practitioners and did not have any seniors around them. Hence, he came up with the idea to blackmail them.
“Rude? I dare you to try to be rude to them.” A voice suddenly came from the crowd.