" umm little brother I need a guide I don"t know about this village I am a merchant from far away would you help me," said Bai Jie to the boy sitting cross-legged. " yes I was born in this village I know everything about this village I will protect you on your trip here " the little boy opened his eyes.
" you will also protect me what is your fees little guy " bai Jie found it very amusing.
" it 50 copper can"t you see I have drawn it here," said the little guy he felt annoyed he had drawn 50 coins in the picture but why was everyone asking him again.
" yes yes I see now " said bai Jie awkwardly if he counted right there were 50 circles drawn in the picture.
" hahaha big brother don"t fall for this kid, lies give me 5 copper coins and I will guide you through the whole village I know a fun place you can enjoy yourself " said a teenager.
bai Jie looked at the little guy he just sat back to his seat again without saying anything.
bai Jie found it even more interesting a normal boy would have been scared if someone found that he was scamming them. but this little guy just sat to his seat again as nothing happened.
" hey little bro you won"t show me around " said Bai Jie. he was very interested in him.
" you haven"t gone yet offering is offering the same thing with 5 copper coins " said the little guy he was confused he never saw this man before so he shouldn"t have known about him so why was he insisting on him.
" This kid is preceptive " bai Jie thought " once I choose something I don"t go back on my words. " said Bai Jie. the teenager looked at bai Jie before leaving.
" Before we go I need 5 copper coins advance payment " said the little guy.
bai Jie nodded giving him 5 copper coins.
The boy counted the coins and moved towards the woman. this woman had greeted him first when he entered. bai Jie followed the little guy.
" Big sister thank you for the food you gave me " the little guy gave the coins to the woman.
the woman thought bai Jie was coming back to her. but she saw the little guy giving her the money. " no need the food was cheap 5 coppers are too much " the woman said.
" Big sister keep it I have money now " said the little guy while handing down money to her. she didn"t reject him she also needed money.
" let"s go what would you like to know " said the little guy.
" little brother what should I call you I don"t even know your name " said Bai Jie. he really didn"t understand this kid anymore. " the least could you do is tell me your name ".
" my name is Ling tian you can call me little tian. " said the ling tian.
" little tian why did you gave her more money than what you owe " asked Bai Jie.
"it"s so I can borrow in future why do you care " ling tian said he had a frown on his head.
Bai Jie felt speechless. This kid just told him don"t poke your nose where it doesn"t belong. " kids in this world are worst. ".
" I am a merchant take to a place where I can do a trade or something similar," said bai Jie after thinking. he may understand this civilization more if he saw the items traded in this world.
" I understand there is a place named Pixi market where people sell the goods they find if you are lucky you may find something good," said Ling Tian.
" Yes let"s go there," Bai Jie thought it was good idea he followed ling tian after going through many alleys there was an open s.p.a.ce. he saw many people with small stalls there were a lot of different items laying here and there. there was a big gathering of people he even saw some cultivators here.
" This is the Pixi market many people come here to try their luck sometimes you can make a fortune out of things. so be careful not to get overwhelmed. "
Bai Jie was already overwhelmed by the scale it was definitely a trade spot. there many people selling herbs and minerals. he never saw these types of plants and minerals. bai Jie picked up a black slab it"s texture was very smooth " what is this " Bai Jie asked excitedly he was very happy when he saw everything here.
" it"s called black iron but it"s not good for trade purposes it"s brittle so it"s only used for making houses and some useful stuff for people it available in large quant.i.ties so profit value of it as a merchant is very low but if you still want to then you better buy ores then refine them in the refinery for better profits I know some good refineries" replied Ling Tian.
Bai Jie nodded. " At least 50 copper is not a total waste ".
Bai Jie and ling tian both went across the market bai Jie was asking questions while ling tian was replying. he told him ways he could resale this stuff like in auction which is the standard prizes if he could make money out of it. There were many scammers but ling tian warned bai Jie not to interact with them. he knew about which stall owners were genuine while others scammers with fake products.
It was an eye-opening journey for him in this market there was no one governing them which means if he bought something fake his money is gone. there is no going back.
But Bai Jie also noticed that this ling tian kid is very intelligent from the people of his age he has such a large amount of information which for any merchant is invaluable he could become a renowned merchant by himself so why was he still loitering around bai Jie wanted to ask him this question.
" Move back hurry we need to hide " said ling tian. he grabbed bai Jie while running in a narrow street hiding behind a house. Bai Jie didn"t know what was happening so he followed his instructions.
Bai Jie saw few people dressed in white there were three teenagers they looked neat and clean while badges were hanging on there chest all of them were men were following him.
" Big brother look that man there he seems to conducting something shady," one of the young men said he had short hair with sunken cheeks.
The man suddenly noticed they were talking about him. he looked around but people moved away from him. he was suddenly alone in the center.
" Yes I saw it there was sure something shady going on we should capture him to interrogate him. " said the other young men while the male who was leading them stayed silent.
" I was just buying some things young master I didn"t do anything wrong " said the man. he was had a bad feeling about this. those badges mean Ji which meant they were officials here.
" Ohh you meant my subordinate is lying " said the leading man. he released his cultivation pressure.
bai Jie noticed 2nd stage mortal with 7 meridians opened.
The man fell on his knees " young master I was wrong it"s my fault here I have some money here it"s a token for your grat.i.tude " the man said from his gritted teeth. he handed his money pouch to him.
the young man"s subordinate took the money.
" young master spare this ant no need to dirty your hands on him. "
the leading young man nodded.
" hahaha we will have a good time today " said the subordinate.
They were going to go his own way but something unexpected happened.
" young master look there is someone hiding behind the street there he seems very suspicious too. " it was another stall owner bai Jie had wanted to buy herbs from him but ling tian said it was too overpriced. so bai Jie didn"t buy anything he was convinced of his knowledge.
Bai Jie looked towards this stall owner he clearly looking for trouble. he also knew these people were corrupt officials. he had to stay low key he can"t come into the light. Bai Jie was thinking of ways to solve this situation.
Ling tian pushed bai Jie and came out in the open.
" young master it"s the little guy hehe we are very lucky today. " said the subordinate.
the leading young man looked towards him and smiled " it little brother tian we haven"t met for such a long time I thought you might have forgotten about the debt " said the leading young man.
" No young master I have already given the interest for this week " said the ling tian while his head lowered on his knees.
" Ohh really now but I didn"t see the account yet looks like I have to visit your mother again to verify the remaining interest " said the young master.
" But I have already submitted it " said Ling tian while handing out a paper parchment.
" Ohh young master he really paid it he must have gotten some more money. " said the subordinate.
" yes young master according to the rules we should check him if he is hiding any more money on his body. " said the other subordinate the subordinate didn"t even wait he grabbed him while removing his clothes to find any more money on him.
Bai Jie felt it was getting past his limits. he wanted to move in to help him. but he saw ling tian"s eyes telling him " stay away don"t make this more complicated ".
Bai Jie gritted his teeth and stayed hidden. but he looked closely towards the young man he wants to remember his face. spiky hair with murky eyes bai Jie activated his eyes of the parasite to remember his life force signal.
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Author note
thank you readers for your support