Simply Trading

Li Sanlang smiled broadly as he bowed again. This young man was a little more polite than the older fellow in the green robe. But his somewhat lacking bow seemed to indicate that he didn"t care too much about manners and such. Either that, or he had never been taught to do it properly. But that could hardly be the case, could it?

"This one is surnamed Qin, with a single word Feng as his given name. Feng, as in Wind. I am pleased to meet someone who had made use of one of the medicinal herbs that I had grown. I trust the Dragon Beard Gra.s.s has ... performed up to your satisfaction?"

"Indeed! You can tell that ... I have broken through to the Initial Realm?"

The youth grinned back and waved a hand in the vague direction to the Southwest. Where Heaven Sword School was located, Li Sanlang realized.

"I have seen that happen often enough, back when I was at the School. A cause for a small celebration at least. Please let me know if you are in need of more herbs and medicines. I have suddenly gained ... a sizable amount of the same, when I left the School. So I will be more than pleased to let them go.

"At reasonable prices, of course."

The Second Ducal Prince suddenly had the impression that he was being frontally a.s.saulted by a particularly tenacious merchant, who was unwilling to let his prey get away. But ... this young man could not be someone like that, could he? Perhaps he was just anxious? And did not wish to lose a chance to gain access to someone who would be able to feed him the information that he needed?

"Er ... I shall admit that I am a little embarra.s.sed at the moment, because I have not brought along ... suitably rare and useful items along, in antic.i.p.ation of making such a trade here today. To be honest, I was just ... walking around and seeing the sights this morning."

Li Sanlang knew just how flimsy the excuse was, of course. But what could he do? He couldn"t come right out and say that he was there to counter-spy on the young fellow, could he?

To his surprise, the youth - No! Young Master Qin Feng! He had better start using that name in his head, and fix it there so that he didn"t forget!

Qin Feng, however, merely grinned at him as he nodded. "Ah! I understand completely! It was the same for me! This Winter season is always hard on us, who tend to be a little more active than the other people. It is far too boring, to be cooped up all this time. That was why I decided to pay the Medicine Hall a visit this morning, to tell the truth!"

The Second Ducal Prince blinked. He was ... actually accepting such a poor excuse? And using it to explain his own presence out on the streets? Was that even possible? Li Changhai suddenly had a bad feeling about all of this:

Either this Young Master Qin Feng was as ignorant of society and its ways as he appeared, or he was some sort of Grandmaster at the spying game! And merely using the Second Ducal Prince"s words to mask his own intentions!

And since his grandmother had already alerted him with regards to why the boy had come to Changqing City, he had a rough idea of what to expect! This young fellow here, this Qin Feng, must be a spy sent by the Heaven Sword School!

And he was taking this opportunity to get closer to Li Sanlang, and the Marquis" Manor behind him! Oh, how shrewd of him! To think that he would seize an opportunity like this!

*

Honestly, Qin Feng was feeling luckier than he had thought he would be. Not only had Deputy Hall Manager Luo Junyuan showed himself, the Second Ducal Prince Li Changhai had also made an appearance! This was perfect!

After all, he was hoping to find out more about the Marquis" plans to deal with the Barbarians, as well as the rumors that he had heard about the Marquis" Army. And Luo Junyuan would be able to confirm some of the details of the items that were being sought by the same. If he was correct, he would be able to make a huge profit from them with what he had managed to bring down, off Heaven Sword School"s mountain!

But how could he be willing to let a former customer get away from him. It was clear from the two herbs that the Second Ducal Prince had purchased from him that he was someone who was focused on the early stages of cultivation. Which meant that he had the potential to be a return customer!

Especially when he had all those other materials in hand, which he certainly didn"t need to keep around, and so clutter up his hidden training s.p.a.ce. So he pulled out one of the lists that he had prepared, and pushed it into the Ducal Prince"s hands.

"Why not take a look at this list then, to see if any of these herbs appeal to you? I have decided that I was wasting my time in Heavenly Sword School, and that their devotion to the sword doesn"t altogether suit me. Hence I have cleared up the yard in which I was ... growing my supplements. I have a little too much in hand, so I am considering selling off the excess."

Then he turned to the a.s.sistant ... No, he was the Deputy Hall Manager now! "Here is your copy, Hall Manager. I think you will not be too disappointed with me. Although I have to warn you that some of these herbs have been dried and stored for almost a season now," he added, as Luo Junyuan stepped forward to receive the same.

Qin Feng handed that Luo Junyuan fellow another piece of paper that he had prepared, so that he could have a look as well. After all, he was hoping to make a small killing, wasn"t he? And how was he going to do that, if his buyers did not compete?

"For a season? Then ... Young Master Qin had already made up his mind to leave Heaven Sword School since Autumn? But why delay your journey here until after the Winter had arrived? Surely the School would not have insisted that you leave before Spring?"

Luo Junyuan"s words were well-intentioned, Qin Feng supposed. But he was certainly not going to tell them that he was out to make a huge sum of money out of the incoming waves of Barbarians, expected as soon as Spring came about. At least, he couldn"t do so without giving up his sources in the Outer School.

So he had to come up with another excuse, and quickly. Fortunately, there were a few standards that he could use. "Ai! I had little choice but to leave! It was a bit of a surprise to me, but the ... female companion that I had been pursuing all this while had suddenly decided to break up with me, to throw herself into the embrace of another disciple. An Inner School disciple.

"So what could I do, except to leave the School?"

* * *