Chapter 63

Su Peng looked into the wooden cage at the hunter's feet and saw that the white fox inside was not very large, seemingly not yet fully grown. However, its fur was as white as snow, without a single blemish. Its left hind leg appeared injured, with a ring of blood around it. At that moment, the small white fox, seemingly in great fear, was pacing back and forth in the cage, dragging its injured leg, extremely agitated and restless.

"I didn't expect to see such a fine white fox with such beautiful fur in such a small place... Just right, my mother has a fox fur winter coat, but it lacks a shawl. If we buy this white fox and kill it, we can make a nice shawl to give to my mother."

Ling Xiaoyu, looking at the white fox in the wooden cage, said this.

"Yes, Miss, you are quite right. I've been hunting for many years, and I've never seen a fox with such beautiful fur. This time, I was lucky. If I hadn't accidentally entered the Thousand-Eyed Swamp, I wouldn't have been able to catch this white fox. But it was worth it... Killing this fox will be enough to make a shawl."

The hunter nodded and said to Ling Xiaoyu.

At this moment, Su Peng was looking at the small white fox in the wooden cage on the ground. The little white fox seemed to have a spirit, and it appeared to understand the conversation between the hunter and Ling Xiaoyu. It immediately became even more agitated, constantly bumping its body against the wooden cage. Unfortunately, the cage was very sturdy, and its small body couldn't break it open.

"Hey? This fox is quite good. If we buy it, we can make a nice fur hat, which would be great for winter."

At this moment, behind Su Peng and Ling Xiaoyu, someone suddenly said.

Su Peng and Ling Xiaoyu turned around and saw four men who looked rather rough and had a sinister look in their eyes. One carried a knife, one a hook, one a stick, and one a hammer. They were clearly four wandering martial artists.

"If you want this white fox, how much does it cost? If the price is reasonable, we'll buy it!" The martial artist with the long knife asked the hunter, pretending to take out money.

"Three and a half taels of gold. If you really want this white fox, that's the price," the hunter said enthusiastically, seeing new potential buyers.

"Three taels of gold? Why don't you just rob us?" The martial artist with the hammer, who was short and stocky, exclaimed. The hand of the martial artist with the knife, who was in the lead, stopped reaching for his money.

"Not expensive, not expensive... Even a common fox pelt, if it's of the highest quality and complete, would cost seven taels of silver. A white fox is extremely rare; you might not find one even if you catch a thousand or ten thousand foxes. It's fifty times more valuable. Besides, I risked my life to enter the Thousand-Eyed Swamp to catch this white fox. I don't know when I'll encounter another one, maybe not for decades. I won't sell it for less than three and a half taels of gold."

The hunter shook his head and said to the four martial artists.

"Hey? I didn't know you entered the Thousand-Eyed Swamp... Could it be you were also looking for luck, searching for the ancient tomb's treasure?" The four martial artists looked at the hunter more closely after hearing his words.

"I wouldn't dare... I just followed a prey and accidentally walked in," the hunter quickly shook his head and said.

"Boss, this white fox is worth three and a half taels of gold, which is not expensive. I'll buy it." At this moment, Ling Xiaoyu, who had been looking at the white fox in the cage, suddenly spoke and made a move to reach for her money pouch.

Su Peng didn't find it strange. Even Su Peng himself had nearly thirty taels of gold on him. Ling Xiaoyu's father was a well-known martial artist. Even if he was fair and just, after so many years, his reputation and martial skills would have earned him at least tens of thousands of taels of silver. Su Peng didn't believe it would be less than that... Even just from the fees he earned for resolving disputes, it would be more than that.

So, it was completely within expectation that Ling Xiaoyu could spend more than three taels of silver to buy a white fox. Her uncle was the city governor, and his spending was in the thousands or tens of thousands of taels of silver, far beyond what ordinary people could afford.

The four martial artists behind Su Peng and Ling Xiaoyu, hearing Ling Xiaoyu's words, felt their momentum falter. They felt their faces had been lost, as ordinary martial artists didn't earn much. Without a powerful backing or a good reputation, they couldn't earn much. If they didn't rob or extort, earning a few taels of gold a month was already a lot. These four martial artists clearly didn't have much money, and seeing Ling Xiaoyu's generosity, they felt embarrassed and humiliated.

But when Ling Xiaoyu touched her money pouch, she frowned, finding nothing inside.

"Ha, I thought you were a rich young master or miss, but it turns out you're just pretending to be rich," the martial artist with the hook said sarcastically, feeling relieved when he saw Ling Xiaoyu's actions.

Ling Xiaoyu, though the daughter of a famous law enforcer, was still inexperienced in the martial world. Hearing the man's words, she frowned, feeling her face heat up. She searched her money pouch again and pulled out a dark golden paper.

"Huh?" Seeing the paper, the four martial artists behind Su Peng and Ling Xiaoyu all drew in a sharp breath and fell silent.

Su Peng also frowned. He had seen similar papers before, when Han Tuo's personal guard handed over the three hundred taels of gold seized from the bandits on Green Dragon Mountain to Han Tuo at the Jiangning County money exchange. This was a famous gold note from the Tongyun Money Exchange, worth at least one hundred taels of gold. It was made of a special material, a mix of gold and paper, with fine gold threads and foil sewn into it, making it resistant to fire and water. It was extremely valuable. Gold notes from the Tongyun Money Exchange worth more than one hundred taels of gold were all made of this material.

The paper Ling Xiaoyu now held was a gold note from the Tongyun Money Exchange, worth at least one hundred taels of gold. She shook it a bit, and Su Peng, with his sharp eyes, saw the words "Three Hundred Taels of Gold, Tongyun Money Exchange" written on it.

"Unfortunately... I don't have any loose silver left, only this gold note... Su Brother, do you have three and a half taels of gold? Can you lend it to me? I'll pay you back when we find a money exchange."

Ling Xiaoyu shook the gold note, put it back in her money pouch, and asked Su Peng.

"Hmph... So what if you have money?" The four martial artists behind Su Peng and Ling Xiaoyu, having recovered, exchanged glances. The one with the knife grunted, and the four of them hurriedly left.

Su Peng sighed inwardly. He knew these four martial artists had already formed some ideas. Ling Xiaoyu was just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, inexperienced in the martial world, and didn't even know the basic rule of not showing off wealth.

Shaking his head, Su Peng felt around his body and found three and a half taels of gold, which he handed to the hunter, saying, "We'll buy this white fox."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank