Chapter 53

Seeing that He Boqiang didn't speak and continued to pick through the pile of magic cores with his head down, the shop assistant no longer asked any more questions.

Fine rain threads drifted in the sky, the rain was not heavy, and there weren't many people on the street.

He Boqiang put the second magic core back and then touched over a dozen more. What shocked him was that in this large pile of magic cores, not a single one gave off a magical aura. In other words, after looking at so many magic cores, not a single one contained a magic crystal.

A Gubole horse snorted not far away; traveling on a rainy day, these large animals were prone to illness.

The shop assistant, seeing that He Boqiang had been selecting for a long time without deciding which one to buy, concluded that he was a penniless gambler. He occasionally cast suspicious glances at He Boqiang, and every time He Boqiang put a magic core back, the shop assistant would rearrange it to avoid any switching.

Feeling the shop assistant's gaze as if he were a thief, He Boqiang pretended not to notice. He carefully felt through the pile of magic cores on the stall, but found not a single one.

He withdrew his wet hand, preparing to get up and leave.

The shop assistant's expression turned somewhat cold as he asked He Boqiang, "Have you made your choice?"

He Boqiang pointed to the pile of magic cores in front of him, waved his hand at the shop assistant, and indicated that he wanted to see others.

The shop assistant squinted, wiped the rain from his face, and said, "That's all there is. The other magic cores have already been sold. Didn't you find a single one in this pile?"

Hearing that there were no other magic cores, He Boqiang got up and prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment... Do you want to buy magic cores? I have some too, are you interested?" A thin man wearing a defensive cloak stood beside He Boqiang and asked tentatively.

The shop assistant, who was squatting at the stall, looked up at the thin man and said bluntly, "Bazil, don't waste your time. I don't think he wants to buy at all!"

The thin man, who didn't look like a shop assistant but rather a manager with some authority, immediately said to the shop assistant, "Hey, how can you say that... Maybe I have what he wants?"

He then enthusiastically pulled He Boqiang to an adjacent stall, pointed to a dozen or so scattered magic cores, and said, "Look at these magic cores. They are much better in quality than his. These magic cores are more expensive than the ones over there, but if you really want to buy, I can sell them to you at the same price..."

He Boqiang looked at the thin man named Bazil and thought: This guy must be taking me for a fool, trying to rip me off.

However, since there were still magic cores on the stall, even though the chances of finding a magic crystal were slim, he decided to take a look.

Squatting in front of the stall again, He Boqiang found that the magic cores on this stall were indeed slightly larger and more regular in shape than those on the previous stall. He was about to pick up a magic core to examine it closely.

At this moment, the curly-haired boy Gabi squeezed in beside He Boqiang. He didn't dare speak loudly but whispered in He Boqiang's ear, "Dak, don't fall for it. These wandering fur traders won't put magic cores containing magic crystals on the stall. When they leave, you'll find that what you bought from them is just a pile of worthless stones."

Gabi also secretly poked He Boqiang's arm.

He Boqiang smiled slightly at Gabi, gave no indication, and picked up another magic core from the stall.

He Boqiang found that while the magic cores on the neighboring stall looked ugly, they were still magic cores. However, the magic cores on this stall... weren't really magic cores at all, but rather fakes made from stones that resembled magic cores.

Seeing that He Boqiang was still picking through the magic cores, the curly-haired Gabi said angrily, "You're a stubborn guy."

There wouldn't be any magic crystals in this pile of stone-carved magic cores, and He Boqiang couldn't decide which one to buy.

"Such good magic cores, didn't you find any you liked?" Bazil stared at He Boqiang, his strange gaze making it seem as if He Boqiang was a cheat for not buying a single magic core.

The people around the stall also stared at He Boqiang. Since it was a boring scam, He Boqiang didn't care much about their gazes. Just as he was about to leave with Gabi, he noticed three small, pigeon-egg-sized black stones in the corner of the stall... which should be magic cores obtained from the skulls of level-one magical beasts.

These small magic cores usually had a very low chance of containing magic crystals. Even if they did, the amount of magic crystal would likely be insufficient to cut a standard unit of magic crystal, and they would mostly become slightly cheaper magic crystal fragments.

He Boqiang pointed to the three small magic cores.

Bazil, the manager, waved his hand impatiently and said, "These are magic cores found on level-one magical beasts. These three are a bit small, selling for fifty silver coins each..."

He Boqiang held a pigeon-egg-sized magic core in his hand, and a faint aura immediately seeped out from the magic core, quickly being absorbed by He Boqiang.

He didn't expect to find a magic crystal fragment in these level-one magic cores.

After all, even a small amount is still something.

He Boqiang decisively decided to buy it on the spot, barely haggling with Bazil. He took out a stack of silver coins from his money bag, fifty silver coins felt heavy, and he tossed them into Bazil's hand. He Boqiang took the magic core and left without looking back, the entire transaction taking less than a minute.

The curly-haired Gabi scolded He Boqiang all the way: "Hey, Dak, didn't you and Suldak just harvest some magic cores a few days ago? I really don't understand your thinking..."

He Boqiang returned to the tent, peeled off his wet leather armor, dried the rain from his body, and changed into a dry linen robe. He then sat on the bed and carefully examined the magic core.

The curly-haired Gabi sat in a chair and said confidently, "Trust me, no one would be willing to spend fifty silver coins on a magic core that is bound to not contain a magic crystal, except you!"

He Boqiang smiled at the curly-haired boy and gestured with a file.

"Are you really going to open this magic core? Listen to me, sell it now, and you'll at least lose less..."

He Boqiang pushed Gabi, and the boy stopped nagging, quickly running out to borrow a file from a jeweler on the street.

Gabi soon returned with the file, thanks to the merchant Lagin's good reputation in the market. People were willing to help Lagin within their means. When He Boqiang carefully filed away a bit of the black-brown outer layer of the magic core with the file, the curly-haired Gabi poured some water on the magic core, and a streak of amber color appeared before their eyes.