Chapter 82

Wei Changfeng did not hear the discussions about him behind his back, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

Not being envied means being mediocre. Since he chose this path, he was destined to face countless difficulties and obstacles, destined to attract countless enemies and rivals. Without a heart that can cut through thorns and brambles and fear no danger, how could he climb to the peak of martial arts?

On the way, Yu Qinghong asked about the task for the upper academy students.

Wei Changfeng did not hide anything from her and told her everything.

After Yu Qinghong heard, she frowned and said, "Junior Brother, choosing the third task was the right decision. The first and second tasks were clearly meant to harm someone. The Qingyun Hall is really going too far!"

"The third task is probably not easy either. You must be careful!"

Wei Changfeng nodded and said, "Senior Sister, don't worry. I won't give others any chance to take advantage of me."

Wei Changfeng did not care who was plotting against him from behind the Qingyun Hall, whether it was the Wang family or even the Wei family, it didn't matter!

As long as he could smoothly pass the academy competition and obtain the qualification to participate in the Yunhai Mountain selection, that would be the best retaliation against his opponents. At that time, he would leap out of the mire and find a vast sky.

To say that the task of escorting medicinal herbs had no hidden tricks was definitely impossible. But in a situation where he couldn't refuse, he could only deal with it step by step!

Yu Qinghong seemed to have thought of something, and a determined look flashed in her eyes.

As they walked and talked, the two of them arrived in Jingyun City.

After a night of snow, the entire Jingyun City was covered in white, presenting a unique scene.

Fortunately, most of the snow on the main streets had been cleared, and many snowmen were piled up at the entrances of alleys and small streets. Many children were playing and having snowball fights, adding a lot of vitality to the city.

Wei Changfeng took Yu Qinghong to the Sihai Pavilion first.

To Wei Changfeng's surprise, the manager of the Sihai Pavilion, Wan Haoming, gave him a big surprise.

"Here are the White Jade Mushroom, Ghost Face Mushroom, Purple Red Mushroom, Flesh Mushroom, Small Flower Mushroom, Blood Mushroom, and Seven Star Mushroom..."

In the VIP room of the Sihai Pavilion, Wan Haoming had a servant girl bring in a small wooden box filled with medicine boxes and said with a smile, "Each type of mushroom has three grams, all from plants that are at least twenty years old!"

"So soon!"

Wei Changfeng was truly overjoyed. He originally thought it would take at least a month for the Sihai Pavilion to gather the seven mushrooms out of the nine, but it was done in just half a month.

He reached out and picked up a small white jade medicine box, eager to open the lid.

An unusual medicinal fragrance immediately rushed into his nostrils, invigorating his spirit!

Purple Red Mushroom!

Inside the medicine box were three purple-red mushroom slices, each about the size of a copper coin.

Smell, identify the shape, and observe the color!

As a former master of alchemy, Wei Changfeng's ability to identify medicinal herbs and materials was unmatched. Just by smelling and glancing, he immediately identified that these were Purple Red Mushrooms at least twenty years old, and the quality was quite good.

Although he did not doubt the credibility of the Sihai Pavilion, out of caution, Wei Changfeng still opened and inspected the other six medicine boxes.

Wan Haoming did not think there was anything wrong with Wei Changfeng's actions. Business is business, and this was not a small transaction. Any caution was justified.

If Wei Changfeng had carelessly said he didn't need to check and trusted the Sihai Pavilion, Wan Haoming would have thought less of him.

The final inspection results satisfied Wei Changfeng!

He asked straightforwardly, "Manager Wan, how much more do I need to pay?"

The original deposit of five thousand taels was definitely not enough to cover the cost of the seven mushrooms. Medicinal herbs of this age were very expensive, and it was not easy to gather all seven.

In recent times, the prices of medicinal herbs and pills in Jingyun City had been rising!

Wan Haoming said, "It's also your good luck, Wei Young Master. I sent a message to the branch in the county seat, and they happened to have stock. The ship arrived yesterday afternoon, and I was planning to send someone to notify you today."

He paused and continued, "The cost of acquiring these mushrooms is very high. How about adding another four thousand taels?"

"No problem!"

Wei Changfeng took out the silver notes he had prepared in advance and counted out four thousand taels to hand to Wan Haoming.

This price was really not expensive. He had originally expected to pay around ten thousand taels.

Wan Haoming smiled, "Doing business with Wei Young Master is refreshing..."

Clap! Clap!

He clapped his hands and said loudly, "Come in!"

The door to the room was immediately pushed open, and a pretty servant girl walked in, holding a long box in both hands, and carefully placed it on the table.

Wan Haoming said, "This is the weapon you wanted, and the merchant caravan brought it over as well!"

A fine-forged long sword?

Wei Changfeng and Yu Qinghong looked at each other, both very surprised.

They had just been talking about checking the weapon shops in the city to see if there were any suitable good swords, and now the Sihai Pavilion had already prepared one, giving them a sense of wish fulfillment.

Wei Changfeng opened the wooden box, and a sheathed long sword immediately appeared before his eyes.

Just by looking at the scabbard and the hilt, he knew it was not an ordinary item. The scabbard, wrapped in animal skin, was inlaid with thick metal plates and brass nails, making it both beautiful and sturdy, even capable of blocking an opponent's attack.

The hilt was even more exquisite, made of tough python skin, providing a comfortable and sweat-absorbing grip. The design was simple without too many complex decorations, but it gave a very extraordinary feeling.

Clang!

Wei Changfeng held the sword and drew it out!

A clear, autumn-water-like sword light suddenly flashed before his eyes, and the sword's resonance was crisp and pleasant, with a lingering sound.

"Good sword!"

Yu Qinghong's eyes also lit up.

Wei Changfeng was even more excited. His intuition told him that this sword was better than the Qingfeng Sword he had used before, and holding it felt like it was connected to his flesh and blood!

But he suddenly had a concern, "Manager Wan, this isn't a named sword, is it?"

A named sword was a famous sword, and the price of a famous sword would be far higher than a fine-forged sword. Wei Changfeng couldn't afford it, and it would be better not to see it if he couldn't buy it.

Wan Haoming shook his head, "No..."

That was a relief!

Wei Changfeng couldn't help but sigh in relief.

Yu Qinghong asked curiously, "Manager Wan, how much does this sword cost?"

She was a sword cultivator and a lover of swords, and she couldn't help but ask out of interest.

Wan Haoming smiled and held up a hand.

"Five thousand taels?"

Yu Qinghong's eyes widened in disbelief, "A fine-forged long sword can't be that expensive!"

Wei Changfeng was also stunned—it was indeed too expensive!

In the weapon shops of Jingyun City, fine-forged long swords were sold for about two thousand taels. Wei Changfeng had seen them before and thought they were not worth the price, so he asked Wan Haoming to help him look for one.

Now, Wan Haoming had really found him a good sword, but the price was shockingly high!

However, Wei Changfeng believed that Wan Haoming would not deliberately cheat him, so he was not surprised or angry, but simply looked at Wan Haoming, waiting for an explanation.

Wan Haoming smiled bitterly, "Miss Yu, you don't know. Although this Mingguang Sword is not a famous sword, it definitely has the quality of a named sword. Five thousand taels is really a bargain."

It turned out that this Mingguang Sword was crafted by the famous blacksmith Lu Tai from the Western Ling of the Great Qin. He had obtained hundreds of pounds of meteoric iron by chance and used it to forge twelve swords, which helped him break through his bottleneck and advance to the level of a master blacksmith.

Among the twelve swords, five had the best quality and were engraved with his name, sold as true famous swords.

The remaining seven swords each had their own flaws, so Lu Tai did not engrave his name on them, and they were eventually bought in bulk by the Sihai Chamber of Commerce.

The sword in Wei Changfeng's hand was one of them!

A famous sword must be crafted by a famous master and engraved with the master's name to be considered a named sword. The latter represents the master's reputation and honor, and cannot be tainted in any way.

"Although there are minor flaws, they do not significantly affect the quality..."

Wan Haoming explained, "Five thousand taels is definitely worth it!"

Now it made sense!

Wei Changfeng finally understood.

As he had guessed, the Sihai Pavilion was not trying to cheat him by setting a high price.

He couldn't help but ask, "Then, Manager Wan, what is the flaw of this Mingguang Sword?"

If it were a regular merchant, they would try to hide the flaws of their goods, but Wan Haoming, as the manager of the Sihai Pavilion, did not bother with such tactics. He said without hesitation, "Wei Young Master, look closely at the spine of the sword. Do you see a red line?"

Wei Changfeng focused and indeed saw a fine red line running from the hilt to the tip of the sword!

Wan Haoming said, "This is impurities in the material that were not completely removed during the forging process, leaving a mark and creating a flaw, which is why the master's name was not engraved on it."

A famous sword would cost at least ten thousand taels, and with a flaw and no name, its value would naturally drop significantly.

Wei Changfeng did not know much about weapons, but he understood this principle.

After hearing Wan Haoming's explanation, he thought the price of five thousand taels was not unreasonable and was about to agree when his sleeve was pulled by Yu Qinghong sitting beside him.

"Since it has a flaw, it's not a famous sword!"

Yu Qinghong opened her eyes wide and said, "Five thousand taels is too expensive, Manager Wan, you're not being fair!"

Wan Haoming, probably for the first time being called unfair, blushed and argued, "Even if it's not a famous sword, it's still worth the price, Miss Yu. Our Sihai Pavilion will never let our customers down!"

Yu Qinghong smiled, "If that's the case, then lower the price a bit, otherwise, selling a fine-forged long sword for five thousand taels would damage your reputation!"

"Then how much do you suggest?"

"Three thousand taels!"

"Ah? Impossible, impossible!"

"Then I'll add two hundred taels!"

Seeing his senior sister skillfully haggling with Wan Haoming, Wei Changfeng couldn't help but laugh.

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